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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 March 10. The board will be updated as we gather new information during the search.
The candidates are listed in no particular order.
ADDED: Korey McCray, Ryan Odom
REMOVED: Rick Pitino, Mike Brey
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.
Ryan Odom, Utah State Head Coach
Resume: Odom was the head coach of UMBC when it became the first No. 16 seed to defeat a No. 1 seed (Virginia) in NCAA tournament history. Before that he was the head coach at Lenoir–Rhyne. Odom also served as an assistant coach at Charlotte, Virginia Tech (Seth Greenberg's staff), American, UNC Asheville and Furman. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at USF. He is 141-85 (.623) as a Division I head coach. Son of Dave Odom, who was Wake Forest’s head coach for 12 seasons and now runs a basketball coach search firm.
Why Him: Odom, 48, is a very good basketball coach with a 4-Out, 1-In motion offense that uses good spacing with drive and kick principles.
Why Not Him: The general consensus is that Odom’s next job will be a high major job. Utah State enjoys better fan and community support than USF and the pay is better.
The Latest: Odom is a new name that was not on our radar until Wednesday evening. There was a report that he interviewed but we have not yet independently confirmed that information.
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 we have not heard his name mentioned as much recently.
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).
The Latest: Gainey's name was a hot name in the search early on but that has quieted down some lately. Tennessee's season has advanced to the Sweet 16.
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. It has been a week since any source has mentioned 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?
The Latest: Marlin expressed interest in the USF job, sources told BullsInsider.com but we have not been able to determine if he has interviewed.
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).
The Latest: If it was going to be Richey, we think an announcement would have already been made.
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: He has only had one winning season at Kennesaw State but it was this season and it included a trip to the NCAA tournament. Also, Abdur-Rahim's name has been linked to some high major jobs.
The Latest: According to a source, conversations have picked up between USF and Abdur-Rahim so we kept him on the board.
Korey McCray, Florida Associate Head Coach
Resume: McCray has spent nine of his 13 seasons as a high major coach in the Southeastern Conference, with stints at Mississippi State, LSU, UCLA and now Florida. McCray also served as a graduate assistant at FSU, an assistant coach at Chipola College and at Mercer – his alma mater.
Why Him: McCray has a reputation as a strong recruiter and developer of guards. At Mississippi State, he successfully recruited Riley Kugel (Dr. Phillips/Orlando). Then recruited him again when he took the Florida job. Kugel made the SEC all-freshman team.
Why Not Him: Actually, the only thing we have come up with is that McCray does not have head coaching experience, not that it is a prerequisite.
The Latest: His name surfaced Tuesday night.
OTHER NAMES TO KNOW
Cuonzo Martin, Former Missouri Head Coach
Korey McCray, Florida Associate Head Coach
Stan Jones Florida State Associate Head Coach
