- Ky McKeon
The coaching carousel is an annual tradition unlike any other (except the Masters on CBS of course). Several schools have already moved on from their prior coach in search of new success with fresh blood. The decision to hire a particular coach encompasses many factors, but we’ll focus on five primary areas that (most) every school considers when picking their next leader:
1. Notoriety – Do people know who your coach is? This can include high school recruits, parents of high school recruits, current players, your school’s community, and the nation of fans at large.
2. Potential – Does your coach have the wherewithal to bring your program to new heights (or, in some cases, back to national relevancy). This is usually a coach on the younger side, who has had previous success at smaller schools and is working up the coaching ladder.
3. Body of Work – What has your coach actually done? The rankings for this will vary based on the positions the coach has previously held. For instance, we won’t hold a mid-major coach responsible for not making a Final Four.
4. Recruiting – Can your coach recruit, both overall and within the region your school resides?
5. BONUS - Does this coaching hire make sense in the grand scheme of things? This is more of a subjective “feel” test than anything.
The first four factors will be scored on a 10-point scale; the “BONUS” factor can earn the coach 0, 1, or 2 extra points. Overall rankings are calculated by taking the average of the first four factors plus the BONUS factor.
16. Wyking Jones – California
Notoriety: 2
Potential: 4
Body of Work: 2
Recruiting Ability: 2
BONUS: 0
Overall: 2.5
This hire was a head scratcher for sure, as most basketball fans (and, likely, pundits) have no idea who this guy even is. My theory: Wyking Jones looks a lot like Cuonzo Martin, so the Cal powers that be picked him hoping Bear fans just wouldn’t notice. Bold strategy!
Jones scores low due to his “unknown-ness”, but he does have some basketball chops. Jones played for LMU in the early ‘90s and has served as an assistant under Paul Westphal, Steve Alford, Rick Pitino, and Cuonzo Martin the last 15 years. There will be initial growing pains in Berkeley, but Jones has a shot at success down the road.
Fun fact: Jones is also an actor who has appeared in “Dope”, “The Wood”, and “Brown Sugar”, which happen to be my three favorite movies.
15. Mike Boynton – Oklahoma State
Notoriety: 2
Potential: 5
Body of Work: 2
Recruiting Ability: 3
BONUS: 1
Overall: 4
Oklahoma State’s biggest mistake was allowing Brad Underwood to leave – pay that man literally whatever he wants! After Underwood left, OSU decided to promote Mike Boynton rather than go outside Stillwater for reinforcements.
This actually isn’t a bad hire in my opinion. The Pokes get a super young coach (he’s 35) who has served under one of the brightest coaches in America (Underwood) the last five years. Like Jones, Boynton could struggle at first due to his relatively unknown quality.
14. Matt McCall – Umass
Notoriety: 3
Potential: 5
Body of Work: 4
Recruiting Ability: 3
BONUS: 1
Overall: 4.75
After UMass was told to “talk to the hand” by Pat Kelsey, the Minuteman turned to Matt McCall, a 35 year-old rising star who studied under the great Billy Donovan at Florida from 2011 – 2015. McCall looked to be a future Blue Blood hire after his first season at Chattanooga, in which he led the Mocs to a 29-6 record and an NCAA Tournament appearance. This season, however, was full of tumult as the talented Mocs sputtered to a 19-12 record despite returning nearly everyone from that 29-win team.
McCall made the right decision to cash in his chips and leave Chattanooga before the mess boiled over into an uncontrollable situation. UMass is hoping that last year was not due to any of McCall’s doing, and the young coach can bring their program back to relevancy.
13. Mike Hopkins – Washington
Notoriety: 4
Potential: 8
Body of Work: 3
Recruiting Ability: 5
BONUS: 1
Overall: 6
Mike Hopkins was named the Syracuse Coach-in-waiting whenever Jimmy Boeheim finally decided to hang up his clipboard. The problem with that is Boeheim is never going to retire because he’s immortal and can’t get any older. Hopkins was promised the ‘Cuse job back in 2007; ten years later I think it’s safe to say Hopkins grew tired of waiting for Boeheim to shit and get off the pot. The move to a Power 6 program was a good one for Hopkins.
