2007 coaching carousel

As the 2007 college basketball season kicks off, chances are you will need a program to keep track of all coaching firings and hirings that took place over the summer. Let’s quickly review the coaching changes at some of the more notable universities.

• Air Force – Jeff Bzdelik out, Jeff Reynolds in
• Arkansas – Stan Heath out, John Pelphrey in
• Coastal Carolina – Buzz Peterson out, Cliff Ellis in
• Colorado - Ricardo Patton out, Jeff Bzdelik in
• Iowa - Steve Alford out, Todd Lickliter in
• Kansas State – Bob Huggins out, Frank Martin in
• Kentucky – Tubby Smith out, Billy Gillispie in
• Michigan - Tommy Amaker out, John Beilein in
• Minnesota - Dan Monson out, Tubby Smith in
• New Mexico – Ritchie McKay out, Steve Alford in
• New Mexico State - Reggie Theus out, Marvin Menzies in
• Princeton – Joe Scott out, Sydney Johnson in
• Saint Louis - Brad Soderberg out, Rick Majerus in
• Texas A&M – Billy Gillispie out, Mark Turgeon in
• Utah - Ray Giacoletti out, Jim Boylen in
• Wake Forest - Dino Gaudio replaced Skip Prosser who passed away

The most intriguing situations from this list are Rick Majerus at Saint Louis and Tubby Smith at Minnesota. Majerus came out of retirement to coach the Billikins, while Smith surprised many basketball fans by leaving Kentucky and the SEC for Minnesota. Both schools should be thrilled at these two hirings. Dino Gaudio faces the difficult task of replacing popular coach Skip Prosser who tragically passed away over the summer.