Let’s Speculate! Potential Iowa State head basketball coach candidates

Welcome to Let’s Speculate! on Coaches Database, where we go through programs that are or may soon be looking for a new head coach and speculate who they may hire next.

Today’s program is Iowa State, coached by Steve Prohm for the last six seasons (fired on March 15).

• T.J. Otzelberger – UNLV head coach
  • If ISU is trying to get back to the Hoiberg glory days, then maybe Fred’s former associate head coach is the way to go. Otzelberger was in Ames from 2006-13 and 2015-16 before getting the South Dakota State job, where he proceeded to take the Jackrabbits to two NCAA Tournaments in three years. Now he’s at UNLV, a great opportunity but maybe not as enticing as coming back to Iowa State as the top dog.
• Darian DeVries – Drake head coach
  • DeVries is an Iowa-native who has spent his entire coaching career in the Hawkeye State. After playing at UNI for Eldon Miller, DeVries spent twenty years on the staff at Creighton until he got the Drake job in 2018. After winning a MVC title in his first year, he has the Bulldogs back in the NCAA Tournament this year. This is the exact type of young, successful mid-major coach that major programs are always looking for and he’s just 40 minutes away from campus.
• Eric Henderson – South Dakota State
  • Coached under and then took over for the aforementioned Otzelberger at South Dakota State. Henderson is another Iowa native who has spent time in Ames – three seasons under Greg McDermott (2006-09), whom he also played for at D-II Wayne State. He’s kept things rolling in Brookings, winning the Summit League title in both of his seasons as head coach. Henderson isn’t the first call, but he warrants strong consideration if the guys above him aren’t interested.
• Tim Miles – former Nebraska head coach
  • Miles is going to appear on a lot of our Let’s Speculate lists, but for good reason. Out of work since 2019, Miles is well-liked and well-respected across all of college basketball. He was never really able to get over the hump at Nebraska (he did get to the NCAA Tournament in 2014), he was very successful at both Colorado State and North Dakota State before that. The mid-major world may be a better fit for Miles but that’s for Iowa State to decide.
• Ben McCollum – Northwest Missouri State (D-II) head coach
  • A little out of the box here, as McCollum’s inevitable move to the D-I game may lead to a mid-major conference, but there’s no doubt this dude can coach. He’s 296-77 in 12 seasons at Northwest Missouri State and has lost just eight games TOTAL (as of 3/15/21) over the last five seasons, a stretch that includes two D-II NCAA titles. Bonus point: here’s from Iowa.