By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

          Before a departing head coach can get many good-byes out upon the announcement of a departing head coach, the grapevine overflows with speculation. 

          Mercer’s firing Monday of Bob Hoffman is no different.

Recent men’s college basketball coaching changes of note

Fairfield – played Mercer in 2012 CIT – fired Sydney Johnson
Niagara – played Mercer in 2011 – fired Chris Casey
Stetson – former A-Sun rival – fired Maconite Corey Williams
Texas A&M fired Billy Gillespie
Troy – former A-Sun team – fired Phil Cunningham

Al Skinner resigned at Kennesaw State, a former A-Sun rival of Mercer
Jason Gillespie resigned at Reinhardt, a recent Mercer opponent
Southern Illinois’ Barry Hinson resigned
Steve Payne resigned at Tennessee Tech

          Mercer has reportedly hired Fogler Consulting, run by former Wichita State, Vanderbilt, and South Carolina head coach Eddie Fogler. Clients the past five years, according to its website, include South Dakota (in 2014 and 2018), Arkansas-Little Rock (in 2018 and 2015), Ohio State, UMass, and Wright State.

          Georgia Tech used Fogler when it hired Brian Gregory, as did Kansas State in hiring Frank Martin.

          Colorado State paid $25,000 for the service in 2018. Fogler was employed by Pittsburgh last year, and reportedly was connected to negotiations with Tom Crean, who took the Georgia job.

          Nevertheless, the college basketball media dives into the guessing game when there’s a change, especially if a coach is fired.

          And there are often all sorts of connections, like this one:

          Stetson was an Atlantic Sun foe of Mercer, which hired Maconite Corey Williams several years ago, firing him at the end of the season. Among the reported final four candidates is Rex Walters, who interviewed at Mercer when Hoffman was hired. Walter went to San Francisco for eight years (126-125), then to the Grand Rapids Drive of the NBA’s developmental league. Which is where Hoffman was when he was hired.

          And now? Walters is a special assistant to Nevada head coach Eric Musselman, who is married to former WGXA sports anchor (left Macon for Kansas City in 2002) Danyelle Sargent.

          Mercer is competing – as of Thursday morning – with several other mid-majors looking for coaches: Ohio, Niagara, Troy, Fairfield, William & Mary, Southern Illinois, Stetson, Tennessee Tech, and Kennesaw State.

          So here’s a look at the first-round of names. And that’s all they are at this point, names from assorted basketball website and Twitterers, and some that have some connection to Mercer, the state, or mid-major basketball, some who may not be interested but have a fitting resume.

          It will change fairly drastically within a week. All such lists everywhere do. But at least a couple on the early list will be considered or get an official or unofficial interview.

Chad Dollar
          The older brother of Cam played at South Florida and then at Milligan (NAIA). The former point guard started coaching with Athletes in Action, then began his coaching career at as a volunteer assistant and grad assistant at Gardner-Webb – a former Atlantic Sun foe of Mercer - and then went on to Southern Miss, Western Carolina, Eastern Kentucky, Georgia Southern, Murray State, LSU, Arkansas State, Wichita State (leaving a year before the arrival of Bleckley County’s Carl Hall), Georgia Tech, Auburn, and South Florida.

 Doug Esleeck
          A long shot, he left Mercer as the associated head coach in the spring of 2017 for UNC-Wilmington after seven seasons with Hoffman. The defensive and scouting report whiz was huge in Mercer’s run to every NCAA-sanctioned tournament (CIT, CBI, NIT, NCAA). UNCW has been home to Clemson’s Brad Brownell (before he went to Wright State) and Buzz Peterson, plus current N.C. State coach Kevin Keatts. UNCW has struggled the past two years under new head coach C.B. McGrath to a 21-44 record in the CAA, losing more close games than not. Mercer was 146-98 with five postseason trips in Esleeck’s seven seasons.

 Mark Fox
          The well-liked Fox went 163-133 at Georgia before being dismissed on March 10, 2018. It was his mid-major success at Nevada (123-43 and three NCAA trips in four years) that got him to Georgia. He’s talking about returning to coaching after a year off, and his name will automatically crop up. Fox, 50, was plagued by seemingly constant roster transition, a reputation for not being able to attract the state’s marquee prospects, and reaching only two NCAA tournaments.

