Wake Forest job summary & coaching candidates

It was not supposed to end this way. Danny Manning, after learning the tricks of the trade as both an administrator and assistant coach at his alma mater, Kansas, took over at Tulsa and quickly led the program to the NCAA Tournament in his second year on the job. Wake Forest swiftly hired him away and in year three, Manning was back coaching in the NCAA Tournament. Two years later and he is without a job.

While sympathy should not be a requisite surrounding his ouster as he could earn up to or over $10 million in a buy-out package, his demise was steep. Manning leaves having not finished above 10th in the ACC and mustered a below .500 record overall.

What may have derailed things was the surprise but rapid development of

John Collins as he left for the NBA after spending just two years on campus. Dinos Mitoglou then took a lucrative contract overseas,Keyshawn Woodstransferred, and Bryant Crawford and Doral Mooredeparted the program with a year of eligibility remaining. This all placed a talented but inexperienced crop of underclassmen into roles that may not have been not ready for which led to the ultimate downfall of Manning at the ACC program.

Danny Manning and his staff did win their share of recruiting battles reflected by the enrollments of

Chaundee Brown,Jaylen Hoard, Isaiah Mucius, Doral Moore and Bryant Crawford. However, the past several months hadn't been their best on the recruiting trail as they currently sit without a single Rivals150 recruit among the four incoming freshmen in the fall.

For the new coaching staff, they will inherit a group that doesn’t show for much on paper correlated with immediate success. Brown recently entered his name into the Transfer Portal, while

Brandon Childressjust exhausted his college eligibility. They did land the transfer commitments of Ian DuBose andIsaiah Wilkins, and there is hope in rising junior Isaiah Mucius.

The next step would be for the melding of a strong coaching staff with a quality network base up and down the east coast. Asking for Deacons to defeat the blue bloods within their state is difficult but pin-pointing select prospects that could thrive within a specific playing style and are intrigued by the idea of wearing the same uniform that Chris Paul and Tim Duncan once wore could get the program headed in the right path. Just as NC State quickly ascended a rather fluid middle portion of the ACC last year, the tools and pieces remain for such a trajectory to be taken at Wake Forest.

Finding attainable and worthwhile coaching candidates could be difficult due to the timing of the change and the impact that the coronavirus may have on potential candidates. However, there are three names that we have heard that also would make the most sense in filling such a capacity.

RYAN ODOM

Born in Durham, North Carolina, and spending part of his adolescent life on the campus of Wake Forest, Ryan Odom is expected to be one of the top names involved for the job. His father, Dave Odom, who still resides in Winston-Salem and is thought to be one of the more powerful people in the sport , went on to coach at the ACC program for 12 years and one has to believe that his support in his son receiving the job will not be taken lightly. This is not to say that Ryan Odom is not deserving of such an opportunity as the 44-year old is one of the top up-and-comers in the business riding the monumental upset that his UMBC squad celebrated two years ago over top ranked Virginia.

Odom has been an assistant coach at two schools within the state, won at a division-2 within the state’s borders, and boasts a 62 percent winning rate as a head coach. He recently signed a contract that will pay him a base rate salary of $425,000 that goes through 2023 but Wake Forest, despite the hefty buy-out of Danny Manning, should still have enough in its coffers to get the deal done if Odom is ultimately the guy that they want.

WES MILLER

A Carolina guy to the core, the name of Wes Miller has reverberated throughout the industry since this time last year whenever it came to a potential opening at Wake Forest. The 36-year old coach has created one of the most daunting of mid-major programs nationally. Miller got to this point by walking on at UNC, before then spending time as an assistant coach at Elon, High Point and UNCG.

Accumulating 80 wins within the past three years alone, Miller has ridden the backs of a number of Tar Heel natives in making his program one of the elite within the Southern Conference. Outgoing, humble and a young face that should do well with the boosters and alumni base, Miller’s parents are long-time donors to Wake Forest and basketball athletic facility is named after his father. All of the stars might be aligning for Wake Forest and Wes Miller to become a marriage between program and coach.

EARL GRANT

Grant has spent the majority of his time in the area as an assistant coach at The Citadel, Winthrop, Clemson, and now as the head coach at the College of Charleston for the past six seasons. Just 43-years of age, Grant is someone that has done a great job of recruiting some of the best talent within his general locale, and also developing it into potential NBA type of draft selections with his latest being graduating senior

Grant Riller. The North Charleston native has a .611 winning percentage next to his name and is thought to be one of the top up-and-comers that would soon lead an ACC program. Could it be the Wake Forest job that has Grant’s name on it? He may have to defeat a few others that have greater ties to it but Grant is a winner in every sense that has already led a team to the NCAA Tournament and won close to 120 games.