New Coaches: How Did They Fare?

Before this season started we looked at all the coaching changes that occurred during last offseason. Now that the season has ended, we thought it was a good time to look back and see how those new coaches performed. As a disclaimer here, we know one season doesn't make or break a new coach. Additionally, win differential from one season to another doesn't necessarily indicate improvement or lack of improvement. We get that some coaches inherited great rosters and other inherited a mess. Even so, we're going to take a look at those things to see who knocked it out of the park with their coaching hires and who might be sweating it out a little bit.

Perhaps not surprisingly, coaches with previous head coaching experience performed better than coaching who were first time head coaches. What is interesting is that neither group out-performed their predecessors. Teams with new coaches who had previous coaching experience had an average of 2.46 less wins on the season. Teams with a new coach who did not have previous head coaching experience had an average of 5.55 less wins on the seasons.

Taking a deeper dive, we broke down the coaches who had previous head coaching experience into two categories: those who had been fired or forced to resign from their previous jobs and those who left their previous jobs to pursue another opportunity. Teams who hired head coaches who had been fired from their previous jobs won an average of 3.75 fewer games than the previous year. Teams who hired head coaches away from other schools won an average of 1.75 fewer games.

All that is to say, after just one year of data it appears the best coaching candidates are those who already had success as a head coach. The worst candidates are those who had no head coaching experience.

As far as individual success goes, nobody was more successful than Chris Beard. Beard joined Little Rock and in his first year improved their win total by a whopping 17 games. He also took them to the NCAA Tournament where they upset Purdue. Unfortunately for this data set, Beard has already left Little Rock to take over the head job at UNLV. It will be interesting to follow his trajectory particularly because his only previous head coaching experience was at the Division II level.

Just behind Beard in individual performance was Eric Musselman, head coach at Nevada. Nevada improved their wins by 15 over last year. Musselman is another interesting case because he had some head coaching experience before taking this job but all of it was at the NBA level. In college he had only served as assistant and associate head coach. Still, the Wolfpack have to be pleased with his first year performance.

Other High Win Differentials:

• Montez Robinson, Alcorn St. (+9 wins)
• Steve Forbes, East Tennessee St. (+8 wins)
• Jeff Neubauer, Fordham (+7 wins)
• Matt McCall, Chattanooga (+7 wins)

On the other hand, there were some hires that are already smelling pretty putrid. Topping that list is Chris Mullin at St. John's. Look, maybe Mullin will end up being a Hall of Fame coach, but if his first year is any indication, he is much more likely to be unemployed. The Red Storm were a 20+ win team a year ago under Steve Lavin. This year, they didn't even win 10 games. They won just 1 Big East game all season long and were at times flat out bad. Just an awful basketball team. Mullin should get more than one season to prove himself, but if the results don't change quickly, St. John's will be searching for a head coach again soon.

Perhaps unfairly, Matt McMahon is the other coach who significantly lowered his team's wins in his first season. Murray St. won 12 fewer games in his first season than they did in the previous year. We say that is perhaps unfair to McMahon because Murray St. won 29 games the year before he took over and lost 2 of their 3 leading scorers from that team. It would have been hard for Coach K to win 29 games at Murray St. this season. Murray St. did still finish in first place in their division in the Ohio Valley Conference, so McMahon has plenty of successes to point to.

Like we said at the top, we know one season does not determine the successes and failures of a new head coach. Since that's true, we're going to follow this group of coaches for several years to see who has the most and least success. We're trying to answer the question: "Where do the best head coaches come from?"

Top 10 Wins of the Week

The first week of the season is in the books! Some mid-majors missed chances to get resume-building wins, but others capitalized on these early season opportunities. We've picked our Top 10 Wins of the Week for mid-majors.


