College basketball’s most legendary and eccentric coaches!

With March Madness having just passed by, it is a great time to take a moment to remember a few of the coaches who have stood out from the rest in college basketball. Whether you loved them or hated them, these masters of coaching have given college basketball fans plenty to talk and reminisce about since they stopped manning the college basketball bench.

The Master of Bloomington

When you think about a perfectly executed sideline explosion, the first name that comes to mind is normally that of Bobby Knight. One of the most explosive personalities to ever patrol the sidelines, Coach Knight had more than a few incidents with officials, opposing coaches and even his own players. One of Coach Knight’s most memorable exploits was the time when he threw a chair across the court in protest of a referee’s call. Another moment that he will never be able to live down is the time when he choked one of his own players. Coach Knight was a very successful and eccentric coach.

The Shark

Coach Jerry Tarkanian is famous for two things – winning basketball games, and going to town on a towel. During games, ‘The Shark’ would spend his time on the bench gnawing on a towel like a dog would chew on a bone. The coach was never without his beloved towel, and it proved to be a very luck symbol for him as his UNLV teams competed for national championships in the early 1990s. Unfortunately for Jerry, his success did not carry over into the NBA when he took the job as coach of the San Antonio Spurs. Oh well. The Shark had a great run in Vegas.

Will somebody just give this man a hug?

After winning the national championship game in what still ranks as one of the sport’s greatest upsets, Villanova’s head coach ran around the court looking for someone to hug. The great Jim Valvano was one of the largest personalities to ever patrol the sidelines in college basketball, and his enthusiasm and passion set him apart from other NCAA coaches. While some may have seen his actions as being fake or insincere, energy and excitement were always a part of this coach’s sideline demeanour. Until cancer took his life much too early, Coach V was one of the game’s most colourful and outspoken coaches. His memory lives on every year when that memorable clip is shown again to fans and people working on a masters in sports coaching.