There will always be plenty of new coaches in the NCAA basketball world every year, what with there being more than three hundred programs in the I-A rank. Here’s a look at a few of the newest coaches to watch for.
Michael White – Florida NCAA basketball
With Billy Donovan jumping to the NBA, Michael White will be in charge of the Gators. White has three regular season championships to his name with two coming with Louisiana Tech. There are concerns over how his teams have never actually made it into the NCAA Tournament as he has always lost in the conference tournaments that he has entered.
Shaka Smart – Texas NCAA basketball
Shaka Smart won more than 150 games with Virginia Commonwealth and led the Rams to five consecutive NCAA basketball Tournament appearances. He even got VCU to the Final Four once. While Smart led VCU to prominence, he will be heading to a much larger program in Texas.
Will Wade – VCU NCAA basketball
Will Wade will be taking over the Rams after having coached Chattanooga to two consecutive second-place finishes in the Southern Conference. He has been a popular target among young coaches in the last few years.
Rick Barnes – Tennessee
Although Rick Barnes has more than 600 career wins and helped Texas to become a perennial contender in the Big 12, the Longhorn athletic department decided to go in another direction. Barnes will be looking to start over again in Tennessee.
Linc Darner – Green Bay
Linc Darner was a prominent coach in the Division II rank with more than 200 wins and one title with Florida Southern. He will be hoping to bring the Phoenix back to the NCAA basketball Tournament for the first time in nearly twenty years.
Bobby Hurley – Arizona State
In nine years, Herb Sendek could only get Arizona State to the NCAA basketball Tournament twice. Bobby Hurley won two-thirds of his games with Buffalo in his short time with the team. He is also the son of Bob Hurley, a legendary high school basketball coach who is in the Naismith Hall of Fame.
Dave Leitao – DePaul
One of the more unusual coaching changes came in DePaul as Dave Leitao was named the coach. He actually coached the Blue Demons for a few years before leaving for Virginia.