The 2017-18 college basketball season is still a few months away, but the college basketball coaching carousel never stops. Here are the top coaching moves of the offseason, ranked.
Let’s face it. You probably have not been paying close of attention to what has been happening in the college basketball world over the last few months unless you are a die-hard college basketball fan.
Luckily, we have been, and we’ve got you covered.
News has been breaking about coaching changes since the start of the 2017 NCAA Tournament, as teams that missed out on the Big Dance would fire and hire a coach as soon as possible in order to stay ahead when it comes to recruiting.
The same has to be said of bigger name teams that made it to the NCAA Tournament and then struggled or mid-major teams that made it to the NCAA Tournament and had success.
Coaches are always hired and fired based on their team’s performance in March Madness, especially if a relatively no-name team gets an upset over a top school.
Not only are we up seeing some of the usual offseason coaching moves, but several top programs from big-name Power 5 schools have new coaches on their way in, as do some of the premier mid-major teams in college basketball. A new coach can make or break a team depending on several factors – none more important than whether the coach is a good fit for the program.
Here are the top 17 offseason coaching moves heading into the 2017-18 college basketball season.
No. 17 Chris Jans to New Mexico State
With the departure of Paul Weir to the New Mexico Lobos, the New Mexico State Aggies needed to make a good, experienced hire to keep the basketball program on the right path. They did so when they hired Chris Jans.
Jans has coached all over the country as both an assistant and head coach. He was an assistant for Elmhurst, Grand View, Idaho, Illinois State, and Wichita State, while he spent time as a head coach for Kirkwood Community College, Independence Community College, Howard Junior College, Chipola College, and Bowling Green.
Last season, NMSU finished second in the WAC regular season standings, but won the WAC Tournament and earned a trip to the 2017 NCAA Tournament. They would lose to the No. 3 seeded Baylor Bears, but the accomplishment was impressive.
The Aggies have been to the NCAA Tournament six times in the last eight seasons, so this is a top mid-major in college basketball. Jans has to keep them playing at this level.
It should be noted that Jans was fired from Bowling Green for violating a morals clause in his contract, as he was filmed while drunk acting inappropriately towards women at a bar close to campus. If he has turned his life around, this hire is great. If not, Paul Weir’s departure could do far more damage to the program than just a year or so of transition.
No. 16 Mike Boynton to Oklahoma State
Last season, the Oklahoma State Cowboys performed extremely well in a crowded Big 12, finishing the season with a 20-13 record. The Cowboys would find themselves fifth in the Big 12 at the end of the season and earn a spot in the 2017 NCAA Tournament. They would eventually lose to the Michigan Wolverines by just one in the Round of 64, but it was a solid season for a solid team.
However, after the season, Head Coach Brad Underwood would leave for a job with the Illinois Fighting Illini – a hire that appears a bit later on this list. Now, Oklahoma State will promote Mike Boynton to coach for the 2017-18 college basketball season.
Boynton, who played college basketball with the South Carolina Gamecocks, has been an assistant with Coastal Carolina, Wofford, South Carolina, Stephen F. Austin, and Oklahoma State before being promoted to head coach. He came to Oklahoma State to be with his former boss from Stephen F. Austin and now finds himself stepping up in his absence.
Oklahoma State is a good basketball program, and Boynton will do well as the coach there. However, I do not believe he is the ultimate solution to getting this team to contend at the top of the Big 12. Hopefully, he proves me wrong, but we will have to wait and see.
No. 15 Maurice Joseph to George Washington
The George Washington Colonials fired head coach Mike Lonergan and promoted Maurice Joseph to the same position after a year as the interim head coach in which the Colonials went 20-15 and finished sixth in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
Joseph has been with George Washington since 2011 as an assistant coach. He played college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans and then for the University of Vermont later in his career. His coach at Vermont was Lonergan, so that explains why he’s been on the GW staff with the former coach for so long.
I always love when a player gets promoted from within an organization, even if it is after a coach being fired. It usually means that the school likes the direction of the program but not the results. George Washington has been an up and down team over the last few seasons, and a change in coach might be just what they need to get out of their current slump and back into the NCAA Tournament.
Plus, by keeping the hire within the program, the program keeps the faith of the players through a face that they know as well as a handle on recruits and potential recruits who have received interest from George Washington.
No. 14 LaVall Jordan to Butler
The Butler Bulldogs lost a talented coach in Chris Holtmann, who appears later on this list and will join the Ohio State Buckeyes to replace Thad Matta.
However, they bring in a capable replacement in former Bulldogs’ player LaVall Jordan.
