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Ten coaches under the most pressure to win this season

Ten coaches under the most pressure to win this season

Our 2014-15 season preview continues with the Dagger's look at 10 coaches under the most pressure to win. Check back every day for more college hoops preview content.

Dana Altman, Oregon

Why the pressure is on: Unlike the other coaches on this list, Altman is not under pressure for his win-loss record. The Oregon coach has taken the Ducks to the NCAA tournament both of the past two seasons and to the Sweet 16 in 2013, but he has come under fire this offseason as a result of a slew of off-the-court issues. Of course, the most egregious was the rape accusations against former Ducks Dominic Artis, Damyean Dotson and Brandon Austin. Altman drew intense criticism for signing Austin despite previous allegations of sexual assault while he was at Providence and for playing Artis and Dotson in the NCAA tournament even while they were under investigation by the police. No charges were filed in the case, but all three were dismissed from school in June. Between that, several other Oregon players transferring and two top recruits not being admitted to school, Oregon has a paper-thin roster this season and little proven returning talent besides Pac-12 player of the year candidate Joseph Young. Nonetheless, a losing season isn't what could jeopardize Altman's job. More off-the-court issues, however, certainly could.

More from Yahoo Sports' 2014-15 Season Preview:

Oct. 3: Eight key questions as practice begins
Oct. 6Preseason Top 25 with best-case and worst-case scenarios
Oct. 7: WCC Preview: Newcomers may tighten Gonzaga's grip on the league
Oct. 8: To become a more well-rounded player, Kyle Wiltjer changed his body and his game
Oct. 9: Ranking the 15 transfers who can make the biggest impact
Oct. 10: A-10 Preview: As VCU ascends, much of the league rebuilds
Oct. 13: Atoning for last March's costly gaffe drives VCU's JeQuan Lewis.
Oct. 14: Ten freshmen who will make the biggest impact
• Oct. 15: Mountain West Preview: Who will emerge to challenge San Diego State?
• Oct. 16:
Cody Doolin could be the ideal antidote to what has ailed UNLV
• Oct. 20: Ten coaches under the most pressure to win this season

Travis Ford, Oklahoma State

Why the pressure is on: At the end of a tumultuous 2013-14 season that began with Oklahoma State ranked in the top 10 and ended with a sub-.500 Big 12 record and zero NCAA tournament wins, athletic director Mike Holder gave a revealing interview to the Oklahoman. Asked about the 10-year contract extension Ford signed in Sept. 2009, Holder acknowledged, “In retrospect, it wasn’t good for him or us." Holder wouldn't say that what saved Ford's job was the $11.85 million in buyout money Oklahoma State would owe him if it fired him, but the athletic director didn't deny it either. “Who knows? You can hypothetical yourself to death,” Holder said. It's easy to understand Holder's frustration given Ford's underachieving track record. In six seasons at Oklahoma State — the last two with lottery pick Marcus Smart and a talented supporting cast — Ford has produced a 52-50 Big 12 record and just one NCAA tournament victory. Now Smart is a Boston Celtic, Markel Brown, Brian Williams and Kamari Murphy have also departed and the Cowboys no longer appear talented enough to finish in the upper half of the Big 12. Ford's hefty buyout may save his job another year regardless, but a surprise NCAA tournament bid this season would go a long way toward winning back Cowboys fans and his athletic director.

Anthony Grant, Alabama

Why the pressure is on: One day after Alabama fell to LSU in the opening round of the SEC tournament to conclude its first losing season in 14 years, athletic director Bill Battle penned a blog post expressing support for Grant. "This is a program that is not adrift, and is not devoid of leadership and talent," Battle wrote. "I believe this is a program that has better days ahead." Between lingering disappointment over last year's 19-loss season and the arrival of Bruce Pearl raising rival Auburn's stature, Grant needs those "better days" to come sooner rather than later. Therefore he must hope that the return of four starters and the addition of high-scoring Tulane transfer Ricky Tarrant and top recruit Justin Coleman can propel Alabama back to the upper half of the SEC. Grant has a contract through 2019 and has made the NCAA tournament as recently as 2012, but it's important for him to show that last season was an aberration rather than the start of a downward spiral. Otherwise, with Pearl showing what a football school can do with the right basketball coach, it's possible that Battle's support may begin to waver.

Brian Gregory, Georgia Tech

Why the pressure is on: For a program with strong pedigree, a newly renovated arena and an enviable recruiting base, Georgia Tech has been stunningly irrelevant recently. Not only have the Yellowjackets finished in the ACC's bottom four each of the past four years, they haven't gone above .500 in ACC play since 2004 when they appeared in the national title game. The last three seasons under Gregory have been particularly awful as the former Dayton coach has attempted to rebuild. Gregory is a combined 16-36 in ACC play, a run of mediocrity capped by an injury-plagued 2013-14 season made worse by the transfer of top big man Robert Carter this past spring. For Gregory to keep his job beyond this season, he probably has to show the sort of progress that has been elusive the past two years. The return of guard Marcus Georges-Hunt offers hope, as does the arrival of promising freshman combo guard Tadric Jackson and the eligibility of transfers Charles Mitchell (Maryland) and Robert Sampson (East Carolina).

Paul Hewitt, George Mason

Why the pressure is on: When Hewitt arrived at George Mason three years ago, he was confident he'd thrive at the mid-major power. "There's only one thing left for me to do in college basketball, and that's try to win a national championship," he said in Oct. 2011. "I feel like we can do that here." Not only has Hewitt not come close to achieving that goal so far, George Mason has slid further from national relevance each year of his tenure. The Patriots have yet to make either the NCAA tournament or NIT under Hewitt, finished a disappointing 11-20 in their Atlantic 10 debut last season and return just 44.1 percent of their scoring this year. Georgia Tech parted ways with Hewitt in 2011 because a series of strong recruiting classes never seemed to improve much during their time in the program. A lack of development again has been an issue at George Mason, but Hewitt hasn't been able to lure even close to the same caliber of recruits, not a great sign for a coach who may be shown the door if he doesn't show progress this season.

