Breaking it down:
Young coaches:
Grant
Kelsey
Oats
Over 50:
Matta
Musselman
If
Why? Can you even say definitively that he is a good coach? Hell of a leap from many years at Winthrop to the ACC.
Why isn't Brad Stevens and Steve Kerr on this list?
BTW, it's early, but Winthrop is currently 4-4 with two wins over non-D1 programs (Warren Wilson and Pfeiffer) and their best D-1 win is # 329 SIU-Edwarsville. I know Kelsey has had success at Winthrop, but they play in the Big South -- an exceptionally low level of basketball, materially below the SoCon, where UNC-G plays. Winthrop's only competition in the Big South is Radford and maybe Garner-Webb, the rest of the conference is total trash (e.g, Longwood and USC-Upstate) just the lowest of the low in college basketball in budgets, recruiting, facilities. People criticized the Manning hire coming after he coached Tulsa to an AAC Championship -- the conference with UCONN, Cincy, Houston, Temple; a conference light years ahead of the Big South.
CORRECTION: TULSA was in the Conference USA when Manning won the title; they joined the AAC the year after Manning left. The point remains: CUSA is/was a far higher level of hoop than the Big South.
Because he has proven that he is a qualified head coach building a sustainable winnable program, and he has proven himself a top tier recruiter in P6 college basketball. What’s not to like?
What seasoned ACC recruiters will want to work with someone they may feel is less qualified to be HC?
First, money. Hire a guy like Miller, and you should have budget leftover to really invest in the rest of the staff.
Second, what Miller has done at UNCG over the last 3 years is actually pretty impressive. He isn't my favorite candidate (I would take Oats, Musselman, and Matta first for sure), but having the 121st, 82nd, and 83rd best team in the country when you're at a program like that is, well, Gregg Marshall-esque. Kelsey's best team was 113th. I think number one criteria for us has to be a guy who has elevated a program. Out of the three fallback options of Kelsey, Miller, and Odom, Miller is the only one that has done that. I think I'm even talking myself into liking Miller over Grant.