Candidates for MSU Basketball Coach: Part II

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Mar 11, 2015; Nashville, TN, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs guard Craig Sword (32) dribbles the ball against Auburn Tigers during the first half of the first round of the SEC Tournament at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joshua Lindsey-USA TODAY Sports

Yesterday we listed some candidates for Mississippi State’s coaching vacancy for men’s basketball. How about some more?

It’s hard to say what exactly Scott Stricklin will be looking for. Will it be an older proven coach, an up-and-comer or maybe someone with ties to MSU or Mississippi.

Guys like Gregg Marshall or Shaka Smart can be thrown out – they aren’t going anywhere. Maybe UNC, Kansas or Kentucky could lure them away, but they are the toast of the town at their school and being paid rather nicely. It’s hard to pull someone away from that kind of situation.

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Then there is the question of going the assistant coaching route or the head coaching route. Obviously Rick Ray was an assistant coach at Clemson when he was hired, and that didn’t work out too well. But after three weeks of searching, it’s pretty common knowledge Ray wasn’t Scott Stricklin’s first pick. The program was in a bad place at the time, and it was tough to find anyone willing to take it. So an unknown was hired at a less than average salary for SEC coaches.

Things are a bit different now. The roster is full, and should feature four senior starters in 2015-16, all of whom have had extensive playing time during their careers. There are also several key young players who can contribute and freshman coming in (if they stay on board), and the prayer that is Malik Newman possibly coming…if the right man is hired.

With all that said, let’s dig into some more candidates…

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