Frank Martin and College Basketball's New Coaching Hires Ranked

Frank Martin and his perma-scowl are leaving the scene of his greatest coaching successes, Manhattan, Kansas. His next stop is the basketball wilderness of South Carolina, an SEC program that is occasionally forgotten in the run-up to spring football practice.

Martin is far from the only coach jumping on this season's career opportunity carousel. In fact, 42 other coaches are entering new jobs in 2012-13.

This slideshow will spotlight each one in turn, discussing who is best- and worst-suited for the programs that have hired them.

A few of these guys haven't hit 30 yet. Several are first-time bench bosses. And some just seem like they might have been the only applicants for the job.

Who's who? Read on.

Nos. 43-37

43. Cy Alexander, North Carolina A&T

Alexander made five NCAA tournaments out of the MEAC when he coached at South Carolina State, but the last time we saw him, he was racking up six straight losing seasons at Tennessee State.

42. Rob Krimmel, St. Francis (Pa.)

Krimmel is a former St. Francis player, but his hiring has caused no small amount of controversy.

He's the son of St. Francis athletic director Bob Krimmel, who has denied family members permission to work together in the past. The team has a .313 winning percentage during the younger Krimmel's time as an assistant, and no other candidates were considered.

41. Joseph Price, Grambling

Price faces APR-related challenges in his first season, including maximums of 27 games and 10 scholarships. As an assistant, he's been in the last two NCAA tournaments with Lamar and Morehead State.

40. Nick Robinson, Southern Utah

Robinson played and coached under Trent Johnson at Stanford before following him to LSU. SUU has to adapt to both a new coach and a new conference, moving to the Big Sky from the Summit League this season.

39. Bennie Seltzer, Samford

Seltzer takes over his hometown program after spending nine years at Oklahoma, two at Marquette and the last four at Indiana. Seltzer is the first African-American head coach in any sport at Samford.

38. Bashir Mason, Wagner

Mason, 28, is the new youngest coach in America, donning the big whistle after his boss Dan Hurley left for Rhode Island. He has one year of head coaching experience—at the Newark prep school where he played for Hurley.

37. Jamion Christian, Mount St. Mary's

Christian was a three-year captain for the Mount and, like Bashir Mason, is a head coach before the age of 30. His last job was at William & Mary, where he recruited CAA All-Rookie performer Marcus Thornton to the Tribe.

No. 36-30

36. Dave Pilipovich, Air Force

Pilipovich led Air Force to a 2-5 record after taking over for the fired Jeff Reynolds, but one of those wins was over then-No. 13 San Diego State. He's been in coaching for 25 years, with his highest-profile stop being two years under Tommy Amaker at Michigan.

35. Kevin Baggett, Rider

Baggett has been Rider's associate head coach for four years, on the staff for six. He helped work with Jason Thompson and mold him into a first-round NBA draft pick. He's been an assistant at six different schools, but this will be his first head coaching job.

34. Tommy Dempsey, Binghamton

Dempsey is Baggett's former boss, leaving to take over a program that cratered badly under Kevin Broadus and Mark Macon. Dempsey led Rider to a pair of 23-win seasons and recruited the aforementioned Thompson.

33. Bill Evans, Idaho State

Evans took his alma mater Southern Utah to its only NCAA tournament in 2001 but was 15 games under .500 over his 16 years there. More recently, Evans was in charge of a Montana defense that ranked in Ken Pomeroy's top 70 the past two seasons.

32. Jim Baron, Canisius

Baron was a fixture in the Atlantic 10, coaching for 20 years between St. Bonaventure and Rhode Island. He was let go after the Rams went 7-24 last season, but inherits a program in even worse shape. Canisius went 5-25 last season.

31. James Johnson, Virginia Tech

Johnson didn't even have time to unpack. Two weeks after taking an assistant position at Clemson, he was lured back to Blacksburg for his first head coaching job.

He's responsible for recruiting a sizable portion of the current Hokies roster, and several of those players are happy to have him back. Others are scratching their heads at the ham-fisted way Tech let go of Seth Greenberg.

