After a terrific first season leading the Hawkeyes, CBS analyst Jon Rothstein said he expects Iowa head men’s basketball coach Ben McCollum to be among the names on North Carolina’s list for the Tar Heels’ head coaching vacancy.
North Carolina fired Hubert Davis after the Tar Heels saw a 19-point second-half lead evaporate in a first round NCAA Tournament loss to No. 11 seed VCU. In five seasons at the helm of UNC, Davis was 125-54.
“North Carolina is going to go down its list. I would expect names like Texas Tech’s Grant McCasland, Vanderbilt’s Mark Byington and also Iowa’s Ben McCollum to be on that list. Ben McCollum is in the first year of his contract and the AD at Iowa has told me that they plan to sign him to a contract extension. He has publicly said that he would like to be the head coach at Iowa for a long time,” Rothstein said.
Any interest from North Carolina should add some urgency for Iowa athletics director Beth Goetz to get an extension done with McCollum swiftly.
Goetz recently shared with Rothstein how excited she is for Iowa’s future under McCollum.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled with what our program has accomplished and the leadership of Coach McCollum. We are excited about Ben’s future here at Iowa and will work in partnership with him toward continued success,” Goetz said.
It makes sense why UNC would be attracted to McCollum as a potential candidate to replace Hubert Davis. It also makes sense why Goetz needs to act quickly to ensure that McCollum stays in place with the black and gold long-term.
McCollum has won everywhere he’s been, including in his first season at Iowa where he led the Hawkeyes to its first Elite Eight appearance since 1987 and to a 24-13 (10-10 Big Ten) record.
Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd was reported to be one of UNC’s top targets. But, after a series of ambiguous statements about his future in Tucson, Lloyd shut down North Carolina’s hopes when he inked a new five-year deal with Arizona on Friday.
Michigan’s Dusty May has been considered another top name on UNC’s list, but Rothstein said that Wolverines athletics director Warde Manuel is prepared to do whatever he and Michigan need to do to retain May as its head coach. According to Rothstein, May isn’t all that interested in “going to a fish bowl like North Carolina.”
Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan has been reported as another top name in UNC’s head coaching search, but Rothstein reports that Donovan will not entertain a conversation with North Carolina until after the Bulls’ season is over. The Bulls’ 2025-26 NBA season doesn’t end until April 12, which would be nearly a full week into the two-week NCAA transfer portal window.
Waiting that long for Donovan in this era of college basketball is understandably a probable non-starter for UNC.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: CBS analyst expects Iowa basketball’s Ben McCollum to be on UNC list
Reporting by Josh Helmer, Hawkeyes Wire / Hawkeyes Wire
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