Michigan Basketball: 5 realistic options for Wolverines next head coach

Mike White

If the Wolverines strike out on all the really big-name candidates, they should turn to the man who replaced Donovan at Florida, Mike White.

White has guided the Gators to the NCAA tournament in three of his four seasons, including the Elite 8 once. Florida has also won at least one game in the Big Dance in each of its trips under White, which was a similar trait to Beilein, who lost in the first game only once at Michigan.

White won 71 percent of his games at Lousiana Tech, where he won three conference championships and then 62 percent of his games at Florida.

Another thing in White’s favor is that he is only 42 years old and he has done a great job recruiting at Florida, with a pair of five-star recruits in last year’s class. Florida is a strong defensive team that lost to Michigan in the round of 32.

One issue is that White’s team should be strong coming back. However, if the Wolverines offer the right salary he could be the perfect fit to replace Beilein and keep UM headed in the right direction.

If Donovan is the first choice, he’s a strong second.