Jordan, who was the first player from Butler to ever play in the D-League, was an assistant coach at Butler, Iowa, and Michigan before earning the head coaching job with the Milwaukee Panthers.
Last season with the Panthers, Jordan finished dead last in the Horizon League Standings with a 4-14 record in conference and an 11-24 overall record. A new head coach in a mid-major conference is usually going to struggle, so this is nothing to worry about.
Butler has lost a talented coach before in now Boston Celtics’ coach Brad Stevens and came out fine. Holtmann was a good coach, but the Bulldogs are a great program. It does not matter who is at the helm; Butler will compete in the Big East
Jordan might not be the biggest name to be hired this offseason, but he is a good coach who should keep the Bulldogs on the right path and as one of the best non-Power 5 programs in all of college basketball.
No. 13 Matt McCall to UMass
What is it with coaches from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga?
First, former Chattanooga Mocs’ head coach Will Wade takes the jump to VCU. Wade has success with the Rams in the A-10 and is now the coach of the LSU Tigers in the SEC.
Now, former Chattanooga coach Matt McCall will move from the Mocs to the UMass Minutemen in the A-10. Will McCall have success at UMass and then move to an SEC school?
All jokes aside, McCall is a great hire for UMass. Former Minutemen coach Derek Kellogg is now coaching for LIU-Brooklyn, and McCall should slide into the role perfectly.
A solid recruiter and even better coach, McCall will have a lot of work to do before he gets UMass back to the top of the A-10 with the likes of VCU, Dayton, and others. As long as the team and fans are patient, I expect big things from him and this team.
I’ve seen a lot of McCall (and Wade for that matter) live, as members of my family attended UTC. If you are a fan of the Minutemen and are unsure of what you are getting in McCall, do not worry. He is a great hire, and expect your team to slide back to where they want to be after a brief transition period.
No. 12 Paul Weir to New Mexico
The New Mexico State Aggies have been one of the top mid-majors in college basketball over the last few seasons, and the New Mexico Lobos took notice, hiring NMSU’s coach Paul Weir for the 2017-18 season.
Consistent failure to meet expectations led to the departure of Craig Neal, and, when you take a look at the talent that always seems to be on the UNM roster, it makes sense. Last season, New Mexico went 17-14 overall with just a 10-8 record in conference play, finishing fifth in the Mountain West Conference and, obviously, missing out on the 2017 NCAA Tournament.
The mass exodus of players at UNM has to be concerning, especially for the immediate future of the team. Sure, most of the players leaving are ones who were highly-touted recruits that just never panned out, but it still means that next season could be really, really bad for the Lobos.
Hopefully, the desire of these players to leave signifies a change in style and culture within the Lobos’ program, and Weir has full control over the future of this team. More open scholarships mean more of “his” players, and I can’t wait to see what Weir does with this team in the future.
No. 11 Brian Gregory to South Florida
One of the more underrated offseason hires in college basketball, the South Florida Bulls decided to bring in Brian Gregory.
Gregory has been an assistant for Michigan State, Toledo, and Northwestern and a head coach for Dayton and, most recently, Georgia Tech. Last season, he was a consultant for Tom Izzo and the Spartans; he was also an assistant there for Izzo’s three Final Four appearance from 1999-2003.
The American Athletic Conference is only going to get more difficult with the addition of the Wichita State Shockers, and, while I believe the AAC is highly underrated, there are only so many NCAA Tournament spots up for grab out of the conference. Gregory’s addition means that USF has an eye on the future, as they try to build their program as a whole.
Gregory is not going to come into this program, grab a couple of five-stars, and lead them to a Final Four in season one or two. What he is going to do, however, is foster a winning culture, bring in solid, four-year athletes, and turn the South Florida program into one that players want to join.
Keep an eye on USF and Gregory, because this could be looked back on as the best hire of 2017-18 in a few years.
No. 10 Kevin Keatts to NC State
The NC State Wolfpack were the most disappointing team in all of college basketball last season. Boasting top recruits as well as veteran players, it was expected that NC State would at least give the top ACC teams a run for their money and make the NCAA Tournament with a shot to go for a deep run.
Instead, NC State finished next to last in the ACC with a dismal 15 – 17 overall record and just four conference wins.
This resulted in the firing of longtime NC State coach Mark Gottfried and the arrival of Kevin Keatts.
Keatts, who was a former assistant to Rick Pitino at Louisville, was most recently the coach of the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks.
