YAHOO!Sports: College hoops coaching carousel: Who's next up at UCLA?

feb 7, 2019 | pete thamel | yahoo!sports | post LINK

UCLA has long been lumped with the blue bloods of college basketball, the triumphs of John Wooden still reverberating generations later. As coaches, athletic directors, agents and search firms position themselves for his year’s college carousel, that age-old UCLA reputation will get its latest reality check. Is UCLA still an elite job in college basketball?

The answer may lie in the caliber of coach UCLA can lure to Westwood this winter. More than 20 years after UCLA’s last championship, the school will be hiring its fourth coach tasked with attempting to hang a banner next to the one commemorating the 1995 title. The eras of Steve Lavin, Ben Howland and Steve Alford were all solid, with Howland’s three consecutive Final Fours (2006-08) providing the highlight. Who will be next in the wake of Alford’s December firing?

It’s hard to imagine a job better than UCLA opening this year, at least without a surprising NBA defection. It promises to be a busy season out West, as the Pac-12’s irrelevance on the court translates to a busy season with Arizona, California and Washington State all facing potential openings.

But UCLA will be the most coveted spot, and it will be fascinating to see what caliber of a coach they can lure. And it’s also hard to imagine UCLA being a sexy enough job that it could de-trench an established winner like Jay Wright or Tom Izzo from their local comfort zones.

The next coach will have to figure out if the expectations in Westwood intersect with reality. The school fired Alford – owing him nearly $4 million – with a 124-63 record and four NCAA tournaments in his first five years. Basically, he wore out his welcome in Westwood. This came to no surprise to anyone who’d ever actually met him, as Alford’s aloofness and misplaced ego didn’t magically appear when he got the UCLA job.

Who could be next? There’s no obvious answer like when Howland got hired from Pitt. The coach that UCLA covets is Virginia’s Tony Bennett, but he’s already turned down plenty of more established programs in favor of the elite program he’s established in Charlottesville. Also, Bennett enjoys attention as much as J.D. Salinger, which wouldn’t make the bright lights of LA very appealing.

Where does UCLA turn from there? Luke Walton appears to have about as much chance to remain with the Lakers as his father does joining President Trump’s cabinet. But does he covet a college gig? And would he prefer to try and help his alma mater, Arizona, through the NCAA fallout from the federal basketball investigation if the school decides to move on Sean Miller?

Former Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg played scintillating and aesthetically pleasing basketball at Iowa State, but his transfer-based recruiting approach would need to be overhauled. Hoiberg, as of now, is the safest bet from this field if he doesn’t stick to his NBA-first preference.

Then there’s a flurry of the next tier of college candidates, all excellent coaches who’d be interesting fits. Nevada’s Eric Musselman leads the West Coast candidates, and his record and acumen are without question. He could jolt the Bruin program, but a reputation as being high maintenance from his early days in the NBA still lingers.

Others who could come up? The school has expressed interest in Wichita State’s Gregg Marshall before, but he’d be pricey as he’d need a cost-of-living raise from the $3.5 million he’s making from the Koch Brothers at Wichita State. Texas Tech’s Chris Beard has proven an exquisite tactician and motivator, but he’s expensive as he makes more than $3 million on average at Tech. Could Washington’s domination of the league – 10-0 after winning at Arizona on Thursday – earn Mike Hopkins a look? He’s a Southern California native and his energy and personality would be a refreshing change from Alford.

Mick Cronin’s consistent success at Cincinnati will always have him on the list for elite jobs, but he’s been hesitant to leave. Providence’s Ed Cooley, Notre Dame’s Mike Brey, Virginia Tech’s Buzz Williams and Marquette’s Steve Wojciechowski could also earn looks. It’s a muddled field with no clear frontrunner, which is fitting with UCLA’s place in the greater college basketball stratosphere.