10. North Florida over Illinois - It's worth noting anytime a team from the A-Sun takes down a team from the Big Ten, but this wasn't as big of an upset as some made it out to be. North Florida should be the favorite to win the A-Sun and Illinois is riddled with injuries at the moment. We'll learn more about the Ospreys soon. Their non conference still includes Louisville, St. Louis, LSU, Dayton, Arkansas, and VCU. Yikes.

9. Chattanooga over Georgia - It took overtime, but the Mocs got a big win in their opener. They have a new head coach this year, but they're hoping to pick up where they left off last year. As for Georgia, they scheduled a tough slate of mid-majors. Their next game is against Murray St. The Bulldogs could be staring 0-2 in the face.

8. Montana over Boise St. - Boise St. has been a bubble team for a couple seasons in a row now, so this is a quality win for the Grizzlies. They followed it up with a loss to San Jose St., though. Boise shouldn't get too discouraged. One loss won't ruin the season. They will need to pick it up quickly, though. They play number 12 Arizona next.

7. Valparaiso over Iona; Valparaiso over Rhode Island - Two good wins in a week puts Valparaiso at number 6. Iona has started the season 0-2, but they should compete for the MAAC title once again this year. Rhode Island, although without their star E.C. Matthews who is out for the season, was expected to be a factor in the A-10 race as well. It's a great win for Valpo who is one of the best mid-majors in the nation and a fringe top 25 team.

6. Sacramento St. over Arizona St. - We aren't saying Sacramento St. isn't good. But the expectations for Bobby Hurley's first year as the head coach at Arizona St. were high. Unreasonably high? Perhaps. Either way, this is a really good win for the Hornets. They and Eastern Washington duked it out for the Big Sky Conference championship last year, and that could very well be the case again this year if this game is any indication.

5. Long Beach St. over BYU; Long Beach St. over Seton Hall - We wrote a piece last year about LBSU's non-conference scheduling and this season is no different. The 49ers play Oklahoma St., San Diego St., Colorado St., UCLA, Oregon, Arizona, and Duke. All before New Year's. If they're going to build an at-large resume they'll need to win some of those games. They're off to a good start by beating BYU and Seton Hall in 2 of their first 3 games.

4. William & Mary over NC State - This isn't so much about William & Mary beating NC State as it is about how badly they beat them. The Tribe won by 17 points. That's not a typo. They absolutely dominated the game. NC State may not have been picked to win the ACC, but the Wolfpack always expect to be competitive in the nation's best conference. For William & Mary to totally dismantle them like they did is a very good sign for fans of the Tribe.

3. Radford over Georgetown - After game 1 Georgetown could have been written off. Everyone could have assumed that this just wasn't going to be a good year for the Hoyas. Then they went to College Park and played the Terps right down to the wire. That's a Maryland team, by the way, who some think will compete for the national title. This is not a bad Georgetown team. But Radford beat them in double overtime. It was a shocking result and a fantastic win.

2. Western Illinois over (17) Wisconsin - If we were picking most surprising win of the week, this would be the one. Sure, the Badgers lost a lot from their national runner-up team from a year ago. But there could not have been anyone out there who saw this coming outside of Macomb, Illinois. The Leathernecks surprised Wisconsin and the country. They could do it again if they continue to play well. They have games against Creighton and Iowa still left on the non-conference slate.

1. George Washington over (6) Virginia - There is no doubt that the best win of the week goes to George Washington. The Colonials have pretty consistently fought for NCAA Tournament births over the past several years, but UVA has been on a different level. This is a team who has gone toe-to-toe with the Dukes and Carolinas in ACC play. They were the number 1 team in the country for long stretches last year. They lost a lot from that team, but they were still expected to be a top 10 team this year. They may well still be a top 10 team, but George Washington might also not have anything to worry about when it comes to Selection Sunday this year.

