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Legendary Coaches and their Successors

Stepping in for a legend is a thankless task - - and can be a career-killer

By , About.com Guide

After Lute Olson's sudden retirement, Arizona offered the interim head coaching position to top assistant Mike Dunlap. Dunlap's response: "Let me sleep on it." We don't blame him for the hesitation -- replacing a legend like Lute Olson can be a thankless task, even a career-killer. Here's a look at some of the coaches who took over for some of the game's biggest names.

1. Gene Bartow - UCLA

John WoodenGetty Images / Andy Lyons
Bartow took over the UCLA program when John Wooden stepped aside. By nearly any standard, Bartow did well, leading the Bruins to a 52-9 record over three years, including a run to the Final Four in 1976.

But he wasn't Wooden.

Despite the excellent record, Bartow reportedly received death threats from UCLA fans, who may have been a bit spoiled by Wooden's 10 NCAA titles. Bartow left the Bruins after just three seasons to take a job building the athletic program at the University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB). Today, he's president of the company that runs the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies.

2. Bill Guthridge - North Carolina

Bill GuthridgeGetty Images / Craig Jones
Bill Guthridge had already spent 30 years on the UNC bench with Dean Smith retired, and was the obvious choice to take over. His record -- a 80-28 record, three NCAA Tournament appearances, two Final Fours and one Naismith Award as Coach of the Year -- would seem to indicate that he was a worthy successor. But appearances can be deceiving.

The talent Guthridge inherited on that first team was remarkable -- including future NBA All-Stars Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison -- which helped propel the Heels through March Madness. But Guthridge was regarded as only adequate as a game coach, and struggled to recruit top talent. He retired after his third season in Dean Smith's chair.

3. Brian Mahoney - St. John's

Brian MahoneyGetty Images / Al Bello
When Lou Carnesecca retired in 1992, Brian Mahoney was the obvious replacement. Mahoney had served as Carnesecca's right-hand man for 18 seasons and had the reputation of an excellent recruiter. He got off to a good start, landing future NBA players Felipe Lopez and Zendon Hamilton and winning Big East Coach of the Year honors in 1993. But he was unable to build on his initial success, and was fired in 1996 after three straight losing seasons.

Mahoney is still with the Johnnies, working in the athletic department as Associate Director of Athletic Development.

4. Craig Esherick - Georgetown

It's tough to separate Lou Carnesecca and John Thompson -- legendary rivals from the glory days of the Big East. It's equally difficult to separate their successors, Brian Mahoney and Craig Esherick, whose stories are remarkably similar.

Esherick has been Thompson's assistant for 17 years when Big John resigned during the 1998-99 season. The '99 team ended the season with a trip to the NIT, which became a regular thing for Esherick's Hoyas in the years to come. In five full seasons at Georgetown, Esherick reached the NCAA Tournament once and the NIT twice -- the Hoyas were invited to the NIT in 2002 as well, but passed. After posting a sub-.500 record in 2003-04, Esherick was replaced by John Thompson III.

5. Mike Davis - Indiana

Just taking over for Bob Knight would be difficult enough. Mike Davis made his job even harder with a surprising run to the NCAA finals in his second season on the job.

Davis took over when Knight ran afoul of Indiana's "zero tolerance" policy in September of 2000. As interim coach, he led the Hoosiers to a 21-13 record and NCAA berth, and the "interim" label was removed. In his second year he took an unheralded 19-11 team all the way to the NCAA Tournament Final Game before losing to Maryland.

But the Hoosiers posted mediocre records in subsequent seasons. In February 2006, with his team in danger of missing the NCAAs for a third straight year, Davis announced he'd resign effective at the end of the year.

Today, Davis is head coach at UAB.

6. Bob Wade - Maryland

1986 was a terrible year for Maryland basketball. The program was reeling from the sudden death of Len Bias and associated allegations of drug use and questionable academics on coach Lefty Driesell's watch. Wade, a highly-regarded coach from Baltimore's Dunbar High with a disciplinarian's reputation and the first African-American coach in ACC history, was brought in to restore order. He made matters worse. His teams struggled on the court, posting a 36-50 record over three seasons. Off the court, he was cited for a number NCAA violations, which led the Terps' three-year ban on postseason and television appearances. The treatment he received is often cited as a reason that Maryland struggled to recruit top Baltimore-area talent afterwards.

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