Former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach and current Warriors assistant Mike Brown is on a list of candidates to be the next head coach of the Ohio State Men’s Basketball team.

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports and The Vertical says that Ohio State hasn’t contacted Brown however The Columbus Dispatch reported Wednesday night that the school’s athletic director Gene Smith would be traveling to Cleveland to meet with Brown on Thursday.

Of course Brown has ties to the Ohio area and region, he was born in Columbus in 1970. He’s been the head coach of the Cavaliers twice, once from 2005 to 2010 and then once again for the 2013 season. He’s still currently being paid for the Cavaliers for his second stint as head coach.

He also spent time as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, spending just a full season and then five games into his second season before being fired. He also spent time with the San Antonio Spurs, Indiana Pacers and currently with the Golden State Warriors as an assistant coach.

Brown has no experience as a college coach but I think it would be a good hire for the Ohio State program after parting ways with Thad Matta on Monday.

He’s best known as a defensive coach which he excelled at during his time in Cleveland and something Buckeye fans would appreciate because Matta produced solid defensive teams during his coaching tenure.

It’s unknown how great Brown can be as a recruiter but he’s got a significant list of future NBA Hall of Famers that can make a good pitch for Brown to high school players.

• Lebron James
• Tim Duncan
• Kobe Bryant
• Steph Curry
• Kevin Durant

However, Wojnarowski followed up his report about Brown and Ohio State

This comes after Creighton head coach Craig McDermott turned down the job. McDermott interviewed with Smith in Omaha on Wednesday night and ESPN reported that Ohio State offered him the job.

Other names that have been linked as potential candidates include Virginia Tech’s Buzz Williams, Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan and Ohio State assistant Chris Jent.