Charlotte Coaching Search Power Rankings (11/28)

The college basketball season is now three weeks old with a majority of early season tournaments in the books and several programs setting themselves apart from their preseason expectations, in one direction of the other. Several of the coaches listed in the first power rankings have built on their already solid resumes, and some newcomers have climbed onto my version of Charlotte's radar.

#1- Mark Byington (James Madison)

The Dukes started their season out on a high note, notching overtime road wins at both Michigan State  and Kent State (both NCAA Tournament teams last season). James Madison also dispatched of mid-major peers Southern Illinois and Fresno State en route to winning the Cancun Challenge. Byington's team have climbed from a preseason KenPom ranking of 136th up to 73rd. With no more projected Top 50 teams on their schedule the Dukes are favored in all but one if their remaining games (away at Appalachian State). If the Dukes stay focused they can pile up quite the large win tally by the end of the season.

#2- Justin Gray (Western Carolina)

The Wake Forest alum is in his 3rd-season as the Catamount's head coach, and in just his 5th-season coaching college basketball ever, having joined the Winthrop staff in 2019 following an international playing career. Western Carolina are 4-0 (versus D1 opponents), including road wins at Notre Dame and Middle Tennessee plus a home win over Will Wade's revived McNeese State program (more on that later). Gray's rapid adjustment to college basketball is remarkable, and if more established candidates are out of reach Gray is looking like a solid option to lead the Niners.

#3- Aaron Fearne (Charlotte)

The first six games for Charlotte have been encouraging but far from groundbreaking. It's clear that the hole in scoring left by Aly Khalifa and Brice Williams has set the offense back. However, the team is finally delivering on the effective defense which was first expected when Ron Sanchez was hired 5 years ago. Charlotte has only been outclassed in one game, a 12-point loss to a Liberty team which has since climbed into the KenPom Top 40. The victory over George Mason to open the Jacksonville Classic is the bright spot of the season, however, the UCF game exposed some weaknesses as Charlotte failed to close out the fame from a very favorable position.

UCF were playing a different class of athlete than Charlotte, and jumped out to an early 15-6 lead with Dishon Jackson already on the bench in foul trouble. But Coach Fearne fine tuned Charlotte's approach and the Niners found ways to score against their longer opponents while also slowing down their scoring, leading to a 39-21 run during the middle-half of the game. At this point, Dishon Jackson was reintroduced while having 4 fouls to his name. UCF immediately capitalized, by targetting Jackson on several possessions, scoring easy baskets and regaining momentum. Both in regulation and in overtime Charlotte held narrow late leads, but mental errors and poor free throw shooting opened the door to defeat, which UCF was more than happy to waltz through. 

At home against Georgia State the Niners fell into an early hole, as 5/9 3-point shooting propelled the Panthers to a 13-point lead just prior to half-time. In something foreign to Charlotte fans, an improved squad hit the floor following the intermission. The Niners scored the first 12 point of the 2nd-half, and while the lead traded hands a few times Charlotte always looked in control, going on a 10-0 run after the score was knotted at 53 to close out the game.

#4- Mike Jones (UNC Greensboro)

Coach Jones, according to some reports, may have been the closest coach to taking the Charlotte job back in June. Coach Jones is in his 3rd-season leading the Spartans after 10 years at Radford, where he had won at least 12 conference games in each of his final four seasons leading the Highlanders. So far UNC Greensboro have climbed up 92nd in KenPom (highest in the SoCon) as a result of their 5-1 record, including six-point win at Arkansas.

#5- Will Wade (McNeese State)

Well, well, well, look who we have here. Back in 2015 Will Wade flirted with the Charlotte job, but reports say he was not sold by then AD Judy Rose's pitch. Days later Wade would ultimately replace Shaka Smart at VCU, likely indicating any marriage at that point in time between Charlotte and Will Wade would have been short lived. But here we are 9-years later. Wade moved on to LSU from VCU, but things went sour during a recruiting scandal (involving things which can be done above-board these days). Wade took the McNeese State job to rebuild his career, and in-spite of being suspended for the first several games his team managed to spoil Ryan Odom's debut at VCU and has also taken Western Carolina to the wire. The Cowboys have a couple of tough tests remaining in the non-conference schedule (away games at UAB and Michigan) but are, at this point, the runaway favorites for the Southland Conference. It's easy to see Will Wade's tenure at McNeese State being a short one if the right opportunity presents itself.

Charlotte Coaching Search Power Rankings (Preseason)

Entering the season with an interim coach gives Charlotte supporters an interesting perspective, as we're essentially beginning the season amidst an active coaching search. A lot of names were tossed around in June after the resignation of Ron Sanchez, but ultimately the timing of his departure locked our fate into a season with an interim coach the moment he resigned. 

