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After four seasons as Nevada's head coach, Eric Musselman is in final negotiation to occupy the same position in Arkansas. Here are 25 potential candidates to replace Musselman as Nevada Sports Director Doug Knuth seeks to fill the void left by Musselman's departure.
With a head coaching experience
Nevada will likely select a candidate with Division I head coaching experience. Some options:
* Russell Turner, UC Irvine Head Coach: Turner has brought Irvine to the knockout stages this season, although he is not a Johnny Come Lately on this list. He's been here for years. In nine seasons, Turner is 187-128 and 101-47 in the Big West. He has averaged 23.3 victories over the past seven seasons, with two NCAA tournament slots, two NITs and two CITs. He has won four Big West regular season titles (two finals) in the last six years. Turner was involved in Cal and Stanford research and was an assistant at Wake Forest, Stanford and the NBA Warriors. It would be a good choice.
* Travis DeCuire, Montana head coach: DeCuire did a great job in Montana five years ago, winning at least 20 games four times, with consecutive 26-win campaigns that led to spots in the NCAA tournaments (two first-round losses against Michigan) . DeCuire has a total record of 109-58 and 71-22 in the Big Sky, a conference that he dominated (three regular season titles and two tournament titles in five years). He has twice been a finalist at Cal – where he was assistant from 2008 to 2014 – and should be ready for a new challenge. He has just accepted a three-year extension with Montana. Its redemption could be a problem.
* Steve Alford, unemployed: Alford, who traveled extensively, brought UCLA to three Sweet 16's in five seasons, but received a pink ballot in mid-year. He has a proven track record of 587 to 298 overall and has experience in WM, leading New Mexico to four titles in the regular season and three NCAA tournaments in six seasons. He has averaged 25.8 wins per season in New Mexico, which has imploded since his departure. Alford coached at four D-I schools. It would therefore be unrealistic to keep it in the long run unless it is embarrassed by jobs in the (unlikely) power conference field. The big problem is the money. Nevada may not be able to pay for it.
* Tim Miles, unemployed: Miles never took "the easy task". He has been to Nebraska, Colorado, North Dakota, Southwestern Minnesota, and Mayville State University. He went 116-114 to Nebraska with only one participation in the NCAA Tournament in seven seasons. He was between 71 and 88 years old in the state of Colorado, but had inherited a mess and built an NCAA tournament team. He is a good coach and, as a bonus, he has the same energy (and the same game on social networks) as Musselman.
* Dan Majerle, Grand Canyon Head Coach: The former NBA player seems perfectly happy at Grand Canyon, where he led the transition from Division II to Division I of the program. It could therefore be an unrealistic target (he had previously denied any interest in the work of Illinois, and Nevada is not a Power 5). The former NBA player proved to be a very good coach – he has a total record of 123-72 and a 59-28 record at WAC in six seasons, though he is not qualified for a tournament from the NCAA – but he seems happy to stay in the Phoenix area.
* Joe Pasternack, Santa Barbara Head Coach: Pasternack was linked to Nevada at the last job opening, although he never had an interview on campus. One of the main problems is that his name was mentioned in the FBI investigation of Arizona, where he was an assistant, which could keep him on the list. But he did a solid job at UCSB (adding the Pack Leland King and Devearl Ramsey transfers). Pasternack had a season of 22 and 23 wins over his two years at UCSB and was also the head coach of New Orleans.
* Ryan Odom, UMBC Head Coach: Geographically, this is nonsense. The farthest west has held a position, Lenoir-Rhyne in Hickory, New Brunswick. We are talking about nine different jobs. He is essentially stuck on the eastern seaboard all his career. You would be right to ask why, given its lack of history west of the eastern time zone. But Odom (the son of triple year coach Dave Odom) has done a great job at UMBC, including losing No. 1 seed, Virginia as seeded 16 in 2018.
* Chris Jans, Head Coach of the State of New Mexico: Jans arrives with his luggage after being fired by Bowling Green for violating his morality clause after he was engaged in intoxicated in an obscene and inappropriate behavior towards women in a bar located near the campus. But it can lead. Jans was an assistant at Wichita State after shooting Bowling Green and coached New Mexico State in the past two seasons (58-11 overall and 27-3 in the WAC with two appearances at the NCAA tournament ). But is the baggage too much?
* Randy Rahe, Weber Head Coach: Rahe appears to be a lifer in Weber State. He has been in Ogden for 13 seasons and has published eight 20-win campaigns. He has participated three times in the NCAA tournament, twice at NIT, three times at CIT and once at CBI. He is 0-5 in NCAA games and NIT tournaments. He did not win the big stage, but he's a good 154-53 coach in the Big Sky, where he is four times the best coach of the year.
Old friends of Wolf Pack
Former Nevada Wolf Pack staff members who could be considered for the position:
* Trent Johnson, unemployed: Trent Johnson will not be Nevada's next head coach, but we can at least entertain the idea. If Mark Fox had been available, I could have attended a meeting. But recently, Fox has agreed to become Cal's head coach and have added Johnson to his team. Although many coaches with ties to Nevada are on this list, I guess the Wolf Pack starts with a new name.