Last season, UNCW finished with an impressive 29-6 record, winning the CAA and making it to the 2017 NCAA Tournament. The Seahawks would eventually lose to the Virginia Cavaliers by just five, but the season was impressive enough to draw interest from several programs who wanted to hire Keatts.
Keatts has what it takes to turn this NC State program around, but it is going to take time.
He already has one four-star, ESPN Top 100 recruit in Lavar Batts coming to the Wolfpack next season and another four-star committed in Jamie Lewis for 2018. This level of recruiting combined with his coaching ability should mean that the Wolfpack get back on track soon, but fans should be patient. The ACC is tough, and it’s a big jump from a transition season to the NCAA Tournament in the ACC.
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.
No. 8 Brad Underwood to Illinois
After being one of the most talked about names in college basketball whenever a coaching vacancy became available during his time at Stephen F. Austin, Brad Underwood took his talents to the Oklahoma State Cowboys for the 2016-17 season. The Cowboys would lose to Michigan in the 2017 NCAA Tournament on March 17, and he would be hired as the head coach of Illinois on March 18.
The Illinois Fighting Illini have always been a mid-level team in the Big Ten, but have the capability to be so much more. The addition of Underwood points to a concerted effort by the school to become relevant in the college basketball landscape, and he is already moving the team forward.
The addition of several four-star recruits in Mark Smith and Trent Frazier lead the 2017 recruiting class and, while I do not expect this team to be an NCAA Tournament team next season, I do expect them to be one in two years. Underwood is a phenomenal coach when it comes to preparing his team for a game, which is how Stephen F. Austin was able to defeat VCU in the 2014 NCAA Tournament and No. 3 seeded West Virginia Mountaineers in the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
Illinois is on the right path, and the hiring of Underwood is a step on the long road to college basketball relevancy in a convoluted conference.
No. 7 Anthony Grant to Dayton
The Alabama Crimson Tide might be on the upswing under Avery Johnson, but former head coach Anthony Grant is returning to coach a great college basketball program in the Dayton Flyers.
Longtime Flyers’ coach Archie Miller left the program for the Indiana Hoosiers after several seasons and an Elite Eight appearance and left a huge hole to fill. Grant, who played college basketball at the University of Dayton, will step in and hope that he can keep this program playing at a high level without any kind of transition period. He already has several three-star recruits coming into the squad for 2017-18.
Expectations are high in Dayton, and they should be. If Grant does not get this team to be one of the better teams in the A-10 year in and year out over the next few seasons, they should move on. Dayton is too good of a program to lag behind for too long just because of the loss of a longtime successful coach.
However, I expect Grant to do a great job at Dayton. I was actually covering the SEC at the time of his firing, and I thought then – and still do – that it was a mistake by Alabama. It’s worked out for the Crimson Tide, but I think it is time for Grant to make his mark on college basketball yet again.
No. 6 Patrick Ewing to Georgetown
Alright, I know what you’re thinking.
Yes, this is that Patrick Ewing. He is the same one who attended Georgetown in the 80s, was a No. 1 overall NBA Draft Pick in the 1985 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks, was NBA Rookie of the Year, and finished his career as an 11-time NBA All-Star with one appearance on the All-NBA First Team.
Is this a ploy in order to get attention as the Hoyas’ program struggles? Of course it is, but it should be noted that Ewing has a chance to really turn this program around quickly.
Ewing has been coaching in some capacity in the NBA since 2002, but his head coaching stint with Georgetown will be his first in college. It’s hard to measure what we’re going to get with him as a coach; however, we should immediately begin to see an uptick in program interest and recruiting around the program.
After all, one five-star recruit can absolutely change the future landscape of a college basketball program, and a big-name, former NBA star and coach like Ewing will be an attractive option for one-and-done five-star recruits.
Georgetown should finish towards the bottom of the Big East this season, but the Hoyas are a team to watch moving forward.
No. 5 Mike Hopkins to Washington
Arguably the most underrated move of the college basketball offseason, Mike Hopkins making the trip across the country from the Syracuse Orange to the Washington Huskies could be everything this team needs to get back on track.
Despite having the eventual No. 1 overall NBA Draft pick, the Huskies were one of the worst Power 5 teams in college basketball, finishing next to last in the Pac-12 with just two conference wins and nine total wins. There was no way Lorenzo Romar was staying after that pathetic season with the talent Washington had available, and he is now an assistant coach with the Arizona Wildcats.
Hopkins comes in as someone who is known for his ability to recruit guards and, more importantly, train them – an important aspect for the coach of a team that will likely need to develop two, three, and four-star players over the next few seasons.
