Let’s Speculate! Potential Wofford 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 Wofford, coached by Jay McAuley since 2019 (resigned in December).

• Dwight Perry – Wofford interim head coach
  • The man who has the job already, Perry joined the Wofford staff when McAuley was elevated the head job and he became his associate head coach in 2021, making him the choice for the interim job in December. Perry is from Durham, NC and played his college ball at Kentucky before starting his coaching career. Perry had stints at Stanford, VCU and Furman before arriving in Spartanburg four years ago. The Terriers are 9-10 (6-9) at the time of this writing under Perry.
• Kevin Giltner – Virginia Tech assistant coach
  • Giltner has been working under Mike Young for the past ten years, and before that played for him at Wofford. Starting as DBO back in 2013-14, Giltner has worked his way up the ranks and is now an assistant in the ACC ready to take the next step as a head coach. The Tennessee-native was part of some of the Terriers best seasons as a player or coach and would be a fantastic candidate to come back and lead his alma mater.
• Billy Donlon – Clemson associate head coach
  • Donlon is well-respected in basketball circles and has plenty of head coaching experience, though his tenure at Kansas City ultimately didn’t work out. He won 20+ games three times at Wright State and did show improvement with the Roos, going 19-12 in his third season before stepping down last April. He played and coached at UNC Wilmington and is now at Clemson, so he should have recruiting relationships in the area already.
• Shane Nichols – Radford assistant coach
  • Another former Wofford player and assistant who could be ready to move up to head coach, Nichols is currently back in his native Radford, VA serving as an assistant under his younger brother Darris. A two-time All-SoCon selection and three-year starter for the Terriers, Shane started out his career coaching under Young at his alma mater. After stints at Hofstra and Murray State, he and his brother returned to their hometown in 2021 to lead the Highlanders.
• Tim Johnson – Furman assistant coach
  • Johnson, like others on this list, is a former player and assistant coach under Young at Wofford. He is the first Terriers player to grab 1,000 career rebounds and is in the school’s Hall of Fame. Starting his coaching career out at Wyoming, where he mentored NBA draftee Larry Nance Jr., Johnson then spent four years on staff at his alma mater before heading to James Madison in 2017. He’s been at Furman (less than 40 miles from Wofford) since 2019 and during that time the Paladins have not finished worse than 3rd in the SoCon. This year’s team is among the favorites for a SoCon Tournament title and NCAA auto-bid.