Mount Rushmore of D3 Coaches

[Gregory Sager]

If a relevant category is wins/year, then Robinson, Hixon, Edwards, McCarrell, Bosko drop considerably in ranking.

It's relevant if you think it is.

It's obvious that opinions regarding relevance vary from one poster to the next.

[Pat Coleman]

Hixon had a good 20 years where his win total was capped at the end of the regular season.

[WUPHF]

It's relevant if you think it is.

It's obvious that opinions regarding relevance vary from one poster to the next.

It is so true.

I lived through the two national championship seasons and remember thinking that a third national championship (or something close) was inevitable before the early exit.  So, I think about just how much has to come together to go all the way and I think Coach Edwards has to be there over say Steve Moore.

If I were a Wooster fan though, the winning percentage and overall games won and Steve Moore is the clear favorite.

[thebear]

Along the same lines, Potsdam had a 60 game winning streak in 85-87.  They were defending champions, undefeated, 28-0 in 86-87 and had to go on the road in the round of 8.  These days, with national seeding and podding, not likely, unless there is a facility availability/women's team issue.
 

[augie77]

Old time coaches like Jerry Johnson (Lemoyne-Owen) and Dennie Bridges (Illinois Wesleyan) who won a lot of games before the advent of D3 should get some credit for their early career success.  Granted that Illinois Wesleyan stuck with NAIA well into the 1980s, but they were still competing and winning with a D3 non-scholarship style template.  Bridges successfully recruited Jack Sikma, arguably the best player ever at his "small college" level.  There are probably other worthy old timers who lost out on wins just because there wasn't a D3 in their early years of coaching.

[thebear]

Dennis Rodman was also a NAIA player,

Terry Porter is the Blazers all time assist leaders and Devean George was a D-III player who played 11 years in the league.

[augie77]

Sikma was the number 8 pick in the 1977 NBA draft!

[Greek Tragedy]

Sikma was the number 8 pick in the 1977 NBA draft!

I don't think thebear was comparing those players to Jack Sikma. He was just adding some other names.

[Caz Bombers]

I have no idea where to really put this information, but this thread has been quite active recently, so why not.

If there is a 2020-21 season, the 3-point line in D3 MBB won't be moving back as scheduled, delayed until 21-22.

https://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/prop-delays-rules-changes-one-year-five-sports

[Gregory Sager]

Old time coaches like Jerry Johnson (Lemoyne-Owen) and Dennie Bridges (Illinois Wesleyan) who won a lot of games before the advent of D3 should get some credit for their early career success.  Granted that Illinois Wesleyan stuck with NAIA well into the 1980s, but they were still competing and winning with a D3 non-scholarship style template.  Bridges successfully recruited Jack Sikma, arguably the best player ever at his "small college" level.  There are probably other worthy old timers who lost out on wins just because there wasn't a D3 in their early years of coaching.

Sikma had the best pro career of any former CCIW player, and by a country mile, but "best player ever at his 'small college' level"? That's very disputable. Even within just the CCIW it's disputable. There's good cases to be made for Bill Warden, Mel Peterson, Michael Harper, Steve Djurickovic, and, yes, Aston Francis as well, among others. Heck, Dennis Prikkel, who predates everybody else who posts in the CCIW room (even Mr. Ypsi and iwu70), says that Jesse Price of Millikin's late '60s teams is the best CCIW player that he ever saw.

Sikma was the number 8 pick in the 1977 NBA draft!

That doesn't make him "the best player ever at his 'small college' level." It makes him the highest draft pick ever among schools that are now in D3, which is something entirely different.

[thebear]

Re: Small College Player, there's a guy named Randy Smith, who played at Buffalo State (college division at the time, now D-III).
2x NBA All-star, All NBA Second Team, NBA All Star game MVP.
Played 906 consecutive games,
Played 13 seasons in the league, Averaged 17 points 4 rebs 5 assists for his career.  16,000 point career scorer. (Sikma had 17,000).
If we're counting NAIA, probably need to count college division.
Saw him play, All American in soccer, basketball, and track, 7 foot high jumper.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

I have no idea where to really put this information, but this thread has been quite active recently, so why not.

If there is a 2020-21 season, the 3-point line in D3 MBB won't be moving back as scheduled, delayed until 21-22.

https://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/prop-delays-rules-changes-one-year-five-sports

You should follow the Hoopsville Twitter and Facebook accounts more often. For reasons I didn't expect, we beat the NCAA to the punch on this. LOL

[Mr. Ypsi]

Old time coaches like Jerry Johnson (Lemoyne-Owen) and Dennie Bridges (Illinois Wesleyan) who won a lot of games before the advent of D3 should get some credit for their early career success.  Granted that Illinois Wesleyan stuck with NAIA well into the 1980s, but they were still competing and winning with a D3 non-scholarship style template.  Bridges successfully recruited Jack Sikma, arguably the best player ever at his "small college" level.  There are probably other worthy old timers who lost out on wins just because there wasn't a D3 in their early years of coaching.

Sikma had the best pro career of any former CCIW player, and by a country mile, but "best player ever at his 'small college' level"? That's very disputable. Even within just the CCIW it's disputable. There's good cases to be made for Bill Warden, Mel Peterson, Michael Harper, Steve Djurickovic, and, yes, Aston Francis as well, among others. Heck, Dennis Prikkel, who predates everybody else who posts in the CCIW room (even Mr. Ypsi and iwu70), says that Jesse Price of Millikin's late '60s teams is the best CCIW player that he ever saw.

Sikma was the number 8 pick in the 1977 NBA draft!

That doesn't make him "the best player ever at his 'small college' level." It makes him the highest draft pick ever among schools that are now in D3, which is something entirely different.

I totally agree with Dennis Prikkel about Jesse Price.  I firmly believe he would have been the only player ever to be a FOUR-time CCIW MOP if not for one small detail - the award wasn't invented until his junior year!

[Pat Coleman]

Remind me -- we are talking about coaches, right?

[augie77]

Re: Small College Player, there's a guy named Randy Smith, who played at Buffalo State (college division at the time, now D-III).
2x NBA All-star, All NBA Second Team, NBA All Star game MVP.
Played 906 consecutive games,
Played 13 seasons in the league, Averaged 17 points 4 rebs 5 assists for his career.  16,000 point career scorer. (Sikma had 17,000).
If we're counting NAIA, probably need to count college division.
Saw him play, All American in soccer, basketball, and track, 7 foot high jumper.

That's impressive, but Sikma was a seven time NBA All Star and is a Naismith Hall of Famer.  That said, mycommentary was never intended to bring up comparisons of former players.  The discussion was about coaching prowess, of which one major indicator is recruiting ability.  It seems Dennie Bridges did fairly well with #44. 

Regarding Mount Rushmore, that should be reserved for D3 coaches, but my argument is that guys who coachd in a D3 style context (no scholarships, philosophically attuned to D3 principles) prior to the advent of D3 should get *some* credit for their early success.  Especially if they already have a Rushmore-esque resume.