Scott Drew Career Wins

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Mitch Henessey
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I wanted to start this thread to track Coach Drew's progress over the years, as he progresses up the all-time wins list.

As of today, March 1, 2023, Coach Drew sits at 441 wins, which places him 113th all-time in NCAA history. While anyone who has followed the Baylor program knows that what CSD has accomplished is remarkable, 441 wins isn't that noteworthy, historically. What really gets interesting is what the rest of Drew's career could look like. He has a very realistic shot to end up in the Top 10, maybe even Top 5 in all-time wins. To do that from where he took this program over is mind-blowing.

I'll run through my methodology briefly. Here's the website I'm using to track all-time wins: https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/leaders/men/wins-coach-career.html

I'm assuming 25 wins/year going forward. Since 2009-2010, when things really started humming, Coach Drew has averaged 24.5 wins/year. You could make the argument that the average should be higher, given COVID disruptions (both the 2020 and 2021 seasons, and CSD missing games at the outset of 2021 when he contracted COVID), and for games he couldn't coach, due to "NCAA violations" that are no longer penalties under current NCAA rules (and were no longer penalties at the time he served the suspension). That being said, I'll keep it conservative and stick with 25 wins.

Coach Drew is 52 years old, currently. I'll assume he coaches another 20 years. 72 isn't that old (for comparison, Jim Boeheim is 78 and is still coaching with no indications of quitting), but most of the coaches who are at the top of the list were miserable old *****s (Coach K, Boeheim, Knight, among others), so we'll give him 20 more and assume he gets a wonderful, long retirement to hang with his family.

Assuming 20 more years at 25 wins/season, that's 500 more wins. 941 wins would put him at #3 all-time in total wins, as the list currently stands. There are a number of active coaches who will push well into the 900s that I'll detail in a subsequent post.

I don't intend to update this as often as a TexasJeremy or Baylorkid thread on player career stats, but I'll come back periodically and update, particularly as CSD moves up the list and passes notable names.
Mitch Henessey
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Notable names Coach Drew has passed:

Jim Valvano (RIP) - 337 wins
John Thompson Jr - 346 wins
Billy Kennedy (former aggy and Maryland coach) - 362
Homer Drew - 370
Seth Greenburg (former Va Tech coach and current ESPN analyst) - 383
Bo Ryan (former Wisconsin coach) - 394
Tom Crean (former Indiana and UGA coach) - 403
Tony Bennett (current UVA coach) - 406
Travis Ford (former oSu coach) - 409
Rick Byrd (longtime Belmont coach who really has 900+ wins, but many came in DII) - 415
Bruce Pearl (current Auburn and former Tennessee coach) - 416
Jud Heathcote (former Mich St. coach) - 416
Digger Phelps (former Notre Dame coach and ESPN analyst) - 419
Dan Monson (former Gonzaga coach) - 423
Al Skinner (former BC and current Kennesaw St coach) - 426
Matt Painter (current Purdue coach) - 433
Mike Anderson (former Mizzou, Arkansas, and current St. John's coach) - 436
EvilTroyAndAbed
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Without knowing his heart (he may retire in 5 or 10 or 15 years), I think a number to look at would maybe be 800.
Mitch Henessey
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Notable names within striking distance (next 1-2 seasons)

Sean Miller (former Xavier and Arizona coach) - 443 wins
Greg McDermott (former ISU and current Creighton coach) - 443 wins
Phil Martelli (former St. Joe's coach and current Michigan asst) - 444 wins
Ron Hunter (former Georgia State and current Tulane coach) - 445
Tex Winter (longtime college coach and innovator of the Triangle Offense used by the '90s Bulls and '00s Lakers) - 451
Thad Matta (former tOSU and current Butler coach) - 453
Tommy Amaker (former Michigan and current Harvard coach) - 454
Jamie Dixon (TCU) - 464 (although they'd have to really fall off a cliff, which is possible)
Tim Floyd (former ISU, USC, and Chicago Bulls coach) - 465
Mark Turgeon (former Wichita St., aggy, and Maryland coach) - 476
Kevin Stallings (former Vandy and Pitt coach) - 479
Rollie Massimino (former Nova and UNLV coach, post-Tark) - 481
Abe Lemons (former Texas coach) - 488
Mitch Henessey
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EvilTroyAndAbed said:

Without knowing his heart (he may retire in 5 or 10 or 15 years), I think a number to look at would maybe be 800.
That's fair. 600+ wins is where the list really starts to get interesting. The Wizard of Westwood, John Wooden, is sitting there at 664.
Mitch Henessey
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Active coaches who will make their way up the list significantly, plus their ages:

