After starting with what seemed to be a cast of thousands in their head coaching search, the Dakota Wizards narrowed the list to five finalists on Monday.

Included in the group are three candidates - Casey Owens, Deane Martin and Kevin Rice - who have been on Wizards' staffs in the past. The other two finalists, Rory White and Bob Thornton, both have NBA coaching and playing experience.

The Wizards were flooded with applicants hoping to replace Duane Ticknor, who stepped aside after two seasons at the helm. A dozen coaches were interviewed for the position.

"It was very difficult to choose," said Wizards minority owner and team president Dawn Kopseng, who was in charge of the preliminary stages of the search. "We had a very good list of candidates."

A committee of six will discuss the candidates today and conduct follow-up interviews via conference call.

"Our two basic criteria are on the court and off the court,"Kopseng said. "We want somebody with a proven record and somebody who will be involved in the community."

Kopseng said the team hopes to make an offer by Thursday.

A look at the finalists:

Casey Owens

Owens had a tremendous four-year run with the Wizards from 2001 through 2005, the first three seasons and an assistant, and the last as head coach.

Owens helped the Wizards win CBA titles in 2002 and 2004 and earn the top playoff seed four straight seasons. In his one year as head coach, he guided the Wizards to a 32-16 mark, but lost to former boss Dave Joerger's Sioux Falls Skyforce in a classic five-game semifinal.

During his stay in Bismarck, Owens was instrumental in recruiting Wizards stars like Miles Simon and Andy Panko.

Before coming to the Wizards, Owens was assistant coach and general manager of the IBL's New Mexico Slam for two seasons (1999-2001). When the Wizards let him go, Owens spent the 2005-06 season with the D-League's Fayetteville Patriots.

The following season Owens was the video coordinator with the Chicago Bulls. He spent the last two years as an assistant with the Colorado 14ers, helping them win the D-League title this year.

Deane Martin

Martin, who served as a Wizards assistant under Ticknor in 2007-08, has 20 years of coaching experience, all but one season as an assistant.

After four years at the junior college level, Martin spent four seasons (1992-96) at his alma mater, Central Missouri State. He served under Charlie Spoonhour atSt. Louis from 1997-99 and again at UNLV from 2001 through 2004. In between he was associate head coach at Tennessee-Martin.

Martin's lone head coaching job came in 2004-05, when he guided a team in Sweden. He then spent time running a basketball academy and working for Marty Blake, the NBA's director of scouting, before joining the Wizards.

Last season Martin was an assistant for the Bakersfield Jam and is likely to be in the running for that head coaching position as well.

Kevin Rice

Rice has by far the most limited coaching experience of any of the finalists, just two seasons as an assistant with the Wizards.

But Rice has long been a fan favorite in Bismarck thanks to his playing career. Rice played four seasons with the Wizards, helping the team win its lone IBA crown in 2001 and first CBA championship in 2002.

Rice was a first-team all-star in 2000-01 and the CBA's defensive player of the year. He is second on the team's all-time scoring list with 2,069 points - Maurice Baker passed him last season.

When the Wizards won the D-League championship in 2007, Rice was an assistant under Joerger. But Rice still had the itch to play, and suited up for the Minot Skyrockets in 2007-08. Last year he returned to the bench as Ticknor's assistant.

Rory White

White played five seasons in the NBA(1982-87), most of them with the Los Angeles Clippers. But he's probably best known to local fans for his runs as coach of the Fargo-Moorhead Beez and Idaho Stampede.

White, who played in the CBA and overseas, began his coaching career with the Beez (1995-98), leading them to two IBA titles.

White then joined the Idaho Stampede as an assistant, and was promoted to head coach during the 1999-2000 season. White returned to the Beez in 2001-02, then bounced back to Idaho the following season.

White posted a 69-59 mark with the Beez and a 44-58 record with the Stampede.

White, who lives in Fargo, has been an assistant with the Clippers for six seasons.

Bob Thornton

Thornton played parts of eight seasons in the NBA (1986-96), most notably with the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers.

Thornton was a finalist for the Wizards' head coaching position in 2005 and 2007.

Thornton began his coaching career at the college level and Chapman University (1997-98) and Cal State Fullerton (1998-99).

The following season Thornton was an assistant for the Yakima Sun Kings as they won the CBA championship.

In 2000-01 Thornton landed his first head coaching job with the Quad City Thunder. The team was 8-13 when the league folded.

In 2001-02 Thornton coached the Huntsville Flight in the D-League, going 26-30.

Thornton spent the next two seasons as an assistant coach and scout with the Chicago Bulls. He went on to join the Minnesota Timberwolves staff as an assistant coach and advance scout in 2005.

Thornton ended last season as a scout for the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder.