Coaching Carousel Conference Preview: Big South

The Big South’s lineup of coaches has a lot of star potential. The league only saw one coaching change this spring because surprisingly, nepotism isn’t a great hiring strategy. While there’s only two coaches on the hot seat, there are a handful on the potential movers list that could turn the conference upside down next spring. Let’s dive into the Big South coaching carousel preview.

Newcomers

Alan Huss (High Point)

High Point had one of the more bizarre searches of the cycle. It started when they let go of G.G. Smith after only one season. Smith was given the keys to the country club after his father, Tubby Smith, resigned in February of last year. The Panthers went 14-17 and realized they made a mistake. High Point is a school with power conference facilities and resources, so plenty of high profile names lined up to interview for the job. Ryan Odom, Justin Gainey and Joel Justus were all involved, among others. After a three-weeks long search, Alan Huss emerged as the man the for job.

Huss gets his first opportunity as a head coach at the collegiate level. He spent the last six years under Greg McDermott at Creighton and was previously the head coach at famed prep school La Lumiere. Huss has deep ties to the grassroots scene in the Midwest and should be able to recruit well with High Point’s resources. He’ll look to lead the Panthers to their first NCAA tournament in school history.

Potential Movers

Griff Aldrich (Longwood)

Griff Aldrich is the first coach to lead Longwood to back-to-back winning seasons in the school’s brief basketball history. He also led the Lancers to their first NCAA tournament appearance in 2022. Aldrich’s path to basketball is far from traditional. He graduated from law school in 1999 and spent one year as an assistant at his alma mater, Hampden-Sydney. He then spent 16 years running an oil business and working at a law firm, in addition to coaching AAU teams on the side. In 2016, he returned to the college ranks as the DOBO for Ryan Odom’s UMBC teams. It only took him two years to get the job at Longwood and he quickly built it into a Big South contender. Aldrich recently signed a 10-year extension with the school, but he’s sure to get some looks from bigger jobs.

Darris Nichols (Radford)

Darris Nichols is widely regarded as a future star in the coaching business. The Radford, V.A. native and West Virginia alum quickly climbed the ranks and built a reputation as a relentless recruiter with a sharp basketball mind. It took him just two seasons to get Radford back to 20 wins, but things took a turn when he was arrested and charged with a DUI in February. The school decided to keep Nichols, but it torpedoed any shot he had of getting a job this cycle. There’s a case to be made that he could be the head coach at West Virginia right now if not for that mistake. Nichols put himself in a position where he needs to rehabilitate his image. Luckily for him, this sport has a history of giving people second chances. A successful season with no off-court issues will go a long way in getting Nichols in the mix for jobs next cycle.

Mike Morrell (UNC Asheville)

In Mike Morrell’s first season at UNC Asheville, the Bulldogs went 4-27. Four years later, they went 27-8 and won the Big South regular season and tournament titles. Morrell is part of the Shaka Smart tree. He joined Smart at VCU in 2011 and followed him to Texas until he left for UNCA 2018. He’s considered one of the best program builders in the country and was on plenty of shortlists for jobs this cycle. He recently signed an extension that hopes to keep him in Asheville through 27-28, but that didn’t stop him from flirting with the Charlotte job that opened in June. Morrell’s agent will be busy next spring if the Bulldogs can repeat their success.

Hot Seat

Barclay Radebaugh (Charleston Southern)

Barclay Radebaugh has one winning season in the last eight years. Charleston Southern is one of the toughest jobs in the country, but at some point you have to turn the page and revitalize the program. For the second year in a row, athletic director Jeff Barber released a statement saying Radebaugh would return. If things don’t improve, I don’t think we’ll see a similar statement next spring.

Quinton Ferrell (Presbyterian)

Quinton Ferrell is 34-83 in four seasons at Presbyterian. The Blue Hose alum has struggled to get the program going after Dustin Kerns left for Appalachian State. There were rumors this spring that a change could be made, but he was able to survive the cycle. It’s difficult to fire an alum (see: Ewing, Patrick), but if Presbyterian doesn’t turn the corner, it may be time to cut ties.

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