Possible candidates to replace Frank Martin
RYAN ODOM, UTAH STATE The son of former Gamecock coach Dave Odom has won 62% of his games since taking over at the University of Maryland Baltimore County in 2016. UMBC became the first 16 seed to knock of a No. 1 seed when it defeated Virginia in 2018. Odom led UMBC to the regular-season championship this year before losing in America East Tournament. Like Miller, Odom took a bigger job last offseason at Utah State. He was 18-15 in his first season navigating a deep Mountain West.SEAN MILLER, FORMERLY AT ARIZONA Sean Miller also could be a candidate after successful stints at Arizona and Xavier. Miller was fired last year by Arizona after the the Wildcats were involved in the 2017 federal investigation into corruption in college basketball. Miller had been at Arizona since 2009 and led the team to seven NCAA tournaments and three Elite Eight appearances.
WES MILLER, CINCINNATI He won a national championship as a player at North Carolina and did well in his decade at UNC Greensboro. Miller won three SoCon regular-season titles, all since 2017, and took the Trojans to the NCAA tournament twice during his tenure at the school. Departing UNCG for Cincinnati the last offseason, Miller finished his first season guiding the Bearcats 18-15 and 7-11 in the AAC. Would the appeal of a power conference job be enough for him to leave what has been a historically above-average basketball program? ARCHIE MILLER, FORMERLY AT INDIANA Miller never quite got things rolling in his four years at Indiana before being fired last year after a 12-15 campaign. Prior to his time in Bloomington, he was a hot commodity after a 139-63 run at Dayton that included three NCAA tournament trips and a run to the 2014 Elite Eight.
Former N.C. State point guard coached at his alma mater as an assistant between 2004 and 2006, but three of his last four jobs (Indiana, Dayton, and as an assistant at Ohio State) have been in the Midwest. Miller is a hard-nosed basketball mind who might thrive away from the spotlight in a less pressure-packed job like South Carolina.
MIKE BOYNTON, OKLAHOMA STATE Boynton played at South Carolina from 2000-04 and was part of the Gamecocks’ 2004 NCAA tournament team. He was an assistant at Wofford, Coastal Carolina and spent four years on the Gamecocks coaching staff from 2008-13. He had a part in South Carolina landing one of its best-recruiting classes in recent history in the summer of 2010, bringing in a class ranked No. 17 in the country according to Scout.com, No. 22 per Rivals, and No. 25 class according to ESPN.
Boynton led Oklahoma State to NCAA tournament for the first time in four seasons last year and landed No. 1 NBA Draft pick Cade Cunningham. He agreed to a new seven-year extension after the 2020-21 season. ESPN’s Jeff Borzello lists Boynton as a candidate but says his “buyout is believed to be prohibitive.”
DENNIS GATES, CLEVELAND STATE He was a hot name in NCAA coaching circles last year after getting Cleveland State to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2009. Gates’ name mentioned for openings at Penn State and Boston College that sided with other candidates. Gates is from Chicago, played at Cal and has no ties to Southeast during his coaching career.
DUSTIN KERNS, APPALACHIAN STATE Kerns led Appalachian State to its first tournament appearance in 21 years last season in his second year at the school. He has ties to the Palmetto State. He was a student manager at Clemson, spent four years on Mike Young’s staff at Wofford (2013-17) and was head coach at Presbyterian from 2017-19.
BJ MCKIE, WAKE FOREST (ASSISTANT) The former Gamecock great and current Wake Forest assistant is likely a long shot for job at his alma mater, but he would be a popular hire with the fan base. McKie has been assistant at three different spots: Charleston Southern (2011-17), East Tennessess State (2017-2020) and Wake Forest (2020-present). McKie has no head coaching experience, which would be a big drawback, but should start getting consideration for possible openings at mid-majors in the future. LAMONT PARIS, CHATTANOOGA ESPN’s Borzello lists the five-year Mocs head coach as a potential replacement for the Gamecocks after he led Chattanooga to a Southern Conference title game win over Furman. The Mocs went 27-7 (14-4) this season, and Paris holds a career 84-71 record with the program in his five seasons. Prior to arriving in Chattanooga, Paris served as an assistant coach at Wisconsin from 2011-17.
RICK PITINO, IONA Pitino’s coaching career looked to be over a few years ago. But after a three-year stop in Greece, he has Iona in the NCAA tournament last season and won regular-season championship this year.. Pitino has won NCAA championships at Kentucky and Louisville and also coached in the NBA with the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks. He was inducted into the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013. Coaching has never been an issue with Pitino, but his off-court issues are a red flag. He was suspended five games in 2017-18 for his lack of oversight in an escort scandal involving recruits at Louisville. The Cardinals’ 2013 national championship eventually was vacated. Pitino also was implicated in a federal investigation involving bribes to recruits, which resulted in Louisville firing him. Pitino has reiterated several times how happy and content he is at Iona including after his name was mentioned for the Maryland job.
BOB RICHEY, FURMAN The Florence, South Carolina native has won 71.7% of his games since taking over Furman in 2017. He has four 20-win seasons — and Furman knocked off defending champion Villanova in 2018. Richey received a contract extension in 2020, but the details of that deal aren’t known. Prior to his time at Furman (including from 2011 to 2017 as an assistant), he was an assistant at Charleston Southern for more than half a decade. Furman played in the Southern Conference championship game this year before losing to Chattanooga on last second shot.
DAWN STALEY, SOUTH CAROLINA There is no woman head coach for a Division I basketball coach. But if there is anyone who could do it, Staley has the credentials. She is USA Basketball Women’s National coach and built the Gamecock women’s program into a national power, winning six Southeastern Conference regular season titles, five tournament titles and the 2017 national championship.