 Aaron Geter
          The Mercer alum and former basketball standout has been a fairly regular attendee of Mercer games and visitor with president Bill Underwood and athletics director Jim Cole. Geter quietly vacated his Wilkinson County head coaching position in the spring after 20 seasons and 10 GHSA state championships (nine Class A, overall and public, and one Class AA). He is also the Wilkinson County superintendent. His stint in both positions were marked by a cloud of speculation regarding recruiting, and the Macon Telegraph uncovered a variety of other improprieties Geter was connected to in both positions. He was 553-72 at Wilkinson County, which reached the Class A Public semifinals earlier this month under first-year head coach Xavier Whipple. He’ll have some support, but is a huge longshot who might, might be an outside candidate as an assistant.

 Mike Helfer

          Valdosta State’s head coach is busy right now, having gotten an NCAA Division II at-large bid. The Blazers are 24-6, pushing Helfer’s record to 277-136, to go with a 186-83 mark at Southern Polytech State, an NAIA program whose school (Marietta) was consolidated with Kennesaw State in 2014, leaving  the same conference Middle Georgia State joined that fall. He has had three losing and 13 20-win seasons – including the last four – in 22 seasons. The Newark, Ohio native has been an assistant at Ken State, Grand Valley State, and Capital (Ohio) University.

 Jay McAuley

          Wofford’s associate head coach is a Marietta native who played at Georgia – getting on the team through tryouts and lettering all four seasons, and voted co-captain as a senior - and was on the support staff on that wacked SEC tournament champion in 2008 that survived a tornado in Atlanta and went to the NCAAs with a 17-16 record. His career has been with past or current Mercer conference programs: two years at Wofford, three at Gardner-Webb (under current Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann), and four at Furman before returning to Wofford.

 Sam Mitchell
          The Mercer alum and former basketball standout is an assistant with the Memphis Tigers. The 55-year-old Mercer alum played in the CBA and in France before starting a 13-year NBA career. He has been an assistant with Milwaukee, New Jersey, and Minnesota, was head coach for four-plus seasons with Toronto – earning NBA coach of the year honors in 2006-07 - and one as interim with Minnesota (185-242, 43.3 percent). The 55-year-old joined the Memphis staff of Penny Hardaway after three season coaching in the Virgin Islands. This season is his only college coaching experience, and ostensibly it is – according to reports – preparing players for a pro career.

 Luke Murray
          The son of that Bill is at Louisville, and has coached at Xavier, Rhode Island, Towson, Wagner, and Arizona. The Fairfield graduate has done a fair amount of recruiting in Georgia, including Macon, attracting Central’s Kentrevious Jones to Xavier (Jones backed out, went to prep school and went to Oklahoma State, where he was dismissed from in January).

 Phillip Pearson
          Pearson has been with the program for one year, and has a versatile background, plus plenty of familiarity with the state and Mercer. He was on Mark Fox’s staff at Georgia, the final few seasons as associate head coach. Right before that, he was at Alabama, and served as interim head coach the final 13 games in 2008-9 – after Mark Gottfried resigned in late January –and went 6-7, including a win over Vandy in the SEC tournament. Five losses were by less than 10 points. The former Alabama player has coached at his alma mater, as well as Arkansas-Little Rock and Murray State. One site has already reported that he has been granted an interview.

 Scott Wagers
          An out-of-the-blue name, he’s on the South Florida staff of former Georgia Tech head coach Brian Gregory. He was at East Tennessee State for more than a decade – and filled in for Murry Bartow, attending his father’s funeral, in 2012 for a 73-69 win over Kennesaw State – and then went to Lamar in the Southland Conference and to Jacksonville in the Atlantic Sun.

 Travis Williams
          The former Georgia State player – from Tifton – is back at his alma mater as an assistant, and was on the staff for Mark Slonaker’s final year at Mercer after a successful three-year stint as head coach at Fort Valley State.  He then was an assistant at Tennessee State when TSU came to Mercer in the CIT in 2011-12. He took over at TSU and went 23-40 in two seasons. He was head coach at Maynard Jackson in Atlanta for two years before returning to Georgia State.