Mark Rudi

Las Cruces Sun-News

Now that the New Mexico State head men's basketball coaching search has begun, here are some possible candidates for the position. Indications are that NMSU will keep the interview list short, no more than five, fewer if possible. With that in mind, here are five names that could be under consideration:

Paul Weir, NMSU associate head coach: NMSU Director of Athletics Mario Moccia has said Weir is a candidate and will be an automatic finalist for the position. Weir was on Marvin Menzies’ staff for nine seasons and has been the associate head coach since 2011. Weir was also on Steve Alford’s staff at Iowa. Weir has run the defense for the Aggies the past two seasons and had the Aggie defense ranked in the top 25 in the nation. He’s also been responsible for the Canadian players that have to come Las Cruces and will has a lot of support from the players and fans to get the head coaching position.

Barry Hinson, Southern Illinois head coach: Hinson was hired at Southern Illinois by Moccia in 2012 and was named the Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year this past season. He just completed his fourth seasons at SIU, leading the Salukies to a 22-10 record in 2015-16 and is 267-207 at SIU. Hinson also was the Missouri State head coach from 1999-2008. He had a 167-119 record at Missouri State and led the Bears to four NIT appearances, including the quarterfinals in 2006. He also was Oral Roberts’ head coach for two seasons from 1997-99.

Joe Pasternack, Arizona associate head coach: A regional Power 5 associate head coach, Pasternack has been in Tucson since the 2011-12 season and been Sean Miller’s associate head coach since 2013. Pasternack has head coaching experience as he was the head coach at New Orleans from 2007-2011. He led the Privateers to record of 54-60. However, his reported salary is $295,000 at Arizona. Moccia said on Monday they could not pay more than Menzies was making, which was a $289,000 base salary.

Jerome Tang, Baylor assistant coach: Jerome Tang is in his 13th year as an assistant at Baylor, following 10 seasons as head coach at Heritage Christian Academy in Cleveland, Texas.

Billy Gillispie​, Ranger (Texas) Junior College head coach: Gillispie​ has gone from having one of the best head coaching jobs in college basketball at Kentucky to being the head coach at Ranger Junior College in Texas. Gillispie has some local ties as well, being UTEP’s head coach from 2002-04. His resume includes being the head coach at Texas A&M and Texas Tech as well. Gillespie’s Division I record is 148-108. He was named Big 12 Coach of the Year in 2005 and 2007 while at Texas A&M and was named Co-SEC Coach of the Year in 2008 at Kentucky. However, Gillispie resigned from Texas Tech after going 8-23 in his only season in Lubbock, citing health reasons, and was accused of exceeding practice limits at Texas Tech as well. A Ranger JC spokesperson told the Sun-News on Wednesday through a e-mail that he hasn't heard of any contact between NMSU and Gillispie or if NMSU has asked to speak with him. Gillispie seems to be named in a lot of coaching searches and always said he is pretty happy in current position at Ranger JC.

Casey Owens, Los Angeles D-Fenders head coach. A Las Cruces native and a NMSU alum, Owens is currently in his first season as the Los Angeles D-Fenders head coach, the NBA Development League affiliate of the Los Angeles Lakers. He currently has the D-Fenders in the D-League Western Conference Finals. Owens has ton of pro coaching experience in the Continental Basketball Association and in China and Venezuela. He also was an assistant for the D-Fenders in 2013-14.