For Washington, this is kind of a homerun hire. Kudos to the Washington athletic administration for finally canning Lorenzo Romar, a coach that achieved about what any 8-year old kid could have achieved at the school, given the talent that he brought in every year. Hopkins may not have the recruiting chops that Romar had, but he’ll at least be able to install a system, giving the Husky program a much-needed identity.
12. Paul Weir – New Mexico
Notoriety: 3
Potential: 6.5
Body of Work: 4
Recruiting Ability: 5
BONUS: 2
Overall: 6.625
Paul Weir served under Marvin Menzies at New Mexico State from 2007 – 2016 before finally taking over the head coaching reigns last season after Menzies bolted for UNLV. Together, Menzies and Weir built a mini WAC dynasty in Las Cruces, earning the conference’s auto-bid five out of nine seasons. Weir then led the Aggies to a 28-6 record this season (their best in school history), and a sixth Tourney appearance in ten seasons.
This was a savvy hire for New Mexico, a program that has crumbled over the last few seasons under Craig “Noodles” Neil. Not only did the Lobos lock up one of the hottest young coaches in the country, but they also stole their in-state rival’s Head Coach, adding fuel to the proverbial fire.
11. Brian Dutcher – San Diego State
Notoriety: 3.5
Potential: 6.5
Body of Work: 4
Recruiting Ability: 5
BONUS: 2
Overall: 6.75
Not much to say about this hire. Dutcher has served under Steve Fisher the last 18 seasons in San Diego, making his transition to Head Coach a natural one. The value and the system Fisher instilled at SDSU should remain under Dutcher. There never was a need to look anywhere else.
10. Anthony Grant – Dayton
Notoriety: 5
Potential: 6
Body of Work: 6
Recruiting Ability: 6
BONUS: 1
Overall: 6.75 (tie goes to better four-factor score)
Many forget that Anthony Grant was one of the key factors in establishing the VCU basketball program. After serving under Billy Donovan at Florida for ten seasons, Grant led VCU to two Tourney appearance in three years from 2007 – 2009, including a first round victory over Duke that I will continue to remind my colleague, Matthew, about.
Grant was hired away by Alabama following his VCU success, but didn’t accomplish as much as expected at his new school. Currently, Grant serves under Donovan as an assistant to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
This is an outstanding hire by Dayton. They get an experienced coach with a proven track record that has learned under one of the all-time greats.
9. John Groce – Akron
Notoriety: 5
Potential: 6
Body of Work: 6
Recruiting Ability: 6.5
BONUS: 1
Overall: 6.875
John Groce’s welcome ran out in Champaign after he failed to bring the Illinois Illini to the Big Dance for the 4th year in a row this season. Despite the promise of a star-studded recruiting class this year, Groce was sent packing, but fortunately has seemed to land on his feet at arguably the best MAC job in the conference. Groce should feel right at home in Akron, after all he did coach at cross-state rival Ohio for four seasons before jumping to Illinois.
Akron gets a very experienced coach with a history of being able to bring in top-notch recruits. Groce is a perfect replacement for outgoing coach Keith Dambrot.
8. Keith Dambrot – Duquesne
Notoriety: 4
Potential: 7
Body of Work: 5
Recruiting Ability: 5
BONUS: 2
Overall: 7.25
Hey speaking of Keith Dambrot, Keith Dambrot! After literally every potential coach turned down Duquesne’s coaching offers, leading many to clamor for the hire of beloved basketball writer Mark Titus, the Dukes struck oil with Dambrot.
Dambrot amassed a 305-139 record in his 13 seasons at Akron, and also has the distinct honor of coaching Lebron James in high school. The Duquesne job promises to be Dambrot’s toughest challenge yet. The Dukes have been putrid the last 40 years or so, and haven’t reached the Promised Land since 1977. Dambrot could literally not do any worse than any other Duquesne coach over the last four decades.
