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Post by Raider Country on Apr 10, 2008 20:58:00 GMT -5
Western Illinois to introduce Molinari; Harper to join WKU staff April 10, 2008 By Gary Parrish CBSSports.com Senior Writer Jim Molinari will be introduced as Western Illinois' next basketball coach Friday, a source has told CBSSports.com. Molinari was previously the head coach at Bradley before he was replaced by Jim Les in 2002. Molinari is probably best known as the man who took over for Dan Monson at Minnesota during the 2006-07 season and ran the program until Tubby Smith was hired in March 2007. Molinari was an assistant at Ball State this past season. The other final candidate for the Western Illinois job was Ray Harper. Harper won the NAIA Division I title this season at Oklahoma City University, then resigned to pursue Division I opportunities. Now that he has missed on the Western Illinois job, a source told CBSSports.com that Harper has agreed to join Ken McDonald's staff at Western Kentucky. www.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/10771816
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Post by Raider Country on Apr 11, 2008 18:38:32 GMT -5
Cross leaves Irish's staff to be new coach at ToledoAssociated Press April 11, 2008 TOLEDO, Ohio -- Toledo hired Notre Dame assistant Gene Cross as its new men's basketball coach Friday, giving him responsibility for a program that hasn't been to the NCAA tournament since 1980. Cross replaced Stan Joplin, fired last month after 12 seasons. Cross, who spent 11 years as an assistant at Notre Dame, Virginia, DePaul and Illinois-Chicago, said he was impressed by Toledo's commitment to basketball, citing the renovation of its arena. sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3342088
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Post by Raider Country on Apr 15, 2008 17:51:00 GMT -5
Providence hires Davis away from Drakeby Jeff Goodman "I believe Keno Davis has the knowledge, passion, commitment and ability to bring Providence College basketball to another level," Providence athletic director Bob Driscoll said in a statement. One source said that Davis will sign a seven-year deal that will pay him about $1 million per year. Davis, the AP's National Coach of the Year, met with Providence on Monday and finalized the decision early Tuesday morning. Davis, 36, spent a good portion of his childhood an hour down the road while his father, Tom Davis, was the head coach at Boston College from 1977-82. The younger Davis is even an avid Red Sox fan. Keno Davis took over prior to this season at Drake after his father retired. The Bulldogs were picked to finish ninth in the Missouri Valley and ended up sweeping both the regular-season and tournament titles. They finished the season 28-5. Davis led Drake to its first NCAA tournament berth since 1971 and did it with a pair of walk-ons. The Bulldogs lost to Western Kentucky in the first round of the NCAA tournament on a last-second 3-pointer by the Hilltoppers' Ty Rogers. Providence finished with losing records in three of the last four seasons. The Friars went 6-12 in the Big East and 15-16 overall this season, playing all but one game without injured starting point guard Sharaud Curry. msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/80370....away-from-Drake
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Post by Raider Country on Apr 16, 2008 17:20:44 GMT -5
Sources: Ford likely to succeed Sutton at Oklahoma StateESPN.com news services April 16, 2008, 4:11 PM ET Multiple sources have confirmed that barring unforeseen circumstances, Massachusetts coach Travis Ford is expected to be named the new head coach at Oklahoma State, ESPN's Doug Gottlieb reports. Ford, who reached a new deal on a contract at UMass less than a week ago, planned to meet with the UMass team in Amherst on Wednesday, Gottlieb reported. A week ago, at the Minutemen's end-of-season banquet, UMass athletic director John McCutcheon announced Ford, who had just turned down an offer from Providence, would be staying and had reached a new deal, but would not discuss its terms. Ford led UMass to the NIT championship game this past season, where the team lost to Ohio State. He is 62-35 in three seasons at UMass. Ford was also named as a candidate for the LSU opening, but he withdrew his name from consideration. The Tigers hired Trent Johnson on Friday. Sean Sutton resigned from Oklahoma State after going 39-29 in two seasons. The Cowboys failed to reach the NCAA tournament in 2007 and 2008. In 11 years as a head coach, Ford, who previously coached at Campbellsville, Eastern Kentucky and Massachusetts, never faced a Big 12 team. However, he was named to the Big Eight all-freshman team in 1989-90 in his one year at Missouri. During that season, the Tigers won both of their meetings with Oklahoma State. sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3349529
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Post by Raider Rowdies on Apr 17, 2008 20:05:26 GMT -5
Martin takes over as sixth Marist head coachESPN.com news services April 17, 2008 POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. -- Chuck Martin, an assistant for the past two years at Memphis, is the new head men's basketball coach at Marist. The school made the announcement Thursday afternoon. Martin has been an assistant at five schools: St. John's, Drexel, Massachusetts, Manhattan and Memphis. He is the sixth head coach in Marist's NCAA Division I history. sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3351702
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Post by Raider Rowdies on Apr 17, 2008 20:07:56 GMT -5
