Clarence "Big House" Gaines spent 47 years as a Head Coach, and throughout this duration was able to coach many great players. One such player was Cleo Hill, who is known for being the first African-American from a Historically Black College or University to be drafted in the first round (#6 pick) of the NBA Draft. Gaines also coached NBA Great Earl "The Pearl" Monroe, a player who was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Monroe was most notably known for being a player on the Knicks, and being an All-Star player several times.
When Gaines retired in 1993, he had a coaching record of 828 wins and 446 losses. This made him the second winningest basketball coach in College Basketball (NCAA) history at the time, behind the famous Adolph Rupp of the University of Kentucky. Gaines is now fifth all-time of the winningest coaches in history, being being Bobby Knight, Jim Phelan, and Dean Smith in addition to Adolph Rupp.