Possible candidates to replace Bruce Weber as Kansas State Wildcats basketball coach
The Kansas State Wildcats announced Thursday morning that Bruce Weber has resigned as men’s basketball coach.
K-State athletics director Gene Taylor will now conduct a national search for Weber’s replacement.
With that in mind, here is a list of names that could be considered for K-State’s basketball vacancy, in no particular order:
Grant McCasland, North Texas: It won’t come as a surprise if this name is near the top of K-State’s wish list. McCasland has done an impressive job during his five seasons at North Texas. He has compiled an overall record of 102-56 and recorded four different 20-win seasons.
He also reached the NCAA Tournament last season and guided the Mean Green to an upset of Purdue in the opening round. He has also developed players who went on to do big things at other schools as transfers, including Umoja Gibson (Oklahoma), Ryan Woolridge (Gonzaga) and James Reese (South Carolina).
McCasland coached at Arkansas State and served as an assistant coach at Baylor before making a name for himself at North Texas. His knowledge of the Big 12 could make him an attractive choice for the Wildcats. He signed a contract extension last July that pays him a base salary of $600,000, according to the Denton Record-Chronicle.
Jerome Tang, (associate head coach) Baylor: When Scott Drew took over as Baylor’s head basketball coach in 2003, Tang was by his side as an assistant. They both remain with the Bears all these years later. Perhaps now is the right time for Tang to take a head coaching gig of his own.
His name has been linked to coaching searches in recent years with Baylor winning at an impressive level. K-State may be the next school to show interest. No team has beaten the Wildcats more thoroughly than Baylor the past three seasons. The Bears are also coming off a national championship and back-to-back Big 12 championships.
If you can’t beat them, hire their associate head coach.
Niko Medved, Colorado State: This accomplished mid-major coach has led three different teams to the postseason and has Colorado State on track for the NCAA Tournament this year. The Rams finished second in the Mountain West by posting their third consecutive 20-win season.
Medved previously led Furman and Drake to the CIT, a postseason tournament for smaller schools that miss the NCAA and NIT. He signed a contract extension in July that raised his salary to $750,000 per year and lasts until 2027, according to the Coloradoan. His buyout is 25% of his remaining base salary.
Brad Underwood, Illinois: He signed a contract extension in September that came with $16.7 million in guaranteed money. He is also coming off back-to-back Big Ten regular season championships with the Fighting Illini.
That means the odds of him leaving a great situation for K-State are slim. But he used to play for the Wildcats and he once worked under Frank Martin as an assistant coach. Maybe he wants to return home. Stranger things have happened.
K-State fans would party in the streets if he took the job. Problem is, he may be too expensive, even if he wants the position. He makes $4.1 million a year and his buyout was $7 million under his previous contract. It is unclear if that number changed when he signed his extension.
KT Turner (associate head coach), Oklahoma: K-State fans like to throw his name around as a potential replacement option, even though he doesn’t have any head coaching experience. Why? He is from Manhattan. On top of that obvious connection, Turner was an assistant coach at Wichita State when the Shockers reached the Final Four in 2013. He has also previously served as associate head coach at at Texas and SMU.
Matt McMahon, Murray State: The Racers haven’t dropped off since they chose McMahon to replace Steve Prohm in 2015. McMahon has guided them to a record of 153-66 and three appearances in the NCAA Tournament over the past seven years.
This seems like their best season yet under McMahon. Murray State finished the regular season at 30-2 and went undefeated in league play before winning the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. McMahon also coached Ja Morant in college before he became a NBA All Star. His buyout is $500,000, according to WSPD.
Darian DeVries, Drake: The Bulldogs have rolled to four straight 20-win seasons under DeVries and reached the NCAA Tournament last year. K-State fans got an up-close look at DeVries’ coaching style when he guided Drake to an 80-70 victory over the Wildcats at Bramlage Coliseum in the first game of the 2020-21 season.
This story was originally published March 10, 2022 at 10:18 AM with the headline "Possible candidates to replace Bruce Weber as Kansas State Wildcats basketball coach."