All this got me incredibly curious what some of our insiders (and other "regular" posters like me!!) would consider to be some underrated and overrated jobs. While I consider Illinois very underrated and easily top 10-15 nationally for a variety of reasons, I will limit mine to non-Illini jobs. Also, obvious disclaimer ... this doesn't even KIND OF mean that I am saying the overrated jobs are not good jobs or that the underrated jobs necessarily ARE good jobs. Just a ranking relative to perception.
OVERRATED
Maryland: They have good tradition and a GREAT recruiting footprint, but it is my impression that the fan base is kind of the worst of both worlds - they have totally unrealistic expectations, but they ALSO don't support the program as loyally as a similarly "high pressure" school like Kentucky would. Facilities/campus/environment seems kind of meh, too.
UCLA: It's obviously a great job, but at a certain point your past success only means so much ... it is such a clear step below the other Blue Bloods for me. In theory, UCLA should be picking its coaches from the likes of Arizona ... and I bet you practically anything Tommy Lloyd wouldn't really consider the switch. Facilities seem meh, and the fan support is comparable to Minnesota...
Purdue: I think Purdue is a good job, but I have heard multiple PU people complain about how they have trouble attracting fans instate, and IU is still the "darling" of all non-PU alumni. I think it has become an even better job lately, but still ... the question is, would Gene Keady or Matt Painter have done better at Ohio State or Illinois in an alternate universe? Obviously we cannot know, but I say yes. Again, very good job ... I just think it's a notch below some of the other top Big Ten jobs it often gets lumped in with.
UNDERRATED
Florida: I find UF to ALSO be a very underrated football job, but especially for hoops. No matter what you want to say about their fan base's fickleness for hoops, they are top dog in terms of fan loyalty in a MASSIVE state. Urban Meyer and Billy Donavon showed what a sleeping giant this destination is. I think they get lost in the shuffle with other SEC football teams like 'Bama, Georgia, LSU, etc. hogging the lime light lately, but I would imagine UF is as flush with cash as anyone with the right people in charge.
Georgia: I am actually shocked that UGA is SO bad historically. Again, this takes some vision here ... they're obviously not in a good spot. However, if you transplanted Coach K in his prime there tomorrow, everyone in that state would eventually jump on board with the same psychotic loyalty as you see for UGA Football. Plenty of high school talent, hardly any instate competition for fan/NIL support and plenty of football money to redirect a bit toward hoops if you could sell the program properly.
UConn: I know it seems weird to put such a dominant program in here, but it seems kind of shocking that Kentucky fans could be even semi-confident about luring away UConn's coach in a way that they seemingly wouldn't toward North Carolina, Kansas, Duke, etc. UConn has an absolutely dominant modern history, proximity to a TON of high school talent, relatively little competition for the "casual fan" in their area and no football to swallow up NIL resources.
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