OU basketball: No more Buzz
The buzz about Buzz Williams can stop. The Marquette coach has reached agreement on a contract extension and raise. He won’t be coming to Oklahoma.
I don’t think there’s any doubt that Joe Castiglione took a run at Williams, and I don’t think there’s any doubt that Williams considered the Sooners. But like Matt Painter with Missouri, Buzz is staying put.
Which takes OU back to its next teir of candidates. UNLV’s Lon Kruger? Colorado’s Tad Boyle? Wichita State’s Gregg Marshall? I have no idea what Joe C. will do now. But here’s where I would turn, based on guys who OU could potentially get.
1. Shaka Smart, Virginia Commonwealth: Hard to hire from the same school twice in a row, but Smart’s run to the Final Four means it’s time to make an exception. Look at it this way. Some coaches get hired because of one March Madness upset. Smart has produced five.
2. Kevin Stallings, Vanderbilt: He wins a lot without great talent. He was interested in the job before. I would take a run at him.
3. Tad Boyle, Colorado: I like coaches from Kansas. OU might should have grabbed Mark Turgeon five years ago.
4. Steve Alford, New Mexico: I have no idea why I like Alford so much, but I do. He was excellent at Missouri State and now at New Mexico, didn’t do much at Iowa. But no one has done much at Iowa in the last 20 years. Maybe it was the job, not the coach.
5. Lon Kruger, UNLV: Excellent coach who hasn’t always recruited at a high level. If he hired the right staff, it could be a great move.
6. Tubby Smith, Minnesota: Seems like Tubby’s been around forever, but he’s just 59. He has some tread left on the tires.
7. Rob Jeter, Wisconsin-Milwaukee: Rebuffed by Buzz, maybe Joe C. could look across town and go after another Milwaukee coach. Jeter has been solid since replacing Bruce Pearl.
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