Big East Basketball: Potential departure of Chris Mack would be another blow
Current Xavier head coach Chris Mack is meeting with Louisville this weekend. If he takes that job, it would be another blow to Big East basketball.
Since its inception, “new” Big East basketball has improved in each season. Behind the steady play of several programs, the league has moved firmly into the status of being a power conference. Even though this is the case, the conference can only remain in this category with consistency over time. In college basketball, consistency is not often present. However, when you look at the top programs and conferences in the country, the most valuable constant is head coaching.
Duke has Mike Krzyzewski, North Carolina has Roy Williams, Kentucky has John Calipari, Gonzaga has Mark Few, Michigan has John Beilein, and the list goes on and on. These schools are always among the best teams in the country and it is because of their head coaching dependability. While Jay Wright (Villanova) and Greg McDermott (Creighton) are two of the most loyal coaches in the business, what about the rest of the Big East?
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In order for the conference to stay near the top, the Big East needs its top coaches to remain in the league rather than jumping ship for “better” jobs. With Xavier’s Chris Mack meeting with Louisville this weekend, the Big East is in danger of losing its second top-tier coach in the last two years. The other was former Butler head coach Chris Holtmann, who departed for Ohio State last summer.
Now, I’m not saying that coaches are wrong for switching jobs but it is a mark against the Big East. Despite the play of the conference as of late, jobs in the ACC and the Big Ten remain more enticing. This has been evident over the past two offseasons and it could lead other coaches to new jobs. If the Big East continues to lose their high-level coaches, eventually the league is going to run out of replacements. It is also important to mention that Butler, who seems to have hit a home run with LaVall Jordan, is arguably the best program in the country when it comes to hiring coaches.
The other issue with the Big East losing head coaches is the trickle-down effect. If the Big East and other conferences like it are losing coaches, then there are vacancies that need to be filled. In order to fill these slots, the logical move it to snag the best mid-major coaches in the country. This steals the rising stars of the field away from programs that are on the rise.
This is one of the biggest issues in college basketball and there is no easy way to fix it. Even the outstanding parity of the NCAA Tournament this season will not have a positive effect. In fact, the upsets in March Madness this year just highlight which coaches should be the next to move up the ranks. The job security of college coaches is horrible and that might be making coaches feel like they need to “strike while the iron is hot” with a new contract at a new program.
The coaching carousel in college basketball is turning into an epidemic nearly on the level of the transfer movement. The two issues go hand in hand and together make up a huge problem in the sport. However, it is vital to also note this: If there was an easy fix, it would have been implemented already.