Other Wins of Note:
Belmont over Marquette
Colorado St. over Northern Iowa
Old Dominion over Buffalo
Northern Iowa over Stephen F. Austin
Dayton over Alabama
George Mason over Ole Miss
Southern over Mississippi

Games to Watch This Weekend: November 20-22

Friday, November 20

• 1:00pm - Temple vs. Butler
• 7:00pm - Murray St. vs. Georgia
• 7:30pm - Duke vs. VCU: Havoc is gone, or at least its mastermind is. Shaka Smart has moved on to Texas, which leaves VCU without a real identity. They're working on creating one under first year head coach Will Wade. Beating Duke would be quite a statement.
• 8:00pm - Columbia vs. Northwestern

Saturday, November 21

• 12:00pn - Old Dominion vs. Purdue: Purdue has one of their best teams since the Gene Keady years, but Old Dominion is one of the more consistent programs at the mid-major level. The Monarchs are 3-0 so far on this young season with a good win over Buffalo. They will get their first real test against Purdue, though.
• 12:00pm - North Florida vs. Louisville
• 2:00pm - North Carolina vs. Northern Iowa
• 2:00pm - William & Mary vs. Dayton
• 2:30pm - Florida vs. Saint Joseph's
• 8:30pm - Chattanooga vs. Illinois

Sunday, November 22

• 4:30pm - Akron vs. Villanova
• 6:00pm - Valparaiso vs. Oregon: Both of the Sunday games to watch are quality, but if we had to pick one, it would be this one. Valparaiso has started the season hot winning their early games against decent opponents. This win would be on another level and would put Valpo on the national radar. 

2015 ESPN Tip-Off Marathon

ESPN and college basketball have had a long and storied history together. A more recent tradition is the Tip-Off Marathon. The marathon means you can watch college basketball from 7:30pm on Monday to midnight on Tuesday. It's glorious. And there are several mid-major games worth keeping an eye on during the more than 24 hours of games. The schedule is below with some commentary on the most important mid-major games.

Monday, November 16

• 5:30pm, ESPN2: (1) Connecticut vs. (13) Ohio St. (Women)
• 7:30pm, ESPN2: (4) Virginia vs. George Washington
• 9:00pm, EPSNU: Kennesaw St. vs. LSU
• 9:30pm, ESPN2: San Diego St. vs. (13) Utah - Steve Fisher usually puts together a solid team year in and year out. They will get a good early test against Utah, a program on the rise.
• 11:30pm, ESPN2: (17) Baylor vs. Oregon

Tuesday, November 17

• 1:45am, ESPN2: BYU vs. Long Beach St.
• 4:00am, ESPN2: Nevada vs. Hawaii
• 6:00am, ESPN2: Green Bay vs. East Tennessee St.
• 8:00am, ESPN2: Stephen F. Austin vs. Northern Iowa - Stephen F. Austin lost their opener to Baylor, and it wasn't really close. It was a setback for the Lumberjacks who had high expectations coming into the year. Northern Iowa also lost their opener to Colorado St. in the Mountain West/Missouri Valley Challenge. Neither of these teams expected to start the season 0-2, but one of them will.
• 10:00am, ESPN2: Valparaiso vs. Rhode Island - Valpo is one of the best mid-major teams in the country and have Sweet 16 potential. Rhode Island is an up and coming team under Danny Hurley, but they lost E.C. Matthews for the season during their opener on Friday. This will be a tough first test without him.
• 1:00pm, ESPN: Alabama vs. Dayton
• 3:00pm, ESPN: Colorado vs. Auburn
• 5:00pm, ESPN: (8) Oklahoma vs. Memphis
• 7:30pm, ESPN: (3) Kentucky vs. (6) Duke
• 9:00pm, ESPN2: Georgetown vs. (1) Maryland
• 10:00pm, ESPN: (5) Kansas vs. (19) Michigan St.

Opening Weekend Games to Watch

College basketball starts tomorrow, and we couldn't be more excited. It's just 125 days until the beginning of the NCAA Tournament. This weekend's games might be some player's first foray into the world of major college basketball, but their performances this weekend could give a team the win they need to get that bid to the big dance. Let's take a look at some of the mid-major games we'll be keeping an eye on.

