Kansas State Basketball: 8 candidates to replace Bruce Weber as head coach

Brad Underwood

We’ve already referred to a few of these coaches as home run hires from the mid-major level, but if Kansas State was actually able to land Underwood, this is the definition of hitting a home run. Underwood played at Kansas State nearly four decades ago and spent time as an assistant with the program; it’s the kind of hire that would get people dancing in the streets.

Underwood has been phenomenal as a head coach, starting his D1 head coaching career by leading Stephen F. Austin to two NCAA Tournament upsets in three seasons. After a brief stop at Oklahoma State, Underwood has been at Illinois since 2017, completely turning around the Illini program with a Big Ten tournament title last season and a regular-season crown this year; Illinois will play in their second straight NCAA Tournament under his watch this season.

Underwood is seemingly happy at Illinois, has an extremely large buyout, and has a very impressive contract with the Illini. Even if Kansas State wanted him, would he be willing to so quickly leave the success he built for another challenging Big 12 job? It’s the hire that would bring the most excitement to this program, but it might not be worth the millions it would take.

We’ve finished our deep dive into eight potential candidates to replace Bruce Weber at Kansas State; who do you think will be the next head coach of these Wildcats?