Here are the names that I’ve heard over the last few days around the Eastern Michigan job:

Bacari Alexander – Assistant coach Michigan. Just finished his first season at Michigan. Before that, was an assistant at Western Michigan – in the MAC – same league as EMU. Has also worked at Ohio and Detroit.

Dane Fife – Head coach Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne. 82–97 in six seasons at IPFW. Former Mr. Basketball in Michigan (1998). Played at Indiana.

Cornell Mann – Former assistant Dayton. Not going to Georgia Tech with Brian Gregory. Is in the mix for a number of HM assistant jobs. Knows the league – he played in the MAC at Akron and coached at Western Michigan and Central Michigan.

Tony Jones – Former assistant Tennessee. A Michigan native. Has been an assistant at Tennessee, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and Toledo. Was 5-3 at the helm of the Volunteers this season during Bruce Pearl’s suspension.

Stan Joplin – Former head coach at Toledo. Was 202-156 in 12 seasons at the helm. Was the MAC Coach of the Year in 2007.

Todd Lickliter – Former head coach Iowa. Was also the head coach at Butler, and an assistant at EMU before that. He is 169-119 in 9 seasons as a head coach.

Jay Smith – Assistant coach Detroit Mercy. Coached Central Michigan for nine years and was named Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year after leading CMU to regular season titles in both 2001 and 2003. His 2003 squad won a school-record 25 games en route to the MAC Tournament championship. Also spent time as the head coach at Grand Valley State and served as an assistant at Kent State and Michigan.

Dwayne Stephens – Assistant coach Michigan State. A Michigan native who has been on Tom Izzo’s staff for the past 8 seasons. Played at MSU and has worked at Marquette and Oakland.

Jeff Tungate – Associate head coach Oakland University. Another Michigan native. Has also served as the head coach at Lincoln Memorial University (60-74 5 seasons) and the associate head coach at IPFW.