Hot Board: Experienced candidates edition
Tommy Amaker, Harvard
Amaker, 53, is 406-270 in 22 years between Seton Hall, Michigan and Harvard. The last 12 have come at Harvard, where he’s 230-131 and has made the NCAA Tournament four times. Amaker was a prominent player at Duke in the 1980s under Coach K.
The skinny: Amaker struggled under the pressure at Michigan, where he was fired after the 2006-07 season. While he’s in many ways a “fit” with the type of candidate Vanderbilt prefers with his Duke and Harvard backgrounds, not to mention experience at Michigan, it may not make sense for either beyond that. He’s got a great gig at Harvard, where he’s had success, while he’d be walking into a multi-year rebuild at Vanderbilt—which would also be a tough sell to the fan base since he never made the NCAAs in his six years at UM.
Mike Brey, Notre Dame
Brey, who just turned 60, is 412-205 with 12 NCAA Tournament appearances in 19 seasons at Notre Dame, advancing to the Elite Eight twice. Prior to that, he was 99-52 in four years at Delaware. He was an assistant at Duke from 1987-95.
The skinny: There’s been some talk that Brey’s unhappy at Notre Dame—I don’t know the extent or the reasons—and his agent, Jordan Bazant, is a Vanderbilt grad. For that reason, it makes sense for Vanderbilt to ask. But under the current situation and considering Brey’s age and success at his current school, that might be a tough sell unless Malcolm Turner can make lots of guarantees or Brey just wants a change.
Rick Byrd, Belmont
Byrd, 65, is a legend at Belmont, where he’s 713-347and has taken the Bruins to the NCAAs eight times. Byrd led Belmont to its first NCAA Tournament victory against Temple in Dayton last week. As an Xs and Os guy, Byrd is about as highly regarded as they come.
The skinny: Vanderbilt needs someone to stabilize the program and return it to respectability. Byrd is about as good as a candidate could come in that regard; with a few players, Byrd could pull that off. It would also be the best chance he’d get to see if he can perform at a higher level. But if Byrd is already pondering retirement, is a rebuilding project what he’d want?
Ed Cooley, Providence
Cooley, 49, has gone 162-110 at Providence, and just saw a run of five straight NCAA Tournaments snapped. (He went to the NIT this year.) Before that, he went 92-69 at Fairfield.
The skinny: Cooley is a good coach who’s very well liked and has pulled players from the Nashville area before. He may not excite anyone because he’s never made it past the Round of 32, but steady success is an underrated commodity. Plus, Cooley’s young enough that he has several years left in the business. The Big East doesn’t get the exposure it once did, so coaching there isn’t as good a gig as it once was. But, Cooley was born and raised in Providence, so it may not be a realistic get—but it’s absolutely worth an ask. Cooley reportedly makes about $2.2 million, so he also wouldn’t be cheap.
Johnny Dawkins, UCF
Dawkins is 223-149 in 11 years of coaching, and 67-34 at his current stop, UCF. Dawkins got Stanford to the NCAA Tournament once in eight years—the Cardinal made the 2014 Sweet 16—and won the NIT twice before he was fired in 2016. He came within an eyelash of a monumental upset of Duke last week that would have taken UCF to the Sweet 16.
The skinny: Dawkins has been the perceived front-runner for a few days. It’s hard to separate fact from fiction—read what’s in the media, and nobody has actually, tangibly connected him to a meeting with VU yet—and a source I have believed that as of this morning, Dawkins and VU haven’t actually spoken. Dawkins wouldn’t be an exciting hire, and failures at Stanford (which he sued upon departure) raise a lot of questions, especially with his regard to recruit. That said, getting freshman players in to Vandy is easier than at Stanford, and the floor—Dawkins has eight straight years above .500—suggest Dawkins could at least make VU respectable again, even if the upside might not be special.
Shaka Smart, Texas
In the middle of this decade, Smart, 41, was The Hot Name in coaching after leading VCU to a 163-56 mark over six seasons. That included a Final Four, two Round of 32 berths and two more to the Round of 64, plus, a CBI title his first year. But two years at Texas have led to a pedestrian 69-66 record, including 31-41 in the Big 12.
The skinny: A source told me, years ago, that Smart had some interest in the VU job before he went to Texas. That was years ago, and that may or may not have changed. Smart has been under intense pressure at Texas, but an industry source told me this week that Smart wants to stay there. The question is whether Texas wants him to stay there, and Hero Sports reported that Smart’s buy-out is $13.8 million. (https://herosports.com/hot-seat/college-basketball-shaka-smart-buyout-ahah) Since Texas has an NIT game with TCU on April 2 coming up, too, news on that might be days away. But Smart has a close friendship with Vandy alum Drew Maddux and would not have the pressure of immediate success at Vanderbilt. There are probably too many factors working against VU here—another being that Smart would attract huge interest on the free market if he were unemployed—but since he could soon be unemployed, it’s worth the ask.
Other names to watch (ran out of time to write bios, though I think Boyle and Matta especially are long shots, and maybe the others also):
Tad Boyle, Colorado
Eric Musselman, Nevada
Wojo, Marquette
Thad Matta, unemployed
And, of course, Russell Turner, who got mentioned earlier today, though I don't think VU would take the PR hit (and I'm not sure it's limited to what happened with the Oregon game, either.)
