By Chris Williams, CycloneFanatic.com Publisher
As of today, Iowa State men’s basketball coaching search 2010 is underway. Here’s a list of potential head coaching candidates. I’ll post a blog with my thoughts on them and more later on today. These candidates are listed in no particular order.
Billy Gillispie, former UTEP, Texas A&M and Kentucky head coach – READ THIS PIECE that I put together this morning. He is the one candidate that we know is interested at this point in time. He probably has the most impressive resume in America that Iowa State has a legitimate shot at too. At the very least, I’d like to see Gillispie get an interview.
Scott Sutton, Oral Roberts head coach – Sutton is the youngest son of legendary college basketball coach Eddie Sutton, who was a Big 12 guy. His career overall record at Oral Roberts is 204-138 with three NCAA Tournament appearances over 11 seasons.
Greg Gard, Wisconsin associate head coach – He’s been Bo Ryan’s right hand man for 16 seasons, including nine at Wisconsin. Gard’s downside is that he’s never been a head coach before. However, remember Jamie Pollard’s Wisconsin ties. Could they come into play?
Mark Montgomery, Michigan State associate head coach – In my opinion, this would be a great hire. But would Montgomery, a former Spartan player and Tom Izzo protégé opt to leave East Lansing? He’s also been an assistant at Central Michigan in the past.
Tim Jankovich, Illinois State head coach – Jankovich has gone 71-30 during his four years as the head coach at Illinois State. He’s also been an assistant coach at Kansas State, Kansas, Illinois, Colorado State, Oklahoma State, Texas and Vanderbilt. He played his college ball at Kansas State. He knows the Big 12. That’s a big plus.
Rob Jeter, Wisconsin-Milwaukee head coach – Remember this guy? Most Cyclone fans thought that Jeter landed this job the last time that it was open, when McDermott got hired. Jeter played college ball at Wisconsin-Platteville under Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan. He’s 82-75 during his five years as the head coach at Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Jeters’s one NCAA Tournament appearance was during his first season at Milwaukee, where his team went 22-9.
Larry Eustachy , Southern Miss head coach – Here we go. This might be the most popular hire that Jamie Pollard could make. Will he pull the trigger on Eustachy? I doubt it. Heck, anything is possible though. During his six years at Southern Miss, Eustachy is 83-81, with no NCAA Tournament appearances.
Brian Gregory, Dayton head coach – This would be a phenomenal hire. Gregory has gone 150-80 in his seven years at Dayton. He’s been to the NCAA Tournament twice and won this past year’s NIT. Gregory was reportedly interested in the Iowa job about a month ago. Is Ames as attractive to him or is the timing just wrong now? It is April 27. Stay tuned.
Steve Forbes, Tennessee assistant coach – Forbes is known for being Bruce Pearl’s ace assistant at Tennessee but many people forget that before heading there, he was a Billy Gillispie assistant coach at Texas A&M. He was part of that big Aggie turnaround during the Gillispie years. Forbes does have some previous head coaching experience at Barton Community College in Kansas. Forbes is a native of Lone Tree, Iowa, so coming back to the state could interest him.
Fred Hoiberg, Minnesota Timberwolves front office – The Mayor is possibly the most beloved individual in all of Ames, Iowa. He’s currently working in the front office for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Hoiberg has never been a head coach and has very little experience. This one is probably a long shot, but it is certainly intriguing.
Fran Fraschilla, ESPN – Fraschilla is a former head coach at Manhattan, St. John’s and New Mexico. In his nine years of experience as a head coach, Frashcilla has recorded three NCAA Tournament appearances. He’s best known for his job on ESPN, where he commentates on Big 12 basketball games. Fraschilla currently resides in Austin, Tex. He loves the Big 12 and John Walters brought his name up on KXNO yesterday afternoon. To me, this one is doubtful but it is also an eye opener.
Other names to consider:
UNLV head coach Lon Kruger, former Boston College head coach Al Skinner, former Wake Forest coach Dino Gaudio, Iowa State associate head coach Nick Nurse and Iowa State assistant coach T.J. Otzelberger.
Check out CycloneFantatic.com later on this afternoon for my thoughts on some of these potential candidates and more.
