College basketball coaching changes

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

Arizona is going to giftwrap Jaime Dixon to USC

I thought that was just a rumor among overly zealous USC fans. I'll be very happy if that really happens.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Now here's an interesting name being floated around the Memphis and Georgia jobs: Nolan Richardson. It's especially interesting in regards to Memphis. There's still a lot of people in that area that love Nolan. He's been looking to get back into coaching for a couple of years, though he wanted a good situation. I'm not sure there would be a better situation for Nolan than the Memphis job. Big recruiting base, no pressure initially, and lots of people who respect his coaching skills displayed just down the road in Arkansas.

[JonInMiddleGA]

And I can see where daily access to the Atlanta media would appeal to Richardson as well. They'd eat up his schtick. The donors however, much less so.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

And I can see where daily access to the Atlanta media would appeal to Richardson as well. They'd eat up his schtick. The donors however, much less so.

Agreed. If he's going to take one of the jobs, the Memphis job is the more likely candidate.

[molson]

I'm glad Syracuse has had the same coach for 32 years and we've gotten to skip this annual drama.

Without that stability, I'm pretty sure AG Gross would have already run the program into the ground, like he has with football...

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by molson

I'm glad Syracuse has had the same coach for 32 years we've gotten to skip this annual drama.

Without that stability, I'm pretty sure AG Gross would have already run the program into the ground, like he has with football...

Don't worry. It all comes to an end eventually. Enjoy it while it lasts. Norm Stewart was the coach at Mizzou for 33 years and for the first 28 years of my life. It was a pretty heavy shock to the system when he finally moved on. Everyone just got used to the pre-game introduction on TV...."And coaching the Tigers in his XXth season, the dean of the Big 8 coaches, Norm Stewart!" Hopefully Anderson and Self will battle for years to come so we can have that again.

[GoldenEagle]

If some very reliable sources on the Memphis board are correct, the University of Tennessee will be looking for a new basketball coach very soon.

[MJ4H]

That's what I've heard as well.

[GoldenEagle]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Now here's an interesting name being floated around the Memphis and Georgia jobs: Nolan Richardson. It's especially interesting in regards to Memphis. There's still a lot of people in that area that love Nolan. He's been looking to get back into coaching for a couple of years, though he wanted a good situation. I'm not sure there would be a better situation for Nolan than the Memphis job. Big recruiting base, no pressure initially, and lots of people who respect his coaching skills displayed just down the road in Arkansas.

I don't think that would happen, at least not at Memphis. Nolan has been out of game for too long. Who knows if he still has the energy to recruit or if he could even coach anywhere but the U of A. In my opinion, college basketball coaching is all about the energy. Recruiting is the lifeblood of your program. This is why Bobby Knight does not have a job.

If Calipari was not leaving the program in shambles (all players returned and no recruits left), then Bob Knight would be a great hire for a year or two.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by GoldenEagle

If some very reliable sources on the Memphis board are correct, the University of Tennessee will be looking for a new basketball coach very soon.

While such a thing would cause much hand wringing around Knoxville, I just see it as moving up the timetable on the inevitable. Frankly I believe he's already peaked at UT and that losing him as a marketer for a program that really has only a tenuous hook on the fans would be a much bigger loss than him as an actual coach. His style & ability probably won't match Calipari's success but should still be enough to keep Memphis from losing more than 2-3 conference games per year (which ought to win the conference I'd think).

If he goes, he goes. A pox on him for all eternity, but I wouldn't see it as the end of the world. I'm more worried, however, that Mike Hamilton is still in position to pick the next coach and after the hiring of Kiffy I don't have much confidence in his ability to pick his nose much less a quality coach.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by GoldenEagle

Who knows if he still has the energy to recruit or if he could even coach anywhere but the U of A.

Pretty sure the only place he WOULDN'T coach is Arkansas. He didn't help the situation much, but there were a lot of terrible things that happened to him in the aftermath that weren't warranted in any way.

