ESPN ranking of Tournament coaches as players

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68. Bruce Pearl, Auburn Tigers-- Pearl did not play basketball at Sharon (Massachusetts) High School, with an injury suffered playing football during his freshman year preventing him from pursuing athletics. Pearl's path to coaching came after he was hired as a student assistant at Boston College under Dr. Tom Davis, and was later added to Davis' coaching staff at Stanford.

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49. Rick Barnes, Tennessee Volunteers -- Barnes served mainly as a reserve guard under head coach Bob Hodges at Division II Lenoir-Rhyne College in Hickory, North Carolina, from 1974-77, never averaging more than three points per game. "He was good, but it didn't translate to games," Barnes' teammate John Lentz told the Dallas Morning News in 1998

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47. Kermit Davis, Ole Miss Rebels -- Davis started his career at Phillips County (Arkansas) Community College before transferring to Mississippi State -- the school that had forced out his father, Kermit Sr., as head coach three years before -- for his final two seasons as a player (1980-82). The younger Davis appeared in just 14 games over his two seasons in Starkville, earning a total of 45 minutes and scoring 12 points while dishing out seven assists.

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41. John Calipari, Kentucky Wildcats -- Calipari started his career at UNC Wilmington, scoring 29 points during the 1979-80 season before transferring to Division II Clarion, closer to his native Western Pennsylvania. Calipari was a starter at point guard for the Golden Eagles, averaging 5.3 points and 5.3 assists during his senior season.

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25. Ben Howland, Mississippi State Bulldogs -- Howland transferred to Weber State from Santa Barbara City College, starting 39 games over two seasons (1977-79) and leading the Wildcats to back-to-back Big Sky titles and NCAA tournament appearances. Howland, who averaged nine points and three assists per game with Weber, played professionally in Uruguay for one season.

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11. Mike White, Florida Gators-- White was a four-year starter at point guard for Ole Miss (1995-99), leading the Rebels to three NCAA tournament appearances and graduating in the top 10 on the school's all-time assists list. After his collegiate career concluded, White played professionally in the short-lived International Basketball League, as well as in England.

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8. Tony Benford, LSU Tigers -- Benford played four seasons as a guard at Texas Tech (1982-86), and was an All-Southwest Conference pick and the leading scorer on the 1985-86 team that won the SWC tournament and reached the NCAA tournament. Benford, who was the SWC tourney MVP in 1986, was a fourth-round pick of the Boston Celtics in the 1986 NBA draft (the draft class that also included Len Bias), also spent preseason time with the Chicago Bulls, and later played professionally in the Netherlands.

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