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Tonight
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Welcome to Second Guess Tuesday. Here is the opinion du jour.
Another day, another rumor.
With the West Virginia University men’s basketball season drawing to a close, the anxiety of fans wondering who the next Mountaineer head coach will be is ramping up and up and up.
Will it be a veteran coach looking for a new gig?
Will it be a coach who is familiar with the Big 12 Conference?
Or will it be a hot-shot, flavor-of-the-month type of hire?
It easily could be any of the above. But don’t be surprised if that’s not the case. Instead, it just might be a coach that Mountain State fans are familiar with, although he doesn’t qualify as a “name” coach.
Don’t be surprised if James Madison head coach Mark Byington is WVU’s next basketball coach.
Coincidental, huh?
Why, just last Saturday night Mountain State basketball fans watched Byington coach his James Madison Dukes to an 81-64 win over Marshall in the Sun Belt Conference quarterfinals in Pensacola, Florida.
And now?
Well, WVU fans had a chance to take a peek at the guy who just might be the Mountaineers’ new head coach when JMU took on Arkansas State for the Sun Belt tournament championship at 7 p.m. Monday.
And don’t be surprised if the Dukes prevail.
After all, there’s a reason James Madison has a 30-3 record — a very good reason.
That’s why the 47-year-old Byington appears to be the favorite in the WVU hoops coaching sweepstakes. I mean, look at this resume. As of Sunday, Byington is 211-132 (.615 winning percentage) during a 12-year run as head coach at the College of Charleston, Georgia Southern and James Madison.
Now, in 2023-24, there’s Byington’s 30-3 (and counting) record, not to mention a strong road win over then-AP No. 4 Michigan State.
The native of Salem, Virginia, was named the CAA Coach of the Year in 2021 and has been steadily climbing the ladder of basketball coaching success. So, is it any wonder that rumors are circulating in Morgantown about WVU having a “handshake deal” with Byington?
After all, he is a legit up-and-comer who has paid his dues.
What’s not to like?
And the coincidence of just winning a hard-fought game against Marshall in the Sun Belt tournament?
That’s just the cherry on top.
Hey, perhaps, this could lead to MU and WVU actually playing each other in basketball again. Stranger things have happened.
