Who is a realistic option? Who's a long shot or a fallback?
With several of the top candidates out of their respective postseason tournaments, Athletic Director Eric Hyman will look to hire a new men’s basketball coach soon. When announcing former coach Darrin Horn’s firing, Hyman stressed a sense of urgency and said there will be more financial flexibility than when Horn was hired, implying the next coach will make more than Horn’s $1.1 million per year. Here is a look at some realistic options, as well as a few long shots and a fallback for the position.
Realisitic:
Gregg Marshall
Gamecock fans have been pining for Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall since his days at Winthrop, where he led the Eagles to seven NCAA Tournaments in nine seasons. In his five seasons at Wichita State, the Shockers have won the NIT and had an NCAA Tournament appearance. Marshall’s greatest asset as a candidate for the South Carolina head coaching is his relationship with the state from coaching at Winthrop, which will be important for recruiting. Marshall is making $900,000, so USC could pay more than that, but is Wichita State a better job than South Carolina? Marshall will be on the list until he declines the position, should he choose to do so.
Tubby Smith
Minnesota coach Tubby Smith has a connection to South Carolina as he was an assistant coach for the Gamecocks. The Gophers are in the NIT after Smith led his team to a 20-14 season. Smith has coached at Kentucky, so he has the SEC experience in recruiting and coaching, but will the Gamecocks be able to pay enough? And will he want to come back to the South? Smith also knows firsthand that USC is one of the most challenging places to coach, something Hyman admitted, so he might be reluctant to return.
Tommy Amaker
Harvard’s Tommy Amaker led the Crimson to their first Top-25 ranking in program history. Harvard was bounced by Vanderbilt in the first round, but Amaker has been able to recruit talented athletes with the rigourous academic standards of Harvard, a school that doesn’t offer athletics scholarships. Amaker also has head-coaching experience at Michigan, where he was fired after a 109-83 record in six seasons. Amaker’s wife is a professor at Harvard, so she might be hesitant to leave the Ivy League for a move to the South, where Amaker also doesn’t have the same recruiting base.
Long shots:
Shaka Smart
While Virginia Commonwealth coach Shaka Smart has a connection to the state, as he was an assistant coach at Clemson, he will likely go for a bigger job opening if he leaves VCU. Smart has had the rams in the NCAA Tournament the past two seasons, leading them to the Final Four last season. He is most likely to be the next coach at Illinois, which will be likely to pay more and will be an easier job from a recruiting standpoint, while still having the competitive potential in the Big 10 conference.
Steve Alford
Coach Steve Alford of New Mexico is a name that has been off the radar because he doesn’t have much of a connection to the South; he’s coached in the West for most of his career. Alford has had his fair share of success, including getting New Mexico to the NCAA Tournament this season. If New Mexico doesn’t give Alford a raise from his $1.1 million salary, the Gamecocks could afford him, but Alford might not want to make the jump from the Mountain West Conference to the SEC, where he’ll have to recruit against schools like Florida and Kentucky, who have a greater winning tradition than South Carolina.
Fallback:
John Cooper
Tennessee State’s John Cooper was an assistant coach at South Carolina under Eddie Fogler when the Gamecocks advanced to the SEC Championship. Cooper has led his team to an upset of then-undefeated Murray State. The Tigers didn’t go to the NCAA Tournament after losing in its conference tournament by two points. Cooper doesn’t have the resume as some of the other candidates, but will be a coach that might jump at the opportunity to head an SEC team, as he was an assistant at Auburn. Hyman and the board of trustees might view him as a young coach with upside and ties to the area.