New Men’s Basketball Coach

Wingman

This thread is for intel, rumors, or speculation about the coaching search and any associated transfers and recruiting.

March 29 AAR’s departure was announced

Ben Fletcher named interim Head Coach

KingOwlLegacy

My way too early short list of candidates for the Kennesaw State opening

-Al Skinner
-Coach Smiley of Bel-Air Prep
-Shawn Kemp (I can overlook the off court issues, he's gotta have some kids that can ball)
-ALF
-Make Terrell Burden the first player/coach in NCAA D1

Wingman

KingOwlLegacy If these are my choices, I go for player/coach Burden

bb_fan

KingOwlLegacy Israel Ingle came close. He was hired as head coach of Gordon College 3 days before he graduated from KSU.

KingOwlLegacy

Wingman I'm going for ALF. I hate cats

TD15

Antoine Pettway (Assistant @ Bama)
Charlton Young (Assistant Coach @ Missou)
Ronnie Hamilton (Assistant @ Ole Miss)
Kermit Davis (former HC @ Ole Miss)

Probably can’t afford Kermit but he was the MTSU coach prior to Ole Miss so there’s CUSA tie.
Pettway & MO know each other from Bama
all are recruiting wizards in the Southeast
salary has to be anywhere from $300 - $600k range right? (Or are we really that broke?)

KingOwlLegacy

TD15 we should be getting money from CUSA from 2025-2029 for FAU making the tourney so that should help. I also cant imagine the program has less money now after the tourney.

I'd guess target of 300k but I am just talking out of my ass

TMac1325

Did some poking around on a few good mid major coaches around the southeast..The Charleston coach just signed an extension that pays him 1m per year for 5 years with some bonuses built in to bump it to 5.5..The Furman coach just got an extension. He was making 230k last year, but it's safe to say he is now probably in the 800k to 1m range as there was a lot of interest in him..A few others are anywhere from 200k to 500k..All this being said, it's obvious KSU will have to throw out a competitive salary for a good coach.. We have a budget that puts us in a place to pay more. We are going to have to pay Bo and whoever we hire substantially more than we have in the past..

I think there will be a long list of pretty good coaches that will ask for an interview.

I have a good friend who gets paid a lot of money by various schools and conferences as a sports marketing analyst. He says when people describe Kennesaw State as a sleeping giant they are incorrect. He describes KSU as a baby giant, that has all the potential to grow into a very formidable athletic power based on it's size, recruiting location, and a yet untapped media market.. Coaches looking for a place to make a name for themselves will be interested in these built-in advantages..

Wingman

I am hoping out AD will move quickly and not make this a long process. The uncertainty is hell for the players and staff.

bb_fan

Coach Carter because of his emphasis on academics. Also high on Ken Reeves.

Pitino would be a good fit because of all the Atlanta strip clubs but he's not available.

Wingman

I am kind of surprised at this example, but I guess it is OK per NCAA rules.

Austin Peay fired their coach Nate James after an awful season where they didn't qualify for the ASUN tournament. Austin Peay hired Corey Gipson away from Northwestern State after his 22 win season.

Not too surprising 6 Austin Peay players have hit the transfer portal. Likewise, 11 Northwestern State players are listed on the transfer portal.

What is surprising (to me anyway) is that 5 from Northwestern State appear to be following their coach to Austin Peay. They are the top 4 scorers and a 7'3" sophomore who played in 28 games. I guess this is allowed but it seems like you can buy a coach and a team these days,

I don't want KSU to be the next Northwestern State.

TD15

After doing some detective work.. I’ve observed the following:

1.) Ben Fletcher has followed USF on twitter.

2.) No current Ksaw players have liked USF’s announcement of AAR or any posts that relate to AAR + USF

Im going to need some ksaw coaching rumors to come about from these CBB accounts or I’m going to be wasting a lot more time death scrolling 😉

naqvi

It is interesting to see the coaching search developments. One note is that Chris Youngblood's dad Dupree is following USF basketball on Twitter.

I do think that KSU is a good place to be for an up and coming coach. I think KSU has positioned itself to where, even if KSU is a stepping stone, other rising coaches will see this as an opportunity for them to make it to the Power 5, which means they must be successful at KSU. If they are motivated by Power 5 offers, KSU is the place to be to show success.

Wingman

naqvi In other cases I can remember coaches that made such a big jump had at least one NCAA tournament win.
Regardless, I agree that KSU is better off than we were 4 years ago. I just hope the AD does not blow our momentum with a prolonged coaching search.

Wingman

[unknown] In other cases I can remember coaches that made such a big jump had at least one NCAA tournament win.
Regardless, I agree that KSU is better off than we were 4 years ago. I just hope the AD does not blow our momentum with a prolonged coaching search.

KingOwlLegacy

Some of the early names that I'm hearing include Korey McCray (UF Associate Coach) and Ben Fletcher

KingOwlLegacy

Andre Morgan is a name I've heard too.

jones682

Names are not the best so far

KingOwlLegacy

jones682 I wouldn't complain if a KSU alum got the job.

TheVoiceKSUMB

KingOwlLegacy Maybe we need to give JD a call after this weekend…