URI parted ways with coach David Cox Friday morning. It’s the right move as URI has been on the decline these past few years with no sign of life this year. Below are some candidates and their potential fits to replace Cox as the man in charge in Kingston. We will see in the coming/days and weeks what type of candidate Thor decides to pursue and I will have some more reaction to that news.
Jared Grasso-Bryant Head Coach- Grasso is not a popular pick among Rams fans but he might be my favorite amongst the realistic options. Bryant’s division 1 record before Grasso was a whopping 96-211. Grasso has built them into a contender within their conference, winning the regular season championship in year 4 of his tenure and then dominating the conference championship game to secure a bid to the dance. Taking over a truly irrelevant program and building them into a winner is a huge line on his resume. He has also been able to utilize the transfer portal which I view as key for mid major success, bringing in impact guards Peter Kiss and Adham Eleeda. I also love the fire I have seen from Bryant this year. Whether it’s scuffles in the tunnels or dancing on teams graves after they are beaten, I would love to see some semblance of passion return to the Rams sideline(our students are better behaved though). Grasso also has strong roots in the New York/ New Jersey area after serving as an assistant coach at Fordham and Iona before his stint in Smithfield.
John Becker-Vermont Head Coach- Becker probably would have been the right choice 4 years ago to replace Dan Hurley. Becker has been at Vermont for 11 years and made 3 NCAA tournaments, an impressive total for a 1 bid conference. You could add in another 7 regular season championships for the Catamounts. We would obviously need to see an uptick in recruiting for Becker but there’s zero knock on his basketball resume. He is an exceptional in game coach and would establish a strong fundamental approach for the program. I have not read into the UVM rape case much but it will certainly be something he and potential suitors will have to address.
Kyle Neptune- Fordham Head Coach- Fordham doesn’t suck anymore. That’s incredible. Go get the guy who made them not suck. I thought Neptune would leave Nova for a job with a higher profile than Fordham but he is a New York local. Fordham has made the quarterfinals of the A-10 for the first time in a billion years and certainly don’t appear to be the conference door mat any longer.
Matt Langel- Colgate Head Coach- Langel has found some success lately at Colgate. In the last 4 years Colgate has been to 2 NCAA tournaments, and won 2 other regular season championships. Add that to another trip to the dance this year after winning their conference tournament earlier this week. On the down side this year is the first time Langel’s overall record has crept above .500. Would he be able to quickly turn around a struggling program? Or would he need a longer runway and is that something URI would be willing to provide?
Bashir Mason- Wagner Head Coach-Might feel a little too similar to Dan Hurley, coming from the same program, but this guy can coach. Widely considered an up and coming coach it seems time for Mason to make the next jump. I like his ties to the NY/NJ area and think he would be able to make a seamless transition to recruiting A-10 talent. Getting smacked by Bryant aside he has a pretty spotless resume.
Kimani Young- UCONN Associate Head Coach- One of the bigger names among assistant coaches nationwide right now. I would imagine Young will have the opportunity to be pretty choosey before picking a new gig but i thought the same thing about Neptune who ended up at Fordham. It’s obviously a small sample with a great team but he coached his butt off the game Hurley got tossed from. I don’t know if going to the Dan Hurley assistant pool again is necessarily a good idea but I was mad as hell for those 8 hours we thought he was the next UMass coach.
Jamal Brunt-VCU Associate Head Coach- VCU has had tremendous success replacing their head coaches with coaches who had previous ties to the program. The Rams from Richmond have enjoyed tremendous consistency since the days of Shaka Smart and URI could really use some similar program building. Brunt has been at VCU for 4 years and has previous stops at Miami and Richmond. As an assistant Brunt has been a part of 7 NCAA tournament teams including the 2 most recent appearances for VCU. Credited with VCU's recruiting success, his familiarity with the DMV area and all of the A-10 would be a huge benefit. Brunt is also considered the defensive coordinator for VCU, a team that mixes up it’s press looks and has finished in the top 3 in points allowed per game every year Brunt has been on staff.
Phil Martelli- Michigan Associate Head Coach- As I said on the message board, if this were to happen I would need to scrub my personal twitter account of all the mean things I have said about Martelli. He’s been a great assistant to Juan Howard at Michigan as Howard transitioned to the world of college coaching. The Wolverines might have looked their best this season with Phil running the show. Phil is an icon in the Atlantic 10, St. Joe's decision to fire him is still surprising 3 years later. Was Martelli losing his touch those last three years in Philly or were they a result of a decline in institutional support? I have no idea if Phil would be interested in head coaching again but there won’t be any option with a better resume.
Archie Miller- Former Dayton and Indiana Head Coach- The holy grail of URI coaching candidates according to the message boards. After a stellar stint with Dayton, Archie was just okay during his time with Indiana. As the recipient of a 10.3 million dollar buyout hopefully money won’t be the only concern Archie has as he looks for his next gig. Miller’s track record of success in the Atlantic 10 is spotless, making the NCAA tournament 4 years in a row in Dayton. Archie would likely need some recruiting help being in a new region but the expectation is that if Archie were to be hired he’d also have a solid assistant pool. His teams play such a pretty style of transition basketball this hire would really be a joy to watch. Gotta figure he is also at the top of UMass’ list and we could see a bidding war start here in New England.
Tom Crean- Former Georgia Head Coach- Honestly I don’t like the fit here but honestly I needed another big name. His Georgia tenure was always a mess even with a talent like Anthony Edwards on his roster. He’s got 9 NCAA tournament appearances under his belt dating all the way back to his time at Marquette. If Crean is ready to take the step down to a mid-major it would probably be somewhere back in the Midwest which is where he is from.
If I had to rank my favorites they would be,
Archie Miller
Jamal Brunt
Phil Martelli