-> The biggest question is whether he can pursue coaches from Huggins' coaching tree -- namely UAB's Andy Kennedy and Youngstown State's Jerrod Calhoun. Kennedy spent four seasons under Huggins at Cincinnati and then was the interim coach for the Bearcats after Huggins' resignation in 2005. Calhoun meanwhile has burst onto the national radar after leading Youngstown State to a Horizon League regular-season title this past season. He was a student assistant under Huggins at Cincinnati and then was on his staff at West Virginia for five seasons. South Carolina State head coach Erik Martin, who spent 15 seasons as an assistant at West Virginia, also falls into this category.
Outside of the Huggins tree, it might be worth taking a shot at Wake Forest's Steve Forbes or Mississippi State's Chris Jans, two coaches very briefly linked to other jobs in the spring.
What would already have been a difficult pursuit is made even tougher by the timing, though.
More realistically, Baker could take a look at Charleston's Pat Kelsey, Ohio's Jeff Boals, Kent State's Rob Senderoff, Akron's John Groce, Toledo's Tod Kowalczyk, Furman's Bob Richey, Liberty's Ritchie McKay, UNC Asheville's Mike Morrell and UNC Wilmington's Takayo Siddle. Northwest Missouri State's Ben McCollum, the most successful Division II coach, will also be linked to the job; Baker was his athletic director 2010-13.
In terms of coaches currently out of a job, Chris Mack could make sense, given his past success. LaVall Jordan has plenty of high-major experience. And then there's John Beilein, who spent five seasons at West Virginia and led the Mountaineers to two Sweet 16s and an Elite Eight before leaving in 2007 for Michigan. Would Baker bring him back? It seems unlikely, but it's worth mentioning. <-