As for energy, he's got a ton of it. I've talked with him personally several times at Mizzou Arena. I knew little about the man outside of news reports before Anderson came to Mizzou. He's put some of those demons behind him and realizes he made some mistakes. But he's still a fiery competitor and would love to coach again.

A sidenote to Mizzou fans......If you see Nolan at the Mizzou games, feel free to walk up and say Hi. He's very approachable and a lot of fun to talk with. He's also more than happy to talk about how proud he is of his 'son' (Coach Anderson).

[DataKing]

A little off topic, but something that never really dawned on me until now: What are they putting in the water in Tulsa anyways? Look at the list of people who have been head or assistant coaches at Tulsa in the last 30 years or so:

• Nolan Richardson
• Tubby Smith
• Buzz Peterson
• Bill Self
• Billy Gillespie
• Flip Saunders
• Kevin O'Neill
• Tom Izzo
• Mike Anderson

Quite the pedigree.

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by Arles

Sounds like it's going to be Floyd and he may be bringing two McDonalds All Americans with him. All in all, not a bad hire - especially with the crazy Kruger, Buzz Williams, Mark Fox, Randy Bennett rumors that were really scaring me.

Floyd can recruit and has been a pretty strong coach on the court as well. It's not Pitino, but he seems like the best of who's available.

I think you're going to find Floyd a huge disappointment after Olson. See, Olson could recuit AND coach, and as a coach, Floyd is one hell of a recruiter.

There are a couple names on your "scary" list who I think would be far superior hires to Floyd.

[MJ4H]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Pretty sure the only place he WOULDN'T coach is Arkansas. He didn't help the situation much, but there were a lot of terrible things that happened to him in the aftermath that weren't warranted in any way.

I think he would coach at Arkansas again. The main reason he left (the good ol boy network that was in charge, Chancellor John White, AD Frank Broyles, even the football coach at the time, heck even some of the more prominent boosters like Jim Lindsey) have all finally been weeded out and the program is back on the right track. He has started making appearances around here and there have even been hints of him being hired as a consultant for the basketball program. That wound has been mostly healed, now.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by DataKing

A little off topic, but something that never really dawned on me until now: What are they putting in the water in Tulsa anyways? Look at the list of people who have been head or assistant coaches at Tulsa in the last 30 years or so:

• Nolan Richardson
• Tubby Smith
• Buzz Peterson
• Bill Self
• Billy Gillespie
• Flip Saunders
• Kevin O'Neill
• Tom Izzo
• Mike Anderson

Quite the pedigree.

You forgot Steve Robinson! Oh wait, you probably did that on purpose. What happened to him after he left FSU, anyway?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by MJ4H

I think he would coach at Arkansas again. The main reason he left (the good ol boy network that was in charge, Chancellor John White, AD Frank Broyles, even the football coach at the time, heck even some of the more prominent boosters like Jim Lindsey) have all finally been weeded out and the program is back on the right track. He has started making appearances around here and there have even been hints of him being hired as a consultant for the basketball program. That wound has been mostly healed, now.

I don't know about the healing. He still has resentment over how he was treated by the fan and donor base and the thousands of dollars of damage to his property. Some of that stuff was pretty scary.

Appearances......yes. Coaching there......I seriously doubt it.

[DataKing]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

You forgot Steve Robinson! Oh wait, you probably did that on purpose. What happened to him after he left FSU, anyway?

He's an assistant on Roy's staff at UNC.

[MJ4H]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

I don't know about the healing. He still has resentment over how he was treated by the fan and donor base and the thousands of dollars of damage to his property. Some of that stuff was pretty scary.

Appearances......yes. Coaching there......I seriously doubt it.

You could possibly be right about this. Truth is, he is the only one that knows. All I'm saying is I wouldn't rule it out because a great deal has changed.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by MJ4H

You could possibly be right about this. Truth is, he is the only one that knows. All I'm saying is I wouldn't rule it out because a great deal has changed.

