Twenty-four days after Holbrook resigned, Mark Kingston was hired. Paul Mainieri was hired by Tanner eight days after he fired Kingston, so there\u2019s a negative on each side about an AD taking his time\/rushing to fill the spot, considering each coach only contributed to the program\u2019s steady decline from the nation\u2019s elite.<\/p>\n
As long as the Gamecocks get the right coach, the waiting will become a footnote. But of course the waiting opens another round of questions \u2014 exactly who are the Gamecocks waiting on?<\/p>\n
Scott Forbes, the tremendously successful North Carolina coach, has been reported as a heavy candidate, although it\u2019s difficult to see him leaving the Tar Heels even if an offer were to make him think. He\u2019s been in Chapel Hill for 25 years, the last 21 in a row, and while he didn\u2019t play at UNC, he did play at N.C. Wesleyan, an hour and a half west of UNC, and he is from Sanford, N.C., 45 minutes south.<\/p>\n
Forbes and the Tar Heels rallied past Southern Cal in the winner-take-all third game of a super regional on Sunday afternoon, so his immediate future willingness to speak is just like Sabins\u2019. Then there is another candidate who has moved onto the screen.<\/p>\n
Skylar Meade made history on Saturday by leading the Troy Trojans to their first College World Series. He\u2019s won more games than anyone in their first five years at Troy, and while this year was only his second NCAA Tournament appearance, the Trojans were in the \u201cFirst Four Out\u201d of the tournament in each of the past two years.<\/p>\n