Ranking men’s college basketball’s top 25 coaches of the 2000s: Bill Self, Roy Williams top list - The Athletic

The article presents a selection of the top men's college basketball coaches of the last 25 years, explaining that the evaluation criteria extend beyond just NCAA Tournament success. The author considered national titles, Final Fours, conference regular-season championships, conference tournament championships, NCAA Tournament appearances, total wins, longevity, and a degree of subjectivity.

Bob Huggins (Cincinnati, Kansas State, West Virginia) is highlighted with 466 wins (20.9 per season), 1 Final Four, 3 conference regular-season titles, 3 conference tournament titles, and 16 NCAA Tournament appearances. Known for teams playing with max effort and player adoration, his prime was at Cincinnati. After a forced resignation there, he revived Kansas State and then spent 16 years at West Virginia, reaching another Final Four in 2011 and implementing the "Press Virginia" style. His career ended with another forced resignation in 2023 after a DUI.

Sean Miller (Xavier, Arizona, Xavier, Texas) is noted as arguably the best coach without a Final Four appearance. He has 487 wins (24.4 per season), 8 conference regular-season titles, 4 conference tournament titles, and 13 NCAA Tournament appearances. He reached four Elite Eights and had a dominant stretch at Arizona, winning 30+ games four times in seven years. His Arizona tenure ended due to involvement in a federal corruption investigation. He rehabilitated his career back at Xavier and is now headed to Texas.

Gary Williams (Maryland) is included with 244 wins (22.2 per season), 1 National Title (2002), 2 Final Fours, 2 conference regular-season titles, 1 conference tournament title, and 7 NCAA Tournament appearances. His prime extended into the early 2000s with back-to-back Final Fours and the 2002 championship. The 2002 team, featuring stars like Juan Dixon, is noted for beating a strong Duke team for the ACC title and a historically great Kansas team in the Final Four.

Rick Barnes (Texas, Tennessee) is recognized with 591 wins (23.6 per season), 1 Final Four, 4 conference regular-season titles, 1 conference tournament title, and 21 NCAA Tournament appearances (trailing only Self, Few, and Izzo in the 2000s). He consistently fields comfortably seeded teams (12 top-four seeds). At Texas, his teams were offensively focused around stars like T.J. Ford and Kevin Durant. At Tennessee, he has built a top-five defense in each of the last five seasons.