Brad Stevens won’t be Indiana’s next head coach. Here’s who might be

Tom Crean is officially done at Indiana, which means one of the highest-profile jobs in college basketball is now open.

While Hoosier fans have long been clamoring for former Butler coach Brad Stevens to return to the college ranks and get IU back to winning national championships, it seems like the current coach of the Boston Celtics is perfectly content in the NBA. In fact, just Wednesday night, Stevens addressed the steady swirling of speculation about him returning to the college game.

“Nobody calls,” Stevens said, referring to universities with job openings. “The only thing people usually call me for is to ask questions about candidates. Everybody has a pretty good idea of where I stand, and I think ultimately I’m going to be here. I think that’s pretty well known.”

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“I think it’s all flattering, but it’s certainly flattering to ever be considered, because there aren’t that many jobs out there,” he said. “But at the same time, I’m really flattered to be here and thankful to be here.”

Assuming that Stevens is not a legitimate candidate, let’s take a quick look at some of the names that are.

Steve Alford (UCLA)

Indiana’s favorite son, Alford was a high school legend in the state before going on to star for the Hooisers from 1983-87. After a four-year stint in the NBA, he began a coaching career that has included stints as the head man for Southwest Missouri State, Iowa, New Mexico and now UCLA.

There’s little debate that Alford’s current team is the best he’s had as a head coach. The high-scoring a Bruins are a three seed in the South Region, but are still a trendy pick to make it to Phoenix and then cut down the nets.

So why, aside from his obvious ties, might Alford be lured to Indiana? Well, for starters, UCLA figures to lose nearly all of its star power from this year’s team either to graduation or to the NBA. Lonzo Ball will be out and his little brother, LiAngelo, will be in, but the younger Ball doesn’t have near the ability as his big bro. Toss in the sideshow that has become father LaVar Ball, and you’ve got a situation that could be entertaining for all of us, but a nightmare for a head coach.

The biggest issue here is that Alford’s buyout at UCLA is staggeringly high. In order for the deal to get done, he would more than likely need to be willing to take a pay cut. Basically, Alford to Indiana is only going to happen if both sides really, really, really want it to, and if both sides really believe that it’s going to work.

Gregg Marshall (Wichita State)

If there’s a coach in the country who best fits the silhouette of Indiana’s most successful clipboard holder, it’s Marshall. The Wichita State coach is fiery, ornery and undeniably fantastic at his job.

Marshall has had a number of opportunities to jump to bigger jobs in recent years, but had always wound up staying put at Wichita. Perhaps Indiana is the type of blue-blood gig he’s been holding out for.

Archie Miller (Dayton)

Like Marshall, Miller has made the wise move not to jump from a solid tier two job to a power conference gig simply because he was offered. Instead, he has stayed with the Flyers and made himself even more of a commodity, leading Dayton to four straight NCAA tournaments and capturing the Atlantic 10’s regular season title this season.

When Miller does ultimately choose to leave Dayton, there’s little doubt at this point that the destination will be one of the 10-15 biggest jobs in the sport. Indiana fits that description.

Chris Mack (Xavier)

You can say pretty much all the things that were said about Miller about Mack. The only difference is the Xavier coach doesn’t have quite the name recognition that Miller does. Still, he’s a Midwestern guy who has known nothing but success since taking over as the Musketeers head coach in 2009.

Chris Holtmann (Butler)

If you can’t get Brad Stevens then why not try to get mini-Brad Stevens? Holtmann took over at Butler in October, 2014 after then-head coach Brandon Miller was forced to walk away from the job because of his health. He’s been stellar ever since, leading the Bulldogs to the big dance in each of his first three seasons and earning Big East Coach of the Year honors for 2017.

Bryce Drew (Vanderbilt)

Like Alford, Drew is known nationally for his heroics at the college level, but is known just as well in the state of Indiana for what he did while he was in high school. He left Valpo last March to take the job at Vanderbilt, and has the Commodores in the NCAA tournament as a nine seed in his first year.

Tony Bennett (Virginia)

It would take the fans a while to adjust to Bennett’s trademark style, but as long as he won as consistently as he has at Virginia, the pace of play probably wouldn’t matter. This feels like it would be something of an odd fit, but if Illinois is going to throw big money at Bennett, then why wouldn’t Indiana?

Other Names to Consider:

Randy Wittman
Dan Muller (Illinois State)
Fred Hoiberg (Chicago Bulls)
Kevin Keatts (UNC-Wilmington)
Will Wade (VCU)
Scott Drew (Baylor)
Mick Cronin (Cincinnati)