Daily Dirt – 3/18/15

Here are a bunch of things that I’ve heard surrounding some DI openings…

• Former Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings head coach Eric Musselman is a hot name at San Diego right now. He played there from 1983-1987 – his senior year, his team went 24-6 and (best record in school history). Musselman is currently an assistant at LSU. Another former NBA head coach getting some play here is Mike Brown. He is also an alum (1992). Brown has coached the Lakers and the Cavs. I have also heard UC Davis head coach Jim Les’ name mentioned here. More as I hear it…

• Two names to keep an eye on at George Mason are Miami assistant Chris Caputo and Boston Celtics assistant Jay Larranaga. Caputo has been at Miami for three years, and was a part of Jim Larranaga’s staff during George Mason’s run to the 2006 Final Four. Jay Larranaga is the son of former GMU head coach Jim Larranaga and has been with the Celtics since 2012. He also coached in the D-League.

• Some very early names at Southern Illinois Edwardsville: Murray State assistant Matt McMahon Nebraska assistant Chris Harriman, and Illinois assistant Dustin Ford.

• A name that keeps coming up at DePaul is Dave Leitao. The current Tulsa assistant was the head coach at DePaul from 2002-2005 (58-34) and led them to their last NCAA berth. Leitao has also been the head coach at Virginia and Northeastern, and worked as an assistant at UConn and Missouri. Other names that I’ve heard are Brian Wardle (UWGB), Bryce Drew (Valpo), and former DePaul All-American Rod Strickland (South Florida).

• I’ve got some stuff on Alabama, Liberty, Charlotte, and Northern Kentucky that I will get up shortly….