Busting Brackets
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NCAA Basketball: 3 mid-major coaches likely to land a power conference job in 2019

By Holden Walter-Warner

LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 09: Head coach Eric Musselman of the Nevada Wolf Pack calls to his team during a semifinal game of the Mountain West Conference basketball tournament against the San Diego State Aztecs at the Thomas
LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 09: Head coach Eric Musselman of the Nevada Wolf Pack calls to his team during a semifinal game of the Mountain West Conference basketball tournament against the San Diego State Aztecs at the Thomas /
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CHARLOTTE, NC – MARCH 18: Head coach Ryan Odom of the UMBC Retrievers looks on against the Kansas State Wildcats during the second round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 18, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NC – MARCH 18: Head coach Ryan Odom of the UMBC Retrievers looks on against the Kansas State Wildcats during the second round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 18, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

Ryan Odom, UMBC Retrievers

Yes, Ryan Odom just signed a massive extension to stay at UMBC through 2023. If you think he’ll be there for the next five years, however, I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.

Frankly, the architect of college basketball’s most famous upset can take his pick of jobs next year. As long as UMBC looks halfway decent in the upcoming season, he’ll have the opportunity to be a goner. The Retrievers won’t even have to make the NCAA Tournament for him to get his chance.

In two years, Odom has changed the perception of both UMBC and the America East conference. The year before he arrived, the Retrievers won seven games. In the two succeeding years, UMBC has won 46 games and earned their first NCAA Tournament victory.

Odom is the son of Dave Odom, who coached at Wake Forest and South Carolina in his career. The latter is unlikely to come open next year, but it’s possible the Demon Deacons will lose patience with Danny Manning after some underwhelming seasons.

Next: Top 30 graduate transfers

Ryan Odom was also born in Durham, but it’s unlikely that the Duke job will come open or that he would even get it unless the Retrievers go to the Final Four in 2018-19.

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