210. Reggie Witherspoon (Canisius)
- Overall record 239-262
Witherspoon’s career started with high school and junior college coaching, but he also spent 14 years as head coach of Buffalo. He has a pair of postseason bids in his two seasons at Canisius, but his lack of NCAA Tournament appearances at Buffalo is startling, especially considering where Bobby Hurley and Nate Oats have taken that program in recent years.
209. Linc Darner (Green Bay)
- Overall record 59-50
Darner took the Green Bay job in 2015, fresh off a D-II national championship with Florida Southern. He played under Gene Keady and doesn’t have a lot of D-I experience, but he did lead Green Bay to a surprising NCAA bid in his first year, though success hasn’t followed yet.
208. Brian Jones (North Dakota)
- Overall record 132-137
After eight years assisting Steve Alford, Jones was tabbed to lead North Dakota in 2006, and has seen the program transition to D-I and now joins the Summit League. He led the Fighting Hawks to the NCAA Tournament in 2017 and also has 5 CIT appearances under his belt. I’m not sure if he can win in the Summit as easily as the Big Sky, but he’s up for the challenge.
207. Robert Ehsan (UAB)
- Overall record 43-31
Ehsan was promoted to head coach of UAB in 2016, having served four years under Jerod Haase before he took the Stanford job. Ehsan is 37-29 in his first two seasons and UAB can definitely compete in the future in Conference USA.
206. Don Verlin (Idaho)
- Overall record 175-154
A longtime assistant under Stew Morrill, Verlin has been at Idaho since 2008. His first 10 years have produced a decent 172-149, but no NCAA Tournament bids, though that could still change in the future.
205. Wyking Jones (California)
- Overall record 10-29
After more than a dozen years as an assistant coach, Jones finally got his shot last season, promoted to head coach to replace the departing Cuonzo Martin. He went just 8-24 in his debut season and Cal was a mess. The former Rick Pitino assistant will have a chance to turn that around, but it’s very likely that the Golden Bears will struggle to be relevant in the Pac-12 anytime soon.
204. Edward Joyner (Hampton)
- Overall record 155-146
Joyner joined the Hampton staff in 2006 and was promoted to head coach in 2009. His 155-146 record is pretty impressive for a MEAC team with impossible nonconference schedules, and he’s also made three NCAA Tournament appearances. He has a chance this season to make a sixth straight postseason bid, which would be even more impressive.
203. Bashir Mason (Wagner)
- Overall record 113-83
Mason was just 28 years old when he was promoted to head coach of Wagner in 2012, replacing the outgoing Dan Hurley. He’s taken Wagner to a pair of NIT’s but has yet to win the NEC in his time, though he’s had only one bad season with the Seahawks. He’s a bright young mind and could be scooped up soon by another program, just like his predecessor.
202. David Cox (Rhode Island)
- Overall record 6-3
A longtime assistant, Cox begins his first season at Rhode Island, himself also replacing the outgoing Dan Hurley. He technically served as interim head coach of Rutgers during part of the Mike Rice scandal, but is not credited with those wins, making this his first rodeo. His experience as an assistant at Pitt and Georgetown as well will help him as he tries to build on Hurley’s momentum.
201. Dana Ford (Missouri State)
- Overall record 61-70
Another up and coming coach, Ford begins his first season at Missouri State after spending the last four years leading Tennessee State. A former assistant under Gregg Marshall and Dan Muller (at Illinois State), Ford is only 34 years old and did a good job rebuilding Tennessee State, winning 20 games and making the CIT in 2016. Whether he can do the same in the MVC remains to be seen.