With Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon off the board, speculation about ASU's next men's basketball coach now turns to other likely candidates. It's a short list of names ranging from the proven, popular and controversial to relatively unknown up-and-comers.
Here are the candidates in which the ASU athletic department is rumored to have an interest:
Rick Majerus
Experience: Led Utah to 10 NCAA Tournament appearances and the National Championship game in 1998.
Pros: Majerus' name is well known. He's a proven winner with long-term success. He has spent most of his coaching career on the West Coast, and consistently recruited top prospects to a place previously not known for its basketball program.
Cons: Struggles with his weight, which has led to numerous health problems. Majerus flip-flopped on an agreement to coach USC in 2004, citing health reasons. ASU Athletic Director Lisa Love was an assistant athletic director at USC at the time. Did Majerus lose credibility with her?
Lionel Hollins
Experience: Hollins is a former ASU star and a longtime NBA assistant coach currently with the Memphis Grizzlies. He spent a partial season as the Grizzlies interim head coach, going 18-42 during that stretch.
Pros: His NBA experience as a player and coach could be a valuable recruiting asset. Hollins has studied under successful coaches such as Cotton Fitzsimmons, Hubie Brown and Mike Fratello. He may not be as expensive to lure away from his current job as other candidates.
Cons: Hollins has been away from the college game for 18 years and has limited head coaching experience.
Steve Lavin
Experience: Lavin served seven years as head coach at UCLA, going 145-78. He made the NCAA Tournament in his first six seasons, but was fired in 2003.
Pros: When UCLA hired him in 1996, Lavin was the youngest coach in Division I history at 32. Youth is still on Lavin's side at 42. Lavin led the Bruins to five Sweet Sixteen appearances and an Elite Eight appearance during his tenure.
Cons: Lavin didn't leave UCLA on his own terms, and had dwindling success at the end of his tenure. The Bruins went 10-19 in Lavin's final season, their first losing season since 1948.
Mark Turgeon
Experience: Turgeon has spent six seasons as Wichita State coach and led the Shockers to the Sweet Sixteen this year.
Pros: Turgeon is a relatively young coach at 41, and Wichita State's record has improved in five straight years under his guidance. He has Pac-10 coaching and West Coast recruiting experience, previously serving as an assistant at Oregon.
Cons: Turgeon doesn't necessarily have the heavy West Coast ties that Majerus and Lavin share. The Missouri Valley Conference isn't a major conference and Kansas roots seem to give Turgeon reason to stay at Wichita State.
Mark Fox
Experience: Fox has two years at the helm of Nevada. He has served as an assistant at Washington and Kansas State.
Pros: Fox guided Nevada to 54 wins in two years and consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. During his 12 years as an assistant coach, Fox developed a reputation as a strong recruiter. At only 37, he has a lot of years of coaching ahead of him.
Cons: Fox is relatively inexperienced at patrolling the sideline as a head coach. He hasn't been on the coaching radar long enough to make a name for himself nationally.
Randy Bennett
Experience: Bennett has spent the past five seasons as coach at Saint Mary's.
Pros: Bennett has roots in the Valley. He played at Westwood High School and Mesa Community College. At Saint Mary's, he quickly built a winner. The Gaels were 2-27 the year before Bennett took over. Four years later, he led them to the NCAA Tournament.
Con: Hasn't had enough success yet, and is at a smaller school.
Reach the reporter at derrik.miller@asu.edu.
