Almost all college basketball programs are about one bad coaching hire from sliding to the cellar of their conference. Anybody old enough to remember Matt Doherty leading UNC to no postseason and then the NIT in his final two seasons at the school knows that even the most prestigious program is Steve Alford away from moonwalking right out of the spotlight. That’s why schools with the budget to do so routinely cull the top talent from the other 340 or so head coaches in the country.
For teams that aren’t pushing the mid-seven figures to their head men on a regular basis, identifying and securing coaching talent is vital.