30. Pat Kelsey, Winthrop

Kelsey took a year off from coaching last season but spent eight successful years as an assistant at Wake Forest and two at his alma mater Xavier. He's promised the Eagles' fans uptempo basketball and a continuation of Winthrop's run of nine NCAA tournaments in 14 years.

No. 29-23

29. Barry Hinson, Southern Illinois

Hinson won 169 games at Missouri State, so he knows the lay of the land in the Missouri Valley. Now, he has to replace Chris Lowery, who came within three points of taking SIU to the 2007 Elite Eight.

Hinson's never made the NCAA tournament as a head coach, but his last day at Kansas was spent at the national title game. Can he sell recruits on potential NCAA tournament runs in Carbondale?

28. Trent Johnson, TCU

Johnson left LSU for Fort Worth at an interesting time, as TCU makes its Big 12 debut this season. He got back above .500 last season after a 22-41 record the previous two.

Still, three years out of the NCAA tournament and a 12-35 SEC record since 2009 are not encouraging signs, nor is the early defection of center Justin Hamilton to the NBA.

Johnson had difficulty drawing recruits, even in the state of Louisiana. He may have jumped overboard before another subpar season got him pushed.

27. Keno Davis, Central Michigan

Davis had one dominant season at Drake, his first as a head coach. He won several national coach of the year honors in that 2007-08 season before flaming out at Providence.

The Friars could score with anyone in the country, finishing in the top 40 nationally in points per game all three seasons under Davis. Still, the Friars carded a pair of 4-14 conference records, resulting in Davis getting the gate. Returning to a mid-major conference may be much closer to his comfort level.

26. Travis Williams, Tennessee State

Williams has head coaching experience, but it's very under the radar. Three years in Division II and a few months running a professional club in China combine for an unorthodox resume.

Williams does carry one potent reference, having coached for four years at his alma mater Georgia State under Hall of Famer Lefty Driesell. He got the job after many of his returning players visited the AD's office and asked for him personally. That continuity should help TSU build on its first 20-win season since 1979.

25. Jack Perri, LIU-Brooklyn

Perri has only one season of head coaching experience, going 20-9 at Division III Rhode Island College in 2004-05. Since then, he's helped make LIU the class of the Northeast Conference and a two-time NCAA tournament participant. Look for more of the same as the Blackbirds maintain some continuity under the new boss.

24. Danny Manning, Tulsa

Two Conference USA programs added famous names who are forever linked by Kansas's 1988 national championship team. Tulsa got the tall one without the head coaching experience.

Manning has gotten credit for developing a lengthy line of big men who've filtered through Lawrence, but he'll need to draw talent on a much leaner recruiting budget than the one the Jayhawks enjoy.

Manning's 15 years of NBA playing experience may resonate with recruits who don't remember Danny and the Miracles, but does he have the X-and-O skills to win the close games?

23. Jack Murphy, Northern Arizona

Murphy spent eight years under Lute Olson at Arizona, then three years under George Karl as an advance scout for the Denver Nuggets. Aside from his sterling references, Murphy was also a key figure in landing Memphis's 2010 recruiting class, which has yielded the Barton brothers, Joe Jackson and Tarik Black, among others.

He was essentially the defensive coordinator for a Tiger squad that held opponents to 38.6 percent from the floor last season, 10th-best in America.

One question lingers, though: Much of Murphy's recruiting success has been in Maryland, Virginia and the Atlanta area. Can he lure players from those areas out to Flagstaff, Arizona?

No. 22-17

22. Larry Brown, SMU

Brown's last college game was that 1988 national title game that made Danny Manning a legend. Now, Brown's returning to coach a program that struggled to a 13-19 record in Conference USA and is beginning preparations to join the Big East.

If SMU was digging for publicity, mission accomplished. As far as the basketball improvements, we'll have to see.

Transfers Crandall Head, who couldn't get off the bench at Illinois, and Josiah Turner, whose DUI issues hastened his exit from Arizona, may improve the team's fortunes. Alternatively, those players may turn SMU basketball into a soap opera and have Brown walk out muttering, "I'm too old for this."