Friday

7:00pm - Pitt vs. Gonzaga

Pitt isn't going to be fantastic this year, but Gonzaga lost Kevin Pangos and Byron Wesley. Will the Zags be a top 10 team again or will this be a down year? They do still have pre-season All-American Kyle Wiltjer. Their opener against Pitt should give us an idea of how good this team could be.

7:00pm - Chattanooga vs. Georgia

The Mocs lost their head coach, Will Wade, to VCU after last season. Still, they finished last season at 22-10 (15-3) and will look to have another great season under first-year head coach Matt McCall. They will get a good first test against Georgia who finished a respectable 21-12 last season.

7:30pm - Sacramento St. vs. Arizona St.

Sacramento St. had one of their best years in school history last year going 21-12 (13-5) and playing in the CIT. Head coach Brian Katz has this team trending in the right direction. When he took over the program in 2008, the team won just 2 games. Arizona St. is looking to capitalize on one of the most talked-about head coaching hires of the offseason. Bobby Hurley is coming over to the Sun Devils after a successful run with Buffalo. Can he duplicate that success at Arizona St.? It will be interesting to see how these teams react to each other.

8:00pm - North Florida vs. Illinois

North Florida is probably the favorite to win the A-Sun. If they're going to be a bracket buster come March, though, this is a game they need to be competitive in.

8:00pm - Wofford vs. Missouri

Chattanooga is the favorite to win the Southern Conference, but Wofford will have something to say about that. Their first game of the season will be a good test for them and a nice measuring stick.

9:00pm - Belmont vs. Marquette

Belmont has established themselves as a perennial contender for an NCAA Tournament bid. Will they give Wojo fits in the opener? Don't be surprised to see a close game here.

9:00pm - Green Bay vs. Stanford

Green Bay had a really good non-conference win last year against Miami (FL). Can they repeat that feat this year by beating Stanford?

9:00pm - Boise St. vs. Montana

This is a huge matchup of two potential March bracket busters. Both of these teams could make life difficult for a higher seed in the tourney. It's nice to see them challenging themselves in the non-conference by playing a quality opponent.

9:30pm - Stephen F. Austin vs. Baylor

Give Baylor credit for scheduling this one. Stephen F. Austin has been one of the best mid-majors in the country for several years now. That will be true again this season. Are they good enough to be a solid Baylor team? We'll find out. 

Saturday

12:00pm - Colorado St. vs. Northern Iowa

We can't wait for this one. Northern Iowa was one of the best teams in the country last year, mid-major or not. Colorado St. is no slouch either. This will be a great game and will give us some clarity about how these teams will fare moving forward.

7:00pm - Harvard vs. Providence

Tommy Amaker has built a powerhouse program at Harvard. Providence has had a nice run under head coach Ed Cooley. This will be a competitive game that will have ramifications moving forward.

8:00pm - NJIT vs. Kentucky

NJIT won't win this game. It might not even be competitive. But the Highlanders pulled off a huge upset last year by beating Michigan in Ann Arbor and went to the CIT to play post-season basketball for the first time in school history. Expectations are high for NJIT and this will be a good measure of how they deal with harsh conditions.

9:00pm - Cleveland St. vs. Akron

Akron is going to be one of the best mid-majors in the country this season, and Cleveland St. is always competitive in Horizon League play.

Sunday

1:00pm - Wake Forest vs. Bucknell

They might be the mid-major playing against a P5 team, but this is a winnable game for Bucknell.

2:30pm - Iona vs. Valparaiso

This might just turn out to be the game of the weekend. Iona disappointed last year by not making the NCAA Tournament despite being the clear favorite in their conference. Valpo, on the other hand, has had great success under Bryce Drew making NCAA Tournaments in 2 of the last 3 years.