7. Mike Rhoades – VCU
Notoriety: 3
Potential: 7
Body of Work: 5
Recruiting Ability: 6
BONUS: 2
Overall: 7.25
Will Wade’s departure from VCU came as a bit of a shock to the college basketball world, as the former Ram Head Coach chose to give up a spot at a burgeoning basketball power in favor of a SEC football school.
Fortunately for VCU, they get Mike Rhoades, the former Rice coach with a VCU pedigree. Rhoades served as an assistant to Shaka Smart from 2009 to 2014, helping Smart expand VCU’s national presence. Rhoades inherited a brutally awful Rice squad in 2014-15, but was able to rebuild the Owl program in only three years’ time, vaulting Rice to a 20-win season last year, their most victories since 2004. Rhoades’s return to VCU is a potential return to the havoc-wreaking Shaka-ball style of play that incorporates a high-pressure defense with a fast-paced offense. VCU remains in good hands.
6. Will Wade – LSU
Notoriety: 6
Potential: 7
Body of Work: 5
Recruiting Ability: 6
BONUS: 2
Overall: 8.00
As mentioned above, Will Wade’s departure to LSU was a bit of a head-scratcher, but while the move may seem like a lateral one for Wade, it is a colossal improvement from the Tigers’ former Head Honcho, Johnny Jones. Despite reeling in two top ten recruiting classes during his tenure, including the #3 class in 2015 (Ben Simmons), Jones made only one Tournament in his five seasons and never finished higher than 5th in the SEC.
Wade will be a Godsend to a program desperate to return to national relevance. While the “football-school” factor is certainly an ever-present obstacle (see former VCU coach Anthony Grant’s failure at Alabama), Wade has the ability to overcome and succeed at his new position – it just may take a couple years.
5. Patrick Ewing – Georgetown
Notoriety: 10
Potential: 7
Body of Work: 2
Recruiting Ability: 7
BONUS: 2
Overall: 8.50
Patrick Ewing’s hire has been one of the biggest news stories of the young offseason. The Hoyas finally moved on from John Thompson III, a Georgetown legacy and Head Coach since 2004, after he failed to make the Big Dance a second straight year and finished with a losing record.
The biggest knock on Ewing is his lack of experience – he has never held a head coaching position and has never coached at the collegiate level. Ewing has, however, been around basketball his entire life and has served as an assistant coach in the NBA since 2002. The most crucial asset he brings to D.C. is his recruiting ability. Everybody in the World who is even a remote basketball fan knows who Patrick Ewing is, a fact that will come in handy on the recruiting trail. (He also has a dope line of kicks).
4. Cuonzo Martin – Missouri
Notoriety: 6
Potential: 7
Body of Work: 5
Recruiting Ability: 9
BONUS: 2
Overall: 8.75
Mizzou basketball has been in a state of vertigo ever since Frank Haith left the program in shambles back in 2014. Kim Anderson’s three-year experiment was a resounding failure, but Cuonzo Martin brings hope with him from the sunny state of California.
Many pundits and fans around the country have been skeptical of Martin’s coaching ability for years, and love to cling to the fact that he has made only two NCAA Tournaments in nine seasons. While I don’t believe Martin is an elite x’s and o’s teacher, I feel the need to defend him here. Martin’s first three coaching seasons were spent at Missouri State, a school certainly not known for its basketball prowess. In his third season as the Bears’ Head Coach in 2011, Cuonzo led MO State to a regular season MVC title, edging out four other 20-win schools. At Tennessee, Martin struggled a bit to fit in with the alumni’s expectations, but still led the Vols to a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2014. Martin then proceeded to improve Cal’s basketball stock when he led the Bears to a 4-seed in the Big Dance in 2016.
Martin has led his teams to 20 wins or more six times in nine seasons, and is one of the better defensive coaches in the country. Missouri is the perfect job for him given his background; he hails from East St. Louis, which should give him an immediate advantage in the STL recruiting battle – something Kim Anderson never could carve out.
