Even I didn’t think the Minnesota men’s basketball job would be open this long, but it also doesn’t surprise me. While the ones who said this is the reason Tubby shouldn’t have been let go, he still should’ve been fired.
There are still many viable candidates out there to coach the Gophers and there is still a lot of potential that surrounds the job. The Barn is a good place for basketball if the fans ever show up and Minneapolis is becoming a recruiting hotbed.
Here are some candidates that haven’t said no and would actually be good hires. No, I would’ve never included Mick Cronin on here.
Gregg Marshall – Wichita State head coach
No, this isn’t a “they made the Final Four” flashy pick. Yes, I admit, it makes the resume really sizzle, but Marshall has this knack for making it to the NCAA Tournament. Marshall came to Wichita State and won 11 games his first year (2007-08).
The next year the Shockers were in the CBI, then the NIT and then the NIT championship game. The last two years, the Shockers have made the NCAA tournament and were a No. 5 seed last season. Yes, they lost to VCU, but everyone loves Shaka Smart.
This year, the epic journey to the Final Four for the 50-year-old coach, but Wichita State isn’t where Marshall made his mark.
Before coming to Wichita, Marshall made the NCAA tournament seven times in his nine years as head coach at Winthrop. His last year at Winthrop, they made it to the second round.
The only reason he didn’t get hired at a higher place than Wichita State after Winthrop is because he reportedly rubs some people the wrong way. All he does is make the tournament and gets the most out of his teams. I think he is well worth throwing some money at to take a chance on at Minnesota.
Nate McMillan – unemployed NBA head coach
Yes, I get it, he is an unemployed NBA head coach and usually NBA coaches don’t take NCAA jobs. He also has no ties to the University of Minnesota and no college experience.
But I am willing to take a chance on him because he has had success in the NBA and I think he is the type of coach that can recruit and get players ready for the NBA. I think that is huge for a college kid, to have someone get them ready for the NBA. Just ask Kentucky how that is working out with John Calipari. Yes, it was a rough year for Kentucky but they again have one of the best recruiting classes and a lot of NBA prospects.
I don’t know if McMillan has interest on the college level, but can’t hurt to try. I mean, the Gophers did seriously go after Cronin. Plus McMillan was an assistant for Coach K and Team USA this past summer and in 2008.
Scott Drew – Baylor head coach
Drew was asked to do the impossible at Baylor – take over the mess that Dave Bliss caused there by covering up a murder. Since that time, Drew turned Baylor into the laughing stock of the Big 12 to a competitive team. Yes, Baylor only made the NIT this year, but they are competing for the NIT title after losing three players to the NBA last season.
Drew has two Elite Eight appearances with Baylor under his belt and is still only 42 years old. He has to recruit at Baylor. Minnesota is a huge upgrade.
Tad Boyle – Colorado head coach
Boyle has only been at Colorado for three years, but he has made the postseason in all three years and is 50 years old, so not exactly old and not young either.
The last two years, Colorado has made the NCAA tournament and the prior year they made it the NIT semifinals.
Before coming to Colorado, he was the coach at Northern Colorado. While that doesn’t sound too impressive, his team won four total games in their first year and were a 25-win team by the time he left for Colorado.
One problem is that he is a Pueblo, Colorado native, so he may not want to leave his home state anytime soon, or ever.
Tim Floyd – UTEP head coach
Seriously, how can you not support a guy who wants you to get your library card? Reading Rainbow on the Minnesota campus? Sure!
Floyd is currently sitting in NCAA purgatory known as UTEP for the last three years and has only made the NIT tournament once in those three years.
However, he was cleared of wrongdoing by the NCAA and USC was interested in bringing him back at one point. Why? Because is really the only one to have success with the Southern Cal basketball program in a long time. The Trojans made the NCAA tournament 3 of the 4 years he was there and made it to the Sweet 16 once.
Yes, his trip to the NBA with the Chicago Bulls was a disaster, but who didn’t see that coming? He got NBA money, which is what he wasn’t going to get at Iowa State.
Speaking of his time with the Cyclones, he guided them to NCAA tournament in three of his four years in Ames. Floyd even had success at New Orleans, leading the program to 2 NCAA tournaments and three NIT appearances before he went to Ames.
Floyd is 59, but it’s not like Tubby Smith was all that young when Minnesota brought him on. I would say Floyd has a good 10-15 years left in him in the coaching world. Heck, why not? I think he is a better candidate than say…Cronin.
Dave Rice – UNLV head coach
Rice has only been a head coach for two years, but he has made the NCAA tournament with UNLV in both of those years in a gritty Mountain West Conference. Plus he is only 44 years old.
However, this is a long shot because Rice played for UNLV and was an assistant there before going to BYU to be an assistant. He was at BYU during the Jimmer time and then went back to UNLV when Lon Kruger went to Oklahoma. I think UNLV is where he wants to be, but it’s not like Minnesota is hearing the word “yes” too often lately, so why not take the chance?
Marvin Menzies – New Mexico State head coach
Menzies’ only stint as a head coach has been at New Mexico State and the Aggies have made the NCAA tournament two of the last three years.
Before coming to NMSU, he was an assistant under Rick Pitino and he is 51 years old.
Wayne Tinkle – Montana head coach
Tinkle has been at Montana since the 2006-07 season and Montana has made the NCAA tournament three of the last four years, making a trip to the CBI the one year they didn’t make it in those four. OK, it’s the CBI, I get it, no big deal.
Also, I get the Big Sky isn’t exactly a basketball hotbed, but Montana has still won the conference and earned a trip to the tournament. He is also 47 years old and with the way the list of candidates that have turned down Minnesota, is he really looking that bad?
'Sota Sports 