I am pretty surprised that he even mustered the fortitude to put the past aside and do some appearances. He's a much more humble man than he used to be. I think that has a lot to do with his change in stance towards Arkansas. It's good that he's able to go back there now because he's a big part of that program's history and that program is a big part of him.

[LloydLungs]

Originally Posted by Samdari

I think you're going to find Floyd a huge disappointment after Olson. See, Olson could recuit AND coach, and as a coach, Floyd is one hell of a recruiter.

This is just a weird comment to read after watching Floyd regularly squeeze blood from a turnip for six years at UNO. I mean, the guy was a brilliant coach here (and at Iowa State, really).

However, I understand it. Tim's coaching Achilles heel is that he does not deal well with elite athletes and the egos that come with them. He either alienates them, or lets them walk all over him. This is why he wasn't a good NBA coach, and is also why he did not get the most out of his talent at SC (I pretty much consider O.J. Mayo the coach of the 2007-08 Trojans -- as a long-time observer of Floyd's teams, there is NO WAY he was running that team). In terms of a high-major, Iowa State was probably the best fit for him. He turned ISU into a Sweet 16/Elite 8 level program and did so mostly without elite players (unless you want to count Marcus Fizer).

In terms of Floyd's pure X-and-O abilities, the man can definitely coach.

[JonInMiddleGA]

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/ap...cuss-contract/

Hamilton, Pearl to discuss contract; statement expected today

By Mike Griffith (Contact)
Originally published 11:12 a.m., April 2, 2009
Updated 11:56 a.m., April 2, 2009

Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton and men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl will begin talks this afternoon about Pearl's existing contract at UT.

Hamilton said Pearl has told him he is not interested in the Memphis coaching vacancy and is expected to issue a release this afternoon.

“Bruce is my coach and I trust him,'' Hamilton said. “We have shown in the past we will compensate him fairly and we will continue to compensate him fairly.

"I can tell you that I have no reason to believe Bruce Pearl is going to be anywhere other than Knoxville next year. He has told me he's not interested in anything else and I've got to take him at his word.''

UT officials said they are not aware of a report today by Memphis television station WMC that Pearl has been offered a seven-year, $21 million contract to fill the coaching vacancy at Memphis.

The Commercial Appeal reported on its Web site that Memphis officials are expected to officially ask for permission to talk to Pearl today.

Hamilton repeated Thursday that Memphis has not contacted him asking permission to talk with Pearl.

"I would deny them permission, but I don't necessarily think that means they're going to ask," said Hamilton. :The reality is that's kind of an archaic way of dealing with these changes in the last few years.''

But there are no stipulations in Pearl's contract that would enable Hamilton to deny Memphis access to talk with Pearl.

Pearl has not made public comments since Monday, when he indicated he was looking forward to the coming season with UT and competing with new Kentucky coach John Calipari, who left Memphis.

“It doesn't take much to get my batteries re-charged,'' Pearl said. “Not playing last weekend was enough.

“But this ... John Calipari will bring another level of energy to this league.''

Pearl is in Detroit today to introduce Louisville coach Rick Pitino as the Adolph Rupp national coach of the year Award winner.

Pearl won the award last year.

Hamilton has said he keeps a pulse on market value and is pleased with the job Pearl has done at UT.

Pearl makes $1.6 million per year and is due a $500,000 retention bonus next season.

Calipari just signed an eight-year deal at Kentucky that will pay him $3.7 million annually, Florida's Billy Donovan makes $3.5 million annually and Alabama recently hired Anthony Grant for a reported $2 million a year.

All indications are that Georgia is willing to pay its next coach in the $2 million range when it fills its coaching vacancy.

Grant's salary bumps Pearl from the third-highest paid coaching slot in the SEC – a salary position Pearl has said repeatedly he is comfortable with as UT's coach.