Coaching Carousel, Part 4

Liberty

Last Season Finished: 8-24 (2-16)

What happened to the last coach?

Dale Layer was fired after the 2015 season. He went 82-113 in 6 seasons at Liberty, taking them to 1 NCAA Tournament in 2013.

Who is the new coach?

Ritchie McKay
Head Coaching Experience: Portland St., Colorado St., Oregon St., New Mexico, Liberty
Record as a Head Coach: 204-186

Apparently the Flames missed Ritchie McKay. Good thing the feeling was mutual. McKay will return as the head coach of Liberty after spending the last 6 seasons as an assistant coach under Tony Bennett at Virginia. He was previously the head coach at Liberty for 2 seasons from 2007-2009. In that time, the Flames went 39-28 and played in the postseason once when they made the quarterfinals of the CIT. McKay left voluntarily to take the assistant coaching job under his friend Bennett, but apparently the lure of being a head coach was too much for him this time. He will look to turn around a Liberty team who hasn't finished above .500 since 2011, including the season when they went to the NCAA Tournament.

Alcorn State

Last Season Finished: 6-26 (4-14)

What happened to the last coach?

Alcorn St. decided not to extend the contract of Luther Riley at the end of the season. Riley took a personal leave of absence mid-season last year, although his time off seems to have had no affect on this decision. It was more performance based. He went just 38-91 in his 4 seasons with the team.

Who is the new coach?

Montez Robinson
Head Coaching Experience: None
Record as a Head Coach: 0-0

Robinson was an assistant coach at Bethune-Cookman before being hired as the head man at Alcorn St. It will be his first foray into the world of head coaching.

Mississippi State

Last Season Finished: 13-19 (6-12)

What happened to the last coach?

Rick Ray was fired as soon as the season ended last year. In 3 seasons as the head coach at Miss St. he went 37-60. The team showed little improvement under Ray, but this move could just as easily been about the potential to land a proven coach as a replacement. Something Miss St. was able to do.

Who is the new coach?

Ben Howland
Head Coaching Experience: Northern Arizona, Pittsburgh, UCLA
Record as a Head Coach: 399-208

Howland worked his way up the coaching ranks pretty quickly. He was with Northern Arizona for 5 seasons, Pitt for 4, and then moved to UCLA. He was tremendously successful with the Bruins early on. He took them to 3 straight Final Fours, in fact. In his last 5 years there, though, the team only made the NCAA Tournament 3 times and never made it out of the Round of 32. UCLA has high standards and that just wasn't good enough. He was let go. He took 2 years off before being named the head man at Miss St. The expectations won't be as high as they were at UCLA, but people will expect him to win games with the Bulldogs. He has proven before that he can do that.

Southeast Missouri State

Last Season Finished: 13-17 (7-9)

What happened to the last coach?

Dickey Nutt was fired after 6 seasons and a record of 80-107. He was unable to get the Redhawks to the NCAA Tournament which just wasn't enough to keep him around.

Who is the new coach?

Rick Ray
Head Coaching Experience: Mississippi St.
Record as a Head Coach: 37-60

See above. Ray did not have a particularly successful turn as the head coach at Miss St. Still, he paid his dues as an assistant coach and landed a head coaching job at a P5 conference school. It's a solid hire for Southeast Missouri St. who hasn't been dancing since 2000.

Hawaii

Last Season Finished: 22-13 (8-8)

What happened to the last coach?

Benny Taylor was the interim head coach for entire season last year. Former head coach Gib Arnold was fired following an NCAA investigation. Gib was not retained as permanent head coach.

Who is the new coach?

Eran Ganot
Head Coaching Experience: None
Record as a Head Coach: 0-0

Ganot is inheriting a bit of a mess here. Hawaii self imposed sanctions and fired their former head coach. They have been under investigation for more than a year. Ganot was hired because he's familiar with the school (he was an assistant coach from 2006-2010) and because of his dedication to NCAA compliance which he had to have stressed to the brass as Hawaii. Winning will be important, of course, but getting the program back on the good side of the NCAA will be just as important initially.

