Potential Candidates To Replace Dave Rose

PROVO, Utah – For the first time in 14 years, BYU basketball is looking for a new Head Coach. Dave Rose left a lasting legacy during his 14-year tenure including a trip to the sweet sixteen, a national player of the year, conference championships, and an upset over No. 1 Gonzaga.

So who is the best fit to replace him? It’s a question that athletic director Tom Holmoe is asking as he prepares to usher a new era of BYU Basketball.

Mark Pope

The former BYU assistant spent five years on Rose’s staff before taking the head job at Utah Valley. Under his watch, the Wolverines have seen steady improvement more than doubling their number of wins in four years from 12 to 25. Pope has the Wolverines on the precipice of claiming an NCAA tournament bid – a major feat for a program that has been competing at the D-I level for less than two decades.

Pope is a proven recruiter and has developed talented big men during his tenures at BYU and UVU – something BYU has sorely lacked since his departure.

He is a home run hire for the Cougars, but may have his eyes set on something bigger – he was in contention for the Cal job, and was a target for the Washington State and UNLV jobs – with his eyes set elsewhere, BYU would have to bring an offer that would knock his socks off.

Alex Jensen

It seems that anytime there’s an opening on the BYU staff, Alex Jensen’s name pops up. The former Utah basketball star turned NBA assistant coach is currently in his sixth season with the Jazz.

Jensen is also another coach that have his eyes set on something larger than BYU – leading an NBA team – as the lead assistant to Quin Snyder, his name will be thrown around for several NBA head coaching vacancies. While BYU fans would be happy with this hire, it seems very unlikely.

Mark Madsen

Another NBA assistant, but this time with some more traction. The former Stanford star is now an assistant with his old NBA team – the Los Angeles Lakers. Madsen previously coached in Utah with the Flash from 2009-10 and owns a home in Orem.

Turmoil on the Lakers staff may lead to Madsen being on the job market for the first time since he joined the franchise as a coach in 2013. While he has limited head coaching experience, he has coached and played at the highest level for a championship-caliber franchise.

Quincy Lewis

BYU fans are very familiar with Lewis. The BYU assistant is now the interim Head Coach for the Cougar program and is hoping it becomes a long-term position. Lewis joined the BYU coaching staff in 2015 after a 12-year stint at Lone Peak High School in Alpine, Utah, where he took the Knights’ program to unprecedented heights winning seven state championships and a national championship.

Before taking the head coaching job at Lone Peak, Lewis had stints at BYU-Hawaii, Utah Valley State College (now UVU), and Southern Utah University.

Lewis is familiar with the BYU program, has relationships with the players, and has an insider’s perspective about the direction he would take the program after recent struggles. Lewis even earned a nod from Rose during an interview with BYU Sports Nation last week.

David Evans

The head coach for Wasatch Academy has led the powerhouse program to a banner year earning an invitation to the Geico National High School Invitational. Evans previously coached at Lone Peak for three seasons, taking over for Lewis and continuing the program’s strong tradition.

Evans has experience coaching at the collegiate level as an assistant with BYU-Hawaii from 2011-2014 with the Seasiders earning a trip to the national championship in 2011.

Barret Peery

A native of Payson, Utah, Peery is the head coach at Portland State – a position he’s held since 2017. Peery led the Vikings to a 20-win season in his first year in charge of the program, and has compiled a 36-30 record in two seasons.

Peery has West Coast Conference experience, previously serving as an assistant at Santa Clara during the 2016-17 season. He also served as an assistant at Arizona State (2015-16), and Utah (2008-11).

Previous head coaching stints include Indian Hills Community College from 2011-14, where he posted a 93-11 record, and College of Southern Idaho (2005-08) where his teams were 85-19.

Kevin Young

An assistant with the Philadelphia 76ers, Young spent 2007-2011 coaching the Utah Flash in the D-league before being promoted to head coach when the Flash moved to Iowa and became the Iowa Energy. He served in that position until 2013 when he joined the Delaware 87ers, eventually becoming head coach from 2014-2016.

Jeff Judkins

The Hall of Fame BYU Women’s Basketball coach has led the team to two Sweet Sixteen appearances and a second round exit this season as the head coach of the Cougars. He spent a decade at the University of Utah as an assistant to legendary coach Rick Majerus before switching to coaching women’s hoops.

He’s led the BYU program to nine NCAA tournament appearances and seven of his players have earned Conference Player of the Year honors.

While it may be tempting for Judkins to throw his hat in the ring and move his office upstairs, he is a year older than Coach Rose, and is set up for 4-5 more years of success with the women’s program before he can ride off into the sunset.

Jon Judkins

The younger brother to Jeff, Jon Judkins is the head coach at Dixie State University, a position he’s held for 14 seasons. Judkins is a six-time Pacific West Conference Coach of the Year and has led the Trailblazers to a 224-105 record during his tenure.

He has led Dixie State to ten consecutive 20-win seasons including a school record 23 wins during the 2017-18 campaign.

Prior to coaching at Dixie State, Judkins spent 12 seasons as the head coach at Snow College, leading the Badgers to a 284-128 record and earning a spot in the Snow College Athletic Hall of Fame.

 

With the NCAA coaching convention taking place this upcoming weekend during the final four in Minneapolis, it wouldn’t be out of the question if the Cougars had a Head Coach in place by then.