NCAA Basketball: Predicting remaining 2019 open head coaching jobs

Nevada – Steve Alford

Alford was relieved of his duties at UCLA at the middle of the season. He came to UCLA after a successful stint at another Mountain West program, the New Mexico Lobos. Alford is going to be able to show he can recruit at a high level and maintain the high level of success that Nevada had under their old head coach Eric Musselman. The Wolf Pack program is in good hands with a coach who has had a lot of success in the league before. Previously Nevada was a key destination for transfers, Alford is going to be recruiting more 4-year guys, but the drop off in talent will be minimal.

St. John’s – Tim Cluess

The offseason in Jamaica, New York has been a dumpster fire. Legendary player Chris Mullin and his experiment as a college coach did not work. Mullin stepped down and now St. Johns is in need of a coach. Tim Cluess has experienced nothing but success at the Division 1 level. He has led his current school the Iona College Gaels to the MAAC tournament championship six out of the nine years he has been at the helm, including the last four in a row. Cluess will be successful in a power conference especially with access to a different type of player than he was able to secure at Iona. Iona may have their second former coach in place at a major Big East school with the hiring of Cluess, joining Kevin Willard as former Iona coaches.

Utah Valley – Mark Madsen

Utah Valley is now in the coaching search game after their former head coach left to take the head job at BYU. Madsen is a name many like for this job.  The former laker player and current Laker assistant coach was born in California but does practice the Mormon religion which is huge for any coach who is going to coach at a Utah based school. Madsen was a finalist for the BYU job, and given the volatility of the Lakers front office and head coach Luke Walton, Madsen would be smart to move now. The first time head coach would inherit a competitive team but would still need to show he can recruit enough to keep Utah Valley competitive in the WAC.

Wofford – Jay McCauley

The Terriers dominated the Southern Conference a season ago and beat Seton Hall in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Jay McCauley was the associate head coach on that staff. Now that former coach Mike Young is off to Virginia Tech, McCauley is ready to take the next step in his progression as a coach. Hiring internally would be a good thing for Wofford especially when you have someone as qualified as McCauley.

The Terriers would not need to change their offense or culture around much if the job was given to the former assistant. This would help retain the current players and recruits. If McCauley does not get this job he will join the staff with Young in Blacksburg.