LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- So here we are again. The University of Louisville is looking for a men's basketball coach and saying that this time it HAS to get the hire right.
For the record, that was said when following Rick Pitino (and replacing interim David Padgett) with Chris Mack six years ago. And it was said when replacing Mack (and interim Mike Pegues) with Kenny Payne just two years ago.
Through all those years, the transfer portal, Name Image and Likeness regulations and conference realignment have redefined what a modern college basketball coach must do. The game has changed, and athletic directors are challenged to project who will adapt best to a landscape that still is undergoing seismic changes.
Nonetheless, some groundwork already is believed to have been laid by Louisville athletic director Josh Heird. We make no claim to know who will wind up with the job. We only hope that he is somewhere on this list (or any subsequent list we offer, no guarantees).
The categories for candidates include swinging for the fences, solid bets, the field and a couple of dream scenarios.
SWING FOR THE FENCES:
Scott Drew, Baylor
Sources say that Louisville is ready to offer Baylor a deal that would make the national championship coach one of the handful of highest-paid coaches in the college game, along with NIL support that would rank close to the top 10 in college basketball.
Three years after winning a national title at an unlikely spot like Waco, Texas, Drew appears established as coach for life at Baylor. They'll build a statue of him there one day because of the impressive job Drew did building a championship program at a place with little tradition that was digging out of the bad publicity of a murdered player.
All Drew has done is win nearly 65% of his games in 20-plus seasons while making 11 NCAA Tournaments. They built him a sparkling 7,500-seat arena. Baylor is a private school, so reports that his salary is $3.7 million is unconfirmed. But that number stretches a bit further in a state without income tax.
Why he would come: Drew loves bass fishing, a couple of his best friends live in southern Indiana and, while (almost) everything is bigger in Texas, respectfully, in this case, college basketball isn't one of those things.
Why he wouldn't: He likes it where he is, has built a big-time annual contender and the experience of coaches who left their national championship programs isn't a completely happy one.
Scott Drew (Photo courtesy of Baylor University)
SOLID BETS:
Dusty May, Florida Atlantic
According to sources, some mutual interest already has been expressed between Louisville and the 47-year-old who also sits high on the Wish List at West Virginia and Ohio State after he led FAU to 35 wins and an improbable run to the Final Four last season.
Born just outside Bloomington, May served as a student manager at Indiana University before grinding his way through the profession. He earned his first break when Mike White hired him as an assistant coach at Louisiana Tech and then brought him to Florida.
May is completing his sixth consecutive winning season in Boca Raton, Florida, where FAU suffered seven straight losing seasons before he arrived.
One concern is that wherever May lands, he may have one eye on the job in Bloomington, which will open eventually when Mike Woodson decides he's had enough of the cold winters and transfer portal.
Why he would come: Louisville is a major upgrade in both salary and NIL resources, as well as facilities and just about everything else except for weather.
Why he wouldn't: Might be more attracted to a school in the Midwest, instead of making most of his league road trips to Tobacco Road and vicinity.
Florida Atlantic head coach Dusty May cuts the net after Florida Atlantic defeated Kansas State in an Elite 8 college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament's East Region final, Saturday, March 25, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
Mick Cronin, UCLA
It's been a tough season in Westwood for the former Louisville assistant, but who are we kidding? Cronin is more at home in a city like Louisville or Cincinnati than in Los Angeles, even though he's been very successful in LA, present season excluded.
Cronin was an assistant on Rick Pitino's first staff at Louisville as well as a former assistant under Bob Huggins at Cincinnati. He has made 14 NCAA Tournaments in his first 20-plus years as a head coach at Murray State (three seasons), Cincinnati (13) and UCLA (currently in year five).
Cronin took the 2022 UCLA squad to the Final Four in Indianapolis. Six of his teams finished the season ranked in the AP Top 25. His career winning percentage is better than 68%.
UCLA enters the Pac-12 Tournament tonight with a 15-16 record and squarely out of NCAA Tournament contention. There's also the matter of a six-year contract he signed in March reportedly pays him $4.1 million per season with a buyout of $20 million that will decline to $16 million on April 1. There's been some speculation that with UCLA leaving the Pac-12 to enter the Big Ten, that buyout could be altered.
Why he would come: Cronin loves thoroughbred racing and is a frequent visitor to the Derby and Churchill Downs. He also has great respect for Louisville's program and would restore its link to Pitino. And he'd get to be closer to home with a bona-fide big-time program.
Why he wouldn't: He's already at a bona-fide big-time program stepping into one of the two most powerful conferences in American college sports.
