Who are some of the top candidates for Arizona opening?

What many had been speculating about since Sept. 26, 2017, finally happened today as Sean Miller is now out as head coach at Arizona. With only one year left on his contract, the administration had to make the call between extending Miller or moving on and chose the latter.

Arizona is one of the top basketball jobs in the country and arguably the best job on the west coast. Great history, fan support, and access to the top players on the West Coast as well as Texas make it a job that will intrigue some of the best coaches in the country. So, who is next in Tucson?

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2021 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position

2022 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position

2023 Rankings: Top 30

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The 46-year-old has been by Mark Few’s side for 20 years now, and he has been a huge part of Gonzaga going from loveable underdog to a national powerhouse that has played in two national championship games. Lloyd has been highly successful at bringing in a ton of international players and played a key role in developing many of the NBA players to come out of Spokane.

The former NBA head coach has become one of the top coaches in the country between his stints at Nevada and now Arkansas. Prior to that, he spent time at Arizona State as an assistant before making the move to become a head coach. Musselman plays an exciting brand of basketball as his teams play at a fast pace and score a lot of points. He’s proven to be a very strong recruiter and really good at utilizing the transfer portal to supplement his roster.

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If Arizona wants to keep this job in the family they have plenty of options, starting with Pastner, who was a walk-on and eventually an assistant coach under Lute Olson. The current Yellow Jackets coach is coming off his best season at Georgia Tech, with an appearance in the NCAA Tournament after inheriting a major rebuild in Atlanta. Pastner also had four NCAA Tournament appearances in seven seasons as head coach at Memphis after taking over for John Calipari at 31 years old.

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A former national champion as a player at Kentucky who went on to a career in the NBA, Pope has transitioned into a successful career as a head coach in college basketball. He landed his first head coaching job at Utah Valley after stints as an assistant at Georgia, Wake Forest and BYU. Just two seasons into his tenure at BYU as head coach, he’s compiled a 44-15 overall record.

Simon gives Arizona another option to keep the job in the family by bringing back a former star point guard who was the Most Outstanding Player in helping the Wildcats win the 1997 national championship. He came back to Arizona as an assistant under Lute Olson before transitioning to a career as an assistant in the NBA with the Lakers. Simon’s West Coast ties would be a major asset in recruiting and being connected to a title with LeBron James doesn’t hurt.

Another strong option within the Arizona family is Stoudamire, who is enjoying a successful run as head coach at Pacific. Before having the season cut short because of the pandemic, the Tigers finished with a 23-10 record. Stoudamire, like Simon, was a star player at Arizona and later spent time as an assistant coach under Sean Miller.

After a long NBA career, Terry returned to Arizona as an assistant coach last year, which was his first season as a coach at any level. Like Simon and Stoudamire, Terry is one of the top players in the history of the program. He lacks the experience of everyone else on this list, but he has the advantage of already being in the program right now and could make the transition a little smoother and possibly keep the Wildcats from losing the roster to the transfer portal.

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