Two words for UAB AD Mark Ingram as he starts his search to find a new basketball coach: Chuck Person.
This search could be that easy.
One of the best basketball players this state's ever produced has the right stuff to become one of its best coaches. Imagine the impact he could make as a head coach in the state's largest city at a program with a history of success.
All Person needs is the right opportunity, and UAB could be the right place at the right time for Auburn's career scoring leader and associate head coach.
Consider the timing.
Four years ago, when Jerod Haase took the UAB job, Anthony Grant was at Alabama, Tony Barbee at Auburn. To be polite, Haase wasn't facing the stiffest competition in his own back yard.
As Haase packs his bags for Stanford, things have changed dramatically in this state.
The next UAB coach has to compete with Avery Johnson at Alabama and Bruce Pearl at Auburn. That's an entirely different level of competition.
The new guy will have to go head-to-head with those big names and big personalities for attention, at a time when basketball struggles for recognition more than ever in football's shadow, and for recruits, at a time when this state is producing some of its best talent in years.
Who has the stature, pedigree and name recognition to win some of those battles with Pearl and Johnson? How about a man who coached with Pearl at Auburn and played with Johnson with the NBA's San Antonio Spurs? How about a man who could match Pearl as a recruiter and wouldn't take a back seat to Johnson in terms of NBA connections?
How about Pearl's right-hand man at an Auburn program that, before the injury and suspension bottom dropped out this season, beat both UAB and Alabama?
You want significant references in the basketball world? For starters, how about LA Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak, Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle and former president of the Knicks and Pacers Donnie Walsh?
Back in 2010, when Person was interested in the Auburn job that foolishly went to Barbee instead, Carlisle said of Person, "He has all the tools to be a high-impact coach at any level. He'd be a great hire for Auburn if they could pull it off."
Person would be a great hire for UAB, and Ingram won't know if he can pull it off unless he asks.
Person's resume has only gotten stronger in the interim. In his two years with Pearl at Auburn, he's been a major part of landing two of the better recruiting classes there in memory, including the first five-star signee in school history in Class of 2016 swingman Mustapha Heron. He's also helped secure a commitment from five-star Class of 2017 center Austin Wiley from Spain Park.
Oh, and Person hasn't just put one old issue to rest by earning his bachelor's degree in sports science from the United States Sports Academy. He graduated cum laude with a 3.523 GPA.
Who better to mentor and develop UAB players such as William Lee, who's only scratched the surface of his potential as a big man with a soft touch? Lee's multiple skill set is a reminder of Person himself as a young college player from a small Alabama town.
Who better to bring an even brighter spotlight to a UAB program that's struggled with attendance despite the many highlights of the last two seasons? Person has a stature in the basketball community in this state few others can approach.
At some point, someone with vision is going to hire Person as a head coach and be glad he did. It could be Auburn when Pearl's work there is done. Or, if Ingram is bold and savvy enough to take the shot, it could be UAB.