There are 50 new full-time coaches this season. How's the class doing? The successes vary. The situations that led to these new faces at new places were due to firings, retirements or previous coaches leaving to take on a different job. Every situation is different, but nonetheless, it is interesting to see which hires are making impacts immediately, in their first season.
Now that we're more than 60 percent into the regular season, let's take a quick look at which programs are thriving with their new chiefs. I've omitted Greg Gard at Wisconsin, who is in his first full season as head coach but has run that team since December 2015, when Bo Ryan abruptly retired. He would otherwise be included.
Also, I've narrowed the list down to eight, but there are several other candidates who are doing well and might wind up on this list at the end of the season. We'll update it again come March. So Memphis, Rutgers, Oklahoma State, San Francisco, Wyoming, Wright State -- any of them could be in the mix when we do an end-of-year evaluation.
Top eight new coaches this season
Paul Weir, New Mexico State (18-2, 5-0 in the WAC)
Weir is by far having the most success of any newly anointed coach. And what's even more impressive is that Weir has never been a head coach. He spent a decade on NMSU's bench, serving as Marvin Menzies' long-time assistant. Menzies took the UNLV job last spring and New Mexico State opted for consistency and chose to stay in-house. Weir was involved in the recruitment of many of the Aggies' current players, so he hasn't had to deal with an exodus of transfers. Once again, this team is the king of the WAC. It might run the table in the conference. If that happened, a No. 12 seed could be possible.
Tim Jankovich, SMU (18-4, 8-1 in the AAC)
Jankovich was the coach-in-waiting who rather abruptly became the coach-for-real last summer, when Larry Brown and SMU couldn't come to terms on a new deal. The Ponies haven't been worse off without the Hall of Famer around. SMU is NCAA Tournament material, and to me has the most talented starting five in the American. The Mustangs were really good last season, remember, but were not eligible for postseason play due to NCAA sanctions. SMU is currently 22nd in KenPom.
Grant McCasland, Arkansas State (14-6, 6-2 in the Sun Belt)
McCasland is a first-time head coach, and he had quite the arrival with a 78-72 victory at Georgetown in November. Since then, the Red Wolves have wins over Chattanooga and Lehigh, two teams projected as clear-cut favorites in their leagues. Arkansas State is in the middle of what could become the best mid-major race this season. Georgia Southern is 7-0 in the Sun Belt, while ASU is tied with very good Texas-Arlington and chic preseason favorite Georgia State for second place.
Matt Lottich, Valparaiso (16-4, 6-1 in the Horizon League)
I'm at the point where I'm older than a few of the coaches I have to write about. That's uplifting. The 34-year-old Lottich took over for Bryce Drew, who is now at Vanderbilt and under .500. Like Weir at New Mexico State, Valpo didn't go outside its campus to pick a replacement. The boon: Lottich managed to keep Alec Peters around for one final season, and it has been the game-changer. Without Peters, Lottich is probably not on this list, which isn't to downgrade his acumen, but rather another reminder that Peters is one of the 25 best players in college basketball. He doesn't receive the pub because Valpo is seldom on television. The Crusaders have wins over Alabama, BYU and Rhode Island and would be the No. 13 seed you have no interest in playing come time for the Big Dance.
Jamie Dixon, TCU (14-6, 3-5 in the Big 12)
Expectations are a part of this evaluation, and for Dixon to be rolling like this right off the bat is impressive. We're talking about a program that has historically been a non-factor for almost all of its existence. Now TCU is on pace to win 19 games in the regular season, and will probably be above 20 wins when all is done. It will be the most inspiring season for Horned Frogs basketball this century. Dixon, an alumnus, has also landed big wins on the recruiting trail and set up his program to, at the very least, be in the mix in the Big 12. An afterthought no more. TCU is probably going to fall short of the NCAAs this season, but that's unlikely to be the case come 2018. TCU last made the Big Dance in 1998.
Josh Pastner, Georgia Tech (12-8, 4-4 in the ACC)
Remember what I said about expectations? After Pastner's rocky twirl out of Memphis, Tech fans had expectations toe-high for Josh as he took the job. Given its location, in one of the high-yielding areas in the country for basketball talent, Georgia Tech has been one of the more underachieving programs across the past two decades. Pastner had talent at Memphis but never really achieved on the level that the fan base demanded. At Tech, Pastner took over a decent roster, but with the ACC expected to be one of the strongest conferences in college basketball history this season, the Yellow Jackets were forecast as a two-win team at best in the league. Welp: Pastner has Tech playing way beyond suppositions, punctuated by a 78-56 rout of Florida State on Wednesday night. The Jackets have also beaten North Carolina, North Carolina State and VCU this season. One of the biggest surprises in college hoops.
Johnny Dawkins, Central Florida (14-6, 5-3 in the American)
Dawkins makes the list, though his Knights have dropped two straight, falling at Memphis and losing at home Wednesday to another coach represented on this list, SMU's Jankovich. But UCF is already at 14 victories after the program averaged 12 the previous three years. Dawkins made the transition from Stanford to UCF, and he has coached this team to a top-10 defensive efficiency standing, by far the best in the history of the program for as far back as those metrics can be tracked. Thanks in part to 7-foot-6 Tacko Fall, opponents are shooting 38.5 percent on 2-pointers, which is the most damaging defensive rate in college basketball. This could be the sleeper team to steal the AAC's auto bid.
Jeff Boals, Stony Brook (11-9, 6-1 in the America East)
It's not just about overall record. Boals has the second-best league mark of any first-time coach (behind Weir). And though Stony Brook made the NCAA Tournament last season for the first time in program history, under Steve Pikiell, the team lost the best player to ever wear a Seawolves jersey, Jameel Warney. Boals also dealt with drama almost immediately upon taking the job. Two players were arrested in April for felony theft. Another player, Ahmad Walker, was arrested less than a month before the start of the season. None of the three players are a part of the team this season, and yet Boals has been able to steady the ship and keep Stony Brook near the top of the league. Since Dec. 1, SBU is 10-4.
