The Top Christian Basketball Coaches

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Basketball is one of America’s most beloved sports and is a huge platform for coaches and athletes to display their skills in the game. However, many coaches have taken this a step further and used their success in the basketball world as a way for them to spread their Christian faith.

With there being a wide array of Christian colleges, it’s not strange to think that coaches and players would share in the faith. Many don’t speak up, however, and keep their basketball and religious life separate.

Not for these coaches. They decided to step up and show their team and fans that they do believe in the Word of God! Some do so in discrete ways, while others openly pray on the court before each game. Their ability to be open about their faith to the masses inspires other coaches, players and views from across the United States.

Coach Mike Krzyewki, Duke

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Coach Mike Kryzewski, also known as Coach K, is one of the best known Christian coaches still coaching today, leading the Duke team since 1980. In that span, he has won four NCAA championships and been in the Final Four 11 times. In a 2006 interview with St. Anthony Messenger magazine, he said, “I was really fortunate to have parents and an extended family that believed in God and were able to impart that belief to me and the other youngsters in my family. And they did that through Catholic education.”

The camera on the court has been seen catching Coach K saying a prayer to himself and motioning the sign of the cross before the start of the game, and reaching for his rosary when it’s getting tough towards the end of the game.

Coach Jim Valvano, North Carolina State University

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Jim Valvano astounded the sports world in 1983 when he coached North Carolina State University to the NCAA championship by beating the University of Houston team that had won 26 straight games. But Valvano’s Catholic faith is what was most important to him at the end.

Given less than two months before his death from bone cancer, Valvano gave a speech at the ESPY awards 10 years after the historic win. During the speech, Valvano said, “I will thank God for the day and the moment I have. [Cancer] cannot touch my mind, it cannot touch my heart and it cannot touch my soul. And those three things are going to carry on forever.” Valvano went on to talk about his role model, Vince Lombardi, who is also a notable Christian coach. He was given a standing ovation for his inspirational message and it is still one of the most profound speeches in sports today.

His wife noted, “He was raised Catholic and went to Catholic school, and at the end he went to church regularly. I think he was in a good place with God.”

Coach Al McGuire, Marquette University

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Coach Al McGuire coached at the Catholic school of Marquette University. McGuire is in the Hall of Fame, where he is noted for being one of a select few coaches to win both the NIT and NCAA tournament. At Marquette, McGuire compiled a 295-80 record (404-144 overall) and had 11 postseason appearances in 13 seasons.

McGuire’s unconventional coaching methods would clash with the clergy at Marquette, but that never seemed to faze him. Come game time, he would call on a higher power. "All right, let's show them we're the No. 1 team in the country and beat the (bleep) out of them,” McGuire would tell his players. “Queen of Victory, pray for us!"

Coach John Wooden, UCLA

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Coach John Wooden, nicknamed the "Wizard of Westwood," won 10 NCAA national championships in a 12-year period as head coach at UCLA, including a record seven in a row. Within this period, his teams won an NCAA men's basketball record 88 consecutive games. Wooden was named national coach of the year six times.

Wooden wasn’t just an amazing coach, he was also a devout Christian considering his beliefs to be more important to him than basketball. He once said "I have always tried to make it clear that basketball is not the ultimate. It is of small importance in comparison to the total life we live. There is only one kind of life that truly wins, and that is the one that places faith in the hands of the Savior.”

Wooden would read his bible daily and tried to make his faith apparent to others, saying "if I were ever prosecuted for my religion, I truly hope there would be enough evidence to convict me."

Coach Lou Carnesecca, St. John’s University

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Coach Lou Carnesecca coached at his alma mater, St. John’s University in New York City which was founded by the Vincentian Fathers, and in every season led the team to post-season play with an overall record of 526-200. Carnesecca is further known by his devotion to his Catholic faith and prayed daily for the safety of both teams. He has said, “I never pray for victory, but only that no one gets hurt.” When he won his 500th game, he was asked to reveal his secret. Carnesecca chose to deflect praise from himself, replying “No formula, good players. Good players, or else I would have been gone a long time ago.” He has since inspired other coaches to share their faith, such as Joe Lapchick.

Coach Jim Calhoun, University of Connecticut

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Coach Jim Calhoun won three NCAA national championships as the former head coach of the University of Connecticut’s men’s basketball team. Calhoun finished his career with 873 victories, ranking 12th all-time, and is widely considered being the greatest coaches of all time. However to Calhoun, his commitment to faith always surpassed his basketball achievements.

As he told the Catholic Transcript when discussing his battle with cancer, “I think faith is what gets us through…difficult times…I had no idea what the results were going to be. But I had great faith…that I would be able to watch my grandchildren grow up. If you don’t have faith when the tough times come, you won’t have a core, a foundation to lean on.”

He further shows his faith to others by his commitment to charity. Calhoun and his wife have helped raise millions of dollars and by doing so, Calhoun puts his success in service of others. “Many times,” he told The Transcript, “I’m the voice [for those] who cannot speak. I’m the person for those who cannot be seen. That’s who I am.”

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