West Virginia men's basketball is in the process of yet another coaching search. Following the departure of Darian DeVries to Indiana following his first season on the job, the Mountaineers will move onto their fourth head coach in as many seasons.
The Mountaineers are already diving into the process, with several early candidates already taking different jobs or seeing interest in their name fade on WVU's end. As the Mountaineers attempt to wrap up the search quickly and efficiently, here's a look at a few of the top candidates remaining for the job and a couple of dark horse candidates, as well.
Ben McCollum
Ben McCollum appears to be WVU Athletic Director Wren Baker's leading candidate, according to most reports on the program's coaching search.
It makes plenty of sense too -- McCollum was rumored to be on Baker's shortlist during the coaching search last spring that landed upon Darian DeVries. Baker and McCollum worked together for years while the former was the Athletic Director at Division 2 program Northwest Missouri State, where McCollum had recently been hired as the head men's basketball coach.
Last year, it was assumed McCollum was passed over due to lack of Division 1 experience -- he is a four-time NCAA Division 2 National Champion and had made 11 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, but he was still coaching at Northwest Missouri State and had never held a Division 1 job.
Now, McCollum is a bit more proven. He spent the past season at the Division 1 level, coaching in the highly competitive mid-major Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) at Drake -- the same program where Darian DeVries cut his teeth.
There, he outshined all expectations -- bringing in a roster that included four starters following McCollum from the Division 2 level, the Bulldogs went 30-3 and won the MVC, advancing to the NAA Tournament.
One of those starters -- Bennett Stirtz -- has one season of eligibility left and was named MVC Player of the Year, averaging 19.1 points, 5.6 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.2 steals per game and becoming the joining legend Larry Bird as the only MVC player to record 600 points, 180 assists, and 70 steals in a season.
McCollum's team knocked off SEC program Missouri in the first round of tourney action and is set to next face Texas Tech, where McCollum could make an impression against a Big 12 opponent.
The big issue with McCollum is that he has been heavily pursued by Iowa, a Big 10 program in his hometown of Iowa City. The Mountaineers are behind the ball and trying to play catchup, but Baker will likely go a long way to nab McCollum if possible.
Jerrod Calhoun
Jerrod Calhoun is also a leading favorite for the gig right now, and has a bit more familiarity with the culture and program in Morgantown than McCollum.
Calhoun was on staff under Bob Huggins from 2012-2017 at WVU, and preceded to begin his coaching career just down I-79 in The Friendly City at Division 2 Fairmont State. Calhoun led the Falcons to multiple NCAA Division 2 Tournament appearances and was the Division 2 national runner-up in 2016-2017.
Since then, Calhoun has resurrected a struggling low-major program at Youngstown State and leading them to a winning culture -- the program hadn't won 20-plus games in over two decades when Calhoun took the job, and earned back-to-back 20-plus win seasons by the time he departed.
This past year, he took the job at Utah State and led the Aggies to an NCAA Tournament bid, where they dropped their first-round game to UCLA. This could prove an advantage if WVU wants to move with extra urgency, and Calhoun's season is finished while McCollum is still playing.
Chester Frazier
Wren Baker has held reservations against hiring coaches without head coaching experience previously, and seemed hesitant during the first press conference of the ongoing coaching search to promoting internally. But this is one name that can't be ignored.
Chester Frazier is already on staff as the Associate Head Coach, and has been praised at every stop as one of the brightest young assistant coaches in the sport. Despite never holding a gig as a head coach, Frazier is widely regarded as a "strong recruiter" and was described by Illinois coach Brad Underwood as “one of the brightest young stars in the profession."
Both current WVU player Sencire Harris and former Mountaineer John Flowers have been loud about their belief that Frazier should be promoted, and staying in-house might help the Mountaineers keep some valuable roster pieces, such as Harris and Amani Hansberry -- who both followed him to Morgantown from Illinois when he joined DeVries' staff. He may also be able to continue building upon the successful culture and groundwork DeVries laid.
Pat Kelsey
Pat Kelsey is a name who hasn't been tossed around much by any local WVU media or national analysts, but if the Mountaineers wanted to make a powerful statement and steal a proven power conference coach, this would likely be their best move to make.
Kelsey's name was also bandied about during last year's coaching search after a successful stint at Charleston in South Carolina. He ended up taking the job at Louisville, and revived a program that has been dead-in-the-water in recent years and took them to the NCAA Tournament in his first season. The Cardinals also beat West Virginia in non-conference play.
But the kicker is that Kelsey is set to earn just $2.35 million for this current season -- DeVries made $2.8 million during his first season in Morgantown, and WVU paid Bob Huggins $4.1 million at the peak of his contract. The Mountaineers also will be receiving a $6 million buyout from Indiana for DeVries' abrupt departure to Bloomington.
WVU could easily afford to put the heat on Louisville, offering a more lucrative contract to attempt to lure him to Morgantown. It's a rare situation where the Mountaineers are in position to outbid a power conference program at a similar level of prestige and steal a coach from underneath them, which would send a message amidst DeVries' departure that the Mountaineers are serious about their program.
Bucky McMillan
Bucky McMillan is a long-shot for the WVU job, but the rising young star could be just the fit for the Mountaineers.
Experience is a concern -- while he does currently coach Division 1 ball, he does so at a low-major program in Samford. And before getting the gig, he was a career high school coach in his native state of Alabama.
But his style involves aggressive, press-based defense and a high-octane, three-point-focused offense that is known for shootout-style basketball -- for WVU fans, it's probably reminiscent of the 'Press Virginia' era but with a bit stronger offensive production.
McMillian has made one NCAA Tournament appearance last season -- Samford dropped their opening matchup with Kansas but left Jayhawks' coach Bill Self telling the press he didn't want to encounter "Bucky Ball" again.