The Pete Gillen Era is over. Finally. The fiery Irishman still got his golden pot at the end of the rainbow, but the ride turned out to be quite bumpy with just one NCAA bid in seven years.
It's a shame that he did not turn in more on-court success, but he's left some valuable pieces for his successor. Given what Virginia has to offer, it should be able to draw in a top coach.
Virginia is a top-notch academic institution with a breathtaking campus and a storied tradition. A state-of-the-art arena and practice facility will be finished within year two of the new coach's regime, giving Virginia a tremendous recruiting edge over older ACC venues. Plus, there is an exciting young core, with rising sophomore Sean Singletary at point and a pair of explosive wings in Gary Forbes and J.R. Reynolds.
Granted Virginia does not have a great basketball history, but that doesn't mean that the future has to be similarly mediocre. In fact, with John Paul Jones Arena still needing to be fully financed and a 15,000-seat capacity to fill every game, athletic director Craig Littlepage has to make a big-time hire to rejuvenate this program. Leaning on the rumor mill, I certainly am dreaming with my top five, and I have left off the biggest reach of all: Rick Carlisle, the Virginia alum who is now one of the best coaches in the NBA.
1) Tubby Smith: The current Kentucky coach may also be a pipe dream, but his name keeps popping up, from message boards to Lexington to the halls of the MCI Center during the ACC tournament. He is coaching the nation's most storied program at a school that annually contends for the Final Four. He makes $2 million a year with job security through 2011, so it would take at least that figure to lure him to Virginia. So why would he come?
Raised in Maryland, he has roots in the area -- his wife is from Virginia and his first assistant job was at Virginia Commonwealth University. He has never coached in the ACC and could be up for one final challenge. And he is said to be friends with Littlepage.
Though it seems insane that he would leave Kentucky, people said the same of Al Groh leaving the Jets.
2) Marc Iavaroni: I heard this name last year for the first time, and it remains unfamiliar to most people. He is currently an assistant with the Phoenix Suns and a great one at that, helping develop big men like Amare Stoudamire. He has worked for 10 years at Pete Newell's Big Man Camp.
Iavaroni played here in the '70s, leading Virginia to its only ACC Tourney title in 1976. He served as a graduate assistant on the 1981 Final Four Team and did color analysis for Virginia hoops from 1994-96; so he kept interest in the program. And he started on the 1983 NBA Champion Sixers.
He has an NBA ring, is an alumnus, has a wealth of experience and works with big men. He's recruited before, as an assistant at Bowling Green, and could provide a pipeline to the NBA. If only Virginia could draw him back...
3) Rick Barnes: Ironically, he preceded Gillen at Providence but has had more success at later stops, leading Clemson to three straight Big Dances and Texas to six straight, including one final four. He has an outstanding track record and can really coach 'em up.
Barnes, according to reports at the time, initially agreed to take the Virginia job in 1990 but Providence officials convinced him to stay there.
Rumors swirling around Austin have him taking the job for good this time, wanting to leave football-first Texas and come back to the ACC -- where he grew up. Rumors are rumors, but...
4) Mike Montgomery: Though also under contract, the former Stanford coach could leave the Golden State Warriors at season's end and return to college.
Virginia could be a prime option, as Montgomery was the bridesmaid when Barnes almost took the job; after Barnes initially accepted, however, Montgomery returned to Stanford and did not look back.
5) Johnny Dawkins: His name has not come up as much, and, yes, he's a Dookie. He will certainly take over for Coach K when he retires and there may not be a chance that he would take this job. But why not try? He's got a great mind and pedigree and knows the ACC inside and out. If he left in 10 years to return to Duke when K retires, so be it. Let's get to 2015 first.
Other names floating around the rumor mill include Notre Dame's Mike Brey and DePaul's Dave Leitao. Brey is from the area, worked under K at Duke and has led the Irish to three tourneys in five years but also just lost in the NIT to Holy Cross. Sound familiar?
Leitao, a former assistant at UConn, whose time coincided with current Virginia president John T. Casteen III's time as president there, has quickly revived a sinking DePaul program through outstanding defense.
Given what happened with Gillen, however, I'm not sure Littlepage can afford to take a chance on a rising mid-major coach like Leitao, but he seems to be a better option than Brey.
Littlepage needs a proven commodity, and he just lost a big chunk of money to Gillen that he could have used to try to lure in a new coach. He'll need to find a good deal more to entice the top candidates. While Barnes and Smith may seem like longshots, where there's smoke, there's usually fire.
Let's just hope that those flames start in Lexington, Phoenix or Austin.
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