College Basketball: 10 Coaches Who Will Be Fired During the 2011-12 Season

We are not even close to the college basketball season starting up again and already coaches are on the hot seat.

In fact, some have already been canned like Bruce Pearl in Tennessee and Pat Knight at Texas Tech.

This upcoming basketball season seems like it will be very exciting because a great class of freshmen are entering the the fold.

However, things may not be so exciting for these coaches who are likely to get fired this season.  

Stan Heath, South Florida

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NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 08: Head coach Stan Heath of the South Florida Bulls looks on from the bench against the Villanova Wildcats during the first round of the 2011 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament presented by American Eagle Outfitters at Madison Squ

After leading Arkansas to back-to-back 20-win seasons, Stan Heath fled to South Florida where he signed a big five-year deal with the Bulls.

Since then, Heath has a record of 41-54 at USF with only one NIT appearance. If you take out his only good year (2009), he has a combine record of 21-41.

This is not what USF was expecting when they hired Heath. Yes, the Big East is tough, but his incoming class is not even that good. There is no future for this team.

Jerome Allen, Penn

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The Penn Quakers are wishing that Fran Dunphy never left. Ever since he left, Penn has gone 64-82. That is after Dunphy had a .655 winning percentage in his 15-plus years as their coach.

Glen Miller was terrible as Dunphy's first replacement, and Jerome Allen has not been much better. Penn has always been used to winning or at least contending in the Ivy League.

In Allen's two seasons at Penn, he has gone 19-30.

Kevin Willard, Seton Hall

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NEWARK, NJ - DECEMBER 22: Head coach Kevin Willard of the Seton Hall Pirates reacts as he coaches against the Dayton Flyers at Prudential Center on December 22, 2010 in Newark, New Jersey. Dayton won 69-65. (Photo by Chris Chambers/Getty Images)

Kevin Willard may not get fired, but will definitely be on a very hot seat this upcoming season. After taking over for Bobby Gonzalez last year, Willard had even a worse season than Gonzalez ended on.

Last year was supposed to be Seton Hall's year. They had their most talented roster in years, and Willard could not find a way to use the talent. One thing he did do was instill some defense onto the team.

His huge incoming class will be his saving grace or his scapegoat for being fired.

Keno Davis, Providence

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NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 08: Head coach Keno Davis of the Providence Friars reacts from the bench against the Marquette Golden Eagles during the first round of the 2011 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament presented by American Eagle Outfitters at Madison Squ

It must be hard coaching in the toughest conference in college basketball. Providence has been a lot like Seton Hall the past couple of years. They are always hanging around, but can never get a NCAA bid.

Keno Davis has had very limited success at Providence. He only has eight conference wins the past two seasons and that is with the help of one of the better scorers in college basketball, Marshon Brooks, whom he did not even recruit.

Jim Molinari, Western Illinois

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CHICAGO - MARCH 08: Interim head coach Jim Molinari of the Minnesota Golden Gophers coaches against the Michigan Wolverines during Day 1 of the Big Ten Men's Basketball Conference Tournament March 8, 2007 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Michig

No matter how good your past coaching record is or no matter how small a school you are, you cannot last long at a school when you have only a .326 winning percentage.

Molinari has only 24 wins in his three seasons at Western Illinois. He finished last season with only two wins in the Summit Conference.

Oliver Purnell, DePaul

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ROSEMONT, IL - FEBRUARY 19: Head coach Oliver Purnell of the DePaul Blue Demons watches as his team takes on the Villanova Wildcats at the Allstate Arena on February 19, 2011 in Rosemont, Illinois. Villanova defeated DePaul 77-75 in overtime. (Photo by Jo

After having sustained success at Old Dominion, Dayton and Clemson, Oliver Purnell was hired last year at DePaul to turn around the annual cellar dweller in the Big East.

In year one, it was the same thing, different year for the Blue Demons. They only had one conference win.

Purnell does have a great recruiting class coming in so he needs to improve because DePaul does not have a lot of patience for losing anymore.

John Pelphrey, Arkansas

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ATLANTA, GA - MARCH 10: Head coach John Pelphrey of the Arkansas Razorbacks during the first round of the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament at the Georgia Dome on March 10, 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

John Pelphrey has been tutored by some great coaches (Eddie Sutton and Billy Donovan). It is unfortunate that their help has not really turned into consistently good seasons.

He finished with two great seasons at South Alabama, but has really struggled since coming to Arkansas in 2007. Pelphrey is only .500 in his last three seasons in the SEC, and for the Razorbacks, that was enough since they let him go this year.

Jeff Bzdelik, Wake Forest

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GREENSBORO, NC - MARCH 10: Head coach Jeff Bzdelik of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons communicates with the team while playing against the Boston College Eagles during the first round of the 2011 ACC men's basketball tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum o

When Jeff Bzdelik was hired at Wake Forest, he immediately became a questionable hire. Wake Forest had already been in a terrible slump and then they hired Bzdelik who only was 36-58 at Colorado.

Bzdelik certainly did not get off to a good start at Wake Forest either. He only had eight wins in his first season, finishing dead last in the ACC.

Sidney Lowe, NC State

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GREENSBORO, NC - MARCH 10: Head coach Sidney Lowe of the North Carolina State Wolfpack reacts during the first half of the game against the Maryland Terrapins in the first round of the 2011 ACC men's basketball tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum on Ma

Sidney Lowe has a pretty established coaching career. He has held head coaching positions in the NBA and in the ACC.

At NC State, the school probably had higher expectations than Lowe's 86-78 overall record. That record is very deceiving though. Lowe was only 25-55 in conference play. NC State and Lowe did agree to a buyout already.

Bruce Weber, Illinois

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TULSA, OK - MARCH 20: Head coach Bruce Weber of the Illinois Fighting Illini yells from the sidelines during the third round game against the Kansas Jayhawks in the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament at BOK Center on March 20, 2011 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Ever since Illinois lost three starters to the NBA after their 2005 NCAA Final Four run, Bruce Weber has struggled in the Big 10.

Weber has a good regular season record, but has failed to do anything in the postseason recently. He has had some very good recruits, but people question his actual coaching and developing abilities.