2011 Coaching Carousel: A Legend Retires
Shortly after the Marquette Golden Eagles cut down the nets after winning the national championship, the coaching carousel began to spin with one of the game's biggest names calling it quits. Lute Olsen, the long time coach of the Arizona Wildcats, has decided to walk away from the game once and for all. Arizona made it to the Sweet 16 in his final year as coach and they weren't looking to take a step back, so they quickly named his replacement.
Mark Few, the young and energetic coach from Gonzaga, will stay on the west coast and make the jump from mid-major to elite program as he replaces Olsen at Arizona. Few has had his name thrown around for the past few years as he has turned Gonzaga into a WCC powerhouse. Let's see what he can do in a major conference.
With Mark Few jumping ship, Gonzaga went in to panic mode and may have been a little impatient in deciding on their replacement as they chose former Hartford coach Dan Leibovitz. Not sure if he was first on their list or just the first to interview, but they must have liked what they saw as he will take over the mid-major power.
Hartford makes a big splash by signing Kevin O'Neill as their new coach. After serving as Arizona's assistant coach, he was told that he would be Olsen's successor, but things didn't work out the way he had liked as they brought in Mark Few, so he moved out to the Northeast and took over for Hartford. Looks like Coach Rizzo has got some serious competition waiting for him.Valparaiso had an unexpected loss at coach as Homer Drew stepped down as head coach. After the season, Coach Drew said that he needed to spend more time with his family and would be leaving the coaching ranks for now. Replacing Drew is the former Boston College coach Al Skinner. After being out of the game for a full season, he jumps back in at Valpo and will have his work cut out for him.
Last, but certainly not least, is a coach who has a ton of potential. Unfortunately, he didn't get the big time college offer many would have thought. Jackson State's coach Tevester Anderson officially retired, but the school moved quickly and grabbed top assistant Josh Pastner. Pastner worked under John Calipari for years and was in line to become a head coach at a major school. He should be able to pull in some great talent at Jackson State and could turn them in to a powerhouse within a couple years.
It's rare to see only five schools making coaching changes, but there were some pretty big names changing places and starting anew at these fine institutions.