This week's edition of the carousel breakdown highlights assistant coaches who are ready to make the jump, the week's results of consequence and an updated tiermaker.
Check out last week's edition, which explored lower division coaches who could become the next Ben McCollum, Bucky McMillan or Josh Schertz.
Who is the next great assistant coach ready to lead their own program?
A handful of longtime assistant coaches made the jump to the head chair last year and are having a ton of success. Some names that come to mind include Jai Lucas (Miami), Ryan Miller (Murray State), Matt Braeuer (Stephen F. Austin), Nolan Smith (Tennessee State), Bill Armstrong (McNeese), Flynn Clayman (High Point) and Kevin Hovde (Florida).
Who could be the next assistant turned head coach success story?
Luke Murray & Kimani Young, UConn
The two most obvious names to watch are the UConn assistants. We'll just lump them together because they're both equally qualified and would likely find success wherever they end up.
Murray's name tends to come up more in job searches as he seems more eager to run his own show. He's interviewed for several opportunities over the years, but his salary and quality of life at UConn often gets in the way of him actually taking a job. Murray's resume includes stints at Arizona as a GA, then Wagner, Towson, Rhode Island, Xavier and Louisville as an assistant before arriving in Storrs in 2021. He's credited as the architect for the Huskies offense and is widely believed to be holding out for high major openings.
Young is UConn's associate head coach and runs point on most of their recruitments. He's also regarded as one of the best backcourt developers in the game. As the associate head, he's taken over any time Dan Hurley has been ejected, signaling he could be a logical successor should Hurley ever leave for the NBA. Could that be why his name doesn't come up as often as Murray's in job searches? Prior to UConn, the UTEP alum had stops at FIU and Minnesota under Richard Pitino. He's been with UConn since 2018 and similar to Murray, his salary and quality of life precludes him from several lower level opportunities.
Carlin Hartman, Florida
Last offseason, two of Florida's assistants were able to land mid-major jobs. Kevin Hovde went to Columbia and John Andrzejek landed at Campbell. Who could be the next head coach from that staff? None other than college basketball journeyman Carlin Hartman.
Hartman is an ace recruiter and one of the best in the country when it comes to developing forwards and centers. He's also spearheaded several social initiatives including the Coaches Coalition for Progress and Big 12's Black Assistant Coaches Alliance. He began his coaching career in 1996 at Rice and gained experience at eight different schools before arriving in Gainesville in 2022. Hartman was heavily involved at Rice last time it opened and should be in the mix for a number of jobs this spring. With the perennial success of Florida's frontcourt and his wealth of experience across the country, Hartman is primed for success whenever he gets his shot.
Adam Cohen, Texas
Adam Cohen is another college basketball journeyman who is ready to run his own program. The Arizona alum got his start as a graduate assistant at New Orleans in 2008. Since then, he's coached at USC, Rice, Harvard, Vanderbilt and Stanford before linking up with Sean Miller at Xavier. Cohen is another ace recruiter and player development guru, which he's converted into top-10 ranked offenses two of the last four years. He was named to the NABC 30-under-30 list in 2016 and served on the Board of Directors for Rising Coaches Elite, along with several other accolades. Cohen has interviewed for a handful of jobs in the past and recently turned down his hometown Buffalo Bulls. He and the coaches listed above him all have great jobs and the luxury of being picky when it comes to timing their jump.
Zak Boisvert, Saint Louis
At the mid-major level, there aren't many more prepared to lead a program than Saint Louis' Zak Boisvert. Boisvert is an elite offensive mind with a knack for evaluating and developing quality backcourts. The Fordham alum got his start at Fairleigh Dickinson and Iona before stops at Maine, Army and Indiana State with Josh Schertz. The two reunited last year at Saint Louis after Boisvert spent two seasons at George Washington. Boisvert is well connected at all levels of the sport and has all the necessary tools to make him a successful head coach one day. Should Josh Schertz move on from Saint Louis, Boisvert should get a strong look at being named his successor.
Some other highly regarded assistants that could make the jump this season: James Miller (Oklahoma State), PJ Thompson (Purdue), Erik Pastrana (Miami), Chester Frazier (Virginia Tech), Jack Murphy (Arizona), Kyle Church (Michigan), JR Blount (Iowa State).
Last week's results of consequence.
Wichita State 75 - Tulane 61 (Sunday)
People often ask why you don't see midseason firings in basketball - here's a prime example.
Since falling to 10-8 overall and 2-3 in league play, Wichita State has suddenly reeled off wins in five of their last six games. The Shockers are just one game out of first in a now wide open American Conference. With seven games left, Paul Mills has plenty of opportunities to earn another season at the Roundhouse. We'll be monitoring this one closely down the stretch.
Louisville 88 - Wake Forest 80 (Saturday)
Despite five straight losses and a record now below .500, sources in Winston Salem continue to say it's more likely than not that Steve Forbes returns for another season at Wake Forest. Does that sentiment remain if the Demon Deacons miss the ACC tournament?
TCU 84 - Kansas State 82 (Saturday)
Kansas State has now lost four straight and eight of their last nine after blowing an 18-point lead against TCU. As we've mentioned in previous editions of this article, Jerome Tang's buyout is just over $18M. That's...a lot of money. It only drops to $15M next year, so could donors be motivated to bite the bullet now?
VCU 99 - Dayton 73 (Friday)
Scoreboard aside, the power dynamic at Dayton is worth monitoring. Last week, Athletic Director Neil Sullivan announced he would be taking an indefinite leave of absence due to health issues. Then, the university's President, Eric Spina, announced he will be retiring in the summer of 2027. Does leadership instability help Anthony Grant in the near term? Couple that with the always present retirement rumors and that makes this job too murky to call right now.
Here is this week's update of the full carousel landscape.