21. Ray Harper, Western Kentucky

Harper was a king in Division II and NAIA competition, but he looked like he was in over his head when the Hilltoppers dropped four of his first five games after Ken McDonald's firing. The Toppers caught fire after Valentine's Day, winning seven of eight—including a run through the Sun Belt tournament.

Still, Harper's not immune to roster attrition, with leading scorer Derrick Gordon transferring to UMass and big man Vinny Zollo leaving for Furman. If he can still motivate his players with the same us-against-the-world mindset that spurred their postseason magic, WKU might not wait until February to make their presence felt in the Sun Belt.

20. John Cooper, Miami (Ohio)

Cooper was thrust into the national spotlight when Tennessee State ended Murray State's bid for an undefeated season. The Tigers went on to post their first winning season since 1996 and first 20-win campaign since 1979.

Now, he takes over a Miami program that has stumbled to three straight losing seasons under longtime coach Charlie Coles.

Miami hasn't won 20 games since reaching the Sweet 16 in 1999. If Cooper can recruit the Ohio-Kentucky-Tennessee corridor, the RedHawks may get back above .500 quickly.

19. Jay Spoonhour, Eastern Illinois

Spoonhour has 10 games of Division I head coaching experience, serving as interim coach when his father Charlie resigned from UNLV. He went 6-4 and fell just one game short of leading the Rebels into the 2004 NCAA tournament.

Jay Spoonhour has extensive experience as an assistant at Midwestern schools, working at both Saint Louis and Missouri.

The Panthers have enjoyed only one winning season in their past 11, and the Ohio Valley Conference is currently ruled by Murray State's iron fist. Other contenders like Tennessee State and Morehead State are in coaching flux like EIU, so Spoonhour could surprise in his return to D-I.

18. Richard Pitino, FIU

Pitino has coached not just for his famous father, but for Billy Donovan at Florida. Pitino has one year to guide FIU in the Sun Belt, then the Golden Panthers will move on to Conference USA.

FIU is a school that simply should not have trouble recruiting, with its metro Miami location and picturesque campus, but Isiah Thomas's name didn't carry weight. 

Still, Pitino, with his Gator ties and Final Four experience at Louisville, may be better equipped to leverage the strengths of his new home and sell them to recruits. 

He'll have to learn to do it quickly, with only five scholarship players returning. A stern test comes on December 19, when FIU travels to the KFC Yum! Center to face Papa Rick and Louisville.

17. Jim Ferry, Duquesne

Ferry leaves LIU, where he took a team from 5-22 in 2002 to a pair of NCAA tournament trips. The Blackbirds were second in the nation in scoring last season, dropping more than 81 points per game.

That fast, aggressive style could allow Ferry to punch a little above his weight class in recruiting if he gets time to fully implement it at Duquesne. He's got experience building a program out of thin air, but can he take a middling Atlantic 10 program and push it into competition with the likes of Xavier, Richmond and the incoming VCU and Butler?

No. 16-11

16. Doug Wojcik, College of Charleston

Tulsa University has some expectations regarding its basketball program. Namely, the team should make a few NCAA tournaments during a coach's tenure. Before Doug Wojcik was let go, the last Golden Hurricane coach who ran the program for more than one full season and didn't make the Big Dance was Jim King, who got fired midway through the 1979-80 season.

Wojcik didn't make a tournament in seven years, but he's landed on his feet quite nicely. Charleston became one of the elite low-major jobs under John Kresse and still has had only one losing season since joining Division I.

Wojcik's defense-first style may win over some fans who get nervous watching the Cougars win regular shootouts.

15. Jerod Haase, UAB

Like Larry Brown, Roy Williams and even Doug Wojcik, Jerod Haase has had a turn coaching the North Carolina junior varsity program. A former Kansas player, Haase has spent 14 years coaching under Roy Williams, first in Lawrence and then at Chapel Hill.

