Coaching Carousel: Grading the Mid-Major College Basketball Coaching Changes Part 2

Earlier this spring we gave out gradesThere has been a lot of movement in the mid-major coaching carousel so far this year. What have been the best moves around the country and what have been some of the worse? We breakdown the latest hires. for all the head coaching hires so far at the time. Today we look at all the hires since then:

Ball State
Old Coach: Billy Taylor
New Coach: James Whitford

Whtiford takes over a Cardinals team that has been pretty respectable over Billy Taylor's tenure. He was the associate head coach at Arizona and knows the MAC footprint well since he's been with Sean Miller since the Xavier days. Ball State has not been to the NCAA tournament since 2000 and Cardinals fans are hoping their young head coach turns it around.
Grade: B

Campbell
Old Coach: Robbie Laing
New Coach: Kevin McGeehan

The Camels did their due diligence and took plenty of time in deciding who their next coach will be. In the end they chose Richmond assistant Kevin McGeehan. McGeehan has been a head coach at the Division III level before, but has been with Chris Mooney since his Air Force days. He's certainly a bit of a wild card and doesn't have the personnel to run a similar style as Richmond right now.
Grade: C

Florida Gulf Coast
Old Coach: Andy Enfield
New Coach: Joe Dooley

How do you replace an overnight sensation? Florida Gulf Coast did by hiring high profile Kansas assistant Joe Dooley. Dooley has a wealth of experience and has been a head coach at East Carolina before in the mid-90s. What Dooley doesn't have is any kind of history in the Atlantic Sun's footprint. Can he keep the Eagles afloat with a pretty talented roster?
Grade: B

Furman
Old Coach: Jeff Jackson
New Coach: Neko Medved

The Paladins have a bit of a blast from the past in hiring their former interim head coach Neko Medved. Medved has been highly heralded at Colorado State over the past few years, but my question is why didn't Furman hire him in 2007? He'll certainly have an opportunity to turn the program around in the depleted Southern Conference.
Grade: C

Florida International
Old Coach: Richard Pitino
New Coach: Anthony Evans

Anthony Evans was a stud at Norfolk State and can be one at FIU also. He has to get the program through a couple years of APR penalties thanks to Isiah Thomas, but I think he's the right man to do it.
Grade: A

Hofstra
Old Coach: Mo Cassara
New Coach: Joe Mihalich

This is nothing against Mihalich, but he was Hofstra's back up to the back up to the back up plan. Hofstra alum Tim Cluess said no thanks and a couple of other coaches, including Joe Dooley, turned down the Pride. The roster is now depleted and Mihalich has been at the same school since 1998. I just don't know if he has what its going to take to return the program to the success they were having under Tom Pecora.
Grade: D

Loyola (MD)
Old Coach: Jim Patsos
New Coach: GG Smith

Tubby's son gets his first crack at a head coaching job being elevated as an assistant at Loyola. The Greyhounds have been one of the MAAC's most consistent programs and now turn to the Patriot League. Smith can be successful but his recruits are being raided by his former head coach.
Grade: C

Marist
Old Coach: Chuch Martin
New Coach: Jeff Bower

Marist made one of the strangest hires thus far grabbing former NBA GM and scout Jeff Bower. Bower briefly was the interim head coach for the Hornets a few years ago, but really hasn't been in the coaching game. For whatever reason, I just don't see this working out.
Grade: F

Norfolk State/South Carolina State: Replacing your head coach with an undefined, 1 year stop gap, interim head coach does nothing but cripple your program.
Grade: F

See all of the mid-major coaching changes on our Coaching Carousel page.