Former Arizona coach Sean Miller of Xavier and UCLA's Mick Cronin were among the 15 coaches named to the Naismith Award's late-season watch list Friday, though Arizona's Tommy Lloyd was not.
Five of the coaches heading teams ranked in the top 10 of the AP Top 25 poll were named to the list, but national coach awards are often given to coaches whose teams greatly exceed expectations.
After guiding the Wildcats to a 33-4 record as a rookie head coach last season, Lloyd won several national coach of the year awards last season, though not the Naismith version, which went to Providence's Ed Cooley.
Others named to the Naismith late-season list:
Randy Bennett, Saint Mary's
Jeff Capel, Pittsburgh
Chris Collins, Northwestern
Dennis Gates, Missouri
Pat Kelsey, College of Charleston
Dusty May. Florida Atlantic
Nate Oats, Alabama
T.J. Otzelberger, Iowa State
Matt Painter, Purdue
Kelvin Sampson AAC Houston
Shaka Smart, Marquette
Jerome Tang, Kansas State
Rodney Terry, Texas
