When you have one of the best Mid Major coaches his name is going to come up in coach searches. We are used to it by now. This year McCasland is supposedly being courted by Texas Tech.
Tech has a search committee, but their big money donor Dusty Womble is the man who will make the ultimate decision. He hated previous coach Mark Adams and was going to get rid of him regardless of the drama. Anyways Womble has some serious money and is looking for a splash. Many analysts have stated that Tech is one better jobs in college basketball.
The early rumored candidate was Rick Pitino. Pitino seems like a stretch considering there are some good jobs available in his backyard like St. Johns or Georgetown. Well Pitino was supposedly offered ridiculous money by Tech. We are talking 7 million a year. Dont forget that his son is coaching 5 hours away at New Mexico too. So 7 million and you get to be close to family, it may be worth considering if you are Pitino.
Regarding McCasland he is still considered to be a strong candidate, but there are no immediate plans for him to talk or interview with Tech. Everything seems like it will have to wait for him and some of the other candidates to finish their season. McCasland doesn’t seem like the type to put his future over the now and here of his team. My gut tells me that he is willing to listen what Tech has to offer. Just because he is willing doesn’t mean he will jump ship.
Also you have to remember that the NCAA tournament is about to kick off. The first weekend of the NCAA tournament is very important when it comes to Power 6/Major jobs. Successful runs by Mid Major programs can vault coaches into jobs that no one had them as being in the mix for. Does Andy Enfield get the USC head coaching job without his run at Florida Gulf Coast? No one had Enfield on the radar of big jobs without his Dunk City team. What about Shaheen Holloway at Seton Hall? His run with 15 seed Saint Peter’s last year got him the Seton Hall job. There could be someone else this year that catches the eye of Tech. Paul Mills himself could head to the top of this list if he beats Duke in the first round.
There will be a lot of twists and turns in this search. Other names to watch for Tech - Chris Jans (Miss St.), Kellen Sampson (Houston Asst.), John Jakus (Baylor Asst.), and Barret Peery (UNLV Asst.).
Other searches of Interest:
Wichita St. - Mark Turgeon, Darian DeVries (Drake), and Chris Jans (Miss St.) are the strong candidates. The Shockers have some serious money invested in their program.
Western Kentucky - Darrin Horn (N. Kentucky) and Brian Wardle (Bradley)
Not a ton of new information on this front. McCasland still remains a target for Tech. One name that has gained a lot of traction in Lubbock recently has been Saint Mary’s coach Randy Bennett. Well Saint Mary’s season ended yesterday evening, so if he is indeed a strong candidate for the job then we should start to see some reports of that soon. In fact I would guess that if he isn’t the coach by the end of the week then Tech is focused somewhere else.
College basketball coaching searches aren’t like football coach searches. With exception to high profile jobs or coaches most of the searches are pretty quite. There is usually an initial list that gets put out by the national media and then we don’t get an update until a hiring is imminent.
That feels like the case with Texas Tech. I would suspect that they have their guy and there is a handshake deal between the school - agent - coach. One thing I’ve learned about basketball searches is that they are rarely ever logical. McCasland is a logical choice for Tech. My tinfoil hat theory is that they are aiming for a larger fish than McCasland. Someone that could really ignite and unite their fanbase after the nasty separation from Mark Adams.
So the next 24-36 hours will be very interesting for UNT. Obviously we want UNT to keep winning. Doing that puts pressure on Texas Tech to possibly chose a different candidate. Unless they are willing to wait for Grant.
If North Texas goes down tonight then things could move really fast.
It would need to be $3MM a year, PLUS $10MM toward a new arena+hoops facilities like, TODAY. Tech already has that, plus the best league in the nation. He can walk into the Womble this afternoon. He can start earning his new salary as soon as he signs on the line that is dotted.
We can start spending money on the things that will attract and keep the next good coach right now, however. TTU spend money in 2018 to build that center for Chris Beard. It will be Mac that is kicking his feet up in the offices, however.
Not the news that anyone wants to hear, but as soon as North Texas is done in the NIT expect the McCasland to Tech news to become official. Its been a done deal since Friday evening. I would be beyond shocked it it fell apart. He’s been their guy since the search started.
North Texas will move quickly to fill the position. I don’t think the search will take very long. I think they’ve known for sometime that Grant was likely headed out. Giving them time to start their search under the radar.
@bstnsportsfan@Fidel so that’s a thing – Ross Hodge has been assumed to be the guy for a long while. He may just go along. Being the number 2 in Lubbock is a sweet gig. He gets to get all of the benefits of working with Grant and working in a good league without any of the responsibilities of being the head coach – it’s certainly remunerative but it isn’t a gig for the faint hearted.
On the other hand I think he would take the job here. I don’t know that they would take any of our players but that’s also a choice the players would make themselves.
Finding the offensive version of him from the JUCO ranks would be a sweet deal. Maybe Hodge is the guy to elevate the program again? I’m looking forward to what the future brings for UNT basketball. Men and women.