Heel Tough Blog: Is It Billy Donovan or Bust for UNC?

Sports Illustrated

After missing out on Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd as the replacement for Hubert Davis, Bubba Cunningham, Steve Newmark, and the UNC search firm are now forced to turn their attention elsewhere to find the right man to lead Carolina Basketball back to national prominence. Lloyd was the top target for Carolina and is coming off his first appearance in the Final Four, a blowout loss to a Michigan team that is poised to win their first national championship since 1989. The head coach of that Michigan team, Dusty May, is expected to be the next UNC target, but after he didn’t leave Michigan for Indiana, his alma mater, many people in the college basketball industry don’t expect him to entertain the vacancy in Chapel Hill, despite Michigan not having the financial resources like you’d expect a team set to play for the national title to have.

The rejection by Tommy Lloyd, combined with the minimal chance Dusty May entertains the opening, brings us to Billy Donovan, the head coach of the Chicago Bulls, who, after a decade in the NBA, could be open to a return to the college game. The Bulls have already been eliminated from NBA postseason contention, but Donovan is expected to coach through the remainder of the regular season, which doesn’t end until Sunday, April 12, almost five full days after the transfer portal opens. That’s certainly not ideal, in a world where how you add talent and depth to your roster in the portal determines success for the following season, but you can’t force him to resign from his current job. The belief around the UNC fan base, and from the media covering the search, is that it’s Billy Donovan or bust, in terms of finding an adequate replacement for Hubert Davis. Allow me to make the argument for that not to be true: 

• TJ Otzelberger: 

  • When Carolina first opened up, the top three candidates included the aforementioned Lloyd, May, and Iowa State’s TJ OTzelberger, who has maximized his resources as well as any coach in the sport, you could argue. Now, before Iowa State played in the Sweet 16, Otzelberger basically withdrew his name from consideration, but that was before UNC put on a full-court press to lure him away from Ames, Iowa. His wife, being an Iowa State grad, may factor into his decision if UNC were to aggressively pursue him, as anyone will tell you, the lifestyle in the Midwest is different from the south, and if anyone is self-aware, it’s TJ Otzelberger. In his 10-year coaching career, Otzelberger has compiled a 223-116 record, going 124-53 with the Cyclones. During his decade-long tenure in college basketball, he has won 2 regular season conference titles, in addition to winning three conference tournament titles, all while posting a 7-7 record in the NCAA Tournament. With May expected not to show any interest in the gig, expect the UNC brass to put the same effort into stealing away Otzleberger, just like they did with Lloyd. 

• Ben McCollum:

  • As Iowa made its run to the Elite Eight, the first for the program since 1999, the profile on Ben McCollum continued to grow, and interest from Carolina fans continued to peak. For a program that’s looking for a proven winner, McCollum is certainly that, even though he’s only been coaching at the Division I level for two years. McCollum led his alma mater, Northwest Missouri State, to four national titles at the Division II level before taking the lead to Division I, winning 31 games in his first season with the Drake Bulldogs. That success led him back to his hometown of Iowa City, as he guided the Hawkeyes to a 24-13 mark, but three wins in the NCAA Tournament, including an upset of #1 seed Florida, the defending national champions. A drawback of McCollum is the play style after years of complaining about Tony Bennett’s system at Virginia, who knows if Carolina has the appetite to watch their team play at the second-lowest pace in college basketball, like Iowa did this past season. That style of play normally doesn’t appeal to recruits or transfers, but you can’t help but wonder what McCollum could accomplish in Chapel Hill, after winning everywhere he’s been. 

• Mark Byington: 

  • With Alabama’s Nate Oats having signed an extension, and Florida’s Todd Golden expected to be taken care of as well, Carolina’s search could lead them to Vanderbilt, and Mark Byington, who did sign an extension earlier this offseason, but the buyout reportedly didn’t change. Byington led the Commodores to the Round of 32 after tying the school record for the best start in program history (16-0). Like McCollum, Byington is a proven winner, putting together a 160-155 record over his 13 seasons on the sidelines. He may have won just one regular season and conference tournament title, but his 131-97 record at Georgia Southern and his 82-36 mark at James Madison tells you he’s capable of maximizing his resources. He’s off to a 47-22 start in Nashville, after inheriting a program that was going nowhere under Jerry Stackhouse. Fran Fraschilla of ESPN compared Byington to Dean Smith on a social media post earlier this week. If that’t not a big enough endorsement, I don’t know what is. 

• Grant McCasland: 

  • Another name that is going to emerge after losing out on Tommy Lloyd is Texas Tech’s Grant McCasland, who has done an adequate job since taking over the Tech program in Lubbock. McCasland has led three programs over the last 10 years, and is a respectable 229-108, with 135 wins coming during his time at North Texas, and he’s 74-31 with the Red Raiders. Had he not lost JT Toppin, he had a team capable of getting to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, and possibly breaking through and making the Final Four. He has posted 20+ wins in 9 of his 10 seasons, with a career-high 31 wins in 2022-23 with the Mean Green. Now, with the backing of billionaire Cody Campbell, it’s going to be extremely difficult to lure anyone away from Texas Tech, but if he can guide the Red Raiders to the top of the Big 12, what could he do in the ACC? 

If Carolina were to land any of these names, it would be an upgrade over Hubert Davis, and that is the goal you set out to achieve when you fire your coach. These names might not be as attractive as a Lloyd, May, or a Donovan, but if the rev-share money is made available, along with extra NIL, the program should be poised to return to the top of the ACC and the college basketball world. Now, if these names were to be approached, and deny Carolina? Then it’s time for full-blown panic in Chapel Hill, even though the fan base is already there. 

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