December Coaching Carousel Breakdown

At the beginning of every month, we’ll give you the most comprehensive coaching carousel coverage in college basketball. Here’s where everything stands on December 1 – the second edition of the coaching carousel breakdown.

High-Major Hot Seat

Tony Stubblefield (DePaul)

The Blue Demons are 1-5 to start year three of the Tony Stubblefield era and the writing is on the wall. Their losses include Purdue Fort Wayne, Long Beach State and Northern Illinois. Unless things turn around quickly, DePaul athletic director DeWayne Peevy will have a difficult decision to make at the end of the year.

Kenny Payne (Louisville)

Louisville is remarkably 4-3. I say remarkably because they’ve benefitted from a missed free throw against UMBC to avoid overtime and two missed free throws against New Mexico State to avoid a loss in regulation. They were also the victim of a Max Abmas buzzer beater in what was their best performance of the Payne era. The non-conference schedule gets a little more difficult in December, so we’ll see if the heat gets turned up even more before the new year.

Ben Johnson (Minnesota)

The Gophers are 5-2 to start the season, but all five wins are against teams ranked 295th or worse in KenPom. Minnesota blew a 20-point lead in their loss to Missouri and were completely outclassed by San Francisco the other night. Johnson’s team is currently projected as an underdog in all but one Big Ten game, so there’s a lot of work to be done to earn another year in Minneapolis.

Mike Boynton (Oklahoma State)

A new addition to the list this month. The Cowboys opened the year with a home loss to Abilene Christian and then dropped consecutive games to St. Bonaventure and Notre Dame. Patience is wearing thin in Stillwater, as Boynton has only made the tournament once in six seasons.

Dana Altman (Oregon)

After looking like a tournament team in their opener against Georgia, the wheels have fallen off a bit for Dana Altman’s squad. He gets the benefit of the doubt though, because N’Faly Dante hasn’t played since that opening night. Health and depth are a major concern for this Oregon roster going forward, so Altman has to find a way to maximize production. He’ll stick around on the hot seat list for another month.

Wayne Tinkle (Oregon State)

Oregon State is 4-3, with one non-D1 win and two overtime wins against Sun Belt teams. The Beavers have four straight winnable buy-games before conference play begins, so the record should look better come January. It’s unclear what sort of effect the conference’s instability will have on Tinkle’s job status. Normally, new league means new expectations, but we’re not sure which way this one will go. Oregon State needs to rack up as many wins as possible to make the argument to keep Tinkle more palatable.

Jerod Haase (Stanford)

Stanford is 3-4 to start the year, with their best win coming against Eastern Washington. The Cardinal are 0-4 against teams ranked 125th or better in KenPom. Haase was kept around because of the potential of this year’s roster and it hasn’t quite panned out yet. There’s still time to turn things around in Palo Alto, but it’s not looking great right now.

Johnny Dawkins (UCF)

Losing to Stetson at home is not going to make you any friends in admin. The Knights have five more buy-games lined up before Big 12 play begins and they need every win they can get. Their opening two weeks in conference play is brutal – at Kansas State, home vs. Kansas and BYU, at Texas and Houston. UCF has some good pieces on the roster, but I don’t know if it’s enough to remain competitive in the B12 gauntlet. Dawkins needs a big year to continue on in Orlando.

Jerry Stackhouse (Vanderbilt)

The second new addition to this list. Vandy lost on opening night to Presbyterian, but they were without a handful of starters. After getting everyone back, they’ve dropped three straight to NC State, Arizona State and Boston College. Stackhouse hasn’t made the NCAA tournament yet and it doesn’t look like this team is on track to get there this year. It’ll be difficult to justify another season in Nashville if the Dores don’t dance.

Mike Hopkins (Washington)

The jury is still out on whether or not Washington is good enough to compete in the PAC12. The win over Xavier took a hit the other night when the Musketeers lost to Oakland and the Huskies are 0-2 vs. the Mountain West. There are some tough games remaining on the non-conference schedule, so we should have a better idea of how this team looks in a few weeks. Hopkins remains on the list for now.

Josh Eilert (West Virginia)

You have to feel for Josh Eilert. He’s been handed the worst possible deck and they’re still a few possessions away from having a winning record. Things will get better when Akok Akok and Kerr Kriisa return, but this may be one of those situations where Wren Baker looks for a clean break when the season is over. There will be some big names lined up for this job, so Eilert needs to win big in conference play to keep the job.

*Coaches removed from Preseason List*

Brad Brownell (Clemson)

John Calipari (Kentucky)

Fred Hoiberg (Nebraska)

Hubert Davis (North Carolina)

Chris Holtmann (Ohio State)

Greg Gard (Wisconsin)

Mid-Major Hot Seat

John Smith (Cal Poly)

Cal Poly is 3-4 and one of the wins was a non-D1 opponent. They haven’t been competitive in their four losses, either. Smith hasn’t won more than eight games in a season yet, and it’s not looking like he’ll get there this year.

Reggie Witherspoon (Canisius)

Canisius looks like they may have turned the corner, with early wins over St. Bonaventure, Wofford and Western Kentucky. It’s still too early to tell with this one, but the first few weeks of the season look promising for Witherspoon’s chance to return.