3. Brad Underwood – Illinois
Notoriety: 6.5
Potential: 8
Body of Work: 6
Recruiting Ability: 7
BONUS: 2
Overall: 8.875
Illinois’ hire of Brad Underwood was by far the most shocking coaching movement this offseason. After spending only one season in Stillwater, leading the OK State Cowboys to the #1 offense in the country and a 10-seed in the NCAA Tournament, Underwood jetted out for an arguably worse situation at Illinois. Rumors have swirled that Underwood was at severe odds with the AD at OSU, which could have spurred his relocation. Whatever the reason, Illinois landed a major gem in Underwood.
At Stephen F. Austin, Underwood amassed a record of 89-14 and 53-1 in the Southland. The Lumberjacks knocked off West Virginia in the 2016 Tourney as a 14-seed, and nearly upended Notre Dame in the Second Round. Underwood brings with him a 1.000 batting average of making NCAA Tourneys as a Head Coach (4/4) and a style of play that magnetizes the audience to the screen. Illinois promises to be the most fun to watch this season since their heyday in the mid-2000s under Bruce Weber.
2. Kevin Keatts – NC State
Notoriety: 6
Potential: 10
Body of Work: 5
Recruiting Ability: 7
BONUS: 2
Overall: 9.00
Kevin Keatts was arguably the hottest name in the coaching carousel this offseason, having been named as a potential suitor at nearly every school with a vacancy. I was on record multiple times saying Keatts was my first choice to become Mizzou’s new Head Coach. NC State has been a notoriously difficult job to succeed at over the years, owning the unenviable distinction of being the “problem child” of the Research Triangle. Mark Gottfried brought in talent every year, but never seemed to live up to expectations. Sidney Lowe before him never made a Tournament in five seasons. Herb Sendek was objectively very good from 1996 – 2006, but he too was shown the door when performance slipped.
So why is Kevin Keatts so coveted? For starters, he is a Rick Pitino disciple, having served under the coaching legend from 2011 – 2014, assisting in a National Title run in 2013. Secondly, he turned around a UNC Wilmington program that struggled to win games since Brad Brownell (Clemson) left back in 2006. Keatts inherited a 9-win squad in 2015, and proceeded to win 18, 25, and 29 games over the next three seasons. He turned UNCW into an up-tempo, spread offense that was super effective in the Colonial and super fun to watch. Wolfpack faithful hope he finds the same success in Raleigh.
1. Archie Miller – Indiana
Notoriety: 8
Potential: 9
Body of Work: 6
Recruiting Ability: 7
BONUS: 2
Overall: 9.50
First, to Indiana fans that thought they had a legitimate shot at prying Billy Donovan away from the OKC Thunder – please come back down to Earth. Yes, Indiana is a bona fide blue-blood program and one of the best jobs in college basketball, but the idea that Donovan, who built the Florida basketball program from the ground up, would abandon his NBA post after just two seasons is just plain arrogant.
Second, to Indiana fans that are unhappy with this Archie Miller hire – please go kick rocks. Miller is an absolute homerun hire for a University looking to get back to basketball dominance. Tom Crean, despite his silliness, did wonders for the IU program, building it back to relevancy after the Kelvin Sampson debacle. Miller can take what Crean did and improve upon it.
There is a lot to like about Miller. For one, he’s only 38 years old, meaning he has the opportunity to be a long-time solution at IU. Second, he has served under the tutelage of Herb Sendek, Thad Matta, and Sean Miller – all legitimately good coaches with strong track records of developing players and programs. Third, he exceled at his post in Dayton, leading the Flyers to four straight NCAA Tournaments and a regular season A-10 title this past season.
Compared to Crean, Miller is likely slightly inferior in the recruiting realm, but that will come easily in time thanks to the prowess of the Indiana name. Miller is a better player developer and x’s and o’s coach than Crean, making him an overall improvement on a coach that wasn’t even that bad in the first place.