College Basketball: Ranking the top coaching moves of 2017-18 offseason

No. 9 Mike Rhoades to VCU

Remember the name Mike Rhoades.

Shaka Smart leaving the VCU Rams for a job with the Texas Longhorns was expected by all but probably the most die-hard fans. He had been too successful for far too long to avoid being enticed away by a bigger program with more money.

What most of the country, myself excluded, thought would happen, however, is that VCU would take a step back and become one of the mid-majors we all remember fondly like George Mason that just never made it back to the top.

Enter Will Wade, the former Chattanooga Mocs’ coach who immediately kept the standard of basketball high at VCU. He stepped in almost seamlessly, keeping the program in the NCAA Tournament throughout both seasons.

Surprisingly, Wade bolted for the LSU Tigers leaving the Rams with yet another vacancy at the end of last season.

Now, the coach of the Rams will be Mike Rhoades.

Not the biggest named coach in the country, he took one of the perennial bottom feeders in college basketball, the Rice Owls, to a 23-12 record last season that included a trip to the CBI.

Sure, fans will be nervous about what Rhoades can do at a better program like VCU, but they were nervous about Wade, too, and that worked out well.

Expect big things from VCU and Rhoades in the future, because the Rams are one of the best programs in college basketball – no matter who is at the helm.