Big Ten Head Coach Power Rankings

AP Photo/Eric Gay

Here are my rankings for the head coaches in the Big Ten. Beneath each coach I give my ratings in three different categories, based on a five-star scale.

1. Tom Izzo, Michigan State
Ovr. record at MSU: 336-137; conf. record: 160-72
Prestige: *****
Recruiting: *****
Results: *****
--This one’s a no-brainer. Izzo has led the Spartans to five Final Fours in the last 11 seasons, including a national championship title. He consistently brings in the best talent of any team in the Big Ten and he molds those players into a great team.

2. Bo Ryan, Wisconsin
Ovr. record at WI: 192-70; conf. record: 94-39
Prestige: ****
Recruiting: ****
Results: *****
--Bo has experienced unprecedented success not seen in Madison, Wis., prior to his arrival. He always finds tough, hard-nosed players that fit his system, but he also gets his share of blue-chippers as well. He’s one of the best coaches in the nation.

3. Tubby Smith, Minnesota
Ovr. record at Minn.: 42-25; conf. record: 17-19
Prestige: *****
Recruiting: *****
Results: *****
--It didn’t take Tubby long to get Minnesota back to the NCAA Tournament. The Gophers were awful the season before he came, but now he has them in line to be near the top of the conference next season. He has raised the level of recruiting at Minnesota by a large margin.

4. Tom Crean, Indiana
Ovr. record at Ind.: 6-25; conf. record: 1-17
Prestige: *****
Recruiting: *****
Results: ****
--Crean endured a tough first year at Indiana, but he won’t have to go through that again as the Hoosier head man. He built Marquette into a top-flight Big East contender--imagine what he can do with Indiana. He’s a tireless worker and a great seller of his program.

5. Thad Matta, Ohio State
Ovr. record at OSU: 123-45; conf. record: 55-29
Prestige: ****
Recruiting: *****
Results: ****
--Nobody has brought in a better collection of players over the last few years in the Big Ten than Matta. He got Greg Oden and Mike Conley, Jr. in the same class, and they helped him get to a national title game. Matta’s team looks stacked again heading into next season.

6. Bruce Webber, Illinois
Ovr. record at Ill.: 152-57; conf. record: 64-36
Prestige: ***
Recruiting: ****
Results: ****
--Webber does not get the proper appreciation for the solid job he’s done with the Illini. He took them to a national title game and now has them looking up after a down 2007-08 season. He had a little bit of a lull in recruiting recently, but he has some dynamic guards coming in next season.

7. Matt Painter, Purdue
Ovr. record at Pur.: 83-50; conf. record: 38-30
Prestige: ***
Recruiting: ****
Results: ****
--It says something about the group of coaches when Painter ranks seventh. He’s gotten Purdue rolling again after stagnating at the end of the Gene Keady era. He’s been able to nab some real good instate players and coach them up. The Boilers are in good hands.

8. John Beilein, Michigan
Ovr. record at Mich: 31-36; conf. record: 14-22
Prestige: ***
Recruiting: ***
Results: ****
--Like Tubby, Beilein quickly rebuilt his program. Michigan is in the best shape its been since the early 1990s. Beilein is not a top-notch recruiter but he gets guys who fit into his unique system and gets the most out of them. NCAA Tournaments should be plentiful in Ann Arbor.

9. Bill Carmody, Northwestern
Ovr. record at NW: 120-149; conf. record: 44-104
Prestige: **
Recruiting: **
Results: ***
--Carmody’s name pops up in the discussion for coach of the year in the Big Ten quite frequently. Evanston is a tough place for any coach to win but Carmody has done about as well as possible. His work at Princeton showed his ability to succeed with sub par talent.

10. Todd Lickliter, Iowa
Ovr. record at Iowa: 28-36; conf. record: 11-25
Prestige: **
Recruiting: **
Results: ***
--Coach Lick barely beats out DeChellis for 10th because of his past success at Butler. Lickliter has serious recruiting questions and the loss of Jake Kelly and Jeff Peterson could prove difficult to overcome. Still, Lickliter isn’t an idiot. He took two Butler teams to the Sweet 16.

11. Ed DeChellis, Penn State
Ovr. record at PSU: 84-103; conf. record: 29-71
Prestige: **
Recruiting: ***
Results: **
--DeChellis deserves credit for winning an NIT championship, but he has yet to get Penn State to the NCAA Tournament in six years at the helm. Prior to that, he had only modest success as head coach at East Tennessee State for seven seasons. Maybe he can build upon last season’s school record 27 victories.