Mick Cronin, age 51 (UCLA) - 458 wins; might be CSD's best bogey, given his age, position, and the fact that UCLA has it going right now
Randy Bennett, age 60 (St. Mary's) - 505 wins
Fran McCaffery, age 63 (Iowa) - 512 wins
Steve Alford, age 58 (Nevada) - 579
Mike Brey, age 63 (Notre Dame) - 581
Kelvin Sampson, age 67 (Houston) - 651
Mark Few, age 60 (Gonzaga) - 683
Tom Izzo, age 68 (Michigan St) - 684
Dana Altman, age 64 (Oregon) - 726
Rick Barnes, age 68 (Tennessee) - 776
Bill Self, age 60 (Kansas) - 784; I didn't realize he was as young as he is
Rick Pitino, age 70 (Iona) - 829
John Calipari, age 64 (Kentucky) - 830
Bob Huggins, age 69 (West Virginia) - 933; this list says 861, but that's subtracting wins that the NCAA made him vacate, which is pretty BS.
Johnny Bear
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Super impressive to say the least. Hope we can keep him until he decides to hang it up for good.
Jorkel
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Bill Self could get into striking distance of first place if he maintains his average wins
historian
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Few of those ahead of him are active. I count only 5.
TWD 1974
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Mitch Henessey said:

Notable names Coach Drew has passed:

Jim Valvano (RIP) - 337 wins
John Thompson Jr - 346 wins
Billy Kennedy (former aggy and Maryland coach) - 362
Homer Drew - 370
Seth Greenburg (former Va Tech coach and current ESPN analyst) - 383
Bo Ryan (former Wisconsin coach) - 394
Tom Crean (former Indiana and UGA coach) - 403
Tony Bennett (current UVA coach) - 406
Travis Ford (former oSu coach) - 409
Rick Byrd (longtime Belmont coach who really has 900+ wins, but many came in DII) - 415
Bruce Pearl (current Auburn and former Tennessee coach) - 416
Jud Heathcote (former Mich St. coach) - 416
Digger Phelps (former Notre Dame coach and ESPN analyst) - 419
Dan Monson (former Gonzaga coach) - 423
Al Skinner (former BC and current Kennesaw St coach) - 426
Matt Painter (current Purdue coach) - 433
Mike Anderson (former Mizzou, Arkansas, and current St. John's coach) - 436
Homer Drew won a lot of games before Valpo and D1. I think Scott is 199 behind him in total wins. Would love to see him hit that with his Dad looking on in the Fieldhouse that Drew built!
Another tidbit... Scott Drew is probably only one or 2 tournament wins from being among top 10 active coaches with NCAA tourny wins. I believe he has 18.
Jorkel
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historian said:

Few of those ahead of him are active. I count only 5.


They are Ahead and older. I was following the rules of the scenario on the original post. Coaching until 72 with the average wins. Self would still have 12 years everyone else a lot less
Mitch Henessey
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Jorkel said:

historian said:

Few of those ahead of him are active. I count only 5.


They are Ahead and older. I was following the rules of the scenario on the original post. Coaching until 72 with the average wins. Self would still have 12 years everyone else a lot less
Oh, we can assume anyone else can coach until whenever. I just think that Coach Drew probably doesn't want to be coaching with one foot in the grave, is all. And you have to end it somewhere, so 20 more seasons seems like a nice, round number.
historian
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Good news for us is that Drew is still young and apparently loves Waco & coaching at Baylor.
DallasBear9902
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Great thread. Hope he does stay until his 70s, but you never know. Homer Drew originally retired at 58 and then finally again at 68. Dale Brown, who is close to the Drew family was 62.

Here's a question I think about:

Basically, how many Bill Self titles at Kansas is the same as Scott Drew winning one at Baylor?

Scott Drew and Bill Self started at their current jobs the same season. If you went back to August of 2003 and told someone that eventually Baylor Basketball would become a standard bearer for the B12, win one NC and have a three year run of being the #1 or #2 program in the country, that person would have looked at you like you were crazy. They probably would have thought you lost your mind.

Also in August of 2003 you tell someone that Bill Self will win 17 B12 tiles and 2 National Championships. The B12 titles are impressive, but the national titles wouldn't be particularly suprising (although still an amazing achievement).

What I'm trying to figure out is how many national championships would Bill Self have to win at Kansas to get the same shocked reaction as one championship for Scott Drew?

TWD 1974
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DallasBear9902 said:

Great thread. Hope he does stay until his 70s, but you never know. Homer Drew originally retired at 58 and then finally again at 68. Dale Brown, who is close to the Drew family was 62.

