Succession Search: Scouting Five Potential Successors
MORGANTOWN, W.V. – West Virginia University head basketball coach and hall of famer Bob Huggins resigned over the weekend. Huggins, who spent 16 seasons at the helm of WVU, was arrested Saturday night on DUI charges.
In the aftermath of a tough few months for Huggins – the DUI arrest came on the heels of his using a homophobic slur in an early-May interview – athletic director Wren Baker is left to fill the only men’s basketball head coaching vacancy left in the entire country.
Here are five avenues that Baker and WVU may explore in its search to replace Huggins:
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Internal Advancement: Promoting Assistant Coaches
Huggins and his staff have had good success, participating in six of the last eight NCAA Tournaments. Ron Everhart is the assistant who makes the most sense; Everhart has had three separate head coaching stints, most recently at Duquesne in the Atlantic 10 conference (2006-12), and has spent 11 seasons as a top Huggins assistant.
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Exploring the Huggins Coaching Tree: Viable Replacements
Frank Martin (UMass), Mick Cronin (UCLA) and Jerrod Calhoun (Youngstown State) are all in the first tier of Bob Huggins’ coaching tree. It is unlikely that Cronin leaves Westwood for Morgantown, leaving Martin and Calhoun as viable options to succeed their mentor Huggins. Martin last worked with Huggins in 2007 at Kansas State, where Martin took over as head coach for the 2007-08 season. Calhoun and Huggins worked together at WVU from 2007-12 and Calhoun just wrapped a 24-10 season at Youngstown State. Look for Calhoun to get a serious look if WVU goes with someone with Huggins ties.
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Outsiders and New Ties: A Fresh Perspective for WVU
Dustin May (FAU) signed a ten-year extension following the Owls’ Final Four run in April. Other current Division 1 coaches fresh off NCAA runs who might be approached are: Pat Kelsey (Charleston), Bob Richey (Furman), Bryce Drew (Grand Canyon).
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Hire someone with ties to recently-hired athletic director, Wren Baker.
Northwest Missouri State head coach Ben McCollum’s name has been tossed around if the WVU brass take a look at non-Division 1 coaches. McCollum has an overall record of 334-83 over 13 seasons at NMSU, including four Division 2 national championships. Perhaps most importantly, Baker served as McCollum’s athletic director at NMSU from 2010-13.
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Hire a well-respected head coach who is not currently coaching.
John Beilein, who coached WVU from 2002-2007 before bolting for Michigan, had great success in Morgantown. Beilein led the Mountaineers to an Elite Eight appearance, a Sweet 16 appearance and an NIT championship. He also helped lay the groundwork for WVU’s transition from the Big East to the Big 12. He is well-connected and well-liked in the West Virginia area and could be a valuable asset in fundraising for WVU’s Country Roads Trust, serving WVU’s name, image and likeness needs.