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South Florida is in the market for a men’s basketball coach. BullsInsider.com will follow the process every step of the way. This is the second version coaching hot board. 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 the reasons he is listed on the initial board and update any new information we have garnered since publishing our first hot board on Friday.
Subscribers read about some of the information in this hot board by reading Rumor Mill No. 2. This board will be updated as we gather new information during the search.
The candidates are listed in no particular order.
ADDED: Bob Richey, Justin Gainey, Bob Marlin and Mike Brey
REMOVED: Dusty May, Win Case, Brad Brownell
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?
The Latest: Nothing new here. His decision will come down to where he, and probably more importantly his wife, wants to live.
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.
The Latest: He’s on the USF radar. The Jaguars season is now over so we should know soon how strong the interest is between USF and Riley.
Bob Marlin, Louisiana Head Coach
Resume: Marlin, 64, is 471–304 (.608) all time as a Division I head coach. In 13-seasons at Louisiana he has a Sun Belt Conference regular season West Division title (2011) a regular season title (2018) and two Sun Belt tournament championships (2014 and 2023). Marlin has taken the Ragin’ Cajuns two NCAA tournaments, one N.I.T. and the CIT three times. Louisiana has finished in sixth place or below three times during those 13 seasons. Marlin won 66.3 percent of his conference games while head coach at Sam Houston State.
Why Him: He is a proven winner. Marlin is in the final season of his contract, however we hear Louisiana is prepared to offer an extension once the Ragin’ Cajuns season ends. We have confirmed that he is interested in the job.
Why Not Him: While 64 certainly is not old, will he have the energy for a turnaround job at this point in his career or is he a better hire for a program that is already a winner but wants to get to the next level?
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.
The Latest: Since the job opened there has been buzz about Young, but other candidates are likely ahead of him.
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.
The Latest: Capko has a good amount of support among USF fans, boosters and is well thought of in the coaching community.
Bob Richey, Furman Head Coach
Resume: Furman is Richey’s first head coach gig. In his six seasons at Furman, his teams have won 20-games five times, 23+ games four times. Furman has always finished above .500 in the SoCon under Richey’s leadership. His 2022-2023 team ranks in the 98th percentile in points per possession at 1.023. He has Furman in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1980. Such is life in a one-bid conference.
Why Him: See his resume, Richey’s teams win games. Lots of them. Also, if you want a coach with fun to watch offense, Richey is your guy.
Why Not Him: Can USF get him? Richey, a Florence, SC native, got consideration for the South Carolina job last year. Other high majors will hit up his agent. Clemson will likely come knocking if Brad Brownell leaves (Clemson’s AD said Brownell will return but I’m not holding my breath on that).
Justin Gainey, Tennessee Associate Head Coach
Resume: Gainey is in his second season at Tennessee, his first as AHC. Previously his title was Assistant Coach. He also served as AHC at Marquette for a season and has been an assistant at Arizona, Santa Clara, Appalachian State and Elon. Gainey served as the Director of Operations and as an Administrative Coordinator at NC State- his alma mater.
Why Him: Gainey has 16 years of Division I coaching and administrative experience. Vols head coach Rick Barnes said Gainey “has a passion for on-court player development.”
Why Not Him: If USF hires a coach without head coaching experience it should be a coach with connections to/in Florida. Also, Gainey is from High Point, NC. Home to High Point University who, coincidentally, fired its head coach on Mar. 3 (there’s no place like home).
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.
The Latest: Not much has changed since our first hot board but, unless we start to hear more about Abdur-Rahim and USF from our sources, he might not be on our next hot board.
Mike Brey, Former Notre Dame Head Coach
Resume: Brey left Notre Dame with more men’s basketball wins than any head coach before him – and Notre Dame has been around for a long time. He was the head coach at Delaware for five seasons and took them to two NCAA tournaments and an N.I.T. Brey was an assistant at Duke from 1987–1995. Everyone, including this reporter, believed he was headed to retirement at his Rehoboth Beach, DE home.
Why Him: The Georgetown and St. John’s talk sent the signal that Brey still wants to coach. A source in Maryland told us that Brey was pushing hard for Georgetown.
Why Not Him: Two of his last three seasons at ND were awful. I hate to pose the question but does Brey still have it? If he does and he wants sunshine and beaches go get him!
STEVE SMITH, Assistant Coach Florida State
Resume: Smith just completed his fourth season as an assistant coach at Florida State. He was an assistant at Clemson for seven seasons and had stints as an assistant at Georgia Southern and USC Upstate.
Why Him: Smith is known as a tactician and for having a good eye for talent. He has good relationships in Florida. He might not be the best known FSU assistant by fans but the people who hire people know and respect Steve Smith.
Why Not Him: He doesn’t have head coaching experience and if that is a prerequisite, Smith won’t be the guy.
OTHER NAMES TO KNOW
Al Pinkins, Texas Tech Assistant Coach
Carm Maciariello, Siena Head Coach
Cuonzo Martin, Former Missouri Head Coach
