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Report: Texas pursuing Gregg Marshall, Shaka Smart to replace Rick Barnes

By Patrick Schmidt

Mar 22, 2015; Omaha, NE, USA; Wichita State Shockers head coach Gregg Marshall during the second half in the third round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament against the Kansas Jayhawks at CenturyLink Center. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 22, 2015; Omaha, NE, USA; Wichita State Shockers head coach Gregg Marshall during the second half in the third round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament against the Kansas Jayhawks at CenturyLink Center. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports /
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Rick Barnes is out as the head coach at Texas and the Longhorns are pursuing Gregg Marshall and Shaka Smart for the vacancy.

Texas fired men’s head basketball coach Rick Barnes, the school’s all-time wins leader, after 17 seasons and 16 NCAA Tournament and his successor has big shoes to fill on the 40 Acres.

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Barnes had a tremendous amount of success on the hard court at a football school and despite his recent track record of early exits in the NCAA Tournament leaves a void for whoever replaces him to try to get Texas back to the level of success Barnes had in his first decade in Austin.

According to ESPN’s Jeff Goodman, the top two candidates for the Texas job are two coaches who have had recent success in the NCAA Tournament and have a Final Four appearance on their resume.

Goodman reports, Wichita State’s Gregg Marshall and VCU’s Shaka Smart are the leading candidates for the job.

Marshall finished his eighth season at Wichita State with a Sweet Sixteen appearance after beating Kansas in the third round and led the Shockers to a third straight 30-win season and a second straight Missouri Valley Conference championship.

He led the Shockers to an undefeated regular season last year and led the team to the Final Four in 2013. He is 204-76 at Wichita State after going 194-83 in nine seasons at Winthrop.

Smart has been the head coach at VCU since 2009 and was an assistant at Florida and Clemson and has a 163-56 record in six seasons. He has led the Rams to the NCAA Tournament in the last five seasons with a Final Four appearance in 2011 that made him one of the up-and-coming start in the coaching ranks.

He has rebuffed interest from the likes of Illinois and UCLA to remain at VCU, but after a pair of second round exits in the Tournament could be looking to make a move before his stock drops.

While they are the top two candidates, Goodman also reports that Texas athletic director could look to the NBA to fill the vacancy.

Marshall has drawn interest from Alabama and could command more than $3 million a year, which is more than what Texas was paying Barnes, but as we saw with their pursuit of Nick Saban when Mack Brown resigned as the football coach, they will pay to get the man they want.

Who do you think Texas should pursue to replace Barnes?

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