Chris Collins
Assistant Coach, Duke
Duke University Photography
Collins
The strongest attribute for Collins coming in would be his connections in Chicago, by far the most fertile major urban recruiting area within close proximity to Ames, Iowa. The Northbrook (Ill.) native and son of former NBA player and coach Doug Collins is known and respected in Chicago's tight and tough basketball community. However, Collins has had a silver spoon in his mouth for his entire basketball life as a Duke player and coach and, as mentioned, the son of an NBA'er. Can he do more with less? It's a potential hire that should get a general thumbs up from Cyclone fans.
Larry Eustachy
Head Coach, Southern Mississippi
Joe Harper
Eustachy
Oh c'mon, you know it would be a hoot. Eustachy as a realistic candidate to return to Iowa State is probably not in the cards. But imagine the bang for the buck that Pollard would get with this hire. Questions abound, of course. Would ISU president Gregory Geoffroy forgive and forget? Would Larry even want to come back? Has he really done enough at Southern Miss to warrant the discussion? Eustachy is 83-81 overall in six years at USM but just 33-49 in Conference USA play. But his overall career head coaching record is still a strong 336-221. Because the Golden Eagles went 18-12 this year and made the CIT (whatever that is), Eustachy's name is on the list, if only for an introductory appearance.
Steve Forbes
Assistant Coach, Tennessee
Forbes
Forbes is a Lone Tree, Iowa, native who really wanted to be Iowa's next head coach, calling it his "dream job." Would those words haunt him as a candidate at Iowa State? Probably not. Forbes has spent the last four years as an assistant to oscar Pearl at Tennessee. Before that, he was on Billy Gillispie's staff at Texas A&M. Forbes was also an assistant at schools like Illinois State, Louisiana Tech and Idaho and has been a JUCO head coach. If Dan McCarney could shed his Hawk heritage and be a winning coach at ISU, so too could Forbes, if the mutual interest is there.
Greg Gard
Assistant Coach, Wisconsin
Gard
Anyone who can put "Bo Ryan Disciple" on their resume has an excellent shot at getting hired by Jamie Pollard. Ryan is the gold standard for college basketball coaches in Pollard's eyes so Gard's 16 seasons as a Ryan assistant at three different schools have loom large. However, Gard has never ventured outside the state of Wisconsin to live or work and was recently passed over for the head coaching job at UW-Green Bay, even with Ryan's strong endorsement. The fan base wouldn't be overwhelmed with a Gard hire, but it would buy in.
Billy Gillispie
Former Head Coach, Kentucky/Texas A&M/UTEP
Gillispie
Sure, it's a long shot, but Gillispie's name has to be on Iowa State's initial hot board. After being unceremoniously dumped by Kentucky, Gillispie is looking for an opportunity at redemption. There's a bit of an Iowa State connection as former ISU walk-on player Jeff Bergstrom was a graduate assistant for Gillispie at UK and Bergstrom's father is an influential, big money booster for Iowa State. There's some baggage for sure and why Gillispie wasn't tabbed for any of this year's coaching vacancies to date is a valid question. The fan base would be split and no one would have a so-so opinion on the hire.
Brian Gregory
Head Coach, Dayton
Gregory
Gregory is 150-80 in seven seasons at Dayton, including four 20-win campaigns. He previously had two stints as an assistant coach at Michigan State and was on the bench for the Spartans' Elite Eight win over Iowa State back in 2000. Gregory has taken Dayton to two NCAA tournaments and the Flyers won the NIT championship this past season after underachieving a bit during the regular season and missing the NCAAs. Gregory's name is well-known throughout the informed Iowa State fan base and Cyclone Country would be pretty excited about a hire such as this.
Tim Jankovich
Head Coach, Illinois State
Jankovich
Jankovich is 71-30 with three NIT appearances in three years at Illinois State and he also has head coaching experience at North Texas and Hutchinson Community College. Prior to go to Illinois State, Jankovich was an assistant at Kansas. He's also been on the staff of Big 12 schools Kansas State, Baylor, Texas and Oklahoma State and he played for K-State in the late 70s and early 80s. The well-traveled Jankovich is a little bit milquetoast as a candidate but his win-loss record at Illinois State can't be ignored.