Billy Kennedy, Texas A&M

Why the pressure is on: Texas A&M officials will have an intriguing decision to make this spring if Kennedy doesn't take the Aggies to the postseason. This would be Kennedy's fourth season without either an NCAA or NIT bid at Texas A&M, yet cutting ties with him could jeopardize a recruiting class shaping up to be far and away the best of his tenure. Kennedy has received commitments from a trio of elite Class of 2015 prospects: center Tyler Davis (Rivals No. 27), forward D.J. Hogg (No. 32) and guard Admon Gilder (No. 65). He also is in pursuit of another top forward, 6-foot-9 Elijah Thomas. The recruiting success follows a period in which Kennedy endured criticism both for not winning enough and enduring substantial roster attrition. Highly touted guard J-Mychal Reese was dismissed from the team this past season. Then leading scorer Jamal Jones and part-time starter Shawn Smith announced they intended to transfer. Perhaps feeling pressure to have a breakthrough season this year, Kennedy revamped his staff this offseason, dismissing Glynn Cyprien and adding ex-Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury as an assistant. Between the staff changes, the two-year extension he signed a few weeks ago and the subsequent recruiting success, Kennedy probably will get a fifth year at Texas A&M. Still, it would make the decision easier for school officials if the Aggies take a step forward this year too.

Tom Pecora, Fordham

Why the pressure is on: Nine years into a successful tenure at Hofstra, Pecora decided he wanted a new challenge. The New York native left for Fordham, one of the most difficult jobs in the country because the Rams play in the powerful Atlantic 10 yet still have facilities and resources better resembling a Patriot League team. It was no mystery the rebuilding process was going to be a grind, but there's no way Pecora could have guessed it would be this much of a struggle. Fordham has finished last in the Atlantic 10 in each of his four years and has amassed a 9-55 conference record during that stretch. For Pecora to keep his job, Fordham probably has to at least climb out of the Atlantic 10 basement this season and perhaps accomplish even more than that. The scoring prowess of former Rivals 150 recruit Jon Severe will help, as will the return of fellow guards Mandell Thomas and Bryan Smith. If Pecora could get some semblance of an interior attack to take some of the burden off his backcourt, it's possible the Rams could climb a rung or two in the Atlantic 10.

Oliver Purnell, DePaul

Why the pressure is on: The hire of Purnell received mixed reviews when DePaul made it back in 2010. On one hand, Purnell had a long history of revitalizing struggling programs at Old Dominion, Dayton and Clemson. On the other hand, Purnell had zero ties to the Chicago-area high school and AAU programs that he'd have to recruit to win with the Blue Demons. Barring an improbable turnaround this season, it appears the naysayers will probably be proven right. In four years at DePaul, Purnell has a 9-57 record in Big East play and has never finished better than a tie for last in the league. Last year, the Blue Demons started 13 different players on their way to a 12-21 finish as leading scorer Cleveland Melvin left school after getting suspended and top freshman Billy Garrett Jr. battled health issues. Any resurgence this year will likely be because of Garrett and a wave of newcomers from the junior college ranks. DePaul has shown patience with Purnell so far but he'll probably have to show progress this season to prevent that from running out.

Mark Turgeon, Maryland

Why the pressure is on: When Turgeon arrived at Maryland and hired a highly respected staff with longstanding ties to the talent-rich region, the consensus was he'd have the Terrapins back among the nation's elite programs before too long. Maryland indeed has recruited better under Turgeon than it did in the latter years under Gary Williams, but so far that hasn't translated into high-level success. In three seasons at Maryland, Turgeon never finished higher than seventh in the ACC and managed only one postseason appearance — a 2013 NIT bid. Throw in five transfers this offseason including heralded point guard Roddy Peters and returning starter Seth Allen, and Turgeon is starting to lose the faith of the Maryland fan base. There is room for optimism, however, as Turgeon has brought in another outstanding recruiting class highlighted by McDonald's All-American Romelo Trimble. It's unclear what Turgeon needs to do in Maryland's Big Ten debut to keep his job, but certainly a breakthrough season would go a long way toward easing the concerns of fans and sending the message to recruits that he'll be in College Park for the long haul.

Kevin Willard,  Seton Hall

Why the pressure is on: It took a strategy change on the recruiting trail for Willard to assemble his best recruiting class and guarantee himself a fifth season to try to turn things around at Seton Hall. In April 2013, Willard landed former Northwestern signee Jaren Sina just weeks after hiring the assistant who originally recruited the consensus top 100 guard to the Wildcats prior to Bill Carmody's firing. In August 2013, Willard nabbed top 75 power forward Angel Delgado at the same time as word broke that Seton Hall was hiring his assistant coach with the Dominican National team. And in September 2013 Willard paved the way for a commitment from five-star guard Isaiah Whitehead by agreeing to hire his high school coach. The upside to all the package deals is that they didn't break any NCAA rules and they provided Seton Hall with the talent to be competitive in the Big East. The downside is that they felt like a bit of an act of desperation from Willard and they leave him with a lot of pressure to parlay a replenished roster into more victories. Willard hasn't been to the NCAA tournament yet at Seton Hall and is coming off a 17-17 season. An NCAA bid may not be a must this year for Willard, but he probably needs to at least ascend in the Big East pecking order.

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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!