Kansas State Basketball: 8 candidates to replace Bruce Weber as head coach
By Joey Loose
Dana Ford
But wait, there’s more! The MVC may not have the luster or attention that leagues like the A-10, MWC, or WCC get, but this is still a strong conference with a solid nucleus of young coaches. The work that DeVries has done at Drake is impressive, but so too is what Ford has put together in four seasons at Missouri State.
Ford played at Illinois State and is an Illinois native who spent half a decade as a D1 assistant, including a stint under Gregg Marshall at nearby Wichita State. His head coaching career began in 2014 at Tennessee State, where he engineered a 15-win turnaround in his second year. Ford took over at Missouri State and in his first four years has led the Bears to three Top 3 finishes in the MVC, winning 23 games this past season.
He’s got that (albeit brief) familiarity with Kansas and Ford is one of the best recruiters at the mid-major level. He’s put together some talented teams at Missouri State, though the on-court product hasn’t quite led to postseason success. It may be premature for Kansas State to hire a coach who hasn’t even led a team to the NCAA Tournament, let alone the NIT, but Ford is a rising name in the coaching ranks.