College basketball coaching carousel: Ranking the best coaching changes this offseason ft. Will Wade
Players in the transfer portal aren't the only people on the move as the coaching carousel swept through college basketball's spring. Some teams upgraded and until game start, most fans are excited. But who will keep the fans excited? Here's our ranking of the top five coaching chances of college basketball's offseason.
Top 5 coaching chances in college basketball this offseason
5. Jai Lucas, Miami
The Miami Hurricanes moved on from Jim Larranaga after a disappointing season for the Hurricanes. Enter Lucas, who has been a top assistant at Duke under Jon Scheyer. Lucas played his college basketball at Florida and Texas before becoming an assistant. He coached at Texas, Kentucky and Duke. Lucas is one of the best recruiters in college basketball.
The knocks on Lucas are that he's 36 years old and has no head coaching experience. But he's a talented assistant and his father, John Lucas, was an NBA coach.
4. Sean Miller, Texas
The Longhorns parted ways with Rodney Terry and were able to pick up Miller. The only real knock on Miller were his past issues with the NCAA. But in an NIL and portal era, it's safe to say that enforcement isn't the priority it once was. Miller is a winner, with a career 487-196 mark and four Elite Eight appearances. This was a great hire by Texas.
3. Ben McCollum, Iowa
Iowa is a decent job but a very unspectacular one in the purview of the Big Ten. It's never going to be Purdue or Michigan or Ohio State. But hiring McCollum was a gutsy and sharp move. A superstar at the Division II ranks with Northwest Missouri State, McCollum just spent a year at Drake, going 31-4 there.
Given the failure of splashy, high-profile hires, it's surprising more schools don't give coaches with major Division II or NAIA backgrounds a shot. McCollum will make Iowa look smart.
2. Richard Pitino, Xavier
The move of Sean Miller cleared Xavier to bring in another outstanding coach in Richard Pitino. Pitino struggled at Minnesota, but had a great run at New Mexico, going 88-49 in four years, with a pair of NCAA Tournament berths. Pitino is only 42 years old and has already won 247 games. This was a very solid hire from a team that's an eternal mid-major threat.
1. Will Wade, NC State
Kevin Keatts struggled mightily a year after taking NC State to the Final Four. The Wolfpack, knowing how hard life can be in the ACC, were aggressive, firing Keatts and bringing in Will Wade. Wade came to prominence with LSU, but like Miller above, ran afoul of the NCAA. These days, that results in a collective "So what?"
Wade has taken the last three schools he coached to the NCAA Tournament and won tournament games with each. He is also 42 and has 246 career wins. The NCAA issues are in the past and this was a great call to keep the Wolfpack relevant.
What do you think of the biggest coaching hires? Share your take below in our comments section!