Somehow, Oregon head coach Dana Altman flies under the radar when it comes to conversations about the best men's basketball head coaches in the country. After former Kentucky head coach John Calipari left the Wildcats, Altman's name was hardly mentioned.
However, now that the Ducks have started the 2024-25 season 11-1 and soared into the Top 10 of the rankings, Altman is garnering more national attention, especially after Miami head coach Jim Larrañaga stepped down on Thursday, Dec. 26.
Larrañaga, who had been the Miami head coach since 2011 and a Division I head coach since the early 1970s, shared that he didn't feel like the sport was the one that he fell in love with – citing NIL for a majority of his reasoning.
Jim Larranaga: "I just didn't feel like that I could successfully navigate this whole new world that I was dealing with because my conversations were ridiculous with an agent saying to me, 'Well, you can get involved if you're willing to go to $1.1M' and that be the norm.
— Manny Navarro (@Manny_Navarro) December 26, 2024
So, with a sudden vacancy in the Hurricanes' program, could Altman be on the list of head coaches to replace Larrañaga?
To put it simply, not yet. The Ducks are finding rapid success during their first season in the Big Ten, even though conference play has yet to begin, and Altman is highly unlikely to leave a successful program behind in the middle of the season, especially for a Miami program that has started the year 4-8 overall and is currently 11th in the ACC.
Oregon has secured the No. 9 spot in the nation with their upset wins over then-No. 20 Texas A&M and then-No. 9 Alabama. Not to mention, Altman has developed meaningful relationships with star players Jackson Shelstad and Nate Bittle over the years.
Altman has also been able to bring recruiting dominance to the Pacific Northwest after securing commitments from transfers Supreme Cook and TJ Bamba during the offseason.
While Miami will most likely operate with an interim head coach running the show for a while, Oregon fans may want to keep an eye out for Altman appearing on the shortlist for Larrañaga's replacement.