The coaching carousel from this past offseason was nearly as crazy as the transfer portal. Both Kentucky and Louisville have new faces, the hottest name wound up choosing Michigan, Eric Musselman’s move west created an opening for John Calipari in Fayetteville, and there was plenty more action during a carousel that didn’t seem to stop.
Here are my top hires:
1. Pat Kelsey, Louisville
This was exactly what the doctor ordered for Louisville fans, who were in desperate need of something to feel good about after the past two embarrassing seasons. Is Kelsey the best coach on my list? No, but he is the best coach for Louisville at this particular time.
Kelsey is the ideal replacement for Kenny Payne, who took this proud program to the laughingstock of college basketball in his two seasons at the helm. Payne won a grand total of 12 games and finished with a 5-35 ACC mark. Kelsey has a relentless energy that’s nearly impossible to find. The Cincinnati native returns to the midwest after leading College of Charleston to the NCAA tourney each of the last two seasons. With the help of a strong NIL package, Kelsey used the portal to put together a solid team. This was the ideal guy for a program sorely needing energy, organization and optimism.
2. Eric Musselman, USC
Muss fell out of favor in Fayetteville, but it was largely because word spread he wanted to leave town. Arkansas fans should be forever indebted to him because Musselman took the Razorbacks to consecutive Elite Eight appearances in 2021 and 2022 after 25-years failing to reach the Sweet 16. Now Muss will head to the west coast and take over for Andy Enfield at USC. No one questions whether Musselman, who also led Nevada to the NCAA in three of his four seasons in Reno, can coach. But can he do what he did in Fayetteville in a big city like Los Angeles? Arkansas was arguably the second-best job in the SEC, while USC wasn’t easy when it was in the Pac-12. Now that the Trojans are heading into the Big Ten, they can attract high-level recruits, but they will continue to have difficulty attracting enough fans to develop a strong homecourt advantage. It’ll be intriguing to see whether the Muss Bus can get rolling in L.A.
3. John Calipari, Arkansas
It’s actually amazing that Cal lasted 15 seasons in Lexington. The first decade was incredible: a national title in 2012, an appearance in the championship game in 2014, Final Four berths in 2011 and 2015, and Elite Eights in 2010, 2017 and 2019. But the last five years were underwhelming, especially in the NCAA tourney, where the ‘Cats lost in the first round to Saint Peter’s in 2022 and Oakland this past March. Calipari knew he needed to get out of town before he was forced out, and Fayetteville was the ideal spot.
Calipari is 65, and this will likely be his last coaching stop. But he’ll have the financial resources, the sales pitch to top recruits, and the fan support to continue the momentum that Eric Musselman started a few years ago. And Cal should be ultra-motivated to show people he can still win at the highest level. The key won’t be whether he can bring talent to Arkansas, but whether he can put together groups that fit together. If he can pull that off, it’s only a matter of time before he leads the Razorbacks to their first Final Four since 1995.
4. Mark Pope, Kentucky
Big Blue Nation was desperate for a change, and it didn’t just get anyone. Athletic director Mitch Barnhart brought one of its own back home in Mark Pope, who played on Rick Pitino’s teams in 1995 and 1996 that won 62 games, went 30-2 in SEC play and brought a national title to Lexington.
Pope, who has been the head coach at Utah Valley (four seasons) and BYU (five seasons), has already re-invigorated the fan base, and put together a deep team at UK for this season via the transfer portal. Pope’s energy is infectious, his work ethic is elite, and he’ll connect with the fan base in a way that Calipari couldn’t the last few years. But it’s all about wins in Lexington – and national titles. Pope knows that as well as anyone.
The Top Freshmen for the 2024-25 Men’s College Basketball Season
Cooper Flagg leads the list, and Rutgers wing Ace Bailey right behind5. Chris Mack, College of Charleston
It went south in Mack’s final couple seasons at Louisville, but the Cardinals were 24-7 and 15-5 in the ACC in 2020 before COVID canceled the NCAA tourney. He was also 215-97 and went to the NCAA tourney in eight of his nine seasons as the head coach at Xavier, so there’s no doubting whether he can coach. The question was whether Mack wanted to coach anymore. After a two-and-a-half-year layoff, he decided he wanted to get back in, and after trying to get the Vanderbilt job which went to Mark Byington, Mack landed in Charleston. It’ll be difficult to imagine Mack not succeeding immediately out of the gates after retaining Ante Brzovic, a key piece from the Cougars’ successful teams the last two seasons. This is the best job in the CAA, and Mack’s resume is as impressive as just about anyone on this list.
6. Josh Schertz, Saint Louis
Indiana State is one of the most difficult jobs in the Missouri Valley, and Schertz, who came from Division II Lincoln Memorial, went 55-20 overall and 30-10 in league play over the past two seasons. Louisville was extremely interested in Schertz, but it was Saint Louis athletic director Chris May and the Billikens who landed him and also brought in former Sycamores star Robbie Avila in the process. Schertz is a grinder who plays a player-friendly style, giving them freedom on the offensive end. He’s also unafraid to take chances. The one-time child tennis prodigy will now have a chance to make Saint Louis a player again in the A-10.
