Men's Basketball Coach Big Board

Here's a look at some of the top candidates for the vacant LSU MBB head-coaching position.

1. Scott Drew (Baylor)
Has experience taking over a program facing major NCAA violations. Drew actually grew up in Baton Rouge. His father Homer was an assistant under Dale Brown for 4 seasons before taking a head coaching position in the midwest. The Drew family is still close with Coach Brown.

2. Eric Musselman (Arkansas)
Former LSU Associate Head Coach. Great motivator and recruiter with extensive college and NBA experience. Quickly turned Nevada then Arkansas into elite programs. Knows how to effectively leverage the transfer portal to facilitate quick turnarounds.

3. Kelvin Sampson (Houston)
Just a stone's throw away in Houston, Sampson is also a perennial winner. Houston was a joke when he took over and has since turned into a Final Four team with championship aspirations.

4. None of those people are coming. None. Get it out of your heads.

5. Let's talk about plausible candidates.

6. Tom Crean (Unemployed)
Former Marquette, Indiana, Georgia head coach. Big name, older coach. A name most boosters will recognize.

7. Cuonzo Martin (Unemployed)
Will provide LSU with a much-needed diversity hire. Martin's team aren't really ever bad, they just aren't good. There have been rumors of him landing recruits under shady circumstances, but that's no longer a concern due to the NIL ruling.

8. Rick Pitino (Iona)
Like Mulkey, Pitino is a Hall-of-Fame head coach. Like Coach O, Pitino does a great job of hosting recruits and making them feel welcomed. Although he doesn't have a national championship, he did coach the winning team in the national championship game.

9. Jim Harrick Sr. (Cal State Northridge—assistant coach)
Unlike Pitino, Harrick does have a national championship from his time at UCLA. Harrick Sr. may be inclined to take the job since he's reportedly looking for an opportunity to bring his son back into college coaching, and LSU may be the perfect spot. Junior's 10-year show cause recently expired and he's well regarded by his student-athletes as a great teacher.

10. Tubby Smith (unemployed)
Tubby resigned midseason at High Point so that his son could get a job, so he's available. Tubby has head-coaching experience at 16 different institutions, including head-coaching runs at 5 different SEC schools.

Wildcard. Geert Hammink
The former LSU legend and first round pick is currently the head coach for ZZ Leiden in the BNXT, the national basketball league of the Netherlands. He was named 2021 Dutch Basketball League Coach of the Year, putting him in the same company as Dutch coaching legends like Herman van den Belt and Toon van Helfteren.