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by LloydLungs

He turned ISU into a Sweet 16/Elite 8 level program and did so mostly without elite players (unless you want to count Marcus Fizer).

You cannot say he turned them into a Sweet 16/Elite 8 level program when he got to two sweet 16's and no Elite 8's in four years. His records there were pretty similar to the last 3 years under Orr, so he did not lift them much higher than they had been.

All I can remember about his days in big time college basketball is "underachievement" although to be fair, in his days at Iowa St., he probably coached them to just about to their talent level. Dedric Willoughby was one heck of a college basketball player, as were Fred Hoiberg and Kelvin Cato, who both were contributors in the NBA.

Here's the thing with being a college basketball coach - you cannot disavow any of the results. You are responsible for everything, getting the players, making them listen, and saying the right things when they do. Floyd can get the players, and he may say the right things. But, clearly so far at USC, he can't make them listen. Kind of renders the quality of his "X/O" ability meaningless if noone does what he says. I'll believe you when you say that he was a great coach at UNO. Maybe that's the level he belongs on - some guys do great at that kind of level, but not when stepping up.

I was, however, treating him a bit unfairly, remembering the loss to Hampton as a #2 seed. That was Eustachy.

[LloydLungs]

Originally Posted by Samdari

Another way to state this is that he recruited Sweet 16/Elite 8 caliber talent and then lost in the first round to Hampton.

Well, no, Larry Eustachy lost to Hampton.

Floyd brought ISU to the sweet 16 and was within one bad charging call of the Elite 8 with a team led by Dedric Willoughby (who? yes). Shortly after, Eustachy did go the Elite 8 with a roster of almost all Floyd players. Then a year or two after that came the Hampton thing. Given the current decrepit state of Iowa State's program (and UNO's for that matter), his work there seems to be even more impressive in retrospect.

Tim Floyd can absolutely, positively coach, but there's also no question that 2007-09 at SC were his two worst coaching jobs in college, by far.

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by LloydLungs

within one bad charging call of the Elite 8 with a team led by Dedric Willoughby (who? yes).

You do him a disservice. He was a GREAT college basketball player!

They also had pretty good players in Kelvin Cato and Kenny Pratt.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Samdari

You do him a disservice. He was a GREAT college basketball player!

They also had pretty good players in Kelvin Cato and Kenny Pratt.

Agreed. That was a VERY good team.

[LloydLungs]

Originally Posted by Samdari

You do him a disservice. He was a GREAT college basketball player!

They also had pretty good players in Kelvin Cato and Kenny Pratt.

Yeah, those were good college players. Trust me, I know. We had Dedric for a year at UNO. The kid could play. Nevertheless, he was not working with any very special NBA talent there. I think he got the max out of those teams.

He inherited a 14-win team from Orr and won 23 games with the same players. Then all those guys graduated, he brought in a whole new team, was picked to finish last in the Big 8, and won the league. Sorry but Floyd did a tremendous job at ISU. I think THAT is probably the level where he excels -- a mid-level high-major program.

He is excellent at getting good players to do great things. He struggles with getting elite players to play to their potential because he doesn't work well with egos, at all. I think that's pretty much the book on Floyd. As such, I'm not sold that he's a great fit at Arizona, because he's going to have some elite talent there. But I don't think it's accurate to write him off as all-recruit, no-coach. It's more complex than that.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Crazy Calipari-fallout scenario developing in Big 12 land. On Tuesday, Lance Stephenson (5 star guard from Brooklyn, NY) was going to announce that he was going to Kansas over Maryland and St. Johns'. Only one problem........his scholarship offer was yanked by Bill Self hours before his announcement. The reason was that Xavier Henry is now expected to commit to KU and Henry's older brother who plays at Memphis is going to transfer to KU.

Stephenson was evidently so pissed off that his 'representative' contacted both Mizzou and Kansas State (dead period doesn't allow player to contact programs right now) requesting visits to both of those programs. He evidently is so irritated at getting the stiff arm by Kansas that he's considering going to play for a KU rival just to get back at them. I hear the kid is a bit wacky, so I'm not sure if I really want him going to Mizzou. But there's no question that he's one of the best players in the class of 2009.

