NCAA Basketball: Grading all head coaching hires for 2019-2020

Mark Pope – BYU (A-)

When Dave Rose moved on, Pope was a name that was immediately mentioned in connection with the opening, and the Cougars managed to hire the former Utah Valley coach. After a career in the NBA, Pope’s coaching career took him to Georgia and Wake Forest before spending four seasons on Rose’s staff at BYU. The last four years have seen him take Utah Valley from a 12-win to a 25-win program, though getting over the New Mexico State hump in that conference is something he couldn’t quite accomplish in the end. His connections and his ties (he’s Mormon) made him the ideal candidate.

Jim Whitesell – Buffalo (D+)

Whitesell spent the last four seasons under Oats and has succeeded him with the latter off to Alabama. His coaching career has taken him all over as an assistant, while he’s also spent 24 years as a head coach in the state of Illinois. He probably wasn’t the first choice as an internal candidate, with Bryan Hodgson joining Oats at Alabama. Whitesell will inherit a program trending in the right direction, but his lack of success at Loyola-Chicago only adds pessimism to this hire. The choice to hire internally might backfire on the Bulls, but at least he has a lot of head coaching experience.

Mark Fox – California (D)

Cal’s hiring of Fox was a confusing hire for many people, though potential candidates like Russell Turner, Jason Kidd, and Eric Musselman did not pan out in the end. He spent five years leading Nevada with success while flailing across nine years with Georgia. He was fired by the Bulldogs last season and spent the last year out of coaching. His success with the Wolf Pack would’ve made him an attractive candidate a decade ago, but it’s hard to sell his two NCAA bids in nine years at a program that’s completely fallen out of relevance in the last few seasons. He’ll be in the neighborhood of some fine recruits, but can he make a mark in the Pac-12 when he couldn’t in a then-weaker SEC?

John Smith – Cal Poly (B-)

Smith takes over a Mustangs program that has recently been trending in the wrong direction. He’s a former junior college coach, having spent 13 years leading a pair of colleges in California. Smith spent the last six seasons on the staff at Cal State Fullerton and has seen Cal Poly up close in recent years. They haven’t sniffed postseason play since 2014 and won just six games last year. He’ll have his work cut out for him, though his experience both as a head coach and in the Big West are both valuable things in this hire. He’s not your typical former junior college coach, though the job will certainly not be easy for someone with limited D-1 experience.