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The NBA is owning the headlines this week. The Draft. The Giannis trade. Dusty May to the Mavericks.
May’s move is the impetus for this week’s reacts poll.
Remember, it was just two years ago that May was the head coach at Florida Atlantic. One national championship later, and he’s on his way to Dallas to coach Cooper Flagg.
So, here’s the question: Who could be the next mid-major coach to elevate to be an NBA or WNBA head coach?
There were a lot of potential candidates. Not saying that any of the six in this article will ever leave their current schools or if they have any aspirations to coach at the pro level, but let’s get into it.
Tricia Binford, Montana State
Binford took over the Bobcat program 21 years ago and has built a consistent championship contender on her way to becoming MSU’s all-time winningest coach. While she is well-entrenched in the college game, she played in the WNBA in the late 90s and early 00s after starring at Boise State. One thing to remember, Karl Smesko spent more than two decades at Florida Gulf Coast and was a perennial conference champion there before leaving for the head coaching job with the Atlanta Dream in 2024.
Vanessa Blair-Lewis, George Mason
Blair-Lewis has had success everywhere she has coached. She turned the Patriots from a team that won three total games into Atlantic-10 champions in just four years. She had a long string of accolades at Bethune-Cookman and her alma mater Mount St. Mary’s, where she was a standout as a player. Blair-Lewis’ husband, Eric, is an NBA official.
Claxton’s playing career at Hofstra launched a seven-year NBA playing career. Could a coaching stint with the Pride ultimately lead to an NBA coaching career? He’s won at least 20 games in each of his five seasons leading Hofstra, which includes winning the CAA title this year and going dancing for the first time in a quarter century. His coaching career began as a scout with the Golden State Warriors (2010-13).
Martelli Jr. has had immediate success with VCU. Year one with the Rams: co-Atlantic 10 regular-season champs and tournament champions. They were powered by a high-flying offense that would look great at the next level. Martelli Jr. led Bryant to its second NCAA Tournament before heading to VCU. His coaching resume also includes one year with the Delaware 87ers (now Delaware Blue Coats) in the G League.
Elevating is all Olen does. He built UC San Diego into one of the best Division-II programs in the country, oversaw the program transition to Division I and guided the Tritons from seven wins in year one at the higher level to a 30-win conference champion and NCAA Tournament team. New Mexico came calling, and he had the Lobos in the NIT semifinals with a roster he built from scratch.
Carly Thibault-DuDonis, Fairfield
Thibault-DuDonis has built Fairfield into the top program in the MAAC (Metro Conference as of July 1). Her Stags have won the last three conference championships, and she’s only been the head coach four years. She has been adamant about staying at Fairfield and building the program into a national powerhouse. However, she has strong ties to the pro ranks. Her dad, Mike, was a long-time coach with the Connecticut Sun and Washington Mystics, and he was an assistant in the NBA. Her brother, Eric, is currently the associate head coach with the Minnesota Lynx.
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