What do Dusty May, Kevin Willard, Mike Woodson, Chris Holtmann, John Groce, Lon Kruger and Jerry Dunn have in common? They’re the only coaches in the last 30 years — aka the Tom Izzo Era — to take over a Big Ten program that failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament and refurbish it quickly enough to make the Big Dance in their first season at the helm. (Technically, Brian Ellerbe accomplished this feat as well, but he inherited a Michigan program that missed the 1997 NCAA Tournament due to misdeeds as opposed to lack of talent.)
Of the 31 coaches to take over non-tourney teams since 1995, seven succeeded in rejuvenating their program in one year, 23 could not make it happen and one (Ellerbe) doesn’t count.
On the other side of the coin, 12 coaches over the last 30 years have inherited a Big Ten program that just went to the NCAAs. Four maintained the tradition (Illinois’ Bill Self and Bruce Weber, Wisconsin’s Bo Ryan and Greg Gard), six did not make the tournament and two others (Indiana’s Tom Crean and Minnesota’s Dan Monson) missed the tournament at least partially due to probation-worthy misdeeds by their predecessor (Kelvin Sampson and Clem Haskins, respectively).
Why bring all this up now? Because there are four new Big Ten coaches this year — and it’s worth setting some parameters now to know whether March Madness is a realistic expectation.
None of the situations are exactly the same. Indiana’s Darian DeVries, Iowa’s Ben McCollum and Minnesota’s Niko Medved have taken over squads that didn’t make the 2025 NCAA Tournament, while Maryland’s Buzz Williams inherits a program that reached the Sweet Sixteen, but Williams retains no players from that team, so he’s trying to develop a brand-new crew.
Going solely by the math over the last 30 years, no more than two among Indiana, Iowa, Maryland and Minnesota can expect to be happy on Selection Sunday. Or does the modern college sports landscape that allows you to import an entire team make Big Ten history moot?
This leads us directly to our Big Question: How many of the league’s new coaches will make the Field of 68 in March?
Indiana
Coach: Darian DeVries
2024-25: 19-13 overall (10-10 Big Ten)
Let’s start with Indiana, which retained no scholarship players from Woodson’s final team. DeVries has built a squad in his own image — and not just because his best player looks remarkably similar to him. Fifth-year senior Tucker DeVries leads a group that’s long on shooting, experience (seven seniors) and unselfishness.
The early reviews on the Hoosiers? They share the ball and shred the nets. In last week’s 107-46 exhibition win over NAIA Marian, the Hoosiers earned 27 assists on 39 baskets while hitting 15 threes. Tucker DeVries led the way with 23 points, which featured 5 of 7 from the three-point arc and a team-high 6 assists. “Again, the challenges will grow as we play more and more games,” Darian DeVries said. “But even the other day in practice, we had 31 assists and three turnovers. I’ve never had that. That’s in 5-on-5 play. I’ve never had that as a coach.”
Perhaps more important, DeVries says the Hoosiers have made big strides defensively since their Puerto Rico trip in August. “I think we’ve gotten a lot more connected from our trip to Puerto Rico,” DeVries said. “You can just see it in the way we’re just a lot more aggressive. We’re more attacking because we understand positioning and where we’re supposed to be a lot better.”
Arrow: Pointed too low. Considering the Hoosiers received just one 25th-place vote in the AP preseason poll, there are skeptics about this squad. We’ll know more after Sunday’s Indy Showdown exhibition against Baylor, which also received one 25th-place vote. The Hoosiers also face Marquette on Nov. 9 at the United Center in Chicago. Over time, as Indiana regains the services of injured players such as Nick Dorn, Jason Drake and Josh Harris, it figures to prove it belongs in the NCAA Tournament picture.
Iowa
Coach: Ben McCollum
2024-25: 17-16 overall (7-13 Big Ten)
At Iowa, McCollum also took a program stripped down to the studs with just one returning scholarship player — but he’s rebuilding in a different fashion.
While Indiana has four players who are fifth- or sixth-year guys, Iowa has none. McCollum has balanced his roster with three seniors (including point guard Bennett Stirtz, ranked by Hoops HQ as the nation’s No. 3 player), three juniors, one sophomore and five freshmen. That includes six guys McCollum brought with him from Drake’s 31-4 team that earned the school’s first NCAA Tournament win since 1971.
You’d think that shared Drake experience would put the Hawkeyes ahead of the curve in team-building, but they suffered a 99-74 loss to Saint Louis in a secret scrimmage on Oct. 11. The unflappable McCollum cautions not to read too much into that score.
When he was at Div. II Northwest Missouri State, his 2018-19 squad lost its preseason scrimmage “by 15” to a William Jewell College squad that went on to post a 12-18 record. McCollum’s team, meanwhile, recovered from that scrimmage loss to go 38-0 and claim the national title. “Specifically to the first scrimmages, we don’t scout,” McCollum said. “We kind of allow our guys to solution-find. We kind of allow them to suffer and see if they can work through some problems. Those scrimmages don’t usually feel good.”
We won’t see the Hawkeyes again until their Nov. 4 opener vs. Robert Morris. Iowa plays just one high-major foe before Thanksgiving week: a Nov. 14 home game with Xavier.
Arrow: Maybe pointed too low. Iowa received six points in the AP Top 25 preseason poll, which works out to 37th in the country and 11th in the Big Ten. Clearly there’s suspicion over whether Stirtz and the other Drake arrivals, Robert Morris transfer Alvaro Folguieras, Kansas State transfer Brendan Hausen and highly touted freshman Trevin Jirak are good enough to beat bigger, older teams.
