Coaches on verge of elite status 

August, 30, 2012
08/30/12
12:21
PM ET

There is a coaching "circle of life" that begins with the start of the college basketball season and ends when a coach gets fired and his replacement must be found.

Trust me, there are a number of athletic directors in power conferences who are already compiling their own list of coaching candidates even before the season tips off in anticipation of making a change after the season.

Usually those athletic directors will be searching for the next Bill Self or Tom Izzo from the low- and mid-major ranks. And, of course, the hope will be that any potential new hire will have had enough success that he's an easy sell to the fans, boosters and the media. We call it "winning the press conference."

Most of the "hot names" in coaching searches next spring will be guys who are already on the radar and are likely one more successful season away from landing a big gig. (And we're not counting guys like Harvard's Tommy Amaker and Wichita's Gregg Marshall, who are already known commodities.)

Here are a few guys who aren't as known but could be in line for big jobs in a few months:


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Fran Fraschilla is a college basketball analyst for ESPN. He formerly was the head coach at Manhattan, St. John's and New Mexico.

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