Does WW bring in another coach to replace Bedford?

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Does WW bring in another coach to replace Bedford?

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I'm surprised Tony Benford left to begin with. But I'd imagine he will. Benford was a good recruiter.

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I'm surprised Tony Benford left to begin with.

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Based on the article written at the time it happened, it didn't seem all that surprising. It actually made a lot of sense. He went back home, where his family is living, and went to a solid program with a coach that he has a personal history with. All in all, it makes a ton of sense.

Things have definitely been quiet on this front.

He will certainly replace Benford's spot. The question is if he promotes from within or brings someone from the outside. The three options talked about most seem to be as follows:

Brian Merritt (currently the Coordinator of Basketball Ops for LSU) - He seems to be the consensus among a lot of people. Most, myself included, believe this is why he was brought on to the staff to begin with; to have him in a lesser role considering some of his past, and then promote when the time was right. He has experience as an asst. at a D1 program, having been at AZ State. And he is said to have major recruiting ties to Texas having worked for John Lucas Enterprises; and TX is what Benford was responsible for. So he seems to be a logical fit.

Tasmin Mitchell - Maybe a bit of a dark horse option here; but one that has been floated by some as this being a good opportunity to get his shot at moving into a direct coaching role to allow more of his recruiting ties and name to be utilized more and see what he can do as on court coach with a very experienced staff to continue learning under. I think he is still one more cycle away from that happening; or Wade may even want him to move off to another program first to be an assistant, then bring him back.

Outside option - I don't know for sure who any viable names would be here. It seems like I recall someone mentioning a possible choice in the past that had connections to Wade and is either a head coach at a much smaller program or was a fired head coach from another program; but I could just be remembering that incorrectly.

No matter what, Wade showed 2 years ago that he is completely capable of building a quality staff; so I have confidence he will make the right decision in filling this opening.

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it didn't seem all that surprising

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What I found surprising was the fact he'd just led LSU to a final sixteen in the NCAA and he was the assistant HC (or next in line, whatever term they use) and Wades future was still in limbo. Maybe someone told him even if Wade is fired he wouldn't be promoted to HC, IDK. I figured he'd hang around a little while and see where things go. I mean he was an integral aspect of building this team. Not saying Wade wouldn't have done it without him, but he was very instrumental in LSU making such a quick turnaround.