The Coaching Carousel keeps on a-spinnin’. Fox Sports’ Jeff Goodman reported on Saturday that Pittsburgh associate head coach Tom Herrion has been hired at Marshall. The Thundering Herd were a nice surprise from the past season, posting a 24-10 record (11-5 CUSA) in 2009-10 under Donnie Jones, who just left for Central Florida after three seasons at Marshall. With stud freshman and national blocks leader Hassan Whiteside having declared for the NBA draft, and leading scorer Tyler Wilkerson and starting guard Chris Lutz both lost to graduation, Herrion will have his work cut out for him in Huntington.
Ohio State assistant Alan Major will take over at Charlotte and try to get that school back to the NCAA for the first time in six years, which shouldn’t be too hard with the pending expansion. The 49ers were 19-12 under Bobby Lutz last season and were in the talk for an at-large bid late in the year out of a very tough Atlantic 10, but they put an end to such speculation by dropping seven of their last eight games. This is Major’s first head coaching job, and it will be interesting to see what kind of talent he brings to Charlotte having spent time under one of the better recruiters in the game in Thad Matta at both Xavier and OSU.
Three more declare, but look for one to return. In a move that surprised nobody, Georgia Tech freshman forward Derrick Favors declared for the NBA draft, joining fellow Yellow Jacket Gani Lawal in that endeavor. Favors was in the top 50 in both blocks (2.1 BPG) and field goal percentage (61.1%) as a freshman and was second on the Georgia Tech squad (behind Lawal) in scoring at 12.4 PPG. With those numbers, plus a 6’10, 246-pound frame, Favors is projected to be the third pick in the draft by NBADraft.net.
Mississippi’s Terrico White is also headed for the NBA draft, but don’t be surprised to see him back in Oxford next year. The 6’5 sophomore forward is not hiring an agent, and it sounds like he’s going through the process just to be evaluated in order to see where he ranks and where he needs to improve his game. Can’t blame him at all. Though he doesn’t appear in either round on the current NBADraft.net list, his name did show up there from time to time over last season and he’s listed as the seventh pick on their 2011 draft. White averaged 15.1 PPG and 4.6 RPG last year for the Rebels and his stock will certainly improve with a year to develop further expertise in the backcourt. One man who won’t be back next year is VCU’s Larry Sanders. The 6’11 and 235-pound junior center averaged 14.4 PPG, 9.1 RPG, and 2.1 BPG for the Rams last year and says he plans on hiring an agent. NBA Draft.net has him projected as a late first-rounder.