Through all the madness, we had quite the coaching carousel in the SEC. You probably missed some details as Tennessee made its run through the SEC Tournament and beyond, so we’re here to recap those moves for you today.
Here’s what you need to know.
Florida
Out: Mike White
In: Todd Golden
Mike White wasn’t terrible in Gainesville, but he wasn’t Billy Donovan either — and things got stale. The two sides were headed for a split, and White bolted for Georgia. This gives Florida a fresh start with one of the top up and comers in the country, Todd Golden.
Golden comes from San Francisco, fresh off of an NCAA Tournament appearance. The former Bruce Pearl assistant is just 36 years old and has only three years of head coaching experience. The Gators are hoping those few years with Pearl are enough to help capture some of his magic, as Florida tries to return to the top of the SEC.
LSU
Out: Will Wade
In: Matt McMahon
Seeing Will Wade’s antics on the sidelines even after it was common knowledge that he lured recruits with ‘strong ass offers’ was absolutely infuriating. Finally, LSU made their move with the NCAA finally zeroing in on the basketball program.
Matt McMahon comes over from Murray State, after a wildly successful run with the Racers. His time at Murray included the Ja Morant era, which helped him guide his program to a 154-67 mark overall in seven seasons. He now faces a potential short-term roadblock with the NCAA investigation continuing, but he’s clearly up for the challenge.
Georgia
Out: Tom Crean
In: Mike White
In one of the stranger moves you’ll ever see, Georgia takes out the trash for Florida and brings in Mike White to replace Tom Crean. The writing was on the wall for White, who has struggled the past couple of seasons in Gainesville. He jumps ship and lands within the SEC East, taking over a Georgia program that remains dormant.
Georgia jumped at the chance — for some reason — once again taking the established retreat route instead of going for a young up and comer. The Bulldogs may stabilize under White, which may be the ultimate goal, but the upside feels capped here. Good luck selling the Georgia fanbase on this one.
South Carolina
Out: Frank Martin
In: Lamont Paris
The Frank Martin era was overall a pretty big disappointment in Columbia — although his one NCAA Tournament appearance turned into a magical final four run. Outside of that, it was .500 basketball for the Gamecocks. South Carolina opted for a refresh, turning to Chattanooga head coach Lamont Paris.
Paris led the Mocs to an NCAA Tournament appearance, and probably should have knocked off No. 4 seed Illinois in the first round. The former Wisconsin assistant is now tasked with waking up the South Carolina program after doing the same for Chattanooga.
Mississippi State
Out: Ben Howland
In: Chris Jans
Mississippi State hired Howland in hopes that he could rekindle his UCLA glory days. Instead, they got just one NCAA Tournament berth and three NIT appearances in seven years. After back to back losing seasons in SEC play, Mississippi State pulled the plug.
In comes Chris Jans, fresh off of a round of 32 appearance with New Mexico State. Jans has completely dominated the WAC, winning the conference in four out of five seasons. He won the WAC Tournament in three out of five tries. The 52 year old will now try to build the Bulldogs back in a loaded SEC.
Missouri
Out: Cuonzo Martin
In: Dennis Gates
Cuonzo Martin proved Tennessee fans right at both of his stops since he left Knoxville, putting out mediocre results at Cal and flaming out at Missouri. The Tigers will now turn to Dennis Gates, who turned around Cleveland State pretty quickly following the brief Dennis Felton era. Gates took a 10 win program to 19 and 20 wins in year two and three, respectively, earning back to back Horizon league coach of the year honors.