No. 2 Chris Mack
Mack coaches the Xavier Musketeers and he does a damn good job of it. His overall record is 163-77. Xavier just fell out of the top 25 after losing at home to No. 2 Villanova on Saturday, but they’ll be back and they’ll be in the tournament despite losing superstar guard Edmund Sumner to an ACL injury. Sumner averaged 15 points per game and had 91 rebounds when Xavier lost him in December.
Since taking over the Musketeers in 2010, Mack, age 47, has steered them to the tournament every year except one, including three Sweet 16 appearances. Lunardi has the Musketeers as a 7 seed right now. I think that will go up a little before Selection Sunday.
Mack is an excellent coach who also recruits very well. He has had a top 25 class in four of his eight years of recruiting, including a top 15 class coming in next year (actually No. 10 according to 247, just ahead of Illinois). And his recruits are from all over the country, which tells me he is probably well acquainted with the AAU circuit.
From what I reviewed, Mack could be persuaded. However, Xavier is an excellent basketball school with a very good reputation for success. They are also in the Big East which has proven, after exploding and reforming in 2013, to be a real basketball force. There is no doubt that, in general, the Big Ten is better, but is Illinois a good enough opportunity to pull Mack away from his hometown and the school where he played college ball and now has the honor of coaching?
Speaking of Mack’s hometown, this leads us to my number one choice.