California Basketball: 7 candidates to replace Mark Fox as head coach

Travis DeCuire

What really does California want to see in their next head coach? If they want someone who’s proven they can as a head coach at a mid-major, then there are plenty of candidates in the west coast conferences, and we’ll certainly look at some of those. This first coach is someone who not only fits that bill, but he has experience on this Berkley campus.

DeCuire has been the head coach at Montana for the last nine seasons, but before that spent six years as an assistant at Cal under Mike Montgomery, back when this program was in a much better position. He’s taken the Grizzlies to a pair of NCAA Tournaments and has won 177 games at Montana, averaging nearly 20 wins a season.

How important is his familiarity with the program? Former Montana coaches have made such solid hires throughout history, though the Grizzlies haven’t exactly been at the top of their game in recent years. He interviewed for this job previously and should certainly get a look this time, but you have to wonder if the Golden Bears want to bring in a Big Sky coach who hasn’t been to the Big Dance in five years.