David Goricki: Eastern Michigan AD Scott Wetherbee might look to past for next basketball coach
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Mar. 19—Eastern Michigan University and men's basketball coach Rob Murphy parted ways on Wednesday after 10 seasons and no Mid-American Conference championships or NCAA Tournament appearances.
So what's next for the program? The Eagles' last NCAA appearance was in 1998 when Milton Barnes was head coach.
EMU has had Barnes, Jim Boone, Charles Ramsey and Murphy lead the team since it last enjoyed stability under Ben Braun (1985-1996).
Braun brought EMU three NCAA bids, including a Sweet 16 run 30 years ago (1990-91 season). He also sparked the Eagles to a win over Duke in the 1996 tourney, then departed for the head coaching job at California.
Murphy, who now will guide the Pistons' new G-League affiliate, the Motor City Cruise, was 166-155 at EMU (79-93 MAC). He had just four winning seasons and one MAC West championship, that coming in his first season.
Murphy never had his Eagles play in the MAC championship game, with the league's automatic berth into the Big Dance on the line.
The Eagles were 6-12 this past season, 3-11 in the MAC. Murphy's 166 wins are second best in Eastern Michigan's Division I era, behind only Braun (184-133, 103-79 MAC) over 11 seasons.
EMU athletic director Scott Wetherbee should have a strong list of candidates to choose from, including several former Eagles players.
It was surprising Western Michigan athletic director Kathy Beauregard didn't look at Charles Thomas last year after firing longtime head coach Steve Hawkins.
When former WMU star and current Michigan assistant coach Saddi Washington turned down the WMU head coaching job, Beauregard chose WMU assistant Clayton Bates.
Thomas was a part of EMU's Sweet 16 squad, along with his twin brother Carl.
Charles Thomas definitely knows the blueprint to a MAC title, sitting alongside Keith Dambrot the last 11 years. Seven of those seasons came at Akron ,when Dambrot guided the Zips to MAC championships in 2011 and 2013. Akron played in the MAC title game three other times. Thomas is in his fourth season under Dambrot at Duquesne.
Then there is Earl Boykins, currently the director of student-athlete development at Arkansas. Boykins played on EMU's NCAA tournament teams in 1996 and 1998.
Bring in Boykins and add an assistant like former River Rouge coach LaMonta Stone, an ex-college assistant (EMU, Ohio State, Bowling Green) who knows the area for recruiting. Boykins did not respond to multiple messages seeking comment.
Where will Archie Miller end up? He had tremendous success at a mid-major (139-63 and two NCAA Tournament appearances in six years at Dayton). But he floundered at Indiana, posting a 67-58 record, 33-45 in the Big Ten.
It wouldn't hurt to give John Beilein a call. He led Michigan to a pair of national title game appearances. Beilein could join Lon Kruger and Rick Pitino in leading five programs to NCAA tournament appearances. Kruger did so at Kansas State, Florida, Illinois, UNLV and Oklahoma. Pitino thrived at Boston University, Providence, Kentucky, Louisville and Iona.
If Beilein passes, what about his son Patrick? He guided Le Moyne College to the Division II Elite Eight in 2018, then accepted the head coaching job at Niagara two years ago. He resigned that post for personal reasons prior to coaching a game.
Another Division II head coaching star is Ferris State's Andy Bronkema. The 37-year-old, has eight years of head coaching experience, leading Ferris to the Division II national championship in 2018.
Michigan State associate head coach Dwayne Stephens could be looking to lead his own program after being on Tom Izzo's staff the last 16 years. Stephens scored the winning basket in a 72-70 win over Purdue 30 years ago that clinched the Big Ten championship at Breslin. He played alongside Mark Montgomery, another former MSU assistant, who was fired earlier this season at Northern Illinois.
There are other former EMU players worth considering. Stan Heath (1985-87) and Lorenzo Neely (1988-1991) could be interested.
Heath guided Kent State to the Elite Eight in 2002 with Antonio Gates leading the way. He also led Arkansas to consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances in 2006 and 2007 and South Florida to an NCAA appearance in 2012. He is currently coaching in the G League.
Neely was an assistant at EMU under Braun and Barnes. He has been an assistant at Wayne State the last 17 years.
EMU tried to lure Oakland coach Greg Kampe 10 years ago when he was leading the Grizzlies to consecutive NCAA slots. The Eagles pitched an offer that would more than double his salary at OU. Kampe declined, opening the door for Murphy in Ypsilanti.
Would Kampe be interested a decade later at age 65? Would EMU reciprocate the interest?
Don't rule out Hawkins, an ESPN analyst who has covered multiple MAC games this season.
He guided WMU to MAC tournament championships and NCAA Tournament appearances in 2004 and 2014.
On his podcast, he talked about missed coaching.
"It's driving me crazy to not have a team, it's really all I've ever done," Hawkins, 58, said. "I coached a youth basketball team when I was 16 and from that time I had coached a basketball team every season. Someone asked me the other day if I still had a lot left in the tank and I told them it's full, it's been topped off, especially with the year off. I'm definitely getting back in coaching. I don't know when, where, whether it's an assistant job or head coaching job because that's all basketball. I just want to get back, can't wait to get back into coaching."
Next stop Ypsilanti?