Iowa State

Last Season Finished: 25-9 (12-6)

What happened to the last coach?

Fred Holberg was hired by the Chicago Bulls. Hard to turn down that offer. In 5 seasons he turned Iowa St. in a powerhouse contender. They made 4 straight NCAA Tournaments and won at least 23 games in each of those seasons. The Cyclones needed to make a great hire to maintain that success.

Who is the new coach?

Steve Prohm
Head Coaching Experience: Murray St. 
Record as a Head Coach:104-29

If the goal was to knock it out of the park with their new hire, they succeeded. Prohm amassed a .782 winning percentage in his 4 years at Murray St. The Racers only made the NCAA Tournament once in his 4 seasons, but they also won the CIT Championship and made the quarterfinals of the NIT as well. In four years they lost only 10 conference games. In short, it was a successful partnership. Iowa St. is hoping he can duplicate that kind of success with the Cyclones. It's not a rebuilding job. All he has to do is maintain.

Murray State

Last Season Finished: 29-6 (16-0)

What happened to the last coach?

See above. Steve Prohm parted ways with the Racers after a hugely successful stint with Murray St.

Who is the new coach?

Matt McMahon
Head Coaching Experience: None
Record as a Head Coach: 0-0

McMahon was an assistant coach at Murray St. for 4 years before leaving to become an assistant at Louisiana Tech. When the head coaching job opened up at Murray St., he and the Racers both decided it was right to bring him back. He will take over a team who just went 16-0 in conference, so it will be on him to simply maintain success. One area of improvement, though, will be for the team to make NCAA Tournaments. That was an area of struggle under Steve Prohm.

Kennesaw State

Last Season Finished: 10-22 (4-10)

What happened to the last coach?

This was a strange transition. The Owls named Jimmy Lallathin the interim head coach after Lewis Preston took a leave of absence during the 2013-14 season. When the decision was made to let go of Preston, they hired Lallathin as the permanent coach. One year later, he was fired.

Who is the new coach?

Al Skinner
Head Coaching Experience: Rhode Island, Boston College
Record as a Head Coach: 385-291

This is quite a get for Kennesaw St. Skinner has been coaching for a very long time but not as a head coach since he was fired from Boston College in 2010. There is still some controversy surrounding that firing, but this is a chance to Skinner to move on. Kennesaw St. is as irrelevant as it gets in college basketball right now, but they now have a coach with NCAA Tournament experience who can guide this program there. He surely has a chip on his shoulder and is ready to prove that he can still win. If he does, it will be great for all involved.

Nevada

Last Season Finished: 9-22 (5-13)

What happened to the last coach?

The firing of David Carter could not have been a surprise to him. The Wolf Pack never made the NCAA Tournament in 6 seasons under Carter and his overall record was just 98-97. In his last 3 seasons, though, he won just 36 games.

Who is the new coach?

Eric Musselman
Head Coaching Experience: Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings
Record as a Head Coach: 108-138

This is a great hire for Nevada. Musselman did not have a lot of success in his NBA coaching career, but he has a ton of experience coaching at all different levels. He was most recently an assistant coach at LSU and Arizona St., but he has also coached in the NBA's D-League and as an assistant on several NBA teams. This is his first chance at a head coaching job in college hoops, but it's a challenge he won't be intimidated by.

Utah Valley

Last Season Finished: 11-19 (5-9)

What happened to the last coach?

Dick Hunksaker stepped down at the end of the season so he could spend more time with his family. He had been at Utah Valley since they were a junior college and he oversaw their ascension to D-I in 2009 as well.

Who is the new coach?

Mark Pope
Head Coaching Experience: None
Record as a Head Coach: 0-0

Pope has been an assistant in college basketball since 2009, but he is probably most well known for his playing days. He played for the Kentucky national championship team of 1996 and then played for several years in the NBA as well. This will be his first attempt at being a head coach.