Like Tulsa, UAB has NCAA tournament expectations, and some may be skeptical if the first-timer can succeed where a Final Four veteran like Mike Davis could not. Still, Haase is the guy who inspired the Kansas stat crew to begin charting floor burns, so every Blazer player will have to hustle if they want to play at all.

14. Jim Christian, Ohio

Christian had nothing but 20-win seasons at Kent State. In four years at TCU, he had only one winning season, in 2011-12. Perhaps he saw the handwriting on the wall with the Horned Frogs joining the Big 12 this season and knew that winning record wasn't going to get company.

Christian returns to the MAC at the perfect time, inheriting a Sweet 16 team that returns completely intact. Guard D.J. Cooper should be a favorite for MAC player of the year, and there should be no more worries about Christian punching above his weight class.

13. Rick Ray, Mississippi State

A first-time head coach getting a job in a BCS conference is unorthodox, to say the least. Of course, not many head coaches got into the business after being actuaries, either.

Ray's experience at Purdue, Clemson and Indiana State have given him perspective on getting the most out of players who may not have been McDonald's All-Americans.

Don't sell Ray short as a recruiter, though. He was instrumental in securing Purdue's 2006 recruiting class that included Robbie Hummel, JaJuan Johnson and E'Twaun Moore.

He'll need a little time to rebuild after this offseason's mass exodus, but if school and fans will allow him time, he may be able to build a group that will do whatever it takes to win. So, no more Renardo Sidneys.

12. Wes Miller, UNC-Greensboro

Another under-30 head coach, Miller actually went 11-11 with a team that dropped six of its first eight under the fired Mike Dement. At one point, the Spartans won 10 of 11, enough to win the Southern Conference North division.

Miller is yet another branch of Roy Williams' coaching tree, playing and coaching under Williams in Chapel Hill. If he can shore up a leaky defense that allowed nearly 77 points per game last season, he could easily repeat as SoCon coach of the year.

11. Dan Muller, Illinois State

Illinois State fans have to have fairly long memories to recall the Cardinals' last NCAA tournament appearance. Muller's presence should jog those memories, since he was the one hitting the shot that upset Tennessee in the first round.

Muller's first team as a head coach is a veteran bunch that upended Wichita State in the Missouri Valley tournament and fell four points short of stealing a Big Dance invite by beating Creighton in the final.

All-MVC second-teamer Jackie Carmichael returns, along with four other senior contributors. Look for ISU to once again threaten an end to that NCAA drought.

10. Dan Hurley, Rhode Island

Wagner cratered badly before Dan Hurley arrived, but perhaps the magnitude of his reclamation project is a bit overstated.

While the Seahawks' 5-26 record in 2009-10 was hideous, the program had been over .500 the year before and went 23-8 the year before that. Either way, Hurley had Wagner back to 25-6 this past season, and that, coupled with his famous last name, was going to make him a hot candidate for several other jobs regardless of recent history.

Rhode Island is another program that's not far removed from solid won-loss records, having four straight 20-win seasons before last year's 7-24 debacle. The Rams are, however, far removed from their last NCAA tournament bid, having not been since Jim Harrick took them to two, including an Elite Eight, in 1997 and '98.

Hurley will need to rebuild Rhode Island's stature in a retooling Atlantic 10. The league is losing perhaps its most prominent basketball brand name in Temple but soon adding Butler and VCU to the mix.

While it may take time for Dan and his assistant/brother/ex-pro Bobby to get into the homes of talented high schoolers, transfers from other Division I schools are taking notice. Gilvydas Biruta of Rutgers, Jarelle Reischel of Rice and DeShon Minnis of Texas Tech are all transferring to play for Hurley starting in 2013-'14.

URI retained the commitment of Jim Baron recruit Jordan Hare, a 6'10" center out of Saginaw, Michigan, and New Jersey forward Mike Aaman decided to follow the Hurleys from Wagner.

While this season may be difficult as the Rams return only two of last season's five double-digit scorers, URI could make serious noise in the 2013-'14 A-10 race. Any sooner, and Hurley should get numerous votes for A-10 coach of the year.

