After losing Jim Larranaga to Miami, who will George Mason athletic director Tom O’Connor choose as his next coach? Here’s a stab at rating five potential candidates.
5. Jim Baron » The last basketball coach O’Connor hired before Larranaga was Baron in 1992, when O’Connor was the AD at St. Bonaventure. Baron has six 20-win seasons in 10 years at Rhode Island but no NCAA appearances. At 57, is he too old and too settled?
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4. Jim Ferry » The 43-year-old took run-and-gun Long Island to the NCAA tournament with two local standouts — Springbrook grads C.J. Garner and Jamal Olasewere. But does O’Connor have bad memories of uptempo basketball after inheriting Paul Westhead when he took over at George Mason in 1994?
3. Mike Rhoades » If Shaka Smart had left VCU, the Rams would have been comfortable promoting his 36-year-old assistant, who posted a 197-76 mark in 10 seasons at Randolph-Macon.
2. Bill Courtney » The 40-year-old former player at Robert E. Lee High and current coach at Cornell served eight seasons under Larranaga, recruiting many of the players from the Patriots’ 2006 Final Four team. Big question: Does O’Connor want a Larranaga disciple?
1. Mike Lonergan » In six seasons, the 45-year-old has taken Vermont to the NCAA once, CBI once and NIT twice. Lonergan has plenty of local ties, playing at Archbishop Carroll, playing and coaching at Catholic and working as an assistant at Maryland. George Mason is a logical next step.
