Coaching changes hit Pac-12

The college basketball coaching carousel tends to hit full gallop in late March and early April every year. In the Pac-12, this trend came to fruition in 2011 yet again.

At the University of Washington, previous women’s basketball head coach Tia Jackson resigned following an 11-17 (6-12 in the Pac-10), seventh-place finish in conference. After an extensive search targeting big names such as Gonzaga’s Kelly Graves, UW selected Xavier head coach Kevin McGuff as Jackson’s replacement. The surprise, big name hire proves Washington’s commitment to getting its women’s basketball program back on track. McGuff’s salary calls for a base salary of 475,000 dollars, almost 200,000 dollars more than what Jackson made.

Also in women’s basketball, successful UCLA head coach Nikki Caldwell left the Bruins to take the same position at Louisiana State University. Caldwell departed Westwood after a 28-5 season that saw the Bruins earn a high national ranking and a number three seed in the NCAA tournament. Caldwell’s decision to head to LSU allows her to return to the Southeastern Conference, where she played at Tennessee under legendary head coach Pat Summitt.

On the men’s basketball side, the conference has seen its share of changes as well. New conference member Utah fired head coach Jim Boylen on the heals of a 13-18 season, which witnessed the Utes lose eight of their past 11 games. With a move to the Pac-12 effective during the summer, athletic director Chris Hill elected a change was necessary. Utah hired New Jersey Nets assistant Larry Krystkowiak, who has also served as the head coach for the Milwaukee Bucks, University of Montana and the Idaho Stampede.

A pair of Pac-10 men’s basketball assistants also left the conference to take over head coaching roles at other schools. Former Arizona assistant- and the brother of head coach Sean Miller- Archie Miller left the desert to take over the reigns at the University of Dayton. Additionally, former UCLA assistant Scott Duncan left the Bruins to head up the University of Wyoming program.

While the coaching carousel hit its stride, the college basketball season just ended Monday (men’s) and Tuesday (women’s), so more changes may be on the way in the near future.