9. Bruce Weber, Kansas State

Bruce Weber's detractors—and he has many—will tell you that he excels at winning with other people's recruits.

It can't be disputed that his shining moment as a coach, the 2005 NCAA runner-up that he coached at Illinois, was spurred by players such as Dee Brown, Luther Head and Deron Williams, all of whom were recruited by Weber's predecessor Bill Self.

Now, at Kansas State, Weber will get the opportunity to face off with Self twice a year, and in heated rivalry games to boot.

For all the flak Weber catches about his Illinois tenure, he did take Southern Illinois to a Sweet 16 in his fourth year there, going 52-15 in his fourth and fifth seasons, when the entire roster was comprised of his recruits.

Like at Illinois, Weber inherits a squad with serious talent. Guard Rodney McGruder should be a contender for Big 12 player of the year, and great supporting pieces like Jordan Henriquez-Roberts, Thomas Gipson and Will Spradling decided to stay rather than transfer out after Frank Martin's departure.

Bitter Illini fans are angry about the way Weber failed to keep Chicago players in state, even spinning hindsight together about parlaying Dee Brown's former high school teammate Shannon Brown into a recruiting dynasty that would have yielded Jon Scheyer and Derrick Rose.

Weber's last three recruiting classes featured nine ESPNU 100 players from the state of Illinois, but many of them have struggled to adapt to college ball. His eye for talent will have to improve if he's going to draw players to Manhattan, Kansas, which is a much more difficult sell than Champaign, Illinois.

8. Donnie Tyndall, Southern Miss

Southern Miss didn't quite strike while the iron was hot in hiring Donnie Tyndall, but it did get a sense of how Tyndall would recover from losing an All-American.

Tyndall led Morehead State to three straight 20-win seasons on the back of rebounding machine and NBA first-round pick Kenneth Faried. Without Faried last season, Morehead predictably fell off, but still finished 18-15, good for third in the OVC.

Consider where Morehead was before Tyndall. Tyndall is responsible for three of the program's five 20-win seasons and two of its six NCAA tournament wins. The last 20-win season was back in 2003 and the one before that was 1984. The last tournament win? 1961.

Southern Miss is not quite that dormant, with 10 20-win seasons to its credit, but the next Golden Eagle NCAA tournament win will be the school's first. Before Eustachy got them back last season, the Golden Eagles hadn't been in the dance since 1991.

Tyndall doesn't run a frenetic, up-tempo style, which should be fine with USM fans since predecessor Larry Eustachy didn't blow anyone's doors off, either. Top scorer Neil Watson and leading rebounder Jonathan Mills return, so the cupboard isn't bare.

As a member of Conference USA, USM enjoys a slightly enhanced recruiting profile over what Tyndall worked with at Morehead, and that could enhance the odds of him stumbling across the next Faried. Golden Eagle fans are waiting with feathers crossed.

7. Tim Miles, Nebraska

It's a long way from Mayville State—a North Dakota school that plays in the NAIA and boasts an enrollment of less than 1,000—to the Big Ten, but that's the trip that Tim Miles has taken.

His next hurdle is winning over a Nebraska fan base that views basketball as a nuisance taking time away from spring football preparations.

At least he arrives as the school appears to be increasing its commitment. In October, a new practice facility opens, and a new arena in downtown Lincoln is scheduled to open for the 2013-14 season.

Colorado State hadn't been to the NCAA tournament since 2003 until Miles got the Rams there last season. Nebraska's drought is only slightly longer, since 1998, but the program has never won a game in the Big Dance. Ever.

Miles subscribes to the Tom Izzo school of scheduling, which consists of scheduling any opponent anywhere at any time, regardless of their stature. At North Dakota State, he led upsets of Marquette and Wisconsin, the latter coming at the nearly impregnable Kohl Center.

His Colorado State players got to experience games at Duke and UCLA, plus faced off with Kansas at the Sprint Center. Miles will try to put Nebraska into any early-season tournament or non-conference matchup that may generate buzz.