Nutty stuff.

[Logan]

From what I've heard, Stephenson would definitely be best served by staying home and going to St. John's.

[DataKing]

Strange, no doubt, but you had to figure something like this was bound to happen. Programs only have so many scholarships to go around. If half the things I've read about this Stephenson kid are true, I'd much rather have the Henry brothers. I can count ten scholies KU has out there that I would consider absolutely untouchable, which leaves two for the Henry brothers.

[Arles]

I get the criticism on Floyd, I'm just not sure who out there is better. After you get through Pitino, Izzo and Calipari, it's a lot of "chance guys" out there. Few hasn't been able to recruit well enough to hold a top job and has choked in the tourney nearly every year. Caple had a nice season with the best player (by a country mile) in college basketball, but he won the CAA only once in 4 seasons at VCU. No one knows what kind of coach he will be long term.

If you look at the available options for Arizona, I can't see a better choice than Floyd. At least he's landed top 20 recruiting classes (including #6 in 2009) each year at USC and has a history of some very strong coaching jobs. His defenses at USC (triangle+2, box+1, odd man-to-man) gave some good teams fits.

Plus, he was hammered with injuries in a 1-6 February after starting 14-6 and finishing on a 6-game winning streak (beat UCLA by 10) before the 5-point loss to MSU in the NCAAs.

He has some warts, but I feel better with him than I would have with about 90% of the other coaches mentioned.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by DataKing

Strange, no doubt, but you had to figure something like this was bound to happen. Programs only have so many scholarships to go around. If half the things I've read about this Stephenson kid are true, I'd much rather have the Henry brothers. I can count ten scholies KU has out there that I would consider absolutely untouchable, which leaves two for the Henry brothers.

No question. Henry is a much better option for KU.

Stephenson actually has his own web-based reality show at Born Ready. He's definitely a character to say the least.

[Pumpy Tudors]

How are you people getting all these connections and rumors? "I heard this", "people are telling me this", "a reliable source in the athletic department drank my last Snapple and didn't restock the fridge." The closest thing I have to an NCAA source is the pack of Division II kids who live behind my house and occasionally take a shit on my back porch when they get drunk.

What am I doing wrong here?

[watravaler]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

At which point the UGA list probably turns into one that includes Lon Kreuger (which might actually get even the lukewarm UGA fan base to storm the AD's office looking for somebody's head), Tim Floyd, Ed DeChellis, Scott Drew, Oliver Purnell (why on earth would he leave Clemson for this job?), Sean Miller of Xavier, Brad Stevens of Butler and Brian Gregory of Dayton. I guess Gillespie and Pennell might both be considered at some point too.

I thought this little comment in the AJC beat writer's blog was kind of odd thought, after talking about names they're considering he says Some they aren’t: Miami’s Frank Haith and FSU’s Leonard Hamilton.

Have those guys recently said something about not leaving their respective schools or something? I hadn't heard either name even whispered in connection to the Georgia job until they were singled out in the column as people not being considered and it kind of struck me odd.

Why would UGA be mad with Krueger? Guy wins everywhere he goes...

[cartman]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

How are you people getting all these connections and rumors? "I heard this", "people are telling me this", "a reliable source in the athletic department drank my last Snapple and didn't restock the fridge." The closest thing I have to an NCAA source is the pack of Division II kids who live behind my house and occasionally take a shit on my back porch when they get drunk.

What am I doing wrong here?

sportsdigs.com

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by watravaler

Why would UGA be mad with Krueger? Guy wins everywhere he goes...

You've likely forgotten his stint with the Atlanta Hawks, 69-122 over 2 seasons & change. More than his record though, what he's most remembered for is guaranteeing that the team would make the playoffs or season ticket holders would get a $125 refund. He didn't even make it to New Year's Day (and the team missed the playoffs).

