College basketball coaching carousel

Donovan's 2000 signing class was the No. 1 in the country. But Kwame Brown went pro, James White left after a year and David Lee became a much better player after he got to the NBA.

 

I stand corrected. It appears Miller and Dupay were top-20 recruits. Haslem was not, but Brett Nelson was, too. With four five-star players, the 2000 Gators clearly fall into the stacked-deck category.

 

I think what hurt Donovan was that after the 2000 run they lost in the first or second round to pretty mediocre teams until they broke through and won the back-to-back titles.

He should be on anybody's list as the top 10 coaches in the country. I think most would have Coach K, Izzo and Williams as 1-2-3, but Donovan should be on that list.

 

But I think he would consider taking the same money from Columbia. I think he'd like to return to the state - this time to coach one of the better-resouced schools as opposed to Winthrop - and I'm guessing that Gregg Marshall knows that no one else has had much luck in Lincoln. That's a laughable point to some ... and a salient point to others. View it as you wish.

 

I wonder if there is a specific job Shaka Smart is eyeing.

 

He's also a helluva nice guy. Not that that means much in sports these days, but I can certainly see why if he steps into your living room, you'd immediately want to play for him.

 

Um, anyone notice that Oliver Purnell isn't having much luck at DePaul? Given the work the man did at Dayton and Clemson, who should the least bit surprised that Shaka Smart has taken one look at the Chicago scene and figured out he likes VCU a lot more?

 

Good question. The guy may love VCU, but I'd like to see him take a big-time job. He's sharp and deserves all the accolades, money and success that would come with taking a step up to a power conference.

 

Exactly. I remember him at the 2000 Final Four and thinking, "If I was an 18-year-old kid, I would want to play for this guy."

 

I'd like to think that maybe Smart realizes how young he is and how he'd like to develop for a few more years before he takes a big time job, but I don't believe that. That's not a shot at him, that's a shot at the egos of coaches in general.

Last year, I got it. The jobs he was mentioned for came right after the Final Four. Illinois is a pretty damn good job, but I wonder if he wants to stay in a certain region or if there is a gig that he wants.

I wondered the same thing about the Butler coach and everybody seemed to think he had his eye on the Indiana job. I know some have said he wants the Duke job.

 

Illinois is a top-20 job. They don't come around every day. And considering his Midwestern roots, I can't believe he expects a better opportunity to come his way.
That said, it isn't like there aren't more than a few decent prospects in the Midwest this year.

 

Arguably. If so, it's No. 20.