Kansas Head Coach Bill Self.

While the addition of new Texas basketball coach Shaka Smart to the Big 12 certainly figures to have a major impact on the balance of power in the conference, it still will take the new kid on the block several years to unseat KU coach Bill Self as the best in the league.

That much is almost impossible to argue, save for a few Iowa State fans who probably really like their guy and even a few Baylor people who believe Scott Drew does not get enough credit.

Outside of that, though, it’s Self and everyone else. I mean, look no further than the 11 consecutive Big 12 regular season titles for all the support you need. Oh, and Self’s record outside of the conference, in the tournament and on the recruiting trail is pretty decent, as well.

Having said that, adding Smart to the Big 12 is an incredibly exciting prospect that got me thinking about just how good the coaches in this league were. I hopped on Twitter a couple of nights ago to explain how impressive I thought the top-tier trio of Self, Fred Hoiberg and Smart was and, while several of my fabulous followers whole-heartedly agreed, others quickly came to the defense of the guys I did not mention. What about this guy? What about that guy?

What about a blog explaining exactly how I think the men’s basketball coaching rankings unfold in the Big 12.

I asked a couple other guys in the office to give me their lists as well and will include those at the end. For now, though, here’s how I think the Big 12’s hoops bosses stack up.

In case you can’t tell, I’m incredibly excited about seeing Smart join the conference and I don’t think I’m alone.

1. BILL SELF, KANSAS – For the reasons outlined above and so many others, the guy easily sits at the top of the coaching food chain in what has proven to be a heck of a regular season conference. His accomplishments speak for themselves, but one thing that really hammers home his place at the top of this list is the fact that Self won Big 12 title No. 11 this year, guided an incredibly young team to 27 victories against the nation’s toughest schedule, entered the Big Dance as a 2 seed — the sixth year in a row KU had been either a 1 or a 2 — and yet the season was wildly regarded throughout Jayhawk nation and in other parts of the world as an extreme disappointment. That’s incredible. That’s some Godfather stuff, right there.

photo by: Thad Allender

Kansas Head Coach Bill Self.

2. FRED HOIBERG, IOWA STATE – You can’t argue with what Hoiberg has done at his alma mater. He’s a fantastic X’s and O’s coach, recruits the right players for his system and is a master at finding talented transfers to plug into his roster in order to assure that there will be no drop off from year to year. His head-to-head record against Self is pretty impressive during the past few years and you kind of get the feeling that Hoiberg’s only getting better.

photo by: Nick Krug

Iowa State head coach Fred Hoiberg watches late in the second half on Monday, Jan. 13, 2014 at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa.

3. SHAKA SMART, TEXAS – I think this guy will be a beast at Texas. He’ll get players. His players will love him. And he’ll bring a tenacious style of play and provide the program with a serious and much-needed dose of excitement and enthusiasm that, basically overnight, could turn UT back into a place that will be incredibly tough to play and a potential sleeping giant on the national scene. It may not happen immediately, but don’t be surprised if it does. How cool is it that Shaka’s coming to Allen Fieldhouse every year for the foreseeable future.

photo by: Nick Krug

Virginia Commonwealth head coach Shaka Smart gets the attention of his defense during the first half on Friday, March 25, 2011 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

4. LON KRUGER, OKLAHOMA – All he’s done everywhere he’s been is win. From K-State to Florida, to Illinois, UNLV and now OU, you don’t rack up 561 victories over 29 seasons without knowing what you’re doing and doing it well. And you don’t get jobs at all of those places without being the kind of guy who gets kids to play the right way and also takes care of all of those other elements of what it means to be a student-athlete unless you can flat-out coach. Kruger’s teams typically are tough, gritty teams that run good offense and always find a way to win ballgames. Kruger-coached teams have won fewer than 20 games just one time in the last nine years. And that was his first season at OU, where he has increased his win total during each of his four seasons.

photo by: Nick Krug

Oklahoma head coach Lon Kruger protests a call in the first half against Kansas on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012, at Lloyd Noble Center.

5. BOB HUGGINS, WEST VIRGINIA – A master at taking the players he has and fitting them into a system that can win, Huggins, despite his wild and crazy persona, is so often overlooked in today’s game. This guy is still one of the best in the business and the reason is simple — he demands perfection from his players and settles for nothing less. That doesn’t mean he always gets it, but more times than not he gets the kind of effort that can lead to some seriously good basketball.

photo by: Nick Krug

West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins rubs his mouth during a Jayhawk run on Saturday, March 2, 2013 at Allen Fieldhouse.

