Story: Adam Nelson (@HD_DirtKing)
A bunch of things that I’ve heard…
Some names that I’ve heard who have interviewed at Pacific are: Dayton associate head coach Ricardo Greer, former Stanford head coach Jerrod Haase, and USC associate head coach Chris Capko. Interesting fact…Pacific AD Adam Tschuor was the senior associate athletic director at Dayton before being hired at Pacific last July.
I made a general reference to the search at Canisius in yesterday’s DAILY DIRT. Starting to narrow the list down a bit now. One name making the rounds is George Mason assistant Steve Curran. The longtime St. Bonaventure associate head coach joined Tony Skinn’s staff last spring. I can also confirm that two successful D3 head coaches are in deep, as is one D2 coach who has a championship background. More on this one as I hear it.
I have heard from multiple sources that the leader to replace John Shulman (departed for Ceentral Arkansas) at D2 Alabama Huntsville is Montevallo (AL) head coach Anthony Komara. Before taking over at Montevallo back in 2022, Komara had spent nine seasons on Shulman’s staff at UAH, ending his tenure as the associate head coach. Working on other names here now, but heard at least one more current D2 head coach is involved.
The search at D2 Colorado Mesa is already underway after Mike DeGeorge departed for Cal Poly earlier this week. Most interesting name that I’ve heard here is former Metro State / Loyola Marymount / Charlotte Bobcats head coach Mike Dunlap. He had a ton of success at Metro State (now MSU Denver) in the late 1990’s early 2000’s, going 248–50 (.832) in nine seasons and winning two D2 National Championships. He has most recently been an NBA assistant with the Bucks.
Kyle Bowlsby / Bowlsby Sports Advisors has the search at USC Upstate. My updated search firm list is HERE.
In Monday’s DAILY DIRT, I mentioned that IUP assistant Steve Piotrowicz and Struthers HS (OH) head coach Mike Wernicki (former assistant at Youngstown State and Canisius) were both involved at D3 Allegheny. D3 Guru and friend of HD Bob Quillman is reporting that those two have on-campus interviews along with Fredonia State head coach Sean Smiley, Wabash assistant Pat Sullivan, and Case Western assistant Bryan Wickliffe.
I have heard that former Michigan standout Antonie Joubert is no longer the head coach at Oakland Community College (MI). He had been the head coach there since 2008 following a long career playing professionally overseas. This past season, the Raiders went 5-22 (2-12).
Sad news, as former Wilberforce head coach Mark Mitchell has passed away. I spoke to Mitchell just a few weeks ago after he left Wilberforce, and he sounded very positive and upbeat. More on Mitchell from the Cincinnati Enquirer HERE.
Tweeted about these two items last night, but for those who don’t follow me on X, here are the latest shutdowns:
- D3 Birmingham Southern has announced that they are closing their doors on May 31st. More HERE.
- NJCAA D2 Lenoir CC is “putting an end” to their men’s basketball program. More HERE.
I’ll be at the NCAA Sweet 16 / Elite 8 games in Boston Thursday and Saturday. If anyone else is in town for the games, or any local coaches who are around, come join me as HoopDirt will be hosting a very informal coaches social at Banners (right next to the Garden) VENUE CHANGE: We’ll be at Hurricanes on Friday night – 150 Canal Street. No private room, just going to be at the bar watching the Friday games on their 40 foot TV. I’ll be there with some of our crew by 6pm. Stop by to meet some coaches, watch the games, and have some drinks with us.
You can check out the 2024 Coaching Changes Tracker presented by D1.relocation HERE. It contains all of the head coaching changes so far at the NCAA D1, D2, D3, NAIA, and JUCO levels.
