Louisville Basketball: 8 candidates to watch for potential HC opening

Steve Forbes

There are many directions Louisville could potentially go when hiring a new basketball coach. When they had an opening five years ago, they left no stone unturned, plucking Chris Mack from the Big East. While the program is certainly in disarray currently, Louisville has the resources to get back on track in a hurry and could even attract the attention of another coach in the ACC.

A collegiate coach for more than thirty years, Forbes has spent time at numerous colleges, including three separate stints with success at the junior college level. He was a longtime assistant, serving under leaders like Porter Moser and Bruce Pearl before taking his first D1 head coaching job at East Tennessee State. After a mind-boggling 130 wins in a half-decade, he accepted the Wake Forest job in 2020 and has put the Demon Deacons in a very decent position these last few seasons.

It’s important to note that there’s nothing specifically tying Forbes to Louisville. Hiring him would simply be grabbing a coach on the rise who’s won basically everywhere he’s been as a head coach. There are also no direct ties to Wake Forest, meaning better opportunities and support from above could lead him to take a different ACC head coaching job. This could be one of the most realistic names on the list, though it may depend on how things go for Wake Forest this upcoming year.