NCAA Basketball

Only those with access to a time machine can accurately predict whether a new head coach will achieve the level of success imagined by the athletic director who hired him.Shaka Smart of Virginia Commonwealth and Brad Stevens of Butler both elected to remain at their current posts despite being shown a healthy amount of interest from schools with much deeper pockets. After it became clear the top two coaches from the mid-major ranks were not interested, the athletic directors in the midst of coaching searches were forced to get a little creative and, in most cases, take a big chance.The Big Ten has become one of the leading conferences in college basketball and sent seven of its 12 members to the 2013 NCAA Tournament. A pair of its members parted ways with experience to explore new regimes led by the sons of two of the sport's top coaches.A trip to the Big Dance and a lopsided second-round victory over UCLA was not enough to save Tubby Smith's job in Minnesota. Firing Smith, who is one ...

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