* Dennis Gates, assistant coach of Florida: The former Nevada assistant (from 2009 to 2011) has spent the last eight seasons on the Florida State Bank and has already held various senior management positions (including at his alma mater, Cal). He is a young man in his thirties. Although he has never been a head coach, he is an excellent recruiter who has participated in power programs like Florida State, Marquette and Cal. Given his lack of experience as a head coach, he is a high-risk, high-return option that will get a leadership position at some point.
* Johnny Jones, head coach of Texas Southern: The former LSU head coach (and North Texas and Memphis previously) was Nevada's assistant head coach in 2017-18 before being hired by Texas Southern, where Jones scored 24-13 this season , including a win over Oregon, a Sweet 16. Jones team is 319-247 over 18 seasons as a head coach with three appearances in the NCAA tournaments, where he's 0-3 .
* Dedrique Taylor, Cal State Fullerton Head Coach: Taylor was an assistant at Nevada at Fox from 2004 to 2006 before leaving for Arizona State, where he was assistant until 2013, when he got his first job at the head of Cal State Fullerton. In six seasons, Taylor has totaled 83-107 points and 40-56 in the Big West with an appearance in an NCAA tournament and two first-round outings of the CIT. He inherited a difficult situation, but he did nothing to improve his profile at Fullerton, which seems unlikely.
* Dave Rice, assistant coach of Washington: Rice was an assistant in Nevada in 2016-2017, so the Wolf Pack administration knows him well. He has been in Washington for the last two seasons, helping to reverse this program. He has a record of 98-54 with two appearances in NCAA tournaments in four seasons and more at UNLV, before boosters complicate the situation. Rice has recruited at a high level at UNLV and has considerable experience at MW, where he coached in 18 of the league's 20 seasons.
* Doug Stewart, unemployed: Musselman's first recruiter on his arrival in Nevada was Stewart, who served a year in Nevada before leaving for Tulane. He was an assistant at Oregon State (where he was briefly acting head coach), as well as Columbia and Brown and head coach at Casper College. He has good relations with the West Coast AAU (this is one of the main reasons that Nevada had Cam Oliver).
* Gus Argenal, Nevada Assistant Coach: If Nevada wanted to work with a staff member – I do not think that was the route chosen – the first candidate would be Argenal, who has a head coaching experience at Division II (at Cal State East Bay) as well as several others. DI assistants. He's a brilliant young coach who has been instrumental in Nevada's success over the past two years, but is he ready to lead a WM program?
* Rex Walters, Nevada assistant to the head coach: Nevada could also opt for Walters if it wanted to keep some of the current staff. Walters has experience in D-I after being head coach at Florida Atlantic and San Francisco. He recorded an overall record of 157-158 and a conference mark of 81-83 for 10 seasons during these two stages. He made three appearances in series (a NIT, CBI and CIT).
* Josh Newman, Head Coach, Texas-Permian Basin: Newman was an assistant in Nevada for three seasons, including the Sweet 16 campaign in 2004, before leading Arkansas-Fort Smith for 12 seasons, turning the college program into a division II. Last season he moved to the University of Texas Permian Basin (15-14). He is a program designer with no big name.
Best college assistants
Assistant coaches who have never been head coach of Division I could be considered:
* Tommy Lloyd, assistant coach of Gonzaga: If Nevada wants to fight, it could target Lloyd, the Zags head coach, but he may be waiting a bit, because Mark Few is only 56 years old. Lloyd, an international recruitment expert, has been with Gonzaga ever since. 2000 and could be ready to run his own program (and Nevada is a more attractive job now than it was two years ago). Gonzaga's former coaches, Bill Grier (USD) and Leon Rice (Boise State), have finally left for leadership positions.
* Tommy Connor, Associate Head Coach of Utah: Knuth and Connor both worked in Utah, so they probably crossed paths. Connor worked twice with the Utes after serving under Rick Majerus from 1991 to 1997 and holding a second term beginning in 2011. Connor is Utah's associate head coach, but has experience in the field. 'head coach. He built NAIA Westminster College from scratch and recorded a record of 264-114 between his two relays in Utah. Connor was a finalist of the Utah State Head Coach position in 2015.
* Ryan Miller, TCU assistant coach: Miller is clearly a very good assistant coach. The question is, would he be a good head coach? The TCU assistant also spent two years at UNLV, where he was named the fourth best recruiter outside the power conferences. He has also worked in Auburn, New Mexico, Pepperdine and Memphis. His experience is there, but not as a head coach. Miller was the assistant head coach of the TCU this season and Jamie Dixon clearly trusted him. He is on the way for a leading position.
Wild Cards
* Thad Matta: Nevada does not have the money for that, and Matta had health problems that prevented him from taking up another main job after a successful stay at Ohio State. But it's fun to think.
David Padgett: Reno High alum was Louisville's interim coach in 2017-18, a season that ended without a participation in the NCAA tournament (the squad was 22-14). This is unlikely, but there is a local link here.
* Becky Hammon: The assistant coach of NBA Spurs is worth the detour. She was a Colorado State runner-up and would be the first head coach of a D-I men's team.
* Rick Pitino: Ha! Ha! Ha!
Columnist Chris Murray gives an overview of sports in northern Nevada. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @MurrayRGJ.
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