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Creighton's plan of record
Alan Huss leaves High Point to become the coach in waiting behind Greg McDermott. How long will he wait? Plus, BYU grabs its point guard for 2025-26, more transfer portal activity from Thursday, a top freshman enters the NBA Draft, and we dive into where the top portal prospects are visiting, and which teams have been hit hardest by the portal thus far.
Tristan Freeman
April 11, 2025
Good morning! We’re back to the regular Monday-Friday cadence at the Daily. No weekend sends until next March. Mike will catch everyone up on Monday for what happens from Friday-Sunday.
Let’s get to Thursday’s news.
1. Creighton tabs Greg McDermott’s successor
After winning 56 total games in two seasons and leading High Point to its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance, coach Alan Huss was viewed as a prime candidate to move up the coaching ranks.
Mission accomplished. Kinda.
BREAKING: High Point head coach Alan Huss, a Creighton alum, is finalizing a deal to re-join Greg McDermott’s staff immediately as the coach-in-waiting, sources told @TheFieldOf68.
McDermott, 60, hasn’t put an exact timeline on his retirement, but sources said that it’ll likely
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops)
3:58 PM • Apr 10, 2025
Huss could’ve been a candidate for another power conference job, but there’s a good case to be made that McDermott’s successor is a terrific gig. Creighton’s consistently a Top 25 program, with five consecutive NCAA Tournament berths, and 10 of his 15 seasons at the school (including the COVID-shortened season).
This should help Creighton when it comes to recruiting (other programs can’t use McDermott’s age as a negative) and in regards to coaching style. High Point will conduct a national coaching search.
Tabbing a coach-in-waiting isn’t uncommon.
One of the most notable examples is Matt Painter, who, in 2004, left Southern Illinois to be the head coach-in-waiting on Gene Keady’s staff at Purdue. That’s worked out pretty well. Same goes for Jon Scheyer at Duke. North Carolina’s doing OK under Hubert Davis (but probably a step back from Roy Williams).
It hasn’t been as successful yet for Syracuse and Red Autry. And it’ll be worth watching to see how it goes with Gonzaga assistant Brian Michaelson as the coach-in-waiting for Mark Few. Kellen Sampson has that role at Houston for his father, Kelvin.
It’s also becoming more common for head coaches to take assistant roles at power conference programs. Jeff Linder (Wyoming to Texas Tech assistant) and Austin Claunch (Nicholls State to Alabama and now at UTSA) are two recent examples.
Don’t be surprised if the trend continues for mid-major coaches, especially if NIL packages continue to grow.
Other Thursday coaching news:
After leading FAMU to its best season in over a decade, coach Patrick Crarey will take over at Grambling. It’s a five-year deal.
After getting fired at Iona, former Fairleigh Dickinson and March Madness star Tobin Anderson will join South Florida’s staff.
2. BYU didn’t wait to replace Egor Demin
After losing freshman point guard Egor Demin (10.6 ppg and 5.5 apg) to the NBA Draft this week, the Cougars found a lead guard for the 2025-26 season.
