Let’s Speculate! Potential UT Arlington 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 UT Arlington, coached by Greg Young since 2021 (fired last week).

• Ulric Maligi – Kansas State associate head coach
  • Before playing an important role in Jerome Tang‘s complete turnaround of Kansas State basketball, Maligi had spent his entire career coaching in his native Texas. He started out at Texas-Arlington back in 2006 and has also worked at Stephen F. Austin, Houston, SMU, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Texas. Coming back to UTA as head coach could be a full-circle moment for Maligi and would be a major coup for the school. Only question is whether the rising star coach will have even better options on the carousel?
• Gus Argenal – Arkansas assistant coach
  • Another top assistant that could get a look in Argenal, currently in his second year at Arkansas (after previously working with Eric Musselman at Nevada). The California-native does have some experience coaching in Texas, with stints as an assistant at UTSA (2006-08) and Rice (2012-13). He might be more apt to take a job back on the West Coast, but new UTA AD Jon Fagg came over from Arkansas so there is likely a relationship there already.
• Alvin Brooks III – Baylor assistant coach
  • Tapping into the Scott Drew coaching tree has been a pretty safe bet lately, so expect Brooks to start getting looks from low- and mid-major programs in the state. Now in his seventh season at Baylor, Brooks comes from a coaching family as the son of current Lamar (and former Houston) head coach Alvin Brooks. The younger Brooks also spent four seasons on staff at Kansas State.
• Tom Brown – West Texas A&M (D-II) head coach
  • One of the most successful D-II head coaches in the state, Brown has over 200 wins in 7+ seasons at West Texas A&M. He’s led the Buffs to three Lone Star championships and two D-II NCAA Final Fours, including a runner-up finish in 2021, and his 2019-20 team was 32-1 headed into the cancelled postseason. Brown has certainly proven his coaching chops on the D-II level, but he has never been on a D-I coaching staff which could be a significant hang-up in hiring him.
• Johnny Estelle – Texas A&M-Kingsville (D-II) head coach
  • Another in-state D-II head coach that could get consideration is Estelle, now in his ninth season at his alma mater Texas A&M-Kingsville. He had led the Javelinas to new heights, recently completed their best-ever overall and Lone Star records and reaching the NCAA Tournament for the fifth and sixth times in program history. Estelle also spent five seasons as the head coach at Navarro JC (TX) and was an assistant under James Dickey at Houston for the 2013-14 season before getting the TAMUK job.