Maryland
Coach: Buzz Williams
2024-25: 27-9 overall (14-6 Big Ten)
Maryland serves as Williams’ fourth high-major job in his fourth high-major conference. He took Marquette (Big East) to five tourneys in six years, Virginia Tech (ACC) to three in five years and Texas A&M (SEC) to three in six years. So that’s 11 NCAAs and 357 wins over 17 seasons.
Similar to McCollum, the 53-year-old Williams brought along four players from Texas A&M. Similar to DeVries, Williams’s roster features two fifth-year guys and four fourth-year seniors — but he also boasts seven scholarship freshmen. “I’ve never coached a team with 15 new players,” Williams said. “I don’t know how we’ll play. We’re trying to figure that out. We are trying to do a lot of the same things we’ve done in the past.
“We do a pie chart: ‘What percentage of the time have we done this in practice?’ We’ve probably played 5-on-5 more since official practice began than any time in my career. Some of it is, ‘Can (this guy) do anything? Can (that guy) do anything?’ So, before we put the cake in the oven to cook, so to say, we can maybe mix in some different ingredients.”
One ingredient Williams finds tasty at this time? Six-foot-8, 240-pound senior forward Elijah Saunders, who averaged 10.5 points and 5.0 rebounds last year at Virginia.
“I think Elijah Saunders is more than I thought,” Williams said. “I love who he is as a person. I love his competitiveness. He has a high IQ as a person and maybe as high of an IQ as a player. Ultra-skilled. Can do a lot of things from a versatility standpoint on both sides of the ball. Based on our roster makeup, he’ll probably need to be better than good every time we play.”
Arrow: Can an arrow be shaped like a question mark? Will McDonald’s All-American combo guard Darius Adams be an immediate hit? Will Indiana transfer Myles Rice be better in his second time around the Big Ten? Same question holds for Minnesota/Texas A&M transfer Pharrel Payne. At this juncture, with a 95-73 secret scrimmage loss at West Virginia the only official thing to go on, the relatively undersized Terps should consider it a huge win if they’re in the NCAA hunt down the stretch.
The Top 100 Players in College Basketball for the 2025-2026 Season: Nos. 1 – 25
At last, the Top 25. Hoops HQ delivers you the final installment of the Top 100 players in college basketball for the 2025-26 season.
Minnesota
Coach: Niko Medved
2024-25: 15-17 overall (7-13 Big Ten)
At Minnesota, Medved isn’t just rebuilding the roster — he’s trying to restore the Gophers’ allure. The 1997 Minnesota graduate, who grew up less than 10 minutes from Williams Arena and worked as a manager under Haskins, has tried to be everywhere since returning home.
Not long after being hired, he donned a Minnesota Wild sweater to fire up the fans before a Stanley Cup playoff game. He brought the family to meet Justin Jefferson and the Vikings during training camp, then returned to the sidelines for a Vikings game. He has worked the crowds at the State Fair and multiple Gophers sporting events.
In his spare time, Medved has laid the groundwork for a long-term roster build. While his first Minnesota squad skews a little older with four seniors and four juniors (versus two sophomores and two freshmen) among the scholarship players, the team also skews a little hungrier because nobody has proven themselves at the high-major level.
Sophomore guard Isaac Asuma, the lone returnee who played last season, showed promise with 5.6 points and 2.1 assists in 24.7 minutes per game. Transfer forward Cade Tyson was a lights-out shooter and scorer for two years at Belmont, but barely played last year (2.6 ppg, 7.9 mpg) at North Carolina. Mankato native BJ Omot stood out for two years at North Dakota, then lasted just four games last year at Cal before breaking his wrist. In June, Omot needed surgery for a stress fracture in his leg.
That has put Omot, a two-way wing, a little behind the curve as he played just 13 minutes in Minnesota’s 80-54 exhibition win over North Dakota on Oct. 16. Tyson, on the other hand, turned back the clock by drilling 6 of 9 from three-point range on the way to a game-high 28 points. Starting power forward Jaylen Crocker-Johnson, who followed Medved from Colorado State, contributed 11 points and 5 rebounds — slightly exceeding last year’s averages. Asuma posted 10 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.
Asuma sees a squad that has come together seamlessly and swiftly.
“I think that we actually merged really quick,” he said. “It was like in the first week or two, I was like, ‘Oh, wow. We’re like really close really fast.’ I don’t think that’s something you find a lot in teams nowadays with new players from everywhere. That’s why I think that we’ve got something special.”
Arrow: Special is relative when it comes to Minnesota. Considering the Gophers have won just two NCAA Tournament games since Haskins led them to the 1997 Final Four, it’s hard to suggest Minnesota can go anywhere but up under Medved.
Lest that sound like a backhanded compliment, the man can coach. Remember how good Maryland was last year? Medved’s Colorado State squad led the Terps 71-70 with 6.1 seconds left in last year’s NCAA Tournament second-round game. If you’re a Maryland fan, you gasped in astonishment at the difficulty of Derik Queen’s buzzer-beating bank shot while fading from the hoop. If you’re a Colorado State fan, you gasped in astonishment at Queen getting to run three steps before putting up his shot from a tough angle. Either way, Medved was destined to become Minnesota’s coach. To a certain extent, he’s trying to pay his childhood forward. His dad, a Gophers season-ticket holder since the 1970s, took him to his first Minnesota basketball game when he was five or six.
“I was just a big sports fan,” Medved said. “I loved going to those games. I loved going to Vikings games. I loved going to everything sports. Going to The Barn to watch basketball was awesome. As I got older, it was right when Coach Haskins had taken over and they were starting to get better as I was getting to middle school and high school. It was great memories.”