No amount of wins in college will ever wash that smell off him for people in Atlanta/Georgia, I can't think of anything that would be a worse p.r. move for this particular program that already gets little interest than hiring him.

[JonInMiddleGA]

UGA to meet with Clemson's Purnell, Miami's Haith | ajc.com

Athens — Georgia athletics director Damon Evans will meet with Clemson coach Oliver Purnell and Miami coach Frank Haith in Detroit today to discuss the Bulldogs’ basketball job, sources confirmed for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Evans left for Detroit Thursday morning to attend meetings surrounding the NCAA Final Four.

Purnell, who will turn 56 in May, has a 350-261 record in 21 seasons as a head coach. He has gone 117-77 with the Tigers the last six years, including 23-9 this past season. Clemson has averaged 24 wins, with two NCAA Tournament appearances and an NIT runner-up finish, the last three seasons.

Purnell has not returned numerous phone messages over the last two days. Neither Clemson athletics director Terry Don Phillips nor other school officials would say whether Georgia had contacted them for permission to interview Purnell.

“Our policy is to not confirm or deny contacts with other athletic directors concerning personnel matters,” Clemson sports information director Tim Bourret said in an e-mail.

On Tuesday Phillips announced plans to “enhance” Purnell’s current contract, which pays him about $1 million a year through 2014. Phillips would not specify what he meant by enhance.

Haith, 43, has been Miami’s coach since 2004, going 88-73 with the Hurricanes. He was 19-13 this past season, which ended in the second round of the NIT. Miami was 23-11 and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2008.

Attempts to reach Haith and his attorney Ricky Leftt for comment were unsuccessful.

[Lathum]

ESPN just reported Floyd is staying at USC, which really surprises me since basketball will always be number 2 sport there

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Lathum

ESPN just reported Floyd is staying at USC, which really surprises me since basketball will always be number 2 sport there

True, but with the new on-campus arena it has the potential to be very popular (although attendance hasn't been what it should be the last few years.)

[Eaglesfan27]

Dola -

One of the USC main sites has said that he is definitely staying as well. Reports are that not only did he get an offer from Arizona, but Memphis had interest in him as well.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Dola -

One of the USC main sites has said that he is definitely staying as well. Reports are that not only did he get an offer from Arizona, but Memphis had interest in him as well.

That has to be a great sign for USC fans that he wants to be there long term and build a legacy

[Arles]

Originally Posted by Lathum

ESPN just reported Floyd is staying at USC, which really surprises me since basketball will always be number 2 sport there

With the talent USC has and their recruiting class, I would expect them to be in the top 2 for the Pac 10 title next season. Arizona's cupboard is pretty bare.

Arizona's AD (Livengood) has a ton of egg on his face for this process. I think we're down to our 5th choice now. This whole process has been a joke and probably done a significant amount of harm to Arizona's dwindling basketball rep. I have no idea what will happen at this point, but the soap opera aspect should be fairly entertaining for those watching (and depressing from the Alumn like myself).

[cartman]

Originally Posted by Arles

With the talent USC has and their recruiting class, I would expect them to be in the top 2 for the Pac 10 title next season. Arizona's cupboard is pretty bare.

Arizona's AD (Livengood) has a ton of egg on his face for this process. I think we're down to our 5th choice now. This whole process has been a joke and probably done a significant amount of harm to Arizona's dwindling basketball rep. I have no idea what will happen at this point, but the soap opera aspect should be fairly entertaining for those watching (and depressing from the Alumn like myself).

I think the Capel door is still open.

[Karlifornia]

It's a shame, because Arizona has great fans.

[JonInMiddleGA]

http://www.govolsxtra.com/news/2009/...ew-deal-pearl/

University of Tennessee interim president Jan Simek and athletic director Mike Hamilton announced Thursday that they have reached an agreement in principle with basketball coach Bruce Pearl on a renegotiated six-year contract. Details of that contract will be released in the coming days.