Coaching Carousel, Part 3

Northern Kentucky

Last Season Finished: 13-17 (7-7)

What happened to the last coach?

Northern Kentucky fired Dave Bezold after their season ended last year. Bezold was the coach as the Norse made the transition from D-II to D-I, but Northern Kentucky did not have much success under him at the D-I level going just 33-54 in 3 seasons.

Who is the new coach?

John Brannen
Head Coaching Experience: None
Record as a Head Coach: 0-0

John Brannen will take over the reigns as the Norse makes another transition. This time they are going from the Atlantic Sun conference to the Horizon league. It's an improve, for sure, but will come with another jump in competition. Can the Norse keep up? Brannen will have a lot to do with answering that question.

Fordham

Last Season Finished: 10-21 (4-14)

What happened to the last coach?

Tom Pecora just never found his footing at Fordham. The Rams never won more than 10 games in his 5 seasons at the helm and finished no better than 12th place in the A-10 standings.

Who is the new coach?

Jeff Neubauer
Head Coaching Experience: Eastern Kentucky
Record as a Head Coach: 188-134

Neaubauer really started hitting his stride with Eastern Kentucky. The Colonels have made 3 straight postseason appearances and won at least 20 games each of the last 3 seasons as well. In his 10 seasons at Eastern Kentucky they made 2 NCAA Tournaments and 2 CITs. He will be tasked with turning around a Fordham program that has not had much success. They haven't made the NCAA Tournament since 1992.

Eastern Kentucky

Last Season Finished: 21-12 (11-5)

What happened to the last coach?

See above. Jeff Neubauer took his talents to New York City. He will try his hand in the A-10 and see if he can turn around the Fordham Rams.

Who is the new coach?

Dan McHale
Head Coaching Experience: None
Record as a Head Coach: 0-0

Dan McHale inherits a pretty good situation from Jeff Neubauer. Eastern Kentucky has finished 2nd, 2nd, and 1st in the East Division of the OVC each of the last 3 seasons. That stretch includes 2 CIT appearances and 1 NCAA Tournament. McHale will be tasked with maintaining that success and building on it.

Tennessee

Last Season Finished: 16-16 (7-11)

What happened to the last coach?

The Volunteers fired Donnie Tyndall after just one season after discovering he lied to them about the severity of possible NCAA violations at his last job as head coach of Southern Miss. Tennessee back tracked swiftly when they discovered the lies and the extent of the possible violations.

Who is the new coach?

Rick Barnes
Head Coaching Experience: George Mason, Providence, Clemson, Texas

Record as a Head Coach: 604-314

See below. Barnes will come into Tennessee expecting to raise the level of the program. If he has the same amount of success there as he did at Texas, the Tennessee faithful will be happy. For a time. Elevating the level of Tennessee basketball will be his mission at first. Meeting and exceeding expectations will determine how long he is able to stay.

Texas

Last Season Finished: 20-14 (8-10)

What happened to the last coach?

For all the success Rick Barnes had at Texas, there were an equal number of disappointments. He made a Final Four and 2 Elite Eights. His teams made the NCAA Tournament in 16 of his 17 seasons with Texas. They won 20 games in 15 of 17. The problem with those numbers is that they didn't meet expectations. In a way, he was his own worst enemy. He got recruits. Good ones. He just didn't turn that into the expected successes. Finishing 6th in the Big 12 last season wasn't good enough, and he was fired.

Who is the new coach?

Shaka Smart
Head Coaching Experience: VCU
Record as a Head Coach: 163-56

Texas went after their man hard and got him. The search began and ended with Shaka Smart. It's easy to understand why. He took VCU to the Final Four and has had sustained success in the Colonial Athletic and then A-10 conferences. The irony in this hire is that Barnes was fired for not having enough success in the NCAA Tournament despite making a Final Four. Smart hasn't made it out of the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament since making the Final Four. Still, he's one of the brightest young coaches out there, and Texas made a smart move to go after him.

