South Florida is in the market for a men’s basketball coach and BullsInsider.com is following the process every step of the way.
We start with our initial list of potential candidates. It is a mix of candidates we have heard mentioned as possibilities and some we believe would be a good fit.
With each candidate, we will outline his resume as well as why, and why not, he is a good choice for USF. This board will change and be updated as we gather new information during the search.
The candidates are in no particular order.
GET THE INSIDE SCOOP WITH YOUR PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION
Rick Pitino, Iona Head Coach
Resume: Pitino has a seven Final Four appearances, 10 regular season conference titles, 23 NCAA Tournament appearances, and he is the first coach to win National Championships at two different schools and to lead three different programs to the Final Four. Yes, some wins and one championship were vacated but I saw the championship with my own eyes so it may not be official but it is real to me.
Why Him: Rick Pitino is the grand slam name. Wherever he goes, wins follow.
Why Not Him: Can you get him before Georgetown or St. John’s? How long will you have to wait if Iona advances to the NCAA tournament? Also, there would be a couple of days of tough publicity if you hire Pitino. Is USF willing to weather that storm?
Cuonzo Martin, Free Agent
Resume: Martin was the head coach at Missouri from 2017-2022. In his five seasons he led the Tigers to two NCAA Tournament berths. Mizzou also spent 11 consecutive weeks in the AP Top 25, reaching as high as No. 10 during the 2020-21 season. Martin also had stints at California, Tennessee and Missouri State. He has led three different programs to the Big Dance – Tennessee, Cal and Missouri. Every program he has been at has seen improvement.
Why Him: Although he struggled at Missouri, Martin has shown that he can turnaround programs.
Why Not Him: We have more questions than answers here. Can USF get Martin? If he's interested, there's no reason he shouldn't be on a short list of names from our perspective.
Dusty May, Florida Atlantic Head Coach
Resume: FAU is May’s first head coaching job and in five seasons and each season the Owls’ overall record was above .500. He has high major wins at Illinois and at Florida. Before FAU, May was the associate head coach at Florida for three seasons. He has also been an assistant at Louisiana Tech, UAB, Murray State and Eastern Michigan.
Why Him: May has changed the culture at FAU and is the only FAU head basketball coach to lead the Owls to four consecutive winning seasons and an AP National ranking.
Why Not Him: Can USF get him? May’s accomplishments at FAU have gained the attention of athletic director’s at high major programs. Also, we’ve heard that a lengthy contract extension will be offered to May. If he moves on from FAU this offseason we think it will be for a high major job.
Amir Abdur-Rahim, Kennesaw State Head Coach
Resume: Kennesaw State is Abdur-Rahim’s first head coaching job and he understood the assignment. In his first season the Owls won one game. ONE. Three seasons later and Kennesaw State finished its regular season 23-8; 15-3 ASUN), won the conference tournament and advances to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.
Abdur-Rahim, 41, spent one season on first-year coach Tom Crean's staff at Georgia following four years as an assistant at Texas A&M and two years at the College of Charleston. He also worked five years at Murray State and one season as Georgia Tech's director of player development.
Why Him: Abdur-Rahim clearly knows how to build a program. He can recruit. Abdur-Rahim signed the No. 61 ranked recruiting class in the nation in his first year after being hired in April of 2019 and all five returned for this season.
Why Not Him: USF will have to wait awhile because Kennesaw State has punched its ticket to the NCAA tournament. Also, Abdur-Rahim will be a candidate for some high major jobs.
Richie Riley, South Alabama Head Coach
Resume: A Kentucky native, Riley was hired by South Alabama in March 2018, prior to that he was the head coach at Nicholls State where he compiled a 35-28 overall record and a 22–14 mark in the Southland Conference. In 2018, his second season as a head coach, Riley earned Southland Conference COY honors after leading the Colonels to a share of the Southland title. In 2020 Riley was ranked No. 16 on ESPN’s 40 Under 40 best college basketball coaches in the country.
