So some goof at The Athletic just put out his article on candidates for the WVU job. 
Beilein, former West Virginia and Michigan coach.
Here’s guessing the 70-year-old Beilein has learned how great it is to consult with NBA teams and fit in a round of golf here and there, instead of grinding away recruiting and coaching teenagers. But he’s also not otherwise occupied. His stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers ended poorly. He knows West Virginia. And it’s not a total rebuild with the likes of Kerr Kriisa and Jesse Edwards on hand. It could be a palate cleanser for all involved. If it doesn’t work? Everyone hits reset in the spring.
Alvin Brooks III and John Jakus, Baylor associate head coaches.
Baker doesn’t have ties to Scott Drew, but he does have ties to a Drew apprentice, Grant McCasland, who was Baker’s men’s hoops coach at North Texas. Here’s guessing Baker will reach out to McCasland for thoughts, and maybe McCasland hooks him up with Drew, and maybe that gets Brooks and Jakus into the mix as longtime assistants who have familiarity with the Big 12 — and whose departures wouldn’t necessarily upend a program in the way a head coach’s departure would. (It also would mean The Jerome Tang Effect is real.)
Da’Sean Butler, College Park Skyhawks assistant coach.
The 35-year-old former Mountaineers star has been in coaching for less than three years — a few months as an assistant coach at Division II Wheeling University before landing a gig on a G League staff. In any other scenario, it’s not enough to get this nod. In this scenario? All bets may be off. Butler, at least, is someone the base can rally around while establishing relationships, quickly, with current players who would love to be future NBA Draft picks. He’s also on the aforementioned advisory team for the NIL collective, which theoretically means he has the relationships to move the program forward in that realm.
Ron Everhart, West Virginia assistant coach.
This could be done in an effort to steady the ship, at least for 2023-24. Everhart has logged over 600 games as a head coach at three different stops (McNeese State, Northeastern and Duquesne) before working as a Huggins aide since 2012. Everhart is a West Virginia native, meaning he would be embraced initially, and we saw what a former head coach could do amid chaos at Texas last season. The biggest question is how desperate the school is to cut all ties with Huggins. Fellow assistants Josh Eilert and DerMarr Johnson may prove to be great head coaches down the line … but there’s just not enough experience there to hand them the keys in such a delicate predicament.
Ross Hodge, North Texas head coach.
It would be Baker rolling the dice on someone he’s familiar with after his time in Denton, Texas. Hodge was McCasland’s associate head coach for six seasons before ascending to the top job after McCasland left for Texas Tech, which means Baker had a front-row seat to how he works. But would Hodge walk on North Texas a little more than a month after ascending to the head coach role?
Erik Martin, South Carolina State head coach.
Again, a guy who spent 15 seasons on the sideline with Huggins may not be what the school is looking for. And losing 26 of 31 games in his first year as a head coach is not exactly a resume-builder. Still, here’s guessing Martin could make a compelling case that he could bring a different vibe to the job than his former boss while simultaneously understanding what works and what doesn’t in Morgantown. Also, as tough as it would be to jet in May, no one is staying at South Carolina State when a Big 12 job offer is on the table.
Beilein, former West Virginia and Michigan coach.
Here’s guessing the 70-year-old Beilein has learned how great it is to consult with NBA teams and fit in a round of golf here and there, instead of grinding away recruiting and coaching teenagers. But he’s also not otherwise occupied. His stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers ended poorly. He knows West Virginia. And it’s not a total rebuild with the likes of Kerr Kriisa and Jesse Edwards on hand. It could be a palate cleanser for all involved. If it doesn’t work? Everyone hits reset in the spring.
Alvin Brooks III and John Jakus, Baylor associate head coaches.
Baker doesn’t have ties to Scott Drew, but he does have ties to a Drew apprentice, Grant McCasland, who was Baker’s men’s hoops coach at North Texas. Here’s guessing Baker will reach out to McCasland for thoughts, and maybe McCasland hooks him up with Drew, and maybe that gets Brooks and Jakus into the mix as longtime assistants who have familiarity with the Big 12 — and whose departures wouldn’t necessarily upend a program in the way a head coach’s departure would. (It also would mean The Jerome Tang Effect is real.)
Da’Sean Butler, College Park Skyhawks assistant coach.
The 35-year-old former Mountaineers star has been in coaching for less than three years — a few months as an assistant coach at Division II Wheeling University before landing a gig on a G League staff. In any other scenario, it’s not enough to get this nod. In this scenario? All bets may be off. Butler, at least, is someone the base can rally around while establishing relationships, quickly, with current players who would love to be future NBA Draft picks. He’s also on the aforementioned advisory team for the NIL collective, which theoretically means he has the relationships to move the program forward in that realm.
Ron Everhart, West Virginia assistant coach.
This could be done in an effort to steady the ship, at least for 2023-24. Everhart has logged over 600 games as a head coach at three different stops (McNeese State, Northeastern and Duquesne) before working as a Huggins aide since 2012. Everhart is a West Virginia native, meaning he would be embraced initially, and we saw what a former head coach could do amid chaos at Texas last season. The biggest question is how desperate the school is to cut all ties with Huggins. Fellow assistants Josh Eilert and DerMarr Johnson may prove to be great head coaches down the line … but there’s just not enough experience there to hand them the keys in such a delicate predicament.
Ross Hodge, North Texas head coach.
It would be Baker rolling the dice on someone he’s familiar with after his time in Denton, Texas. Hodge was McCasland’s associate head coach for six seasons before ascending to the top job after McCasland left for Texas Tech, which means Baker had a front-row seat to how he works. But would Hodge walk on North Texas a little more than a month after ascending to the head coach role?
Erik Martin, South Carolina State head coach.
Again, a guy who spent 15 seasons on the sideline with Huggins may not be what the school is looking for. And losing 26 of 31 games in his first year as a head coach is not exactly a resume-builder. Still, here’s guessing Martin could make a compelling case that he could bring a different vibe to the job than his former boss while simultaneously understanding what works and what doesn’t in Morgantown. Also, as tough as it would be to jet in May, no one is staying at South Carolina State when a Big 12 job offer is on the table.
