Oklahoma Basketball: 6 candidates to succeed Lon Kruger as head coach

Joe Golding

The Sooners surprisingly have this head coaching opening and there will be plenty of names considered to fill it. It’s really funny how timing plays a role in these kinds of hirings though. A head coach can really elevate his stock if his team stands out during March Madness, something that certainly helps Golding’s candidacy.

Golding played college ball at Abilene Christian long before becoming the first D1 head coach at his alma mater. He spent time coaching at the high school and junior college level in Texas, while also spending a few seasons on staff at Little Rock. The last decade has been back leading Abilene, with this past season the clear breakthrough. After taking his alma mater to their first NCAA Tournament two seasons ago, he won their first Tournament game this year, pulling a major upset over 3-seed Texas in the opening round.

While it’s certainly a big selling point that he just knocked Texas out of the NCAA Tournament, this would still be quite the leap for Golding to make. Still, after what his Wildcats pulled off he’s become one of the hotter names in the coaching market and he knows Texas very well. Golding is a talented young coach who will get some looks and is certainly worth of mention, but perhaps there are more experienced candidates out there for this Big 12 job.