WSU's Tony Bennett Takes Virginia Job... Who Takes His Place?

And the coaching carousel continues...

Probably a couple of days before John Calipari will take the Kentucky job, Washington State's Tony Bennett has left the Cougars, high and dry. Bennett will be on the sidelines of the Virginia Cavaliers.

This opens the rumor mill, once again, for who make a line to take his place.

The Pac-10 is in an interesting situation with three coaching jobs (two officially) open for hiring. Arizona, Oregon and Washington State. Of course the most attractive is Arizona, however, how attractive is the Washington State job?

The Cougars have seen postseason play each of the last three seasons (2 NCAA berths, one NIT) but 2008-2009 season was a setback, finishing at 17-16 with a first round NIT loss against Saint Mary's.

Do not look for a big name to end up at Washington State, but there are very serviceable coaching options in the West.

So who would want this job?

Gonzaga's Mark Few seems to be a possible candidate.

This may be Few's way into a big conference with few bumps in the road. He currently coaches less than 200 miles away from Pullman, WA.

It is a program that has all the support of the community, like Gonzaga.  Although, there is not an extreme amount of pressure, they are not the basketball powerhouse that Arizona or UCLA are.

Who better to replace Tony Bennett than another Bennett?

Saint Mary's Randy Bennett could also make a nice fit in Pullman.

He coaches one of the feel-good stories of the college season. With few recruiting avenues, he has put together a very competitive team in Moraga. He is the school's all-time leader in wins and has two postseason wins, which is one more than in the entire history of the Saint Mary's basketball program.

Bennett is a player's coach. He is somebody who the community will embrace and support.

There has been some mention of San Diego State's Steve Fischer as an option for Oregon's coaching vacancy.

Oregon maybe too much of a rebuilding project for Fischer, but Washington State could fit him very well. Fischer is known for his defense and that is what Washington State was known for under Bennett.

Though, the youth of this team could be its fault. Their two leading scorers, Taylor Rochestie and Aron Baynes, are both seniors. This team will have to start from scratch to find leadership and scoring options.

It will be a challenge for whoever takes over this team, even in the struggling Pac-10.