The California Golden Bears are still looking for their next basketball coach after Chris Mack of Xavier turned the job down on Saturday morning.
Where does California coaching search go after Chris Mack?
With Mack now out of the mix, the Golden Bears are running out of candidates.
Gregory Shamus
It was rumored that California extended an offer to Mack and there was serious mutual interest between both sides, but Mack ultimately decided that the Bay Area was not the place for him.
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On the surface, the Golden Bears' job opening is appealing. There is a strong recruiting base in the Bay Area and surrounding areas in Los Angeles, Seattle and even Las Vegas make it easy enough to get some talent on the roster. Berkeley is a terrific place to live with great weather. The facilities, while not elite, are good enough, and could be improved down the road. And a decent amount of talent from a team that just missed the NCAA Tournament is expected to return for the 2014-2015 season.
Dig a little deeper, though, and there are some concerns that come with the job. The athletic department is facing serious budget issues after spending way too much on football stadium and athletic center renovations. It will take decades to pay off the $400 million debt after failing to secure the proper donor funding. Questions have also been raised about some of the head honchos at the university, who may not be fully committed to the athletics side of it all.
This all being said, there is still a coaching search to conduct. Someone will be hired soon, and they will have a chance to take advantage of what should be a pretty weak Pac-12 next season. Outside of Arizona, the conference race appears to be wide open.
Examining the other candidates, it seems there are only two legitimate options left, and both would certainly accept the gig if offered.
Eric Musselman has now interviewed for the job twice, according to CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish. Musselman spent last season as an assistant coach at Arizona State but is now looking for employment elsewhere. He has strong NBA and Bay Area ties, coaching the Warriors from 2002-2004 and the Kings from 2006-2007.
The other candidate is current Cal associate coach Travis DeCuire. He’s spent the last six years working as an assistant under Mike Montgomery and knows the current state of the program better than anyone. He has no Division I head coaching experience, though, and may not be the top target for that reason alone.
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