Barclay Radebaugh (Charleston Southern)

Radebaugh announced his resignation yesterday. This is a tough job, but there are already a handful of people lined up ready to take it.

Aaron Fearne (Charlotte)

Charlotte has started off well. Athletic director Mike Hill will have a tough decision at the end of the year if Fearne keep the 49ers around .500.

Dave McLaughlin (Dartmouth)

Dartmouth is 1-4, with their only win coming over a non-D1 opponent. It’s looking like another single-digit win season in Hanover.

Anthony Grant (Dayton)

Dayton is once again dealing with injuries, as Malachi Smith is out for the year. Thankfully for Anthony Grant, the emergence of Nate Santos has kept the Flyers afloat. I still think Dayton is good enough to win the A10, but they need to stay healthy to reach their goals. Grant will stay on the list until the next update.

Mike Davis (Detroit Mercy)

Detroit Mercy is 0-7 and they haven’t exactly been competitive. This is probably it for Mike Davis.

Chris Casey (Fairfield)

It’s hard to say what the expectations are at Fairfield right now, but I think they’ll be able to field some quality candidates at the end of the year. Casey will need a big win total in league play to keep the job.

Jeremy Ballard (Florida International)

FIU didn’t do themselves any favors with the schedule and they’ve started 2-7. There are some tough games in league play, too. The biggest question here is do the folks in Miami care enough to make a change? The Panthers have been obliterated by the portal every year under Ballard.

Justin Hutson (Fresno State)

The Bulldogs are 3-3 and their best win is over 255th ranked New Mexico State with a depleted roster. Hutson survived last off-season, but I’m not sure this team has enough to get him through another one.

Matt Crenshaw (IUPUI)

Two of IUPUI’s three wins are over non-D1 opponents. Crenshaw was dealt a tough hand when he got the job and hasn’t been able to do much with it.

Darrell Walker (Little Rock)

We’re not sure what to make of Little Rock just yet, as their results have been very up and down. Walker will remain on the list until the next update.

Keith Richard (Louisiana Monroe)

The Warhawks have won the games they’re supposed to win and lost the games their supposed to lose. This is also a scenario where the 63-year-old Richard “retires” at the end of the year.

Tavaras Hardy (Loyola MD)

At 1-6 to start the year, Tavaras Hardy hasn’t done himself any favors. There are some winnable games in league play, but I’m not sure what the number is to get him another year.

Greg Gary (Mercer)

Mercer lost on opening night to non-D1 Clark Atlanta and it hasn’t gotten much better for Greg Gary. It’s going to be a long year in a tough SoCon for the Bears.

Matt Driscoll (North Florida)

North Florida has a bunch of buy-games coming up that will likely hurt their record, but it’s all about ASUN play for Matt Driscoll. They need to be competitive for him to get another year.

Shane Burcar (Northern Arizona)

There are some winnable games coming up for Northern Arizona. Burcar needs to get as many as he can before they head into a tough Big Sky slate.

Lorenzo Romar (Pepperdine)

Pepperdine is nearly halfway to last year’s win total and there are some winnable games left in the non-conference schedule. They also have Louisville, which would be a nice brand name win if they can get it. Romar will stay on the list until the next update.

Andrew Toole (Robert Morris)

Bobby Mo only has one win over a D1 opponent so far this season. His buyout saved him last year, but with two years left on his deal, it’ll take a big performance in a tough Horizon League to stay off the hot seat.

Travis Ford (Saint Louis)

I can’t remember the last time there was this little buzz around Saint Louis basketball. That’s when you know time is running out for Travis Ford. SLU is 5-3, but there’s one non-D1 win and two KenPom 300+ wins tucked into that record. The Billikens have some tough non-conference games left before hitting A10 play, where they’re currently projected to finish 12th. That’s not going to get it done at Chaifetz.

Geno Ford (Stony Brook)

Geno Ford hasn’t done enough to get his name off this list yet. The SeaWolves are 2-4, with most of the losses coming in buy games. The next few weeks will be very telling for his future.

Steve Henson (UTSA)

UTSA is 4-4 with all four wins against KenPom 300th+ opponents. The Roadrunners aren’t favored to win any games in conference play. After consecutive 10-22 seasons, Henson is in trouble in San Antonio.

Dane Fischer (William & Mary)

After 13 wins last year, Fischer’s team is only 3-5 to start the season. Luckily for him, the bottom half of the CAA presents many opportunities to win games. If he can get enough of those, he could potentially survive another offseason.

*Coaches removed from Preseason List*

Dwayne Killings (Albany)

Jim Engles (Columbia)

Luke Yaklich (Illinois-Chicago)

Dana Ford (Missouri State)

Quinton Ferrell (Presbyterian)

Billy Lange (St. Joseph’s)

Coaches on Retirement Watch

Cliff Ellis (Coastal Carolina)

Keith Dambrot (Duquesne)

Leonard Hamilton (Florida State)

Fran Dunphy (La Salle)

Greg Kampe (Oakland)

Jeff Jones (Old Dominion)

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