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Cincinnati Basketball: 5 coaching replacements for Mick Cronin

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, KY - FEBRUARY 25: Head coach Mick Cronin of the Cincinnati Bearcats reacts against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane at BB&T Arena on February 25, 2018 in Highland Heights, Kentucky. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, KY - FEBRUARY 25: Head coach Mick Cronin of the Cincinnati Bearcats reacts against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane at BB&T Arena on February 25, 2018 in Highland Heights, Kentucky. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT – MARCH 23: Head coach Matt McMahon of the Murray State Racers reacts against the Florida State Seminoles in the first half during the second round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at XL Center on March 23, 2019 in Hartford, Connecticut. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT – MARCH 23: Head coach Matt McMahon of the Murray State Racers reacts against the Florida State Seminoles in the first half during the second round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at XL Center on March 23, 2019 in Hartford, Connecticut. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

4. Matt McMahon (Murray State)

McMahon has spent the last eight years at Murray State, spending the previous four as head coach after Steve Prohm left for Iowa State. McMahon has done brilliant work in recruiting Ja Morant and building a team around him that just made consecutive NCAA Tournaments. They blitzed 5-seed Marquette before falling in the Round of 32, and McMahon is definitely showing that he’s next in a long line of successful Murray State coaches.

Like Cronin and others before him, McMahon landed the Murray State job after an assistant coaching career that took him to Appalachian State, Tennessee, and UNC Wilmington. He actually departed Murray State briefly for Louisiana Tech before being lured back to the Racers as head coach in 2015. He’s gone 87-42 in his four seasons in the OVC, and unlike Cronin he actually won a postseason game this year.

McMahon is a name that’s going to be mentioned for many bigger jobs in the coming years. The 40-year old from Tennessee has already shown his experience as a recruiter and coach in big games, knocking off Belmont in an intense OVC title game this season before their win against Marquette. There’s certainly a jump in competition from the OVC to the AAC, but it’s nothing that would be too difficult for McMahon to handle, even if he is somewhat lacking in big time experience.

Recently, McMahon signed a four-year contract extension with the Racers and seems committed to building renewed success at Murray State. Despite this, Cincinnati is the kind of job that a coach like McMahon would jump at, especially if there were a significant pay raise. He’d have a chance to pick up what Cronin left behind and continue to build up the program that’s been the best in the AAC in recent seasons. Whether or not McMahon is ready to leave Murray State remains to be seen, but Morant is not returning next year and it might be rebuilding time for the Racers.