There is still another week of college basketball left, but without an ACC Team in the Final 4, we can go ahead and take a look back at the season and give the ACC basketball coaches some grades.
Remember the post-season is like a Final – some coaches pulled up their grade and some are going to take a hit.
If coaches get the same grade, my ranking breaks the tie.
Coaching grades and rankings : 1-4 | 9-12 | 13-15
5) Mike Krzyzewski, Duke – B+
You had arguably the most talented team in the country, and you didn’t win the ACC regular season, tournament, or make the Final 4. This Duke team never reached the potential most people felt it had. Still how much can you criticize a 29 win team that went to Elite 8? Krzyzewski’s decision to play zone defense gave a struggling defensive team a chance to be pretty good on that end of the floor. It was a nice coaching job K, but not his best.
6) Leonard Hamilton, Florida State – B
Here is how deep March run can totally change the perception of a season. Leonard Hamilton didn’t want a C in these rankings, so he got the Seminoles to buy in defensively at the right time and FSU got all the way to Elite 8. A couple of breaks would have them in the Final 4. The Noles were inconsistent all year playing great one game then awful the next. It’s not how you start it is how you finish though, and Hamilton had a great finish. Now if we can help him with his post-game interviews.
7) Buzz Williams, Virginia Tech – B
When the Hokies were 2-4 in the ACC, it looked like Virginia Tech would probably miss the NCAA tournament. Buzz Williams did a great job turning the Hokies season around. There were wins over Clemson, UNC, and Duke. There was also a win at Virginia which was the Cavaliers only ACC loss. That was Buzz at his best. He pushed the Hoos out on the perimeter with a brilliant defensive game plan. The finish wasn’t strong with 3 straight losses, and that holds Williams back a bit from a higher grade.
8) Jim Larranaga, Miami – B-
It wasn’t a bad season at Miami and it wasn’t a great season. There was a win at UNC, and a 3rd place regular season finish in the ACC. I don’t like the way the season ended without a single post-season win. Bruce Brown was hurt and that limited the Hurricanes. Larranaga didn’t do a terrible job it’s just other coaches did more.
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