Who Will Be the Next Michigan Basketball Coach?

The Michigan basketball program is about to enter one of its most important times. The program is at a crossroads that can lead to success or continued failure that has been experienced for quite some time now. Following the firing of Tommy Amaker on Saturday, the Michigan basketball head coach job now becomes vacant. The timing couldn't be better from the standpoint of filling the position as it is really the only big-name school with an opening right now, plus there are more than enough candidates to choose from. Obviously, I wish the timing were better recruiting-wise, but that's a completely different story.

Over the next few weeks, Bill Martin will have to look for a new Michigan basketball head coach that can elevate this program to elite status. So who exactly fits what U-M is looking for? With so many names out there, the decision can actually become harder as the pressure gets even more intense. Fans and journalists will have their own opinions and favorites to get the job, but in the end, it all comes down to who Bill Martin thinks is best for the job.

Personally, the next coach Michigan hires for basketball has to be one that preaches the fundamentals. That's the one thing that always baffled me about Tommy Amaker's teams. They never seemed to have the basics down, such as not turning the ball over and putting points on the board on a consistent basis. On top of getting players to stop making the little mistakes, the next coach has to have an exciting offensive style. Whether that means running set plays throughout the game or simply coaching in a way that gets the excitement up and the points scored, the next coach has to do that to put Michigan into the Big Dance.

With all of this being said, there is one other important aspect about the next coach. He has to be able to go into Detroit and other places in the Midwest and recruit, recruit, and recruit. That can mean he already has established ties to Detroit and the Midwest or he can build them quickly, but it is very important.

As soon as the news that Amaker was gone came out, various media outlets began publishing lists or "favorites" for the job. I've seen most of the names mentioned before when this topic was discussed on different message boards, but never really gave any thought about it since I really never believed Amaker would actually be fired. Since Saturday, all I have thought about is who the next coach will be, so let's take a look at who the candidates are to succeed Amaker. I must stress that this is no way official, obviously, and not all of the names may be realistic, I'm just doing this to give you all an idea of who is out there and a little background on each.

TONY BENNETT

Current Job: Washington State Head Coach
Background: Son of legendary college coach Dick Bennett. Played for his father at Wisconsin-Green Bay. Many years as an assistant at Wisconsin and Washington State. Took over the Washington State head coaching job after his father retired following only one season at the helm.
Pros: Took Washington State from a dismal 11-17 in 2005-06 to an astonishing 26-8 in 2006-07 after just one season as head coach. Led WSU to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before being eliminated by Vanderbilt in double overtime. Solid recruiter with Midwest ties.
Cons: Is rather young and only has one year expereince as a head coach. Is this year just a fluke or a sign of things to come?
Realistically: Would Michigan be able to lure Bennett away from WSU after only one season? I would expect U-M to consider Bennett but don't see him as the guy in the end.

CHRIS LOWERY

Current Job: Southern Illinois Head Coach
Background: Became SIU head coach after Matt Painter left for Purdue (where he is currently the head coach).
Pros: Has continued the success that has been building for years at Southern Illinois. Led the Salukis into the Sweet 16 yesterday following a win over Virginia Tech. Has Midwest ties. Up and coming coach that will eventually end up at a bigger program.
Cons: Very young and has only a few years of expereince. SIU was successful before Lowery got there, so is he simply maintaining it or actually leaving his own mark?
Realistically: Lowery is an alumnus of SIU, but I really wouldn't necessarily see that getting in the way if Michigan offered him the job. If Michigan wants him I believe Lowery would leave.

MIKE MONTGOMERY

Current Job: Radio Announcer? (I think)
Background: Was head coach of Stanford for 18 years and compiled a 547-244 while with the Cardinal. Left Stanford in 2004 to take Golden State head coach job in the NBA before leaving in 2006 after little success.
Pros: An absolute great college coach that has only suffered one losing season in all his years of coaching in the college ranks. Would likely make an immediate impact. Lots of expereince. Can recruit well as Stanford's admissions are even harder than Michigan's. Wouldn't require a buyout as he isn't working anywhere as a coach right now.
Cons: More of a west coast guy that 1) may not be willing to come to the Midwest and 2) doesn't have any recruiting ties in this area.
Realistically: This is one of the more intriguing candidates. Montgomery would, as I said, probably make in immediate impact. He is 60 years old though, which questions how long he would be here if hired. Plus, as I also mentioned above, would he want to leave the west coast?

LON KRUGER

Current Job: UNLV Head Coach
Background: Coached at Texas-Pan American, Kansas State, Florida, Illinois, and the NBA's Atlanta Hawks before ending up at UNLV.
Pros: Has had success in the college ranks at more than just one place. Has some Midwest ties. Coached UNLV into the Sweet 16 yesterday after a win over #2-seeded Wisconsin.
Cons: Has finally gotten UNLV over the hump, now would he want to leave that?
Realistically: Lon Kruger's son graduates after this season, meaning that he would be able to leave freely if he wanted in the sense that he wouldn't be obligated to remain where his son is. Would be a very solid coach in my opinion and I do think he would consider leaving for U-M if offered the job.