6. SCOTT DREW, BAYLOR – KU fans like to clown Drew, but I think it’s tough to argue that the guy’s pretty good at what he does. Of late, this season notwithstanding, Drew’s Baylor teams, of all the squads in the conference, have most consistently played deep into the NCAA Tournament. Two Elite Eights and one Sweet 16 in five seasons has a pretty nice ring to it. And I don’t think anyone will argue his ability to get talented players to Waco.

photo by: Richard Gwin

Baylor coach Scott Drew watches the Bears fall behind the Jayhawk’s in KU's 62-52 win over Baylor in the semi-final of the Big 12 Tournament Friday at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, MO.

7. TRENT JOHNSON, TCU – This guy should probably be higher. He’s a fantastic coach who started at TCU with a light deck and has scratched and clawed and grinded his way into fielding competitive teams. The jump the Frogs made from 2013-14 to 2014-15 was as impressive as any team in the conference. Part of that was Johnson working his butt off on the recruiting trail and the other part of it was the way he runs his program, practices, in-game coaching and off-the-court responsibilities. A demanding coach with winning records at Nevada, Stanford and LSU, Johnson is well on his way to following suit in Fort Worth.

TCU head coach Trent Johnson encourages his players during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against West Virginia, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2015, in Morgantown, W.Va. West Virginia defeated TCU 86-85 in overtime.

8. TRAVIS FORD, OKLAHOMA STATE – It’s not just our site that has its doubts about Ford, just last week news broke out of Stillwater that said the school was looking into whether moving forward with Ford as the leader of the basketball program was the right move. Ouch. Ford’s had some great moments at OSU, and he, too, has been able to attract some serious talent to a not-so-attractive place. But his ability to get that talent playing on the same page consistently and with the kind of effort needed to be a top-half program night in and night out has left a little to be desired. That said, he still has a darn good basketball mind and the fact that he’s listed eighth here is just another sign of how good of a basketball conference the Big 12 is.

photo by: Nick Krug

Oklahoma State head coach Travis Ford pleads for a call from an official during the first half on Monday, Feb. 21, 2011 at Allen Fieldhouse.

9. BRUCE WEBER, K-STATE – Give him some talent and he’ll coach it to great things. Ask him to build something of substance that will stand the test of time and you might find yourself wishing you hadn’t. That’s been the book on Weber at both Illinois and K-State and it’s hard to call it anything other than fair. He did a great job with Self’s players at Illinois and with Frank Martin’s guys at K-State, but as soon as those wells ran dry, things got a little testy and people started to question Weber. He heads into his fourth season desperately needing to reverse the trend of watching his win total dip each season. If he doesn’t, it could be on to head coach No. 4 in the past 10 seasons for the Wildcats.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas State head coach Bruce Weber looks to grab his players attention during the first half on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015 at Allen Fieldhouse.

10. TUBBY SMITH, TEXAS TECH — Unfortunately for Smith, we’re talking about Big 12 coaches as they stand today. Otherwise, with his track record, he clearly would be higher on this list for his achievements at Minnesota, Kentucky, Georgia and Tulsa. But now is now and Smith definitely does not seem like the same coach he once was. Don’t get me wrong, the Red Raiders should be thrilled to have him and you never know, with all of that past success, when he’ll be able to get things rolling again. But the Red Raiders roster I saw this season was among the worst I’ve seen since the Big 12 was formed and it doesn’t exactly look as if that’s going to change drastically any time soon.

photo by: Nick Krug

First-year Texas Tech head coach Tubby Smith pleads with a game official during the first half on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2014 at United Spirit Arena in Lubbock, Texas.

With that, I give you a quick look at the way Benton Smith and Tom Keegan rank the Big 12’s men’s basketball coaches.

• BENTON SMITH —

1. Bill Self, KU
2. Shaka Smart, UT
3. Fred Hoiberg, ISU
4. Bob Huggins, WVU
5. Lon Kruger, OU
6. Scott Drew, BU
7. Trent Johnson, TCU
8. Tubby Smith, TTU
9. Travis Ford, OSU
10. Bruce Weber, KSU

• TOM KEEGAN —

1. Bill Self, KU
2. Bob Huggins, WVU
3. Fred Hoiberg, ISU
4. Shaka Smart, UT
5. Lon Kruger, OU
6. Trent Johnson, TCU
7. Tubby Smith, TTU
8. Scott Drew, BU
9. Travis Ford, OSU
10. Bruce Weber, KSU