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2018 NCAA coaching carousel tracker and rumor mill

By High Post Hoops Staff

LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 05: A basketball hoop and net are shown before a semifinal game of the West Coast Conference basketball tournament between the San Francisco Dons and the Gonzaga Bulldogs at the Orleans Arena on March 5, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Bulldogs won 88-60. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 05: A basketball hoop and net are shown before a semifinal game of the West Coast Conference basketball tournament between the San Francisco Dons and the Gonzaga Bulldogs at the Orleans Arena on March 5, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Bulldogs won 88-60. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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LUBBOCK, TX- Texas Tech great Candi Whitaker couldn’t translate her success as a player to her as a head coach.(photo curtsey of everythinglubbock.com)
LUBBOCK, TX- Texas Tech great Candi Whitaker couldn’t translate her success as a player to her as a head coach.(photo curtsey of everythinglubbock.com) /

Texas Tech- Big 12

Departed coach/record: Candi Whitaker, 3+ seasons (54-82 overall, 15-59 in the Big 12)

Season-by-season record:
2014-15: 15-16 (5-13)
2015-16: 13-18 (4-15)
2016-17: 14-17 (5-13)
2017-18: 6-7 (0-2)

Reason for departure: A program once in the upper echelon of the Big 12, Texas Tech hoped that bringing in former Raider great Candi Whitaker would return them to those fruitful times. As a player, Whitaker helped Tech reach back-to-back Sweet Sixteens but as a coach, the team never even won 16 games. Fired in January after getting drubbed by Oklahoma State and Baylor in the first two Big 12 games of the season, Whitaker was fired immediately. Assistant coach Shimmy Gray-Miller served as the interim head coach for the rest of the season.

Potential replacements:

Joe Foley, head coach, Arkansas-Little Rock: Foley to Texas Tech has been a rumor flying around for a bit now and we think it would be a great fit. A 4-time winner of the Sun Belt Coach of the Year award, Foley has turned Little Rock into a mid-major force. In his 31 seasons as a head coach, Foley has won 20 or more games in 27 of those seasons, an absurd number especially considering him coaching at non-traditional basketball schools. Plenty of bigger schools have called on Foley before but it is worth noting that current Texas Tech men’s basketball coach Chris Beard worked on the men’s side at Little Rock with Foley. If Tech wants to get Foley, don’t be surprised to see Beard be part of the recruiting team.

Krista Kirkland Gerlich, head coach, UT-Arlington: Maybe the lack of success by Whitaker will sour any thought of hiring another alum, but that shouldn’t be the case with Gerlich. While Whitaker never had any success as a head coach, Gerlich has had plenty. After leading the West Texas A&M program for seven seasons and going 168-53, Gerlich took over at UT-Arlington and has done a nice job. After winning just four games in her first season, Gerlick and the Mustangs won 17 games in season two and have been steady ever since then. While she has lead UT-Arlington to the WNIT, one knock on Gerlich is that she has yet to win the Sun Belt, although the previously mentioned Joe Foley has plenty to do with that.

Lance White, associate head coach, Florida State: It’s been over 14 years since he was on campus but Lance White was present for the last run of good Lady Raiders basketball. Seven seasons White spent as an assistant under Martha Sharp and he was a big reason Tech won a Big 12 championship, went to five Sweet Sixteens and two Elite Eights. He was named the 2017 WBCA National Assistant Coach of the Year and has helped Florida State reach unprecedented heights. Again, maybe Tech wants to try and avoid another alum hire (White graduated from Tech in 1996) but White has taken success with him everywhere he has gone.

Sandra Rushing, head coach, Central Arkansas- This one is a bit out of left field, but hear us out. Rushing has a career record of 507-305 (.624) and currently has the Sugar Bears primed to make their second straight NCAA tournament appearance. UCA is 21-8 this season, making it the third straight season of 20 wins or more for Rushing. Prior to taking over UCA, Rushing turned D2 Delta State into a powerhouse, going 254-58 over 10 seasons. That Delta State team reached the Final Four in consecutive years in 2008 & ’09, plus made six consecutive Sweet 16 appearances between 2006-11. Rushing had up-and-down run as the head coach at Texas-El Paso from 1990-2001, but since the 2001-02 season Rushing has never finished a season below .500.

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