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Key Assistant Coaching Hires

Wshington v Utah

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - FEBRUARY 10: Head coach Lorenzo Romar of the Washington Huskies looks on in the first half against the Utah Utes at the Jon M. Huntsman Center on February 10, 2016 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images)

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Beginning in September and running up until November 10th, the first day of the season, College Basketball Talk will be unveiling the 2017-2018 NBCSports.com college hoops preview package.

Every offseason sees a lot of movement among college basketball’s assistant coaching ranks. But now that an FBI investigation has slammed college basketball with a huge offseason scandal, it has put even more eyes on the position that often helps so much in recruiting.

While it’s tough to gauge what the eventual fallout will be from the FBI’s findings, here are 10 programs who made solid additions to their coaching staffs this offseason.

Some of these coaches are former head guys who have taken assistant jobs while others are up-and-coming assistants with strong track records of landing players and developing talent.

There were notable hires made all over college basketball, but these are 10 to keep an eye on.

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Michael Porter Jr., Missouri Athletics

Christina Long

MICHAEL PORTER Sr., Missouri: Porter gets this spot mostly for being the recruiter that brought Missouri two of its best players in Michael Porter Jr. and Jontay Porter. But Porter is also the only member of this new Tigers staff under Cuonzo Martin who has worked at the school before. Yes, Porter Sr. was with the women’s basketball team before jumping to the men’s side to coach his sons, but he knows the school’s facilities and selling points, and as a parent, he’s had children already attend the school.

The irony of Porter’s inclusion on this list is that he was an assistant at Washington - where both Michael Jr. and Jontay were committed - until April, when he was fired along with Lorenzo Romar, as ...

LORENZO ROMAR, Arizona: ... the former Washington head coach now joins Sean Miller’s staff at Arizona after facing every team in the league for the past 15 years. As the new associate head coach of the Wildcats, Romar has recruited and scouted this league for as long as anyone. He gives Arizona a fresh perspective in what could be a huge year for them. Romar is accustomed to recruiting elite talent. He’s had six NBA first-round picks over his last six years at Washington, including top-ten picks in back-to-back years. He landed both Markelle Fultz and the Porters. He could get players, and he still should be able to get those players, who will now be coached by Miller.

TRENT JOHNSON, Louisville: With all of the turmoil and turnover at Louisville, first-time head coach David Padgett made a solid move in bringing in Johnson, a former veteran head coach. Having spent time at TCU, LSU, Stanford and Nevada, Johnson has been involved in a lot of different programs and helps give Padgett some experience on the bench. It also helps that Padgett can trust Johnson because he’s known him for more than 20 years. In high school Padgett was teammates with Johnson’s son, Terry, as the deep family connection helps form immediate trust for a coaching staff that was put together on the eve of a tough season.

DONNIE JONES, Wichita State: Since the Shockers are joining the American this season, hiring a former head coach in that league isn’t a bad move. Formerly the head coach at UCF, Jones knows some of the coaches and personnel in the league since he was only coaching there two seasons ago. Besides the familiarity factor, Jones is a solid recruiter and he’s been a winner as an assistant coach, having helped Billy Donovan and Florida to two national titles while working as an assistant with the Gators.

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CAMERON DOLLAR and DAVE RICE, Washington: New head coach Mike Hopkins gets some head-coaching help on the sidelines with former head coaches Dollar and Rice. The addition of Dollar, in particular, is intriguing since he was the head coach at Seattle and knows a lot of the region’s talent. Also a former assistant at Washington from 2002 through 2009, Dollar should hit the ground running. Rice has also recruited at a high level during his time at UNLV and should be an asset thanks to his extended time on the West Coast.

GREG HAIER, TONY BENFORD and BRAD ARMSTRONG, LSU: Will Wade hired a staff that has already recruited at a high level this year thanks to the late signing of point guard Tremont Waters and the verbal pledge from five-star big man Nazreon Reid. Armstrong is familiar with the SEC thanks to his stint at Ole Miss while Benford and Haier are veteran recruiters who bring a wealth of experience.

BRUISER FLINT, ED SCHILLING and TOM OSTROM, Indiana: The move from Dayton to Indiana meant that new head coach Archie Miller had some tough decisions as he’s put together a strong staff for the Hoosiers. Ostrom comes with Miller from Dayton as a noted recruiter of several very good players. Schilling is a former Indiana high school coach who has done a nice job in an assistant position with UCLA the past few seasons. Flint, with 16 years of head-coaching as a background, is the veteran of the staff who has seen it all.

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Billy Donlon

Wright State coach Billy Donlon gestures to his team during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Green Bay for the Horizon League men’s tournament championship Tuesday, March 8, 2016, in Detroit. Green Bay won 78-69. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

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BILLY DONLON, Northwestern: The Wildcats lost former assistant coach Pat Baldwin in June when he took the head-coaching job at Milwaukee as Donlon steps in from Michigan. A unique fit for the Northwestern job, Donlon follows in the footsteps of his father, Bill, who was a Wildcat assistant for seven seasons in the ‘80s and early ‘90s. Northwestern assistant Brian James is also Donlon’s former high school coach at Glenbrook North, where Collins also formerly starred. It should make for a comfortable fit in Evanston, as Collins continues to build a tight-knit staff with a lot of local ties.

RAPHAEL CHILLIOUS, UConn: After stumbling in recent years, the Huskies could use a shot in the arm as they’re hoping a healthy roster and some staff changes can help. Spending seven of the past eight seasons at Washington and one season at Villanova, Chillious has been one of the premier recruiting assistants in the country for the better part of the past decade. A national recruiter who has coached a handful of lottery picks, Chillious should get the Huskies involved for some quality players.

STEVE LUTZ, Purdue: Head coach Matt Painter made a solid hire with the addition of Lutz from Creighton after former assistant Jack Owens took the head job at Miami (Ohio). Lutz helped deliver big man Justin Patton and prized guard transfer Marcus Foster to the Bluejays as he’s been a good recruiter who has delivered results. Lutz brings some fresh blood to a Purdue staff that hadn’t seen a change since 2013.