UCLA head coach Mick Cronin called the early seed list by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committe "comical." AP Photo
NAMES TO WATCH (in alphabetical order):
Jamie Dixon, TCU
After 13 winning seasons at Pittsburgh, Dixon left in 2016 to coach his alma mater. He's on the brink of taking the Horned Frogs to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in eight seasons.
Dixon, 58, has delivered 10 seasons with 24 or more wins and suffered only one losing season. But his record in the NCAA Tournament is merely 14-13 in 13 trips with two Sweet Sixteens and single trip to the Elite Eight in 2009.
Dixon's teams have typically been built on defense and a more deliberate tempo but he has coached NBA players Steven Adams, Sam Young and Desmond Bane.
Why he would come: That's a good question, having built a solid program at his alma mater. But Louisville is a bigger program, though not a bigger city.
Why he wouldn't: Generally when a coach goes back to his alma mater, if things are going well, he doesn't opt to leave.
Jamie Dixon (Photo courtesy of Texas Christian University)
Eric Musselman, Arkansas
Musselman's star has finally dimmed this season as the Razorbacks are 15-16 and looking at missing the NCAA Tournament. From 2017 at Nevada through 2023 in Fayetteville, Musselman made six NCAA trips with two Sweet Sixteens and a pair of Elite Eights.
Musselman, who came to the college game from the NBA, has excelled in quick rebuilds with transfers. He is 59 and did not earn his first college head coaching shot until 2015. Musselman makes $4.1 million but his buyout drops to $750,000 after the season.
He was mentioned as a leading candidate a couple of months ago, but his name has cooled since then.
Why he would come: He wants the job, according to sources in Arkansas, and thinks he could rebuild quickly.
Why he wouldn't: The SEC perhaps offers more stability.
Eric Musselman (Photo courtesy of the University of Arkansas)
Nate Oats, Alabama
Any open coaching job must immediately include Oats, though his interest in leaving Alabama is debatable. You won't find a losing record on his resume in any of his nine seasons at Buffalo or with the Crimson Tide, where Oats developed the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
In addition to questions about the off-the-court behavior by his players, this is another coach who comes with contract gymnastics that complicate the situation. Bama extended Oats through the 2029 season last year. He will make roughly $4.5 million this season. His $12 million buyout dropped to $10 million today.
Why he would come: Maybe you've heard – Alabama is a football school, and always will be. You can win a national championship at Louisville, and Oats' style of basketball would resound with fans in the city, likely filling up one of the nation's glitziest college arena from Day 1.
Why he wouldn't: He's had success at Alabama and just signed a big extension.
Lamont Paris, South Carolina
Hired from Chattanooga in 2022, the same year that U of L hired Kenny Payne, Paris had the Gamecocks contending for a Southeastern Conference title for most of the season. Paris worked at Wisconsin for Bo Ryan and Greg Gard before he went to Chattanooga where he won 27 games and nearly upset Illinois in the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
Paris went 11-21 in Columbia last season but the Gamecocks have used their tough, physical style to defeat Virginia Tech, Kentucky, Tennessee and Florida this season while earning a spot in the Top 25.
Paris is 49. He is in the second year of s five-year contract that pays him $2.3 million with a buyout of $6.3 million. He's also at a South Carolina program that had the foresight to hire a general manager who helps the coach focus on coaching while others deal with tasks like player retention.
Why he would come: Louisville would be an upgrade.
Why he wouldn't: The SEC could well be more stable, and his style seems to fit in Columbia.
Lamont Paris (Photo courtesy of the University of South Carolina)
Josh Schertz, Indiana State
The candidate of the month, and a favored name of Louisvillian and Sports Illustrated writer Pat Forde. File himunder longshot, but the Indiana State coach has positioned himself to be on the upgrade list from the Missouri Valley Conference.
Schertz has taken a program that suffered losing records in five of the seven years before he got to Terre Haute and won 11, 23 and now 28 games, including a Missouri Valley regular season title this season. The Sycamores are likely to make the NCAA Tournament field as an at-large team after losing to Drake in the MVC Tournament final.
Schertz is 48. He was the head coach at Division II Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tenn. for 13 seasons, where he won 83% of his games and appeared in the Division II Final Four three times. But he's never recruited at the top level of the game.
Why he would come: What? You have to ask?
Why he wouldn't: He's likely to get several offers, may see the mess at Louisville and think twice. Though, if you can build a winner at Indiana State, you likely can do it anywhere.
Josh Schertz (Photo courtesy of Indiana State University)
Kyle Smith, Washington State
The most unknown name on the list, Smith has the Cougars in second place behind Arizona in the Pac-12 and this week was named conference Coach of the Year. That's not an easy thing to do in Pullman, Wash., at the school that launched the careers of Kelvin Sampson and Tony Bennett.