Huskies’ fans should know that Hopkins is likely only a temporary option, as he was slated to be the future head coach of Syracuse. Washington, while a good school, is not a top or legendary college basketball program, and one day one will come calling for Hopkins.
Washington will enjoy him while he lasts because he could bring the stability and structure that this program so desperately needs.
No. 4 Will Wade to LSU
While there is clearly some bad blood from the way he left the VCU Rams, former Chattanooga Mocs’ coach Will Wade has come into the vacancy left by Johnny Jones and had immediate success on the recruiting trail.
The 2017 Tigers’ recruiting class will bring in two four-star recruits, as well as three three-star recruits. The 2018 class already has a four-star recruit committed, and I expect Wade to sign some more talented players in the near future.
His immediate recruiting success was surprising, but no shocking. Even more importantly, however, Wade has proven himself as a solid coach at both of his last two programs and should continue to do so with the Tigers.
Do not expect LSU to have massive success next season, but the talent coming in through the recruiting class this season (and even next) is a huge step towards a successful future. A deep roster with solid athletes that have years of SEC experience are how you defeat John Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats at the top of the SEC, and Wade has this team on that path.
The expectations at LSU are extremely high, but I think Wade can definitely meet and perhaps exceed them in the near future. Few conferences are taking as big of steps forward as the SEC year in and year out, and LSU must keep up or be left behind.
No. 3 Chris Holtmann to Ohio State
One of the first major firings of the offseason, the Ohio State Buckeyes decided to part ways with Thad Motta at the beginning of June after several struggling seasons and reported health issues. Matta, who had formerly been the head coach of the Butler Bulldogs and Xavier Musketeers, took Ohio State to two Final Four appearances and five Big Ten regular season conference titles.
His firing came as a shock, but the coach who will replace him, Chris Holtmann, is more than ready to take charge at (the) Ohio State University.
Holtmann was an assistant at Butler under now Boston Celtics’ coach Brad Stevens and was promoted to head coach after his departure. He has kept Butler, a team that many believed to be a one-trick pony, in basketball relevance throughout his time there. The Bulldogs are one of the best basketball programs in the country largely because of what Stevens and Holtmann were able to do.
Holtmann now brings his talents to the Buckeyes, and the expectations at Ohio State are high. However, Holtmann should easily meet these expectations and bring this program back into the spotlight in just a few seasons. Don’t expect success immediately, but, in a year or two, the NCAA Tournament should be a lock for Ohio State.
No. 2 Cuonzo Martin to Missouri
Another new(ish) addition to the SEC, Cuonzo Martin will move from the California Golden Bears to the Missouri Tigers.
Keeping up with his usual high level of recruiting, Martin has secured commitments from the No. 1 player in the country Michael Porter, as well as four-star recruits Jeremiah Tilmon, Blake Harris, and C.J. Roberts. Throw in a five-star Class of 2018 recruit that might and probably will reclassify in Jontay Porter, and the Tigers have one of the best-recruiting classes in the country.
Freshman versus freshman, this squad might be able to go toe-to-toe with the phenomenal recruiting class of the Kentucky Wildcats, as well.
As someone who attended the University of Tennessee when Martin was the head coach and went to every home game during the entirety of his tenure, I wish him the best of luck and hope he has success with the Tigers. I remember how fans who weren’t even going to games treated him, and I want him to prove them all wrong.
That being said, he is a fantastic recruiter and fosters a great culture within a program. Expect Missouri, who has been in a downward spiral for years, to finally get back on their feet.
No. 1 Archie Miller to Indiana
Apart from Cuonzo Martin’s immediate recruiting success at Missouri, Archie Miller has had some of the best-recruiting success of any new head coach in the country. In fact, in less than 24 hours, he secured 2018 commitments from two four-star recruits, Damezi Anderson and Jerome Hunter.
Recruiting aside, however, Miller has what it takes as a coach to take the Hoosiers back into the spotlight that they and their fans so long for.
It is still a bit shocking to me the way that Indiana let go of Tom Crean, but college basketball programs who have been elite in the past tend to get a bit impatient when their team cannot return to the Final Four. Even more insane to me is that they let Crean go when he won the Big Ten in 2016, went to the NCAA Tournament, and made it to the Sweet Sixteen. Only four out of 352 NCAA Division I teams make it to the Final Four each year.
Next: Our updated preseason top 25
That criticism aside, Miller does look like the type of coach to take Indiana back to being one of the top teams in college basketball year in and year out. Watch this team moving forward because, while I don’t believe they make the NCAA Tournament next season, they could be an NCAA Tournament staple for years to come.