Will WadeUniversity of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s basketball coach Will Wade has become the leading candidate for the Virginia Commonwealth opening, sources close to the Times Free Press confirmed Monday.
Wade was one of three former or current VCU assistants who interviewed for the job over the weekend. The others were Jeremy Ballard and Rice University head coach Mike Rhoades.
Rhoades emerged as the top candidate to take over the Richmond, Va., program that has become a regular in the NCAA tournament. A CBS television affiliate in Richmond reported Monday that the Rams were about to offer him a contract, but ESPN’s Jeff Goodman reported that contract negotiations stalled, which led to Rhoades pulling out.
A source told the Times Free Press that Rhoades moved ahead of Wade because he was considered the “safer pick.”
“The thought was that Mike would provide continuity to the VCU program,” the source said. “There’s talk that Will is eyeing the ACC and SEC, and they aren’t sure how long he’d stay.”
A second source confirmed that Wade is definitely interested in the VCU vacancy, adding there’s “no chance” he would turn it down if offered.
The job opened up Thursday night when Shaka Smart was hired by Texas. Smart compiled a 163-56 record in six seasons as the Rams’ head coach, taking them to five NCAA tournaments, including a Final Four trip in 2011.
Smart was making $1.5 million per year at VCU. Reports surfaced Friday that the Rams had offered him as much as $2.5 million per year to stay, although it’s expected the new head coach wouldn’t receive nearly that much at first.
Wade has compiled a 40-25 record in two seasons as the head coach for the Mocs, including a 27-7 record in Southern Conference play. The 2014 SoCon coach of the year had been mentioned with openings at UNC Charlotte and Tennessee. He took his name out of consideration at Charlotte despite the potential of making three times his UTC salary of $187,000.
A decision on the VCU opening is expected in the next couple of days.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.