Here's a question I think about:

Basically, how many Bill Self titles at Kansas is the same as Scott Drew winning one at Baylor?

Scott Drew and Bill Self started at their current jobs the same season. If you went back to August of 2003 and told someone that eventually Baylor Basketball would become a standard bearer for the B12, win one NC and have a three year run of being the #1 or #2 program in the country, that person would have looked at you like you were crazy. They probably would have thought you lost your mind.

Also in August of 2003 you tell someone that Bill Self will win 17 B12 tiles and 2 National Championships. The B12 titles are impressive, but the national titles wouldn't be particularly suprising (although still an amazing achievement).

What I'm trying to figure out is how many national championships would Bill Self have to win at Kansas to get the same shocked reaction as one championship for Scott Drew?


Look, I have to admit Self is every bit a hall of fame coach as is Drew. 17 Conference titles is amazing, 2 NC in an era when you have to win 6 games in a row against top level teams, is a huge accomplishment. It is just impossible to compare what Coaches would do if positions were reversed, for one thing, Bill Self, an established power 5 HC would never have come to Baylor in 2003. No one would. In the last 20 years, has anyone ever heard of a Bonafide head coach who actually sought the job at Baylor in 2003 aside from Drew? Quite simply there wasn't a more difficult job in Div 1 basketball as Baylor MBB 2003--there was considerable questioning as to whether Baylor would have enough of a team to play!
There are 2 men, 2 coaches in my lifetime that have dramatically changed the trajectory of their sport and the University. Grant Teaff came to Baylor at a crucial time when there were public calls to push Baylor out of the Southwest Conference, as we were deemed noncompetitive and not likely to improve. You can look at it anyway you like, but Baylor doesn't make the Big 12 without the Teaff era. More than that, both Teaff and Drew have exemplified the values of Baylor, that few coaches anywhere could equal. Fans of Baylor are in their debt.
GruntTuff
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How dare you call me a miserable old *******t, or however you typed it!.

I'm just 73! Saw John Bridgers coach….and Bobbling Bill Menefee, rest their souls.

Only kidding, of course
BluesBear
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16 more years @ 25 wins a year...that put him over 800 wins. We have been blessed...
historian
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And it is easy to imagine that happening.

We definitely are blessed.
“Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!”
Psalm 119:36
Mitch Henessey
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With this evening's victory (#445), Coach Drew passes longtime St. Joe's coach Phil Martelli. Martelli is currently coaching Michigan while Juwan Howard recovers from off-season surgery, but I guess it doesn't officially count, as Howard isn't suspended.

Next up in his pursuit are former Clemson, DePaul, and Dayton coach Oliver Purnell and longtime LSU coach Dale Brown, both of whom finished their careers with 448 wins.
historian
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Thanks for keeping track of this
Timbear
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Baylor's "Great Team" didn't have a one and done. All were experienced grown men. No teenagers. It's possible, but will likely be more difficult for Drew to win a NC now, since very good to great players don't stay,
Mitch Henessey
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With tonight's victory over Nicholls State, Scott Drew has 449 wins, which puts him alone in 108th place all-time. He passes longtime LSU coach Dale Brown and Oliver Purnell, who is most well known for coaching at Dayton and Clemson in the 1990s and 2000s.

Next up on the list is Tex Winter, architect of the Triangle Offense and assistant coach for the Bulls and Lakers under Phil Jackson. Winter finished his college head coaching career with 451 wins, the bulk of which came at Kansas State in the 1950s-1960s.
Mitch Henessey
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Coach Drew didn't pass anyone tonight, but he did pick up career victory #450. Congrats, Coach!

Quite the milestone, and halfway to a massive milestone.
historian
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By the end of the season, Drew will have improved well. I can be patient.
Mitch Henessey
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With last night's victory over Mississippi Valley State, Scott Drew (452 wins) moves into sole possession of 107th place all-time, passing the late, great Tex Winter.

Next on the list are longtime Weber State and NMSU coach Neil McCarthy, and Nibs Price, who spent his entire career coaching at Cal, from the mid 1920s until the mid 1950s, with 453 wins apiece.

After that, things get tricky, as many of the coaches just ahead of Drew are active, so it may be a bit of back and forth until he can firmly pass them. Compounding matters further is the fact that Matt Painter, HC at Purdue, has moved to within two wins of catching Coach Drew. I'll try to keep it sorted as best as possible over the coming weeks.
Krieg
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She's not a man, but Mulkey changed the trajectory of the school and athletic programs. She proved winning something here was possible.