JOHN BEILEIN

Current Job: West Virginia Head Coach
Background: Came to West Virginia after success at Richmond and a few other small colleges.
Pros: Is the 22nd winningest coach all-time for Division I men's basketball. Employs an offense that is based on constant movement and getting players open for shots. Took West Virginia to the Elite Eight in 2005 and the Sweet 16 in 2006. Although WVU didn't make the NCAA Tournament this season, they still went 24-9 overall.
Cons: Has a $3 million buyout looming over his head. I don't believe he has any big recruiting ties to the Midwest. Not a huge deal, but was cited for disorderly conduct last year at Pittsburgh International Airport after a dispute with a police officer.
Realistically: To lure Beilein away from WVU might just take a decent looking paycheck. He almost left for the NC State job last year and may actually leave if given the opportunity with Michigan. The only question is would Michigan be willing to pay such a large sum to buyout his current contract?

RICK MAJERUS

Current Job: ESPN Analyst
Background: Coached at Marquette, Ball State, and Utah. Also was employed by Southern Cal for a few days as head coach before changing his mind. He then went on to his current job at ESPN.
Pros: Has been successful at each coaching destination and has a ton of expereince. His teams usually always make the NCAA Tournament. Led Utah to the 1998 National Championship Game where the Utes lost to Kentucky.
Cons: Majerus' health is the biggest issue. He has suffered so many health problems in the past that it raises two questions: 1) Would he want to enter back into the coaching world with his health issues? 2) Would Michigan want to take a chance on him considering he may walk away if something happened again?
Realistically: Majerus has seen Michigan player and has rightfully criticized them. He knows exactly what the problems are and would definitely be able to make the Wolverines successful. I'm not so sure he would want to begin coaching again though as his health is obviously important. He has had numerous heart problems and suffers from diabetes. Regardless of health, he is still a great coach.

STEVE LAVIN

Current Job: ESPN Analyst
Background: Coached at UCLA from 1996-2003 and took the Bruins to the Elite Eight once and 5 Sweet 16's.
Pros: Has been around Michigan enough while covering games for ESPN to see the flaws and would be able to quickly fix them. Had many successful seasons at UCLA.
Cons: Lavin was criticized for his teams being inconsistent and underachieving. After suffering through the Amaker era these last few years for those reasons, I really wouldn't want a coach so similar in that respect. Makes good money and enjoys his job at ESPN, so might be tough to lure away.
Realistically: I hope that Lavin doesn't get this job. I've got nothing against him, but I just think there are better coaches out there right now. Even so, he supposedly turned down the NC State job last year to stay with ESPN, where he enjoys announcing.

TODD LICKLITER

Current Job: Butler Head Coach
Background: Former Eastern Michigan assistant coach for two seasons before joining Butler staff. Took over as head coach at Butler after current Ohio State coach Thad Matta left for Xavier.
Pros: Butler has been one of those mid-majors similar to Southern Illinois. Always achieving great success, the Bulldogs have been one of those teams you never want to face in the NCAA Tournament. Lickliter led Butler to the Sweet 16 this past weekend after beating Maryland. He stresses X's and O's and his teams are known for turnover the ball over very rarely. Also, has Midwest ties for recruiting.
Cons: Is an alumnus of Butler, meaning that his loyalty to the school may might make it harder to convince him to leave.
Realistically: Lickliter is one of the candidates out there that really impress me. He is one of my favorites and I would definitely like to see him get the job. As I said, it might be tough to get him away from Butler, but at the same time, it might be hard for him to pass up an opportunity like this if offered the job.

SEAN MILLER

Current Job: Xavier Head Coach
Background: Was an assistant to Thad Matta before taking over as head coach when Matta left for Ohio State.
Pros: Has coaching experience as an assistant to compliment that as a head coach. Is a Midwest guy. Xavier produced Thad Matta for Ohio State, who now is coaching in the Sweet 16 and is an elite program.
Cons: Would have to close out games against Ohio State better than he did on Saturday.
Realistically: In all seriousness, Miller would be a great choice. As I hinted, just look at what the last Xavier coach is doing now. Imagine if that type of thing could happen to Michigan. Bring in a new coach from Xavier and quickly become an elite program. The only thing is would he want to come to the Big Ten to coach against a friend in Thad Matta. That could work for or against Michigan.

That will do it for a look at potential candidates for the Michigan basketball head coaching job for today. I went through many names that were mostly from mid-major type programs (other than those not currently coaching). Some coaches have plenty of expereince whereas others are very young. Hopefully this gives you a relative idea of who Michigan will be looking at and a little background info on them as well. I'm not done yet though. Later this week I plan to post a follow-up to this post that looks at other coaches from non-BCS conferences (Coaches from Winthrop, VCU, Wichita State, George Washington, Nevada, and Air Force) as well as a few longshots or coaches from bigger programs (Tom Crean, Bruce Pearl, Tubby Smith, John Calipari, Ernie Kent, Kevin Stallings, Stan Heath, and Jay Wright). Until then, thanks for reading and Go Blue!