Two candidates emerge in early stages of search for new men’s basketball coach
Ohio State remains in the early stages of hiring a new men’s basketball coach, but two names are being mentioned more than others.
According to multiple sources, Florida Atlantic coach Dusty May and Xavier coach Sean Miller are the two names most frequently being discussed among university decision-makers about as candidates for the job.
In late February, The Dispatch reported that Ohio State and May had engaged in preliminary, early conversations.
On Feb. 22, new athletic director Ross Bjork said the search would not pick up steam until likely mid-march as seasons conclude.
“The key in all of this is because we have this time we can really do a lot of research,” Bjork said. “Then we can have a little bit of patience going into the first week of March. We should have an idea of where are we by Selection Sunday. Are we zeroed in on finalists? Are we zeroed in on a bigger group? Are they still playing? A lot of things will filter out over the next couple weeks.”
Bjork officially started at Ohio State on March 1 and took in the win against Michigan on March 3. Selection Sunday is March 17.
Sources have said that Ohio State is being methodical in its approach while working through a list of candidates that could still drastically change in the coming weeks.
May, 47, is in his sixth season as a head coach, all of which have been at FAU. He was the CBS Sports national coach of the year after leading FAU to the Final Four as a No. 9 seed last year and has finished each season with a winning record. He was a student manager at Indiana, where coach Mike Woodson has been confirmed to return for at least one more season according to the Indianapolis Star.
Miller, 55, is in his second stint at Xavier after having coached the Musketeers from 2004-05 through 2008-09 and reaching the Elite Eight and a Sweet 16 while qualifying for the tournament in each of his final four seasons with the program.
Miller then spent 12 years at Arizona, where he made the NCAA Tournament in seven years in which it was played (the Wildcats were a projected No. 7 seed in 2020), reaching the Elite
Eight three times and the Sweet 16 twice. He was fired after the 2020-21 season, took a year off and then returned to Xavier.
While at Arizona, Miller was part of the FBI investigation into corruption within the sport and the Wildcats played his final season amid a postseason ban. He did not face any sanctions from the NCAA’S Independent Accountability Resolution Panel’s investigation into the situation, while two of his assistants received show-cause penalties.
A third name could also draw some consideration. Chris Jent, a former player who had two stints as an assistant coach and is an assistant with the Los Angeles Lakers, has the backing of many former players and alumni who are pushing for him to be interviewed. Jent interviewed with athletic director Gene Smith after Thad Matta was fired before the job went to Chris Holtmann in 2017.
The expectation is that momentum will pick up in the search as postseason play begins. Florida Atlantic is 23-7 overall and 13-4 in the American Athletic Conference entering Saturday’s final regular-season game against Memphis while Xavier is 15-15 overall and 9-10 in the Big East entering Saturday’s final regular-season game against Marquette.