Amid another disappointing season, Kevin Ollie’s seat has gone from toasty to fully ablaze, and as the season winds down, fans have began asking the question: who will lead the program next season?
There are a bunch of potential answers, from the realistic to the absurd, and I believe I have compiled them all. Here are the 69 candidates to coach the 2018-19 UConn men’s basketball team:
The My School is Broke Candidate:
- Kevin Ollie
UConn, a school with approximately $0, might not be able to come up with the money to buy out Ollie’s contract, pay the buyout of a new coach, then pay that new coach a competitive salary. So, regardless of how this season ends, there’s a strong chance Ollie is the head coach in November.
The Popular Candidates:
2. Dan Hurley (Rhode Island)
If UConn does make a change, Hurley is likely to be UConn’s top target. He’s turned Rhode Island from a 21-loss disaster in his first season to a team ranked in the AP Poll and a virtual lock for a second-straight NCAA Tournament appearance. The only question is whether he would take the UConn job or sit tight and wait for something bigger.
3. Steve Pikiell (Rutgers)
Pikiell would be another high priority, but the problem is that he just signed an extension at Rutgers with a pretty hefty buyout. UConn would need donors who REALLY want this to happen to open their wallets. But it’s possible. And Pikiell is a UConn guy, so it’s not likely that he would use the job as a stepping stone to something bigger.
4. Eric Musselman (Nevada)
After Hurley, Musselman might be my top pick. He has NBA coaching experience, has rebuilt Nevada in the blink of an eye, is a transfer recruiting master (which would be important in his first couple years on the job), and runs a fun-as-hell offense. I don’t know if he’d be interested, but it’s worth a phone call.
5. Tom Crean (ESPN)
Easily the most memeable candidate on this list, Crean led Indiana through one of the roughest times in program history and made the Hoosiers contenders again. He was let go after last season despite winning the Big Ten regular season just the season before. Oh, and Crean has one more Final Four and three more Sweet 16s than Mick Cronin.
6. John Becker (Vermont)
In seven seasons with Vermont, Becker has led the Catamounts to 20 wins seven times He’s led them to the postseason seven times (assuming they get an invite this year, which they will). He’s never finished lower than third in the America East. Before getting upset last week, Vermont had not lost a conference game since the day after Jalen Adams’ miracle shot against Cincinnati.
The Under-the-Radar Candidates With High Upside
7. James Jones (Yale)
You know how hard it is to win in the Ivy League? That’s an eight-team conference and before Jones brought the Bulldogs to the 2016 NCAA Tournament, they hadn’t been since 1962. Yale has won 18-or-more games each of the past four years and, oh yeah, Yale beat UConn that one time.
8. Jamion Christian (Mount St. Mary’s)
Christian has done a really nice job at Mount St. Mary’s, bringing the Mountaineers to two NCAA Tournaments in five seasons. He runs an up-tempo offense dubbed Mount Mayhem that sure beats the hell out of whatever it is UConn does right now.
9. Joe Dooley (Florida Gulf Coast)
Dooley has picked up right where Andy Enfield left off at FGCU. He’s brought the Eagles to two NCAA Tournaments in the last three years and has them in position to go again in 2018. FGCU plays a fun style, ranking 39th in the country in tempo. And the most important component to fun basketball: his team is 11-2 in conference.
10. Will Brown (Albany)
It took Brown a little while, but he has Albany rolling right now. The Great Danes haven’t had a losing season since 2010 and they’re a mainstay near the top of the America East. He’s also brought Albany to the tournament five times.
These are also coaches
11. Andy Toole (Robert Morris)
12. Bashir Mason (Wagner)
13. Ben Jacobson (Northern Iowa)
14. Chris Jans (New Mexico State)
15. Earl Grant (Charleston)
16. Dan Muller (Illinois State)
17. Jeff Boals (Stony Brook)
18. Jimmy Patsos (Siena)
19. King Rice (Monmouth)
20. LaVelle Moton (North Carolina A&T)
21. Mitch Henderson (Princeton)
22. Nate Oats (Buffalo)
23. Pat Kelsey (Winthrop)
24. Scott Cross (UT Arlington)
25. Steve Forbes (East Tennessee State)
26. TJ Otzelberger (South Dakota State)
27. Tim Cluess (Iona)
The “hm…these are fun to think about but it wouldn’t happen” candidates
28. Mark Pope (Utah Valley)
Google him. The guy’s the best kind of nut case. It’d be awesome.
29. Leon Rice (Boise State)
See above. He’s also insane and it’s great. Here’s a story where he promises to ride through campus on horseback if the Broncos sold out a game.
30. Tommy Amaker (Harvard)
The “fuck the NCAA” candidates
31. Larry Brown
32. Bruce Pearl
33. Rick Pitino
NBA coaches with college connections
34. Billy Donovan (OKC Thunder)
35. Fred Hoiberg (Chicago Bulls)
36. Quin Snyder (Utah Jazz)
The UConn family
I don’t think the next hire should come from the UConn family unless that coach’s last name is Pikiell. But if that’s the route they try to go, here are some UConn people with coaching experience/aspirations.
37. Dave Leitao
38. Donyell Marshall
39. Dwayne Killings
40. George Blaney
41. Glen Miller
42. Jim Calhoun
43. Jim Penders
44. Karl Hobbs
45. Kevin Freeeman
46. Nancy Stevens
47. Raphael Chillious
48. Scott Burrell
49. Tom Moore
The UConn women’s basketball coaching staff
50. Geno Auriemma
51. Chris Dailey
52. SHEA RALPH!!!!
53. Marisa Moseley
Every remaining coach in the Big East
54. Jay Wright
55. Chris Mack
56. Chris Mullin
57. Patrick Ewing
58. Ed Cooley
59. Greg McDermott
60. LaVall Jordan
61. Kevin Willard
62. Steve Wojciechowski
I hate Cincinnati fans
63. Mick Cronin
Popular picks on Twitter dot com
64. Puneet
65. Me, but in a suit
The least inspiring choices ever
66. Oliver Purnell
67. John Thompson III
68. Al Skinner
69. Tubby Smith