Rob Jeter
Head Coach, UW-Milwaukee
Associated Press
Jeter
Not only was Jeter on the short list last time around for Iowa State, he WAS the short list. But an unusually large buyout torpedoed his chances of coming to ISU and Jamie Pollard turned to Greg McDermott instead. Jeter has compiled an 82-75 record in five seasons as the Milwaukee head coach, but has not made it back to the NCAA tournament since upsetting Oklahoma in the first round back in 2006. Jeter was an assistant at Marquette and Wisconsin, where he was a co-worker with Pollard. Jeter is a Bo Ryan disciple, which scores him big points with Pollard. He's a minority candidate with head coaching experience and would likely get an interview again if interested.
Mark Montgomery
Assistant Coach, Michigan State
Montgomery
Montgomery has completed nine seasons as an assistant coach at Michigan State under Tom Izzo. He played at MSU and returned to coach there after a playing career in Europe and a four-year stint as an assistant coach at Central Michigan. Montgomery has seen up close at Michigan State how a winning program is maintained, but what would he know about building success? Montgomery's ties to MSU and the state of Michigan are very strong, but he is a strong minority candidate who is widely considered a future head coach.
Tom Moore
Head Coach, Quinnipiac
Moore
Moore was a long-time assistant for Jim Calhoun at UConn before venturing out on his own and immediately turning around the fortunes of Division I newbie Quinnipiac. The Bobcats went 23-10 last year, Moore's third season there, and he had them at .500 in year two. His tenure at Connecticut was 13 years, during which time the Huskies became a national elite program. Prior to joining the UConn staff, Moore was the head coach at Worcester State, where he went 76-59. Moore's roots in the east are deep so he may be tough to lure away, and he likely wants the UConn job when Calhoun retires.
Randy Rahe
Head Coach, Weber State
Rahe
Rahe is a Bancroft, Iowa, native who went to college at Buena Vista in Storm Lake. Weber State has dominated the Big Sky Conference in his four seasons as head coach there, going 62-18 in conference play with three championships. He is 77-47 overall as the Wildcats' head coach. Rahe was formerly an assistant under Stew Morrill at Colorado State and Utah State and has also served on the staff at Utah and as a high school head coach. If he's interested, Rahe could easily be labeled as the strongest realistic candidate out there for the Cyclones with his resume and Iowa ties.
Rick Ray
Assistant Coach, Purdue
Ray
Ray has spent five seasons at Purdue as an assistant coach and has been a part of 22+ win years in all five. He was previously an assistant coach at Northern Illinois and Indiana State. Ray is connected to Central Iowa as he played collegiately and graduated from NAIA school Grand View in Des Moines. The Kansas CIty, Kansas, native has a strong recruiting reputation. He is a minority candidate with a resume that appears to be interview worthy. Ray's name would not be known by many in the Cyclone fan base.
Scott Sutton
Head Coach, Oral Roberts
Sutton
Sutton is the son of long-time college coach Eddie Sutton and has compiled a 204-139 record in 11 seasons as the head coach at Oral Roberts. Sutton played for his father at Oklahoma State. He has certainly put down roots at ORU, having signed on there as an administrative assistant for Bill Self in 1995 and never leaving. Considering Sutton has surely received interest in the past and chosen to stay at Oral Roberts, it's questionable as to whether he would even have legit interest in the Iowa State job. Would be a fairly easy sell to knowledgeable fans, but tougher for casual fans.
Ric Wesley
Head Coach, Grand Valley State
Wesley is 153-39 in six seasons as head coach at NCAA Division II Grand Valley State in Michigan. He was on Johnny Orr's staff for 14 years at ISU including 12 seasons as a full-time assistant. Wesley also served as an assistant at Lamar and (Southwest) Missouri State. He is a Michigan native and may be reluctant to leave the home state after making it back some 20+ years after playing at Central Michigan. Wesley would be embraced by Iowa State fans who remember the Johnny Orr era, but some may be underwhelmed by his lack of Division I head coaching experience.
