Texas Basketball: 5 potential candidates for Longhorns to replace Shaka Smart
Grant McCasland
- HC experience: Midwestern State (2009-11; 55-12), Arkansas State (2016-17; 20-12), North Texas (2017-present; 78-51)
- Assistant experience: Baylor (2011-16)
If the Longhorns are unable to land a big name, then their first call should be to a number of mid-major coaches from around the area – and that list includes Grant McCasland at North Texas.
McCasland has enjoyed nothing but success at his stops, having led Midwestern State to two NCAA Div. II Elite Eight appearances in his pair of seasons at the helm before joining Scott Drew’s staff at Baylor for five years. Those campaigns saw the Bears go 125-56 with four NCAA Tournament appearances and an NIT title, including Baylor’s first-ever 30-win season in 2011-12.
After a one-year stop at Arkansas State, the 44-year old McCasland inherited a North Texas squad that had finished 8-22 and dead last in the C-USA in 2016-17 – and turned the Mean Green into a power in the conference. Winning the CBI Championship in his first season, McCasland led North Texas to three-straight 20-win seasons, claiming the C-USA regular-season title in 2019-20.
This past season catapulted McCasland into the national spotlight, however, with the fourth-year head coach leading the Mean Green to their first C-USA Tournament championship and NCAA Tournament appearance since 2010. Earning a 13th-seed in March Madness, North Texas faced the daunting task of battling a top-four team from the Big Ten in Purdue – and toppled the Boilermakers in overtime, 78-69, before falling to Villanova in the Round of 32.
Much of McCasland’s recent success has come from building teams that are wildly efficient on offense, having ranked in the top 100 the last two seasons and in the top 70 in 3P% and 2P% – and a slow, methodical style of play that, per KenPom, has ranked at exactly 350th the past two years. That, in turn, has led to a staunch defense that currently sits 16th in points allowed at 62.3.
McCasland’s ties to the state of Texas, as well as the Big 12, make him an intriguing candidate for the Longhorns. His success at a North Texas program that had struggled prior to his time there – particularly in a competitive conference like the C-USA – proves his ability to win, and that should translate well at Texas.