WKU Basketball: The Steve Lutz Update
What we know about the state of WKU Basketball's Head Coaching Position
Honestly, this is off the cuff. I just saw someone asking on Facebook, and I figured, “Why not give Topper fans what they need?”
Western Kentucky just recently fell to Marquette a week ago in the Round of 64 in the NCAA Tournament. At the time, the WKU fan’s brain was basically focused on appreciating what a magical run it was to get to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 11 years.
As fans, we generally like to live in an ideal bubble, where nothing is going on but awesome things. However, just about as soon as the hubbub died from the NCAA Tournament appearance, rumors started swirling that Steve Lutz was possibly a candidate for several coaching positions around the country.
The three main places that he was rumored were Louisville (not that realistic), SMU (former assistant, very possibly one of the last few candidates), and Oklahoma State (Lutz is rumored to be pending paperwork to move to OSU).
What We Know
Sometimes, you cobble it together. Sometimes, you have sources feeding you (very often conflicting) information. The problem is even if you’re fed information, you don’t always know what exactly is true. We had plenty of tips and all kinds of people “spilling” all kinds of info, but how do you sift through it?
I’m sure if you’re an avid Topper fan, you’re looking around trying to see what juice you can squeeze out of the information you have.
Well, what we know is Lutz has been rumored just about everywhere, and he has never denied any of it. It’s been awful silent from the WKU Basketball camp in general, so that tells you something, as well. It’s been awful silent from the roster, meaning they’re probably just waiting for information and confirmation themselves.
Usually when there’s smoke, there’s fire. And we know Lutz’s camp is probably behind it if he keeps getting mentioned. Someone is feeding people that information or they wouldn’t put it out there publicly.
At Towel Rack, we take the “here’s what we know” approach. We know more than than we can just throw out there, because sometimes, if you put out everything you hear, often, you’re wrong, but also, you burn sources.
Again, what we know is Lutz is pretty much going to Oklahoma State. A lot of people thought SMU was the bigger threat, but as the week has progressed, Lutz has shown up on Stillwater messageboards, and things have been declared as fact by reasonably knowledgeable accounts.
Now, do we know that Steve Lutz is gone to Oklahoma State? I mean, not technically.
However, what is the obvious answer here? The obvious answer is yes, unless something bizarre happens, like a complete change of minds, someone decides to be a stickler about a housing allowance, or a nuance causes either of the three parties involved (OSU, WKU, and Lutz) to not sign a contract (or void the WKU one).
To clarify, it’s really down to final details and signing. Since it’s Friday, it will probably not be announced this week. It could be announced five minutes after we publish this. But most likely, they get all of their ducks in a row, get Steve to Stillwater if he’s not there already, and then announce.
Again, it’s technically speculation, but virtually everyone acknowledges that it’s pretty much a done deal. Certainly no one has refuted it.
If you’re asking who might replace Lutz, here is a quick top-of-the-mind list:
Top Three
Preston Spradlin, Morehead State
Hank Plona, current WKU assistant
Bob Huggins
The Rest
Darrin Horn
Tom Crean
David Boyden
Anthony Winchester
Dennis Felton
Travis Ford
Kermit Davis
Again, is that list for real? No idea, but those are some quick names that remotely could be on a list for WKU. Hopefully some never get considered and one of the top ones get their chance. It seems like there are a few in “The Rest” that legitimately should be considered. Names like Darrin Horn and Dennis Felton would be fascinating hires, simply because they would be the first repeat head coach in WKU Basketball history.
Regardless, people are asking, and there’s an update. That is where we stand, and we can be confident in it, because this is all public information. So if you didn’t know, now you know.
As always, Towel Rack will try to bring the WKU truth. That’s our goal every single day. Sometimes, we like it, and sometimes we don’t. But we will do our best to keep you informed. Make sure you follow us on Twitter for the very most up-to-date info! We don’t post live on our other social platforms like we do on Twitter.
However, we will always post updates and articles on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
As always, #GoTops!
Edit:
As this article was posting…here comes this news…
If true (verified by Jeff Goodman and others), Spradlin is off the table and is JMU’s next head coach.