Coaches Roundtable: Who has the hardest job this season?

— -- Among the three of them, Seth Greenberg, Fran Fraschilla and Dan Dakich have more than 40 years of head-coaching experience at the Division I level. Each week, they get together to discuss the hottest topics in college basketball.  

1. Which college basketball coach has the toughest job this season?

Greenberg: I'm going to go way outside the box. I think Steve Prohm at Iowa State has the toughest job in college basketball because of who he's following and the expectations that come with that. Iowa State is 99-40 over the last four years. He's replacing an icon and a person who's revered (former ISU and current Chicago Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg). You don't get the nickname "The Mayor" unless people look up to you, and Fred delivered. Prohm is getting a team with an All-American in Georges Niang, a guy who has a 5-to-1 assist to turnover ratio in Monte Morris, a great blend guy in Nazareth Mitrou-Long not to mention rim protector  Jameel McKay and forward  Abdel Nader. People expect that team to go to the Final Four. It's a great job, but the pressure that comes with it, and the pressure to maintain it, is great. You've got to recruit and keep the program at the level that Fred established. For a new coach, that's one of the toughest jobs in the country.

Fraschilla: Expectation is the key word. That's what puts pressure on coaches, and UNLV's Dave Rice has tremendous pressure this year. He continues to have great recruiting classes. He had another one this year with Stephen Zimmerman, a top-15 player. Derrick Jones, a freshman   from Philadelphia, is arguably the highest-jumping dude in college basketball. He'll be on SportsCenter on more than one occasion. But because of the high expectations that have always been at UNLV, those fans expect Final Fours. Rice is a former UNLV player who was the people's choice. He's a terrific guy and obviously a great recruiter. There's enormous pressure on him to deliver this year after UNLV missed the NCAA tournament the last two years. We'll see if he can deliver a quality team, because the talent is there. Chemistry will be key.

Dakich: I have a completely different perspective. The guy at Iowa State can lose, but he's going to make millions. I don't think there's real pressure on any of these guys. Whoever is picked last in a mid-major or low-major league, to me, has the toughest job in college basketball. If you lose, you're going to lose your job. I think there are three kinds of coaches in college basketball. If Dave Rice loses, he still is going to have a lot of money. I started making $75,000 in the MAC. If you lose in a conference like that, you have to go find another job. I don't buy that any of these guys you mentioned is under real pressure.

2. Fifth-year, graduate transfers are becoming more prevalent in college hoops, and there are plenty this season. Which one will make the biggest impact?

Fraschilla: He may not be the best, but Dylan Ennis at Oregon is the most important. People there say he's playing great. He has the opportunity to step right in for second-round NBA draft pick Joe Young. It's a style of play that fits Ennis. I wouldn't say he was held back at Villanova, because he averaged 10 points per game, but Nova has three or four point guards now. He would have been in a difficult situation. So he walks right into Oregon for Dana Altman. They have a Canadian connection with Dillon Brooks and now Ennis. I expect him to be an All-Pac-12 player, in part because of playing time but also because of Dana's free, open style of play. Ennis is the perfect fit for a school that needed his strengths.

Dakich: A lot of it has to do with opportunity. I like Ennis, but another guy who fits well is Johnny Hill at Purdue. He's going to get plenty of opportunities playing with all those big guys. All he has to do is play really hard. I would anticipate him making a big impact on a really good team.

Greenberg: Louisville's Damion Lee is going to have to score buckets. They lost Montrezl Harrell, Chris Jones, Terry Rozier -- someone has to score, and we know Rick Pitino will free up his guards. So Lee will probably have the best stats in terms of numbers. He'll probably play 36 minutes per game.

But, as a piece to a team, UConn's Shonn Miller can make a huge jump. He's a good rebounder and he's a good passer. He'll fit in with the rest of that team. Just as Fran and Dan said, it's all about fit and opportunity, and Miller brings a skill set that UConn desperately needs to be an elite team. He'll make a big difference.

3. Who is college basketball's purest shooter?

Dakich: My pick is Kyle Wiltjer. When I watched him last year, he can really shoot it. With some guys, you're shocked when they miss; with some, you expect a make; and with others, you don't want them to shoot. Every time he shoots, I expect it to go in.

Fraschilla: I want to throw A.J. English some love at Iona. He not only shoots well but also shoots at a high volume. But I'm going to go with Bryce Alford at UCLA. He's in the Pac-12, a good league, and everyone knows that's a big part of his game. He's guarded closely and still makes almost 40 percent of his 3s. He has some of his dad's confidence (that would be former Indiana guard and current UCLA coach Steve Alford). I never think he's worried about taking a big shot. I would be very comfortable with him taking a last-second 3.

Greenberg: Those are two great choices. Vanderbilt is probably the best shooting team in the country. They have four guys who can shoot 40 percent from 3. But if I had to pick one guy, I think it's Bryn Forbes at Michigan State. Tom Izzo says he's shocked when that guy misses. Forbes and Denzel Valentine played together in high school. When you're connected with a guy who has the ball in his hands a lot, you're going to have open shots. Forbes is a fifth-year senior who has been through it, and I think he's a world-class shooter.