Why Him: Riley is known as a program builder and a high level recruiter, especially in the transfer portal. He’s young, just 39 years old, yet already established as an up-and-comer through his work at UAB, Clemson, Nicholls St. and now South Alabama.
Why Not Him: His teams have leveled off recently but Riley’s teams have won nine or more conference games five times in his seven years as head coach.
Charlton ‘CY’ Young, Missouri Associate Head Coach
Resume: Young has 29 years of college coaching experience including stops as an assistant at Georgia Tech, Chattanooga, Auburn, Northeastern, Jacksonville, FSU, and Missouri. Additionally, Young was head coach at Georgia Southern from 2009-2013. He was the 2012 Southern Conference Coach of the Year and was the first Georgia Southern coach to lead the Eagles to a victory over an ACC (Virginia Tech) team.
Why Him: His coaching knowledge and ability to teach the game is superb. A Miami native, Young is plugged into Florida HS and grassroots basketball like no other. Something he used to his advantage throughout his career.
Why Not Him: Young may or may not end up being a target, but he checks several boxes including D1 head coaching experience, ability to develop players and ability to recruit the state.
Win Case, Mississippi Interim Head Coach
Resume: Case has been on the Ole Miss staff since 2019. When Kermit Davis was fired last month Case got the interim tag. Case has extensive head coaching experience at the NAIA level where he won two national championships. He has also been head coach/athletic director at a D3 program and at a JuCo program. Overall, Case holds a 392-169 record as a head coach. Case was one of 15 coaches named to the NAIA 75th Anniversary Team, joining the likes of John Wooden and other legendary coaches.
Why Him: Case was very successful at his previous collegiate stops and he is a good recruiter. He landed the two highest-rated prospects in Ole Miss basketball history.
Why Not Him: USF might prefer candidates with D1 head coaching experience.
Chris Capko, USC Associate Head Coach
Resume: A native of Lakeland, Fla., Capko spent his first semester of college at Florida under Billy Donovan. He transferred to USF where he played for three years and became a team captain. He has worked as an assistant coach at Stetson, Georgia Southern, Florida International and now USC. Capko was promoted to Associate Head Coach at USC in August 2021.
Why Him: USC has evolved into one of the hot programs which administrators would want to emulate, and bringing aboard a guy who has been part of that build for almost ten seasons makes a lot of sense.
Tell me the name of a legitimate candidate who cares more about USF than Capko. I'll wait.
Why Not Him: If Michael Kelly makes head coaching experience a prerequisite for this hire, Capko likely won’t be the choice.
Al Pinkins, Texas Tech Assistant Coach 45?
Resume: Pinkins returned to Texas Tech after four seasons on the Florida coaching staff as associate head coach where he also coached UF’s front court players. Prior to Florida, Pinkins built 15 years of college coaching experience, including stops at Texas Tech, LSU, Tennessee, Mississippi and Middle Tennessee State.
Why Him: Coach “Pink” is considered among the brightest rising coaches in the profession, a very good recruiter (he was the Gators’ recruiting coordinator and associate head coach. He already has solid relationships throughout the Sunshine State) and a developer of big men.
Why Not Him: There are not many negatives on the Pinkins portfolio but if USF makes head coaching experience a prerequisite for the job Pinkins would not qualify.
Brad Brownell, Clemson Head Coach
Resume: In addition to Clemson, Brownell has been the head coach at Wright State and UNC-Wilmington. He has won just over 60% of his games including 3-6 in the NCAA Tournament (he took Clemson to the Sweet 16) and 4-3 in the N.I.T. Under Brownell, UNC-Wilmington won two CAA tournaments and regular season titles and Wright State won the Horizon League regular season title in 2007. Brownell has been named a conference COY three times. It is widely suspected that if Clemson will part ways with Brownell if it doesn't make the NCAA tournament this year.
Why Him: His teams win more games than they lose.
Why Not Him: If you want a coach who will win the press conference, Brownell is probably not your guy.
Talk about the candidates with Bulls fans on our premium message board.
