The college basketball season is just about two weeks away from tipping off, but some coaches are under more pressure than others. Who might be early hot-seat candidates if their program starts slow this year?
NIL has changed the name of the game for the players but also for coaches. With the ever-changing transfer portal, schools aren’t as willing to sit through a rebuild as they were just five years ago.
The stakes have gotten even higher as the Power 6 in college basketball is now the Power 5. More teams in each conference means the games have more value to them. You don’t get the luxury anymore of playing your rival again on your home court after losing by 10 on the road.
With that in mind, the pressure is on for some Power 5 coaches to get results or else they could be out of a job… even if it’s Year 1 in a new conference. It’s time now to look at three men who could be early hot seat candidates.
Kyle Neptune, Villanova
Kyle Neptune had the tough task of taking over for legendary head coach Jay Wright. While that was never going to be an easy task, the job has been tougher for Neptune than expected.
Through two seasons, Neptune has a 35-33 record (just two games over .500) and nothing to show for it besides an NIT appearance and the 2023 Battle 4 Atlantis championship. Villanova fans know the bar is much higher than that for their program.
The Wildcats have yet to advance to the Big East Tournament semifinals under Neptune, a mark that quickly became an expectation under Wright.
Neptune will have five new transfers this season a pair of four-star, Top 100 recruits. Villanova may be willing to give Neptune three full seasons before considering a change, but he could be an early hot seat candidate if the Wildcats struggle.
Bobby Hurley, Arizona State
Bobby Hurley has found his name on the hot seat for most of his tenure at Arizona State. The 2019-20 season showed promise and he got some slack after beating Nevada in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, but he doesn’t have much to show for himself besides those two years.
Arizona State finished just 8-12 in the final season of the Pac-12 after starting 5-2. The Sun Devils collapsed and went on a 3-10 skid over the final 13 games of conference play before a one-and-done showing in the Pac-12 Tournament.
This season gets even tougher for Hurley and Arizona State with a move to the Big 12. Not only do they not get away from Arizona and Colorado, you now add schools like Kansas, BYU, and Houston to the schedule. The Big 12 is arguably the best conference in college basketball, and it’s tough to see the Sun Devils competing on a consistent basis.
There are a lot of expectations for Arizona State with notable transfers like Jamari Phillips, Jason Asemota and five-star freshman center Jayden Quaintance. However, those big expectations can lead to a lot of disappoinment and an early hot seat candidate if the Sun Devils struggle.
Jeff Capel, Pitt
Jeff Capel might be a surprising name to see on here, but his tenure at Pitt hasn’t exactly gone as planned. It took him four years to rebuild the Panthers from the mess he was left by Kevin Stallings. However, he’s fallen short of expectations in a few areas over the last two seasons.
Pitt blew its chance at the ACC Championship in the 2022-23 season and had to go through the First Four in Dayton just to get a chance. Even though the team came up just short of knocking Xavier, the team failed to get into March Madness last year.
Capel can say he felt like the team was worthy of being in the tournament or using Jim Boeheim’s endorsement to cover his backside, but the bottom line is he watched the NCAA Tournament from home.
The Panthers didn’t exactly turn heads with the transfer portal after losing Bub Carrington and Blake Hinson. Capel is going to heavily rely on his recruits to get the job done, but it’s a recipe that could work out or be the cause of his demise in Pittsburgh. Consider Capel an early hot seat candidate if things go wrong for Pitt.
Capel isn’t on the hot seat. Pitt hadn’t been to the NCAA tounament since 2016, and Capel got them there. Only reason they weren’t there last year is that the tournament committee are idiots. Capel was on the search committee for their new AD. He’s not going anywhere.
I agree that he’s not on the hot seat right now. However, Pitt has a tougher non-conference schedule than past seasons as a result of the committee’s decision. With a lack of transfers, there’s a chance the team could struggle. This new AD has no attachment to Capel, so the chance for him to be on the hot seat is there.