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Men's Basketball HC Search

There have been a few tidbits of news over the last couple of days regarding the next Head Coach of the Men's Basketball program. To the casual observer who doesn't follow the program as closely (if at all) as some of us, consider this a loose guide of names to expect to hear in the coming days, along with our pipedreams and wants. No, I cannot fathom us making a Cael Sanderson or Mike Yurcich type of hire, but judging by the rumor mill, I don't think we'll be looking at the next ETSU or BU, one hit wonders, either.

The Realistic Options

Dennis Gates, Head Coach, Cleveland State: 41 years old, Native of Chicago. Spent five years playing at Cal (98-02). Pedigree: Spent 2 years as an assistant under Mike Montgomery at Cal, two years at Northern Illinois under Ricardo Patton, and two more years under David Carter at Nevada. From there, he took a pretty notable leap and joined Leonard Hamilton's Seminoles. He remained there from 2011-2019, helping the ‘Noles go to two Sweet 16s and an Elite Eight Appearance. From there, he took over as HC of Cleveland State. In his first year as HC, the Vikings went 11-21. This year, the Vikings are 17-7 and won the regular season title for the Horizon League. Additionally, he is a 2x recipient of the Horizon League's Coach of the Year.

Pros: Pedigree, Routine Path to becoming HC, Development, Connections in the Breadbasket of Basketball, Young

Cons: Experience as HC, especially at the P5 level

Micah Shrewsberry, Associate Head Coach, Purdue: 44 years old, Native of Indianapolis. First break was Director of Basketball Operations at Marshall from 2003-2005. He left and became the HC of IU South Bend from 2005-2007. From there, took an assistant role at Butler with Brad Stevens. He remained at Butler until 2011, where he left to take his first assistant role at Purdue. He remained part of Matt Painter's staff for two years, where he left to head to Boston to re-join Brad Stevens with the Celtics. He remained there until 2019, where he re-joined Matt Painter's squad.

Pros: Pedigree, Player Development, Young

Cons: Lack of Head Coaching Experience at any level

Names to Watch

John Becker, Head Coach, Vermont: 52 years old, native of Fairfield, CT. He was the HC at Gallaudet University from 1994-1997, but left to pursue his M.A. From there, he joined Steve Howes' squad at Catholic University. In 2006, he left to become the Director of Basketball Operations at Vermont under Mike Lonergan and slowly climbed the ranks of the coaching hierarchy. In 2011, Lonergan left to become the HC at GWU and Becker became the HC. Vermont has been the America East powerhouse since the days of Tom Brennan. Becker has won four America East Conference Titles, most recently last year. Since Becker became HC, he took the Catamounts to the CBI three times, NIT three times, and the NCAAT three times.

Pros: Coaching Experience

Cons: The jump from Mid-Major to P5 is not kind, but this is Penn State, Recruiting

Saddi Washington, Assistant Coach, Michigan: 45 years old, Native of Lansing, MI. His background is pretty neat—Graduated from Western Michigan, from there, he went to various NBA training camps over the next five years, but never got a chance to play. In 2005, he started off as a volunteer at Romulus HS, whose HC is now Alabama's HC, Nate Oats. In 2006, he got an assistant coach spot at Oakland with Greg Kampe, he remained there until 2015. In 2013, he was promoted to Associate Head Coach. In 2016, he was hired by John Beilein as an assistant at Michigan. He was retained by Juwan Howard in 2019. His big shtick is recruiting. It doesn't help when you have brand recognition, but that brand is only half the battle. Looking at his recruits, he's got good connections throughout the country, but specifically, Florida and Michigan.

Pros: Pedigree, Recruiting, Young

Cons: Lack of HC Experience, Was only Assoc. HC for 3 years.

Would Love to Have, but Not Likely

John Beilein, Former WVU, Michigan, and Cleveland Cavs HC: 68 years old, Native of Burt, NY. I contemplated putting Beilein on here at all, but in honor of jcross, I had to do it. He's the BIG FISH, but something tells me that he's enjoying not having to recruit. The fact that we kicked the tires on Thad Matta gives me reason to believe that we might at least do the same on John. It would be absurd not to at least have the conversation. I don't know if his transgressions while he was at Cleveland may be hindering that process, especially considering why we're in this predicament in the first place, but we'll see. To his credit, he hired Lindsay Gottlieb while he was at Cleveland. I think we would get his protégé, Washington, before we get Belein.

If Admiral Was Running the HC Search

Dawn Staley, Head Coach, South Carolina: 50 years old, Native of Philly. Look, I can dream and since I'm writing this, I feel like I can shamelessly throw my support behind her. She's a winner. She was a winner when she was at UVA. She was a winner when she was at Temple. She is a winner while at South Carolina. Point blank. She knows the X's and O's as well as anyone. She's coached the USA Women's Basketball Team in addition to what she's been able to accomplish at South Carolina. She's been around the greatest college basketball minds for the last decade. When she took over the South Carolina gig, in 2008, they were 10-18. By 2016, she had them winning the NCAA Title. It would be exceptionally risky to hire her, yes. But the reward could be exponential. Not to mention, it would put a positive spotlight for Penn State Basketball, for once. I'm not worried about her recruiting. If she can recruit with the likes of Geno, that's good enough for me.me.

Pat Kelsey, Head Coach, Winthrop: 45 years old, Native of Cincinnati. I've been on the Pat Kelsey bandwagon for quite a while, now. He played at Xavier under one of my favorite coaches, the late Skip Prosser. He then went on as an assistant under Prosser at Wake Forest and then back to Xavier under Chris Mack. He's been at Winthrop since 2012 and has led the Eagles to a 184-94 record. He was slated to be the HC at UMass in 2017, but backed out mere hours before the introductory press conference. While that is a bad look, he's still my #3 Option (Behind Jon Scheyer and Dawn Staley, but those are pipe dreams).

Honorable Mentions:

Steve Alford, Nevada; Mike Rhoades, VCU

Let the Bookies Run the Seach

According to Hoopdirt, the odds look like this:

John Becker, HC Vermont: 15/1
Mark Schmidt, HC St. Bonaventure: 18/1
Dennis Gates, HC Cleveland St: 20/1
John Thompson III, Former GTown HC: 20/1
Phil Martelli, Assoc. HC Michigan: 28/1
Chris Mooney, HC Richmond: 32/1
Joe Crispin, HC Rowan: 100/1

Currently, John Beilein is the favorite to land at Boston College, at 12/1.

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