Tommy Amaker, Harvard
Amaker, 53, is 406-270 in 22 years between Seton Hall, Michigan and Harvard. The last 12 have come at Harvard, where he’s 230-131 and has made the NCAA Tournament four times. Amaker was a prominent player at Duke in the 1980s under Coach K.
The skinny: Amaker struggled under the pressure at Michigan, where he was fired after the 2006-07 season. While he’s in many ways a “fit” with the type of candidate Vanderbilt prefers with his Duke and Harvard backgrounds, not to mention experience at Michigan, it may not make sense for either beyond that. He’s got a great gig at Harvard, where he’s had success, while he’d be walking into a multi-year rebuild at Vanderbilt—which would also be a tough sell to the fan base since he never made the NCAAs in his six years at UM.
Mike Brey, Notre Dame
Brey, who just turned 60, is 412-205 with 12 NCAA Tournament appearances in 19 seasons at Notre Dame, advancing to the Elite Eight twice. Prior to that, he was 99-52 in four years at Delaware. He was an assistant at Duke from 1987-95.
The skinny: There’s been some talk that Brey’s unhappy at Notre Dame—I don’t know the extent or the reasons—and his agent, Jordan Bazant, is a Vanderbilt grad. For that reason, it makes sense for Vanderbilt to ask. But under the current situation and considering Brey’s age and success at his current school, that might be a tough sell unless Malcolm Turner can make lots of guarantees or Brey just wants a change.
Rick Byrd, Belmont
Byrd, 65, is a legend at Belmont, where he’s 713-347and has taken the Bruins to the NCAAs eight times. Byrd led Belmont to its first NCAA Tournament victory against Temple in Dayton last week. As an Xs and Os guy, Byrd is about as highly regarded as they come.
The skinny: Vanderbilt needs someone to stabilize the program and return it to respectability. Byrd is about as good as a candidate could come in that regard; with a few players, Byrd could pull that off. It would also be the best chance he’d get to see if he can perform at a higher level. But if Byrd is already pondering retirement, is a rebuilding project what he’d want?
Ed Cooley, Providence
Cooley, 49, has gone 162-110 at Providence, and just saw a run of five straight NCAA Tournaments snapped. (He went to the NIT this year.) Before that, he went 92-69 at Fairfield.
The skinny: Cooley is a good coach who’s very well liked and has pulled players from the Nashville area before. He may not excite anyone because he’s never made it past the Round of 32, but steady success is an underrated commodity. Plus, Cooley’s young enough that he has several years left in the business. The Big East doesn’t get the exposure it once did, so coaching there isn’t as good a gig as it once was. But, Cooley was born and raised in Providence, so it may not be a realistic get—but it’s absolutely worth an ask. Cooley reportedly makes about $2.2 million, so he also wouldn’t be cheap.
Johnny Dawkins, UCF
Dawkins is 223-149 in 11 years of coaching, and 67-34 at his current stop, UCF. Dawkins got Stanford to the NCAA Tournament once in eight years—the Cardinal made the 2014 Sweet 16—and won the NIT twice before he was fired in 2016. He came within an eyelash of a monumental upset of Duke last week that would have taken UCF to the Sweet 16.
The skinny: Dawkins has been the perceived front-runner for a few days. It’s hard to separate fact from fiction—read what’s in the media, and nobody has actually, tangibly connected him to a meeting with VU yet—and a source I have believed that as of this morning, Dawkins and VU haven’t actually spoken. Dawkins wouldn’t be an exciting hire, and failures at Stanford (which he sued upon departure) raise a lot of questions, especially with his regard to recruit. That said, getting freshman players in to Vandy is easier than at Stanford, and the floor—Dawkins has eight straight years above .500—suggest Dawkins could at least make VU respectable again, even if the upside might not be special.
Shaka Smart, Texas
In the middle of this decade, Smart, 41, was The Hot Name in coaching after leading VCU to a 163-56 mark over six seasons. That included a Final Four, two Round of 32 berths and two more to the Round of 64, plus, a CBI title his first year. But two years at Texas have led to a pedestrian 69-66 record, including 31-41 in the Big 12.
The skinny: A source told me, years ago, that Smart had some interest in the VU job before he went to Texas. That was years ago, and that may or may not have changed. Smart has been under intense pressure at Texas, but an industry source told me this week that Smart wants to stay there. The question is whether Texas wants him to stay there, and Hero Sports reported that Smart’s buy-out is $13.8 million. (https://herosports.com/hot-seat/college-basketball-shaka-smart-buyout-ahah) Since Texas has an NIT game with TCU on April 2 coming up, too, news on that might be days away. But Smart has a close friendship with Vandy alum Drew Maddux and would not have the pressure of immediate success at Vanderbilt. There are probably too many factors working against VU here—another being that Smart would attract huge interest on the free market if he were unemployed—but since he could soon be unemployed, it’s worth the ask.
Other names to watch (ran out of time to write bios, though I think Boyle and Matta especially are long shots, and maybe the others also):
Tad Boyle, Colorado
Eric Musselman, Nevada
Wojo, Marquette
Thad Matta, unemployed
And, of course, Russell Turner, who got mentioned earlier today, though I don't think VU would take the PR hit (and I'm not sure it's limited to what happened with the Oregon game, either.)
