Ron Hunter is leaving Georgia State for Tulane.
Late on Friday night, shortly after Georgia State lost to Houston in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament, Hunter was mentioned as a potential candidate for the Tulane vacancy. Those mentions escalated to a confirmation on Saturday when Jon Rothstein tweeted, "Georgia State's Ron Hunter is finalizing a deal to become the next head basketball coach at Tulane. Official announcement expected soon."
Hunter, 54, went 171-95 and made three NCAA Tournaments in eight seasons with the Panthers after arriving from IUPUI. He takes over for Mike Dunleavy Sr., whom Tulane fire a week ago after three horrendous seasons as head coach.
With Hunter out, who might Georgia State hire as head coach?
It'll be the first men's basketball hire for fifth-year athletics director Charlie Cobb, a former AD at App State with strong ties to Atlanta and the surrounding area.
In-house options: It's possible Cobb promotes associate coach Ray McCallum, the former Ball State, Houston and Detroit head coach, or assistant coach Claude Pardue, a former Emory University player whose career began as a grad assistant at Georgia State.
Possible? Yes. Unlikely? Probably. With all due respect to McCallum and Pardue, the Panthers can do better.
UPDATED: 2019 Coaching Change Tracker
LeVelle Moton is a "do better" candidate that Georgia State should target. A candidate for the East Carolina job last year, Moton has four tourney appearances in the last six years and a base salary of less than $300,000. He's young, proven and (potentially) affordable.
North Alabama head coach Tony Pujol was an App State assistant during Cobb's tenure. The Lions went a respectable 7-9 in the Atlantic Sun in Pujols' first year, also the program's first year in Division I. A former Anthony Grant assistant at Alabama and VCU, Pujol has relationships throughout the southeast.
Former Arkansas head coach John Pelphrey (currently an Arkansas assistant) could be an option, as could New Orleans head coach Mark Slessinger and Utah Valley head coach (and former Georgia assistant) Mark Pope.
Seven potential candidates to replace Ron Hunter at Georgia State: Ray McCallum, Claude Pardue, LeVelle Moton, Tony Pujol, John Pelphrey, Mark Slessinger and Mark Pope.
