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Which of the top hires were slam dunks, quality hires, or just plain risky?

The college hoops coaching carousel is getting closer to completion. At this point, every significant job has been filled. So let's look at all of those big jobs, then men hired in new places, and at least have a discussion about who they are, how they fit and how good they could be from a pragmatic-forecast standing. Here's a baker's dozen of the most notable hires this spring in college basketball.

Arizona's Emanuel Richardson, USC's Tony Bland, Oklahoma State's Lamont Evans and Auburn's Chuck Person have all been suspended. Soon, they'll all be fired, probably never to coach in Division I again.

Interim Louisville president Greg Postel said Wednesday that the Cardinals could have a new coach in the next 48 hours. Here’s a look at the pros and cons of seven prospective candidates Postel might consider:

Chris Mack (Xavier): Having led Xavier to seven NCAA tournament bids in eight seasons and shown an ability to recruit and develop talent, Mack should be the first coach Louisville calls. His wife is a Louisville native, and while Mack previously has turned down overtures from other prominent programs to remain at Xavier, the Louisville job has long intrigued him. What makes Mack more of a long shot than a likelihood for Louisville right now is the battered state of the Cardinals program and the uncertainty over potential NCAA sanctions in the future. Would Mack leave his alma mater high and dry on the eve of practice to step into that mess? Doubtful. Might he be willing to consider the move more strongly next spring? That seems more realistic.

Gregg Marshall (Wichita State)
Tom Crean (unemployed)
Thad Matta (unemployed)
David Padgett (Louisville assistant)
Kenny Payne (Kentucky assistant)
Scott Davenport (Bellarmine)

1. Louisville Cardinals - Team Value: $45.4 million, 2015 Revenue: $45.8 million

1. Louisville - Rick Pitino - Total pay: $7,769,200 (Maximum bonus: $750,000)

DudeAnon wrote:
Mack has long been linked to the UL job whenever it opened up. What are the odds he takes it? 30%?

BetDSI.eu listed former Indiana coach Tom Crean as the favorite to replace the "effectively fired" Rick Pitino as head coach of the Louisville men's basketball team with +200 odds - or bet $100 to win $200. Here's the full list:

Tom Crean, former Indiana head coach, +200
Kenny Payne, former Louisville player and current Kentucky association head coach, +500
John Thompson III, former Georgetown head coach, +600
Thad Matta, former Ohio State head coach, +750
David Padgett, former Louisville player and current assistant coach, +800
Fred Hoiberg, Chicago Bulls head coach, +1300
Gregg Marshall, Wichita State head coach, +2000
Chris Mack, Xavier head coach, +2500
Mick Cronin, Cincinnati head coach, +2500
Field +600

Evans is accused of accepting at least $22K in bribe money at both South Carolina and OSU

hoopseinstein23 wrote:Should be interesting to see who replaces Ewing after this year as the new coach....lucky if GT wins 4 games

hoopseinstein23 wrote:Listen Burrito, I am just stating the obvious fact that Ewing will be out after 1 year. You can have any abbreviation you want, but the fall of Georgetown has been prolific. There are YMCA teams in Washington who are better coached and would have a better record. Burrito I just took the beans out of you....

hoopseinstein23 wrote:Listen Burrito, I am just stating the obvious fact that Ewing will be out after 1 year. You can have any abbreviation you want, but the fall of Georgetown has been prolific. There are YMCA teams in Washington who are better coached and would have a better record. Burrito I just took the beans out of you....