Charlotte's financial and NIL situations were scapegoats for the coaching search coming up dry, and  there is certainly a need for improvement on both of those fronts. However, the opportunity to spectate a program like West Virginia go through the same process and end with the same result offered some consolation to Charlotte's situation. Mike Hill is certainly not above criticism over his hiring tactics for Charlotte's two main sports, but the coaching search going the way it did shows that he had a well placed insistence on hiring a turnkey solution, meaning a head coach with meaningful experience and success. These rankings will be updated periodically as the season progresses based on how the coaches on our radar perform.

#1- Aaron Fearne (Charlotte)

Coach Fearne enters the season with the Charlotte job being his to lose. What exactly is the bar that must be cleared to win it? It's very hard to nail down but it should be obvious to everyone if and when it is cleared, much like with Rodney Terry at Texas last year. Certain benchmarks could make it clear: A deep run in the AAC Tournament or an invite to the NIT would show an ability to get the most out of a roster which has not been seen here for a long time. If there is a threat that Coach Fearne could be hired away to a peer program come March, that would be the clearest sign that Fearne is it.

#2- Bob Richey (Furman)

Richey's sustained level of success at Furman will have him at the top of a lot of lists by the time the season ends, and should be at the top of Charlotte's as well. Whether or not his next move is to a level beyond Charlotte is not yet written, but if any power conference program in the Southeast decided to move on from their coach I would imagine that Richey's agent would be one of the first to receive a phone call. No one would blame him for leaping to the ACC or SEC over Charlotte in that scenario.

#3- Mark Byington (James Madison)

Coach Byington is on the second stop of his career, and led James Madison to a 12-6 record their first season in the Sun Belt. Prior to coaching the Dukes, Byington spent seven years at Georgia Southern where he reached 20 wins four times and 10+ conference wins his last six seasons in charge. At only 47 years old he still has a lot of his career in front of him. He's an example of a coach that's already been rewarded for his display in the head coaching chair, and would bring that motivation to Charlotte. 

Note: This was written before James Madison's opening victory over Michigan State.

#4- Mike Morell (UNC Asheville)

Morell is coming off the first NCAA Tournament appearance in his young career. He rebuilt the Bulldogs from scratch following the departure of Nick McDevitt and showed clear improvement of quality in each year of his career, per KenPom rankings (347th > 302nd > 244th > 209th > 148th). Morell worked with Shaka Smart at VCU and Texas prior to becoming a head coach. His experience on the sidelines of programs at multiple levels of the sport, and geographic experience in North Carolina are both assets that could be used at Charlotte.

#5- Matt Langel (Colgate)

Langel is an outsider that we, and Mike Hill, need to keep our eyes on. The 45-year old is beginning his 13th season as a head coach, all of them at Colgate. He has led the Raiders to 23 or more wins four of the last five seasons, the only blemish being the 2020-21 season in which Colgate only played 16 games (going 14-2 and making the NCAA Tournament). Colgate has also represented the Patriot League in four of the last five tournaments, and would have been an NIT Auto-Bid in 2020 had the postseason not been cancelled. Langel is a 2000 Penn graduate, and was an assistant to Fran Dunphy at both Penn and Temple. Having been looked over for the Temple job a second time in spite of his success could motivate him to take a job in the Owls conference.

Retread Watch

#1- Mark Turgeon

Turgeon should be the highest priority retread candidate. He has sat through a couple of coaching cycles without being called back up to a Power 5 opening, which is on Charlotte's side in as much that he may need to take a job outside of that realm to get back into coaching. What puts Turgeon at the top of my retread list is he has seen success outside of the Power 5, having taken Wichita State to the 2006 Sweet Sixteen. While, admittedly, he fell short of expectations placed upon him at Maryland, his Terrapins were ranked 52nd or better in 9 of his 10 seasons as head coach. Coach Turgeon also made the NCAA Tournament all four of his seasons at Texas A&M.

#2- Chris Mack

Coach Mack has proven to be a coach worthy of our attention, the only checkmark he lacks which we are in need of is "program builder". He took over high quality programs at Xavier and Louisville and did a fantastic job of maintaining the high standards set by previous coaches. His tenure at Louisville unraveled due to scandal but the fall-off following his departure certainly cements the influence he can have over a program. Like with Bob Richey, Coach Mack will likely get offers from programs higher up the pecking order than Charlotte. The West Virginia job seems perfect for him, having spent his whole career in the Ohio River Valley. I was quite surprised Coach Mack didn't end up at West Virginia this summer. However, the transfer portal being closed would have hand-cuffed him this season, keeping a rebuilding season with minimal control off of his CV may have motivated him to sit out another year.

#3- Tom Crean

I really hope this is the only time his name shows up here.

#4- Stay tuned.

There are several retreads that Charlotte should welcome with open arms if the opportunity presents itself. Success outside of the Power 5 would be a great indicator for success at Charlotte. No one should be overlooked because expectations were not met at a program in a conference on a different financial plateau.