“Mike has been terrifically supportive and committed to making this one of the best jobs in all of college basketball,” Pearl said. “I want to ensure the University of Tennessee and its fans that I’m 100 percent committed to this school, this program and our student-athletes.

“I truly love my job, and I want it to be clear that I’m not interested in any other job. There’s no place in the country I’d rather be than the University of Tennessee. My children are happy here in the Knoxville community—one is in high school, one is in middle school and two are currently attending the university.

“My staff and I are building a consistent top-25 program and I’m honored and privileged to serve the greatest fans in the country. Tennessee has all the resources necessary to win championships, from our recently upgraded facilities to our ability to schedule.

“It’s great to be a Tennessee Vol!”

[JonInMiddleGA]

Whoa, didn't see this one coming if it's accurate.
Georgia hires Nevada coach Mark Fox | ajc.com

Thursday, April 02, 2009

Georgia has hired Nevada coach Mark Fox as its men’s basketball coach and will introduce him at a news conference tomorrow at 11 a.m. in Athens, according to persons within the UGA athletics department.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

http://www.govolsxtra.com/news/2009/...ew-deal-pearl/

University of Tennessee interim president Jan Simek and athletic director Mike Hamilton announced Thursday that they have reached an agreement in principle with basketball coach Bruce Pearl on a renegotiated six-year contract. Details of that contract will be released in the coming days.

“Mike has been terrifically supportive and committed to making this one of the best jobs in all of college basketball,” Pearl said. “I want to ensure the University of Tennessee and its fans that I’m 100 percent committed to this school, this program and our student-athletes.

“I truly love my job, and I want it to be clear that I’m not interested in any other job. There’s no place in the country I’d rather be than the University of Tennessee. My children are happy here in the Knoxville community—one is in high school, one is in middle school and two are currently attending the university.

“My staff and I are building a consistent top-25 program and I’m honored and privileged to serve the greatest fans in the country. Tennessee has all the resources necessary to win championships, from our recently upgraded facilities to our ability to schedule.

“It’s great to be a Tennessee Vol!”

I tried to tell GE that Pearl wouldn't leave UT for Memphis.

[Arles]

Got this from my buddy, pretty much sums it all up for us Wildcat fans:

"If there's a perception there that the coach that's selected, if that person is perceived not to be the first choice, that's a major issue."
Jim Livengood 11/23/2008
http://www.azstarnet.com/sports/268537

[Wolfpack]

Originally Posted by Arles

Got this from my buddy, pretty much sums it all up for us Wildcat fans:

Meh. If you compare NC State pre-1991 to NC State 1991-1996, then you'd know what rock bottom is. I highly doubt Arizona's going to get to the point of losing to Campbell and Florida International.

[the_meanstrosity]

Congrats to Mark Fox. Glad to see him get an opportunity in a BCS conference.

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Whoa, didn't see this one coming if it's accurate.
Georgia hires Nevada coach Mark Fox | ajc.com

Thursday, April 02, 2009

Georgia has hired Nevada coach Mark Fox as its men’s basketball coach and will introduce him at a news conference tomorrow at 11 a.m. in Athens, according to persons within the UGA athletics department.

[the_meanstrosity]

Sorry to hear that Arles. Floyd would have been an excellent hire for Arizona. Hopefully they can rebound from this and still bring in a big name.

Originally Posted by Arles

With the talent USC has and their recruiting class, I would expect them to be in the top 2 for the Pac 10 title next season. Arizona's cupboard is pretty bare.

Arizona's AD (Livengood) has a ton of egg on his face for this process. I think we're down to our 5th choice now. This whole process has been a joke and probably done a significant amount of harm to Arizona's dwindling basketball rep. I have no idea what will happen at this point, but the soap opera aspect should be fairly entertaining for those watching (and depressing from the Alumn like myself).