Sports Illustrated: Who Can Fill Cal's Shoes?

Nothing says Father's Day like discussions on character, cargo shorts, and successorship.  So it's no coincidence that Sports Illustrated's asking who would take the bench to replace college basketball's best coaches? Before anybody goes crazy, SI ran the same article for coaches at several big-time programs.  So nobody's thinking that Cal's fixing to bolt any time soon, especially after the hefty extension he signed this offseason. That said, it's a fun exercise, and the SI folks did a pretty good job highlighting some big names, that all have a couple things in common.  At Kentucky, it's not enough to know Xs and Os.  Coach Tubby Smith was a great game coach, but the BBN wore him thin with demands to "play faster" and recruit higher-profile athletes.  "[W]henever there is an opening, the job will require an uncommon combination of personality, patience and coaching aptitude to produce consistent winners." So who are the lucky nominees?  If Cal left "tomorrow" (not gonna happen), the candidates include Sean Miller (Arizona), Gregg Marshall (Wichita State), Shaka Smart (VCU), and Jay Wright.  To which I say, "Yes, yes, yes, and eh."  Miller and Marshall have had tremendous tournament runs the last couple seasons, and Sean is more than a challenge to Cal in recruiting the West coast guys.  If anybody can come in and get the same level of talent as Cal, it'd be Sean.  And with Marshall, haven't we seen this story before?  Hot shot coach leads Mid-Major team to a #1 ranking, then loses to a Kentucky coach, only to take that coach's spot years later?  And if I recall correctly, it worked out pretty well the first time.  Take a coach that can get the type of play that Marshall gets at Wichita State, and add Kentucky's resources, and you have a dangerous combination.  Shaka Smart would add immediate "cool" factor to a program that's already at the top, and is young enough to stay in the spot for a long time.  And Jay Wright's teams perennially underperform in the first weekend of the tournament, so I'm less excited about him. More "long-term" names include Orlando Antigua, Tim Miles (Nebraska), Billy Donovan (tried that already), and Richard Pitino.  Who knows how well some of those would work, but it's hard to prognosticate that far into the future.  Which coach will be hot enough in 2020-something to take over?  Which will be in a spot that they're willing to walk away from? Hard to know now, and irrelevant for many years, but it's still fun to consider.  If Gregg Marshall's still around in ten years, I hope UK gives him a call.  Or if Brad Stevens is done with his Pro-experience. It's fun to think about "next coaches" when it's not an immediate concern, isn't it?