John Jakus
All you need to do to understand this one is to look at what’s transpired at Kansas State this season. The Wildcats had a monumental bounce-back season under first-year head coach Jerome Tang, who had been a longtime assistant at Baylor under Scott Drew. Why not take a page out of that same book and bring aboard another one of Drew’s lieutenants to run this program.
After extensive time as a player and coach in Europe, Jakus’s collegiate career began as a graduate assistant for Baylor just over a decade ago. He then spent three years as a staff member at Gonzaga and was part of their national championship run in 2017. Months later, he was brought to Baylor (to replace someone else on this list) and has been an important part of Drew’s staff for the last six years. He’s ready for his shot to run a program on his own.
Is Jakus ready for the Big 12 though? It’s quite possible that the Red Raiders want someone with head coaching experience, especially after seeing how the program dwindled this past year under Adams’ leadership. There’s no doubt that Jakus would be a breath of fresh life who could reinvigorate the program, but it could also be too soon for him to be pulled into a job like this. Remember, Tang was an assistant for 19 years before getting the call, though Jakus surely won’t have to wait that long.