Smith is 54. He coached six seasons in the Ivy League (Columbia), three at San Francisco and five at Washington State. This will be his first NCAA Tournament appearance. He's a real coach, but his lack of NCAA Tournament experience might be a hindrance to getting a serious look.
Would Louisville be ready for "Nerdball." That's what they're calling Smith's ultra-analytical approach to the game, which Sports Illustrated's Jake Curtis says, "bases starting lineups, offensive and defensive game plans, schedules and anything else that goes into a basketball season on more than 50 issues – some obvious, some ridiculously esoteric – that are meticulously measured via analytics."
Why he would come: He'd have a chance to put his "Moneyball" approach to the test on one of the biggest basketball stages in the country.
Why he wouldn't: All but six of his past 32 years in the profession have been spent west of the Mississippi, and he was born in El Paso, Texas. Is he interested in coming back east?
Kyle Smith (Photo courtesy of Washington State University)
Jerome Tang, Kansas State
Tang was there nearly every step of the way as Drew built a winning program at Baylor before he left to lead K-State to the Elite Eight last season, his first at the school, where his team lost to May and FAU.
Although he is 57, Tang is only in his second season as a head coach. The Wildcats are 10th in the 14-team Big 12 with an overall record of 18-13. Most bracket projections do not include Kansas State in the 2024 field.
After last season, Tang signed a contract extension through 2030 that pays him more than $3.3 million. His buyout is reportedly $6 million through the end of April.
But if Louisville likes Drew, it would stand to reason that Tang would merit a look should the Baylor coach decide to stay in Waco. Tang's Christian faith is a part of the package he brings, and he speaks of it often, as he has done in Manhattan. He attended North Central Bible College in Minneapolis before finishing his degree online at Charter Oak State College.
Why he would come; He seemed to be at odds a bit with Kansas State leadership over a player disciplinary matter earlier in the season.
Why he wouldn't: With Louisville's reputation as a party town, would he be a good fit?
Jerome Tang (Photo courtesy of Kansas State University)
PINCH US, WE'RE DREAMING:
Billy Donovan, Chicago Bulls
Another former Pitino assistant and certainly the most successful one, Donovan made four NCAA Final Fours and won two championships before he bolted for the NBA in 2015. After five seasons with the Oklahoma Thunder, Donovan has coached the Chicago Bulls the last four seasons.
Donovan has not been as successful in the NBA as he was in college. The Bulls have yet to win a playoff series and sit ninth in the Eastern Conference with a 30-32 record.
Although Donovan signed a four-year contract extension in November, there has been speculation in Chicago that he could be dismissed if the Bulls fail to make the playoffs.
Would he be interested in a return to the college game, at the school that fired his former coach, mentor and friend. Seems unlikely, considering the word was Donovan left the college game because he tired of the recruiting nonsense before the transfer portal/NIL era.
Why he would come: The chance to build another national power at a power program, and perhaps approach the college job differently as NIL forces more division of labor in college football programs, including the hiring of general managers.
Why he wouldn't: He loves coaching in the NBA and has expressed zero desire to leave it.
Billy Donovan (Photo courtesy of the Chicago Bulls)
Bruce Pearl, Auburn
After a 10-season grind to make Auburn one of the top programs in the SEC, would Pearl be looking for one more challenge? He'll turn 64 on March 18 and earns about $5.4 million per season, a deal Pearl signed when Auburn extended him through the 2030 season after rumors circulated that he had interest from Louisville two years ago. (Those stories turned out not to be true either way.)
Pearl has won a national championship in the city Louisville (in 1995, at Division II Southern Indiana), is there any chance he would want to win a championship for Louisville? There's no indication Louisville has shown interest, nor any that Pearl would want to get out of a lifetime deal.
His buyout is reportedly $8.5, which seems reasonable for a coach who has won 21 or more games over six of the last seven seasons.
Pearl ticks as many boxes as any coach in the game for Louisville: High fan engagement, energetic approach, pressing, up-tempo style, good in the portal, built-in rivalry with John Calipari and Kentucky, loves the limelight.
Why he would come: It's a chance to take center stage in a place where basketball is king.
Why he would not: Having built a contender at Auburn, at his age, does he want to start over somewhere else?
Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl has the Tigers 3-0, sitting atop the Southeastern Conference. (AP Photo/James Crisp)
Louisville Basketball Coverage:
- BOZICH | It did not work, but Kenny Payne earned his chance at Louisville
- Kenny Payne fired at Louisville after just 12 wins in 2 tumultuous seasons
- CRAWFORD | What went wrong? For Payne at Louisville, many factors led to failure
- CRAWFORD | By the numbers: Kenny Payne's tenure in cold, hard stats
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