Basketball NCAA Coaches With Interesting Rituals

As the NCAA Basketball season gets underway, we take a look at some of the coaches with the most interesting rituals. From eating Lucky Charms to wearing the same shirt every game, these coaches go above and beyond to try and ensure a victory for their team.

John Calipari Kentucky Wildcats

In his eight seasons as Head Coach of the Kentucky Wildcats John Calipari has led the team to five NCAA Final Fours, four SEC regular season titles, and four SEC tournament championships. He is the only head coach in NCAA history to lead three different schools to a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament

Calipari is known for his intense pre-game rituals. He arrives at the arena four hours before tip-off to watch game film and goes over the game plan with his staff. He then takes a nap and has a light meal before getting dressed for the game.

Calipari also has a number of superstitions that he follows during games. He always wears a white shirt under his jersey, and he keeps a lucky penny in his pocket. He also avoids sitting on the bench during timeouts, instead pacing back and forth or standing in the tunnel leading to the locker room

Tom Izzo- Michigan State Spartans

Tom Izzo is the Head Coach of the Michigan State Spartans He has led the Spartans to seven Final Fours and has won one NCAA championship Izzo is known for his intense coaching style and his interesting game-day rituals.

Izzo always wears a green shirt on game days. He says that it brings him luck. Before every game, Izzo listens to the song “Hail to the Victors.” He also does not allow his players to wear any jewelry during games.

Izzo’s rituals have obviously been working. The Spartans have been one of the most successful teams in college basketball over the past 20 years.

Bill Self- Kansas Jayhawks

Bill Self of the Kansas Jayhawks is a man of many interesting rituals. He has been known to wear the same lucky shirt during important games, always tucks his left pant leg into his sock and steps onto the court with his right foot first. He also has a pre-game routine of shooting 100 Free throws

Roy Williams North Carolina Tar Heels

Roy Williams, Head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels men’s basketball team has a few rituals that he does before each game. In an effort to Good luck he will knock on the locker room door three times before entering. He also always sits in the same chair on the bench during games. And if his team is losing, he will often chew on his towel during timeouts.

Mike Krzyzewski Duke Blue Devils

Mike Krzyzewski is the current head men’s basketball coach at Duke University He has been the head coach at Duke since 1980, and his total record is 1,002-294. He has led the Blue Devils to 12 Final Fours, winning five NCAA Championships

Coach K’s leadership style has been compared to that of a military general, and he is known for running intense practices. His teams are known for their discipline and execution on the court.

Off the court, Coach K is known for his many superstitions and rituals. He always wears a suit on game day even if it’s a noon tip-off. He also always sits in the same seat on the plane and in the Locker Room

And during warm-ups, he always high-fives each player as they come onto the court.

Rick Pitino- Louisville Cardinals

Rick Pitino is the head coach of the University of Louisville’s Men’s Basketball team the Cardinals. He is also one of the most successful NCAA coaches of all time, with a record of 729-226 over his thirty-three year career. In addition to his impressive win-loss record, Pitino is also known for his unique pre-game rituals.

Perhaps the most well-known of these rituals is Pitino’s “lucky chair.” Pitino has a specific chair that he sits in during every game, and he will not allow anyone else to sit in it. In fact, when Pitino was coaching at Kentucky, he had the chair shipped to all of their away games!

Another one of Pitino’s quirks is that he always wears red on game days. He started this tradition when he was coaching at Providence, and has stuck with it ever since.

Finally, before each game, Pitino says a prayer with his team. This tradition started when he was coaching at Kentucky and one of his players, Cameron Mills, asked him to say a prayer with the team before a game against archrival Louisville. Pitino agreed, and the team went on to win the game in overtime. Mills later said that he believed the prayer was responsible for the victory, and Pitino has been saying it with his teams ever since.

Whether or not you believe in Coach Rick Pitino’s lucky rituals, there’s no denying that they have worked for him throughout his career!

Jim Boeheim- Syracuse Orange

In order to ensure his team’s success, Syracuse Orange Men’s Basketball head coach Jim Boeheim has developed quite a few rituals over his many years coaching the team.

One ritual that Boeheim has is that he never steps on the orange lines that surround the court- some say this is because he believes it will bring his team bad luck.

Another interesting ritual of Boeheim’s is that he always wears the same navy blue suit when coaching games. He has stated in interviews that he feels it makes him feel more professional and that it give him an “air of authority”.

Boeheim’s most well-known ritual though, is probably the one where he throws white powder into the air before every game as his players run out onto the court. The powder is meant to signify unity within the team and remind everyone that they are all in it together.

John Thompson III Georgetown Hoyas

John Thompson III is the head men’s basketball coach at Georgetown University He is the son of John Thompson Jr., who was also the head men’s basketball coach at Georgetown. As a player, he won two Ivy League Championships with Princeton University.

Thompson III is known for hisinteresting pre-game rituals. He will often throw salt over his shoulder and today, eating a raw onion is his lucky charm. He also has been known to wear the same clothes for an entire season if his team is doing well.

Jay Wright Villanova Wildcats

Jay Wright is the head men’s basketball coach at Villanova University He has been coaching the Wildcats since 2001, and led them to their first NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship in 2016. He is known for his unique game-day rituals, which include wearing a suit and tie, eating chicken parmesan, and listening to opera music.

Scott Drew- Baylor Bears

Today, we’re going to take a look at Scott Drew the head men’s basketball coach of the Baylor Bears In his 16 seasons with the team, he’s racked up a fair share of accomplishments, including six NCAA Tournament appearances and two NIT appearances. But what makes him really interesting is his pre-game ritual.

Every game day Drew wears the same Navy blue suit with a gold Baylor tie. He also has a number of lucky items that he carries with him on game day including a Canadian penny given to him by former President Bill Clinton a dime from former Baylor women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey, and a stone that was blessed by Pope John Paul II during his visit to Waco in 1995.