7. Dusty May, Michigan
The big question people have is whether May was really that good at FAU, or whether he was just lucky. I’ll say this: Go down to Boca Raton, check out the facilities and resources and then let me know how the heck May and his staff put together a group that went to the Final Four two years ago and then retained the core and returned to the NCAA tourney last season. May spurned Louisville for Michigan, a program that’s the ideal fit for his personality. As a native midwesterner and Indiana grad, May understands the Michigan brand, and he should be able to provide some badly-needed stability in the wake of Juwan Howard’s messy exit.
8. Danny Sprinkle, Washington
Sprinkle is coming off a three-year run in which he led Montana State to a pair of NCAA tournament appearances in the Big Sky and then flipped the roster at Utah State and led the Aggies to a 28-7 record, a first-place finish in the Mountain West and an NCAA tourney appearance. Sprinkle is a west coast guy, so the gig in Seattle fits him. He brought Great Osobor with him from Utah State (and previously Montana State), but this year should be more of the same mediocrity in Seattle. It’ll be interesting if he can get this program back to where Lorenzo Romar had it in the early 2000s.
9. Kevin Young, BYU
OK, I was skeptical. However, the former NBA assistant, who passed on the Nets head coaching gig, has put together a nice roster this past offseason, thanks to a huge NIL budget. BYU’s candidate pool was thin after Mark Pope left for Kentucky because of the strong preference to hire an LDS-coach. Young, 42, is extremely well-regarded in the NBA coaching ranks, but he has virtually no college coaching experience. The difference between Young and other former NBA coaches who have failed coming to college is his work ethic, as well as his coaching experience. Young has already landed high-end international and American talent to Provo with freshmen Egor Demin and Kanon Catchings, and the Cougars are one of the frontrunners to land elite high school senior A.J. Dybantsa.
10. Chris Holtmann, DePaul
Holtmann was fired after two late-season swoons at Ohio State, but he did lead Butler to three consecutive NCAA tourney appearances and also took the Buckeyes to four straight before struggling the past two years in Columbus. Holtmann wasn’t out long, and now he’ll get a chance to do the impossible: Make DePaul relevant again, something not truly done since the Meyers were on the sidelines. DePaul has been to the NCAA tourney twice, with Pat Kennedy in 2000 and Dave Leitao in 2004, but that’s been it since 1992. It’ll take some time for Holtmann, but he should make the program competitive if given the time.
11. Andy Enfield, SMU
It took Enfield, who came from FGCU, a few years to get it going out west, but he went to the NCAA tourney five times since 2016 and led the Trojans to the Elite Eight in 2021. After a down season at USC, Enfield now takes over an SMU program that made the move from the AAC to the ACC this past offseason. Enfield is a proven recruiter, and now he has a more-than-competitive NIL package and can sell the Dallas area to try and attract talent. SMU has been referred to as a sleeping giant, and Enfield will try to make the Mustangs, who have been to just a pair of NCAA tournaments since 1993, nationally relevant.
12. Ben McCollum, Drake
The 43-year-old Iowa native has been on a bunch of athletic directors’ radars over the last few years. He won Division II national titles in 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2022 while at Northwest Missouri State. McCollum has an incredible career mark of 394-91, so no one can question whether the guy can coach. He’ll follow Darian DeVries, who left with his son, Tucker, after two straight NCAA tournament appearances. Schertz was successful going from the Division II route to the Valley a few years ago, and McCollum hopes to enjoy similar success in Des Moines.
A TRIO OF UNDERRATED MID-MAJOR HIRES
Preston Spradlin, JMU. This was a terrific pickup after Mark Byington left for Vanderbilt. Spradlin, 37, won 94 games over the last four seasons with the Eagles, and he went to a pair of NCAA tournaments in that span. Morehead’s resources are not overly impressive, so the move to JMU was a no-brainer. Spradlin is a proven winner who should be able to pick up where Byington left off.
Ryan Ridder, Mercer. Ridder was 95-28 in four seasons as the head coach at Dayton State College, then went 48-45 in the MEAC at Bethune-Cookman and 48-47 in three seasons at UT Martin. That may not look like much, but Bethune-Cookman and UT Martin are far from easy jobs, and he left them in a far better spot than he found them. I’ll be shocked if the 39-year-old doesn’t do the same at Mercer and find a way to get the Bears towards the top of the SoCon.
Doug Gottlieb, Green Bay. Maybe I’m not the most objective person with Gottlieb, who was my co-host on a show last season, but if there’s anyone who can balance a daily radio show with a full-time D-1 head coaching gig, it’s Gottlieb. The guy knows basketball, and I’d be shocked if he isn’t able to transfer that knowledge to his players. Gottlieb should also be able to utilize his relationships into landing talent that the Horizon league isn’t commonly used to seeing.