Unlike predecessor Doc Sadler, Miles has shown the ability to recruit the Cornhusker State. Nebraska natives Jesse Carr, Wes Eikmeier, Dwight Smith and Greg Smith were all contributors for Colorado State last season. One could say that Miles bears some responsibility for Sadler's pink slip.

Miles will have to recruit a lot more states than Nebraska, though, to dig out from under some of the powerful programs in the Big Ten.

6. John Groce, Illinois

While some Illinois fans weren't thrilled with the hire of John Groce, the fact does remain that Groce has been to one more Sweet 16 in the last seven years than previous coach Bruce Weber.

Groce's 34-30 MAC record while at Ohio isn't sexy, but some of the evidence of his recruiting skills might be.

Groce recruited the primary producers on Butler's 2003 Sweet 16 team, long before Brad Stevens made the Bulldogs a national darling. He also aided in drawing Greg Oden, Mike Conley and B.J. Mullens to Ohio State on their way to becoming NBA first-round draft picks.

Bruce Weber was widely criticized for an inability to recruit Chicago, but Groce was able to win NCAA tournament games at Ohio with Chicago native D.J. Cooper pulling the strings. Local AAU and high school coaches may not be thrilled with Groce, either, but there are other options.

Drawing unheralded prospects like Cooper won't make the Illini faithful quite so happy unless March wins follow, but what about Groce's work in Indianapolis?

Indianapolis sits the same two-plus hours away from Champaign as Chicago does, and Indy is also the city where Groce recruited Oden and Conley. It's the city to which he brought those players who made a March run for Butler.

If Illinois fans and pundits can put Chicago on the back burner and admit that there are other ways to build a program, Groce could turn out to be a very smart hire for the Illini. And as an added bonus, it may actually be possible that he can work the Windy City effectively after all.

Stranger things have happened.

5. Sean Woods, Morehead State

Sean Woods' 50-80 career record isn't sexy by any means. While he did take Mississippi Valley State to the 2012 NCAA tournament, that stands as his only winning season.

Still, winning 20 games as a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference is no small feat. The Delta Devils went 21-13 last season, the first SWAC team to win 20 in the last three seasons.

Life in the SWAC is all about traveling for guarantee games to keep the bills paid, never mind that the results will often be lopsided losses. Woods' team traveled to face 10 different BCS opponents and did not play a single non-conference home game. They played within four points of South Carolina and two of Iowa State.

What makes Woods attractive to Morehead is as much about his playing pedigree as his coaching record.

Woods was a member of the University of Kentucky's "Unforgettables", a group that brought UK's program back from the brink of destruction and became folk heroes in the process, only being brought to earth by a loss in college basketball's greatest game ever.

Recruiting at any program in the state of Kentucky should be a breeze for Woods, especially compared to the difficulties inherent in working in the SWAC.

Morehead sits less than 60 miles east of Lexington on I-64. If Kentucky fans all over the Commonwealth have kids who aren't quite McDonald's All-American enough to play on John Calipari's assembly line, sending their boys to play for a Big Blue legend should be the next best thing.

4. Tony Benford, North Texas

A former Texas Tech player, Tony Benford has kicked all around the country as an assistant. He's had stints at New Mexico, Arizona State, Nebraska and Marquette, where he's spent the last four years as Buzz Williams' top assistant.

Benford's recruiting touch is well-regarded, and the proof is in the pros. Benford has recruited and coached eight players who went on to be NBA draft picks, five of them first-rounders.

Benford should get to add another pro to that list when Tony Mitchell declares for the draft, probably in 2013. Mitchell pondered bolting after Johnny Jones left for LSU, but decided to stay and rekindle a relationship that began when Benford tried to recruit Mitchell to Marquette.

Mitchell's return makes UNT a favorite to win the Sun Belt in its final year before leaving for Conference USA.

North Texas returns its top seven scorers from last season and adds 6'9", 250-pound junior college center Keith Coleman, whose bulk will be essential to free Mitchell up to roam the wing.

Benford's pedigree will serve him well when he needs to restock the roster, and the raised profile of UNT basketball under Jones will help even more.

