Last March, Rick Stansbury had been out of head coaching for four years, and seemed to be content about it.
He retired in 2012 after 14 years of leading the Mississippi State program, returning in 2014 as an assistant under Billy Kennedy at Texas A&M. Last season, the Aggies tied Kentucky for the regular-season title in the Southeastern Conference.
The Aggies’ season ended March 24 with a Sweet Sixteen loss to Oklahoma. Four short days later, he was back into head coaching, taking over at Western Kentucky.
In Conference USA, a league that has seen a number of previously accomplished coaches — John Calipari, Larry Eustachy and Larry Brown, among others — Stansbury’s hiring raised some eyebrows.