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According to ESPN College Basketball Reporter Jeff Goodman, Northwestern assistant coach Patrick Baldwin is likely to be “in the mix” to take over as the next head coach at Milwaukee.
One name that will likely be in mix to replace LaVall Jordan at Milwaukee is Northwestern assistant Pat Baldwin. Was a candidate last year.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) June 13, 2017
The opening at Milwaukee is a result of Thad Matta’s firing at Ohio State knocking over several dominoes. Matta was fired earlier this month, and the Buckeyes didn’t take long to hire Butler head coach Chris Holtmann as his replacement. Butler moved quickly and decided on Milwaukee’s Lavall Jordan as Holtmann’s replacement.
Now, the Panthers are the ones looking for a new head coach, and that’s where the Baldwin speculation comes in.
According to Goodman, Baldwin was a candidate for the Milwaukee job last offseason. Jordan ended up being the choice, but only stayed for a single poor season before accepting the offer from his alma mater, Butler. Goodman did tweet this last season:
Some names for the vacant Milwaukee gig, per sources: Dwayne Stephens, Isaac Chew, Pat Baldwin, Chris Lowery and Tracy Webster.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) March 25, 2016
If Baldwin were to jump to Milwaukee, it would be the first change to the staff Chris Collins started out with when he came to Northwestern in 2013. One would think Baldwin has no reason to move his four children (one of whom is a talented 2021 prospect) away from Evanston, given that he played here in the 90’s and now coaches a deep, promising team.
But maybe the allure of his first head coaching job is strong enough to overcome those factors. Baldwin, who primarily works with the guards at Northwestern, has spent his entire coaching career as an assistant, first at Division II Lincoln, then at Green Bay, Loyola Chicago, and Missouri State. Maybe he feels like he did what he came to Northwestern to do: help lead his alma mater to its first NCAA Tournament.
At this point, all we can do is speculate. Any news on this front will presumably be coming soon, as Milwaukee won’t want to be in limbo during recruiting season for very long.