VCU

Last Season Finished: 26-9 (12-6)

What happened to the last coach?

See above. Shaka Smart turned down job offer after job offer. And then Texas called. He couldn't turn down that offer and left VCU after a tremendous amount of success there.

Who is the new coach?

Will Wade
Head Coaching Experience: Chattanooga
Record as a Head Coach: 40-25

Given enough time in the role, Wade would have taken Chattanooga to new heights. In his 2 seasons there, he brought the Mocs their first 20 win season in 10 years, won the 2014 Southern Conference coach of the year, and took the team to the postseason once. He will now get a shot to take over a VCU team that is well-known and already established. His job there will be to maintain the success of Shaka Smart and not build a program. No small feat, to be sure.

Chattanooga

Last Season Finished: 22-10 (15-3)

What happened to the last coach?

See above. Will Wade is one of the hottest up and coming coaches in college basketball. He was an assistant at Harvard and VCU before taking over as the head coach at Chattanooga. He was with the Mocs for just 2 seasons before bolting for VCU.

Who is the new coach?

Matt McCall
Head Coaching Experience: None
Record as a Head Coach: 0-0

Chattanooga has done a good job in the past of hiring promising young coaches. They've gone that route again with this hire. McCall was an assistant under Billy Donovan at Florida for 4 years before taking this job and could be a great head coach. This is a great first gig for him because Wade is leaving Chattanooga in a good place. They can compete in the Southern Conference right away.

Arizona State

Last Season Finished: 18-16 (9-9)

What happened to the last coach?

Herb Sendek spent 9 seasons as the head coach at Arizona St. He had some successes as a Sun Devil, but they never quite got over the hump. They only made 2 NCAA Tournaments and missed the postseason altogether in 3 seasons. Arizona St. has higher expectations than that.

Who is the new coach?

Bobby Hurley

Head Coaching Experience: Buffalo

Record as a Head Coach: 42-20

Speaking of those higher expectations. The hiring of Bobby Hurley should have the Sun Devil faithful very optimistic about the future. Hurley only has 2 seasons of head coaching experience, but he took Buffalo to their first ever NCAA Tournament in one of those two seasons. He is also, of course, one of the greatest college players of all time. That doesn't always translate to coaching, but it doesn't hurt. And in this case, it seems to be helping Hurley. He could fail at Arizona St., but it sure looks like this is a great hire.

Buffalo

Last Season Finished: 23-10 (12-6)

What happened to the last coach?

See above. Buffalo has to be lamenting the loss of Bobby Hurley. They only got 2 seasons out of the former Duke star, but he is handing off a better program than he inherited. It's a shame he didn't stay longer, but Buffalo can't dwell on that now.

Who is the new coach?

Nate Oats
Head Coaching Experience: None
Record as a Head Coach: 0-0

Oats was an assistant coach under Hurley for the last 2 seasons, so he's familiar with the system and school. Buffalo opted for the familiar choice here, and that could certainly pay off for them. Oats was an amazingly successful high school coach in Detroit. High school coaching is vastly different, of course, but some of the intangible coaching traits will translate.

Arkansas-Little Rock

Last Season Finished: 13-18 (8-12)

What happened to the last coach?

Steve Shields was the winningest coach in the history of the Arkansas-Little Rock program. But after 12 seasons, it was time for a change. Shields was let go at the end of the season.

Who is the new coach?

Chris Beard
Head Coaching Experience: None
Record as a Head Coach: 0-0

Chris Beard will get his first taste of D-I coaching when he takes the court for the first time as the head man of the Trojans. He has a lot of coaching experience at lower levels, although he doesn't stick around at anyplace for very long. He spent no more than 2 seasons with any of the teams he previously coached. Arkansas-Little Rock is hoping for more than that out of Beard at their program.