UCLA might look at mid-majors for next coach
UCLA fired men’s basketball coach Steve Alford on Monday following a tumultuous tenure that hit its breaking point with two embarrassing non-conference losses.
While Murry Bartow will serve as interim head coach for the rest of 2018-19, the search for the program’s next coach has begun. Which coaches would jump ship from their current programs to take on the pressure and hype Alford never lived up to in Westwood? Here’s a look at five potential candidates:
Eric Musselman, Nevada. The 54year-old is everything the UCLA program needs. He’s up-and-coming, having catapulted a power mid-major program from the Mountain West into national relevancy thanks to last year’s Sweet 16 finish and top-five ascension this season. He has the coaching chops (in the NBA and overseas) that prove he can do more than recruit. Given that he’s been able to lure top talent to Nevada, he probably wouldn’t struggle on the recruiting trail with a storied program such as UCLA. Best of all, the charis- matic Musselman is media friendly and could sway the hard-to-win-over donors and alumni. Gregg Marshall, Wichita State. While he is more apt to stay put now that the once mid-major Shockers have joined the American Athletic Conference, Marshall will likely be in high consideration given his track record in piloting Wichita State to extremely solid NCAA tournament success (outside of last year’s first round exit). When Marshall was coaching the Shockers to the Final Four in 2013, he was being considered for the role that Alford eventually won. Marshall’s proved himself even more in the time since, leading WSU team to a nearly undefeated season in 2014 and another Sweet 16 trip in 2016. Marshall brings a grittiness to the table and would instill a tenacious style of play that would give the Bruins a backbone they’ve lacked for quite some time.
Fred Hoiberg, unemployed. The former Bulls’ coach will be at the top of the leaderboard given he is not coaching and had way better success at the college level while leading Iowa State to deep NCAA tournament runs before leaving for the NBA. College coaches who don’t pan out in the NBA (ahem, Rick Pitino) usually are quickly forgiven when a desperate program (ahem, UCLA) is in need, so if some of the home-run hires or long shots don’t pan out, Hoiberg might be out on the West
Coast by the spring. Billy Donovan, Thunder. A long shot, but there’s a chance the NBA life has worn on Donovan and he misses the college basketball world he dominated while guiding Florida to back-to-back titles in the 2000s (and continued success after that). Warriors GM Bob Myers is a top consultant in UCLA’s coaching search, which could give athletics director Dan Guerrero a shot at this unlikely hire.
Tony Bennett, Virginia. Another long shot, but an interesting one. That’s because a fan base that is craving a high-octane offense would be graced with a slow-tempo and ridiculously disciplined one should Bennett surprisingly leave the program he’s elevated to elite status. Bennett’s Virginia teams have led the nation in defense plenty over the course of the last half decade. And even if UCLA is looking for more glitz and glamour, Alford was an offensive-centric coach, so perhaps a defensive-oriented coach who has shown great class (right after a No. 16 over No. 1 seed upset, no less) would be the right fit to mix it up and start meeting the towering expectations in Westwood.