Favorite reportedly emerges to replace Rick Pitino at Iona

Iona College men’s basketball head coach Rick Pitino on the sidelines during their game between Iona College and Morgan State at Iona College in New Rochelle, Dec. 8, 2020. Photo Credit: MARK VERGARI/THE JOURNAL NEWS

Rick Pitino on Monday agreed to become the new head coach at St. John’s, and a favorite has reportedly emerged to replace him at Iona.

Fairleigh Dickinson head coach Tobin Anderson is Iona’s top target, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Anderson just finished his first season at Fairleigh Dickinson after spending the previous nine as the head coach at St. Thomas Aquinas. The 51-year-old led FDU to a massive upset win over No. 1 Purdue in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Knights were just the second 16-seed in history to beat a 1-seed.

FDU blew out Texas Southern in the First Four before taking down Purdue. They then lost a tough 78-70 game to No. 9 Florida Atlantic in the second round of the tournament on Sunday.

The improbable win over Purdue turned Anderson into a household name. He delivered a great quote in his postgame press conference and also showed tremendous foresight with some comments he made leading up to the NCAA Tournament.

Iona has reached the NCAA Tournament in eight of the last 12 years. They are coming off a tough first-round loss to UConn and want to land a new head coach quickly.