A program with more single-digit-win seasons (20) than above-.500 seasons (13) hopes that the good news will keep coming under the new boss.

3. Frank Martin, South Carolina

South Carolina is another program changing direction to find long-elusive NCAA tournament success. The Gamecocks haven't won a March Madness game since the latter days of Frank McGuire, back in the early 1970s.

Martin's decision to head to the SEC could have its advantages, putting him closer to the region where he made his name as a Miami high school coach. Areas like Charlotte, Atlanta and Jacksonville could be ripe recruiting grounds for Martin.

Additionally, South Carolina has not traditionally had a quick hook with its veteran coaches. Martin is only USC's seventh coach since McGuire left in 1980. Eddie Fogler lasted eight seasons, despite only three of them being winning ones.

Make no mistake, Martin has a major project ahead of him. The move from the Big 12 to the SEC sees him trade Kansas for Kentucky, and the Cocks are likely to be scheduled frequently against tournament regulars Florida, Tennessee and Missouri.

Darrin Horn did not leave USC's cupboard as stocked as Bob Huggins left the one in Manhattan, where a recruiting class of Michael Beasley, Bill Walker and Jacob Pullen stayed to greet Martin on his arrival.

South Carolina returns only one double-digit scorer, that being two-sport standout Bruce Ellington. Also, the only experienced big man, Damontre Harris, is likely headed to either Florida or Kansas.

KSU players learned to respect Martin's intensity, and provided he can find more such players near his old Southeastern stomping grounds, South Carolina could begin the long climb up to SEC respectability.

2. Larry Eustachy, Colorado State

Don't get it twisted, Larry Eustachy can coach. Back at Iowa State, he won a pair of Big 12 regular season titles, both of them over Kansas teams led by future longtime pros Kirk Hinrich, Drew Gooden and Nick Collison. In 2000, the Cyclones fell one game short of the Final Four.

In addition, he's also taken programs like Idaho and Utah State to the Big Dance out of what were traditionally one-bid conferences.

Eustachy's problem in Ames was a proclivity for the frat-party lifestyle that he should have been steering his players away from. Once he made the needed life changes to curtail those activities, he was ready to begin rehabilitating his professional image.

A school like Southern Miss, in a football-mad region, gave Eustachy time to work away from the glare of a major-conference spotlight. After he put USM into the tournament for the first time in two decades, another program was finally willing to take a chance on him.

The Rams return six of last season's eight regulars, including rising seniors Wes Eikmeier, Dorian Green and Pierce Hornung. Also, 6'10" center Colton Iverson will make his CSU debut after transferring from Minnesota, filling the Rams' need for legitimate interior size.

They still play in a tough Mountain West headlined by strong returning groups at UNLV and San Diego State, but Eustachy's taken down some Goliaths before.

1. Johnny Jones, LSU

The last time LSU went looking for a head coach, they hired an outsider in Trent Johnson. Tiger fans sat glumly and watched how that one worked out.

The LSU athletic department got a second chance to bring in North Texas coach Johnny Jones, who it had passed over to hire Johnson. The delay turned out to be a blessing for Jones.

While Johnson was languishing with a 40-56 mark over the past three seasons, Jones' record stood at 64-34 with a trip to the NCAA tournament sprinkled in. While last season was his worst of the three, Jones did get to say that he coached a future pro in Missouri transfer Tony Mitchell.

A touted prospect at a relative basketball backwater could have been a recipe for disaster. Jones was not only able to coach Mitchell into working within a team game, but also helped him understand that there were still facets of his game to work on, resulting in Mitchell returning for his sophomore season at North Texas.

For an LSU program that has struggled to attract players of Mitchell's caliber, Jones' work in both attracting and teaching a superstar will be a revelation, provided he can repeat the process in Baton Rouge.

Jones is a bridge to the days when LSU basketball was relevant. He played in a Final Four for Dale Brown and later served as an assistant during the days of Shaquille O'Neal, Chris Jackson and Stanley Roberts.

If he can keep Louisiana talent in Louisiana, the Tigers will be a lot closer to that relevance than they were under Johnson.