Maryland basketball: Potential candidates to replace assistant coach Scott Spinelli

With Scott Spinelli leaving College Park to take a similar position with former rival Boston College, we take a look at who could replace him on Mark Turgeon's staff next season, and the impact it could have in both recruiting and X & Os.

Spinelli was largely responsible for giving Maryland a very strong recruiting presence in New England. Alex Prewitt of the Washington Post did a great job summarizing Spinelli's contributions to Maryland while in he was in College Park. Prewitt notes that he was responsible for landing Wrentham, MA forward Jake Layman, discovering and recruiting sophomore guard Seth Allen, and also landing Damonte Dodd, Logan Aronhalt, Evan Smotrycz and 2014 recruit Jared Nickens.

Spinelli was also largely responsible for scouting opponents and coming up with tactical plans, so who is likely to replace him as Turgeon's right hand man?

Quick note regarding Juan Dixon, a name many have asked about. Regardless of whether he's gotten his degree or not (a requirement to be a coach at Maryland), he's been a coach for less than a year. And while Juan is certainly a smart guy, he needs to gain a lot more experience before he can jump into the top assistant position at Maryland.

Tom Herrion

Current/most recent and former positions

Former head coach of Marshall (2010-2014). Previously an assistant at Pittsburgh, head coach at College of Charleston, and an assistant at Virginia, Providence and at his alma mater,  NCAA Division II Merrimack College.

Why would he be good at Maryland?

Herrion is a very talented recruiter who helped bring in top ten recruiting classes for Virginia in three of the four years he was there. Additionally, having an assistant with former head coaching experience can be very helpful

Likelihood to end up in College Park?

Medium/high

Pat Flannery

Current/most recent and former positions

Former head coach of Bucknell (1994-2008) and Lebanon Valley (1989-1994). Also former assistant at Bucknell, Drexel and William & Mary.

Why would he be good at Maryland?

Even though he's been out of the game for a while, Flannery was successful at Bucknell and could help fill the X's and O's void left by Spinelli's departure.

Likelihood to end up in College Park?

Medium

David Cox

Current/most recent and former positions

Former assistant at Rutgers (2010-2014). Previously at Georgetown (2007-2010), Pitt (2006-2007)

Why would he be good at Maryland?

Remember when Wally Judge went to Rutgers? You can thank Cox for that .He helped Rutgers basketball secure a top 10 recruiting class. Rutgers. He's a native of Washington, D.C. and has an extremely strong recruiting presence in the D.C./Baltimore region. His recruiting was also on display during his time at Georgetown,

Likelihood to end up in College Park?

Medium

Kenny Johnson

Current/most recent and former positions

Assistant coach/recruiting coordinator at Indiana (2012-present). Previously served as an assistant head coach at Towson University and as an associate head coach at Paul VI High School in Fairfax, Virginia, as well as the head of Team Takeover. Graduated from the University of Maryland in 1999.

Why would he be good at Maryland?

Joining Maryland's staff would be a homecoming of sorts for Johnson, who graduated from Maryland and was originally from the area. Another great recruiter who would give Maryland another solid recruiter with local ties, but who has also recruited well within the Big Ten's footprint, instantly giving the Terps a presence and person with a relationship in a variety of B1G locations.

Kenny Johnson is the guy at Indiana who recruits D.C., and brought Victor Oladipo and Maurice Creek to the Hoosiers. Mark Turgeon may want to replace Spinelli with an X's and O's guy, but sources tell us he could end up with another recruiting-based hire.

Likelihood to end up in College Park?

Medium/high

Dave Dickerson

Current/most recent and former positions

Associate head coach, Ohio State (2010-present). Former head coach at Tulane (2005-2010), assistant coach at Maryland (1996-2005), Radford (1992-1996), JMU (1991-1992), and Gardner-Webb (1990-1991).

Why would he be good at Maryland?

This one is almost self-explanatory. Dickerson went to Maryland and coached there for nine years under Gary Williams during the heyday of the program. He now has great ties to the area and to Big Ten recruiting grounds and has previous head coaching experience. He'd be a fantastic hire.

Likelihood to end up in College Park?

Low. Dickerson has been mentioned as a name for head coaching jobs, most recently FAU, so making the move back to Maryland would be a lateral one and, aside from coming back to his alma mater, a step back considering where Ohio State and Maryland's programs currently sit.

Rob Ehsan

Current/most recent and former positions

Currently assistant coach at UAB. Previously served as assistant coach at Virginia Tech (2011-2012). He was also previously an assistant coach at Maryland under Gary Williams, working his way up from assistant recruiting recruiting director and graduate assistant.

Why would he be good at Maryland?

Ehsan would also be coming home to Maryland, where he got his MA in 2008, and a top assistant coaching role could be enticing. He was responsible for getting some good talent to College Park, including initially trying to get Alex Len in a Maryland uniform before trying to get him to Virginia Tech after he joined the Hokies staff.

Likelihood to end up in College Park?

In the words of the great Pete Volk, "Stranger things have happened."

John Lucas

Current/most recent and former positions

Former NBA coach from 1993-2003. Former NBA player from 1976-1990. Former Maryland player & 1st round draft pick.

Why would he be good at Maryland?

Former NBA coach, a Maryland basketball legend, who also happens to be working with the only five-star left in the 2014 class, McDonald's All-American center Myles Turner. He'd be a home run hire.

Likelihood to end up in College Park?

Slim to none and slim just left town. Lucas has a very strong relationship with Nike, which is a problem given Maryland's Under Armour affiliation.