Briles proved the same for football and is the reason the stadium was built. I also think you could argue the Big 12 doesn't still exist without us having the success we had under Briles. You can't prove that, but it's hard to believe Baylor could've taken a leading role in the conference's preservation with an awful football program.
Krieg
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As for the purpose of the thread, Drew has done the best coaching job maybe ever. If he were to finish north of 800 wins with 1-2 more national titles he's for sure the best coach in history.

He'd also have pulled that off before AND after NIL and the portal. That is also impressive.
Russell Gym
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Greatest program building job ever, IMO, as of today. Not "rebuilding," as is commonly said. Baylor was so unsuccessful for so long, I can't refer to it as rebuilding.

Baylor Basketball was even worse than nothing after the biggest scandal in college basketball history, and a perennial loser to boot. A below average season was considered a triumph. Now, Drew has Baylor consistently in the top reaches of the sport every season.

It's all subjective obviously, but Drew's accomplishment at Baylor is at the top of my college basketball coaching list.
historian
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I get your point but it's called "rebuilding" because we did have a program. He's not our first ever MBB coach. It's mostly semantics but as John Adams said, words mean things.
Russell Gym
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historian said:

I get your point but it's called "rebuilding" because we did have a program. He's not our first ever MBB coach. It's mostly semantics but as John Adams said, words mean things.

I get it, definitely semantics. My point is that he built something that we never had before - an elite basketball program (unless you want to include the 1948-50 run as an elite program). He definitely didn't "rebuild" that … an elite program was never there before.

But if the meaning of the word is solely limited to "having a program" in this discussion, then I agree with you, it's just rebuilding. I should have put more thought into the structure of my thoughts and clarified by saying "building an elite program." Good discussion.
historian
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Considering where we were when Drew arrived, it almost is like building from scratch.
Mitch Henessey
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With today's victory over oSu, Coach Drew moves into sole possession of 105th place all-time with 454 victories. Now, things get complicated.

6 of the next 7 coaches ahead of him are still active, so there will be a good bit of back and forth over this season (and possibly next) before he may firmly pass all of them. Complicating matters further is the fact that Matt Painter of Purdue is only 2-3 wins behind Coach Drew, and Purdue is having a fantastic season thus far.

As things stand right now, Sean Miller at Xavier is two ahead of Drew, at 456 wins. Xavier is having a down year, so I think Drew can catch him this year. Ron Hunter (Georgia State's HC when they upset us in the tourney), now at Tulane, is two ahead of Miller. Tulane is having a decent year (10-4 currently), but I would bet Drew catches him this year, too. Ahead of that, it's Greg McDermott (Creighton) and Lorenzo Romar (former Washington HC, now at Pepperdine). McDermott is possibly getable, and Romar definitely is. I think Coach Drew finishes this season somewhere in the high-to-mid 90s overall, passing a number of active coaches, but that he also gets surpassed by Painter at Purdue.

Lots going on here, but it'll be fun to track!
historian
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Thanks for the stats and clear analysis. It will be interesting to see how it all ends.
“Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!”
Psalm 119:36
Mitch Henessey
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With tonight's win, Scott Drew moves into a tie with Matt Painter (Purdue HC) for 105th all-time. Painter had passed Drew since we hadn't won in 3+ weeks. I'd bet Painter stays ahead of Drew for the remainder of this season, barring a big tourney run for us and another early-round flameout for the Boilermakers.

Unfortunately, all the other active HCs Drew was pursuing have pulled further ahead, as well. Gotta get back on track.
Mitch Henessey
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Figured it was time for an update, since there hasn't been a ton of activity on this front lately.

With tonight's victory over WVU (#461), Coach Drew moves into a tie with Matt Painter (Purdue) and Ron Hunter (Tulane) for 104th all-time. Purdue plays at a dead in the water Ohio State tomorrow, and Tulane plays at East Carolina tomorrow, as well, so it's probable one, if not both, coach(es) move ahead of Drew.

However, all three of them are within one victory of catching Jim Baron (longtime Rhode Island and St. Bonaventure coach), and Sean Miller (Xavier) for 102nd all-time.

It's been a bit since we've passed anyone, so I looked to see how common it is to have a gap this large (8 games) between spots on the all-time list. It basically doesn't happen below where Drew is, and the next spot there is an 8-game or larger gap in the standings is between 59th and 61st place, where there's a 16-game gap between Herb Sendek and Frank McGuire (549 wins) and Ben Howland (533 wins). So, this should be the longest drought we have for quite a while.
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