Kansas State signs coach Frank Martin to 5-year contract MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) -- Kansas State signed coach Frank Martin to a five-year contract on Wednesday that will keep him in Manhattan through the 2010-11 season. Martin will get a base salary of $180,000 with a total compensation package of $760,000, which includes TV, radio and internet appearances, shoe and apparel sponsorships, and other services. "Frank and his staff have done a tremendous job of elevating our men's basketball program into one of the best in both the Big 12 and the nation," Kansas State athletic director Bob Krause said in a written statement. "We have great confidence in his ability to guide our basketball program and look forward to a long and prosperous relationship." Martin became Kansas State's coach in summer 2007, when Bob Huggins left the school after one season to coach at West Virginia, his alma mater. Martin became the second rookie coach in school history to lead his team to the NCAA tournament and first since Lon Kruger did it in 1986-87. Kansas State went 21-12 under Martin, who became the third rookie coach in school history to win 20 games and the second to win 10 conference games. The Wildcats beat Southern California in the first round for their first NCAA tournament victory in 20 years, then lost to Wisconsin in the second round. "This is a day of great pride and joy for me and my family," Martin said. "It is great to share this day with the wonderful people at K-State." Martin was an assistant to Huggins at Cincinnati and followed him to Kansas State in 2006. He also was an assistant for four years at Northeastern and spent 15 years as a high school coach in Miami. sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/basketball/ncaa/04/16/martin.ap/index.html
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Post by Raider Rowdies on Apr 17, 2008 20:10:58 GMT -5
IUPUI's Hunter OKs contract extensionBy Jeff Rabjohns Posted: April 17, 2008 IUPUI men's basketball coach Ron Hunter has agreed to a two-year contract extension that will take him through the 2015-16 season. "We've come to an agreement, and I'm definitely going to sign it," Hunter said today. "We're done with all the terms." Earlier this month, Hunter was contacted by Oregon State about its opening, eventually filled by Brown�s Craig Robinson. IUPUI was 26-7 this past season, Hunter�s 14th at the Downtown campus. The Jaguars have averaged 20.2 wins per year the past six seasons and reached the Summit League Tournament title game four times in eight years. Hunter led IUPUI's transition to Division I, taking the Jaguars to the NCAA Tournament in 2003, their third season of Divison I postseason eligibility. Terms of Hunter's extension were not immediately available. www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080417/SPORTS0607/80417032/1004/SPORTS
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Post by Raider Fanatic on Apr 18, 2008 19:48:24 GMT -5
Ford to get $9 million in seven-year deal with Oklahoma StateAssociated Press April 18, 2008 LANGSTON, Okla. -- New Oklahoma State basketball coach Travis Ford will make about $9 million over seven years under a deal revealed Friday at a regents meeting. The contract calls for Ford to make $1.3 million per year. He replaces Sean Sutton, who resigned April 1 under pressure. Sutton's original buyout package called for him to make $2.7 million over 10 years, but tax considerations have led officials to restructure the deal to give him $2.2 million, with him to receive full payment by the end of this year. Ford, who took Massachusetts to the NIT the last two seasons, was introduced as Oklahoma State's new coach Thursday sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3353360
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Post by Raider Fanatic on Apr 18, 2008 19:52:02 GMT -5
Flannery retires as Bucknell's hoops coach after 14 yearsFriday April 18, 2008 LEWISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- Pat Flannery retired Friday after 14 years as Bucknell's basketball coach, leading the small Patriot League school to two NCAA tournaments, highlighted by a victory over Kansas in 2005 and a Top 25 ranking the next season. Beginning July 1, the 50-year-old coach will become a fundraiser at his alma mater. He said a big part in leaving coaching was to spend more time with his family. Bucknell president Brian Mitchell called the decision a "tremendous loss to our basketball program." The school will begin a nationwide coaching search, athletic director John Hardt said. Flannery had a 234-178 record at Bucknell and won three regular-season conference titles. Bucknell went 11-18 during the past regular season and lost in the second round of the league tournament. Bucknell's upset of Kansas in the NCAA tournament three years ago capped a season full of upsets for the Bison. The following season, Bucknell became the first Patriot League team to be ranked in the AP Top 25, and defeated Arkansas in the NCAAs to move to the second round again. Flannery was flanked by his wife and two sons at the news conference at Alumni House, which was draped in the school colors of bright orange and blue. In thanking his family, Flannery looked at his sons and said, "I'll be glad to get out of that limelight. ... They're growing up fast." Flannery experienced health problems in recent years and missed a few games this season with an illness the university declined to discuss. Flannery said he's completely healthy and his health had nothing to do directly with the decision that been "coming over years." But he said the illness, along with the sudden death last year of Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser, were factors in pondering a change. Prosser's son, Mark, is Bucknell assistant. Flannery informed his team Thursday. "Painless memories. ... No regrets," he said. sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/basketball/ncaa/04/18/flanner.ap/index.html
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Post by Raider Country on Apr 19, 2008 9:32:01 GMT -5
Kellogg heads UMass's short listBy Mark Blaudschun Globe Staff / April 19, 2008 Living up to their pledge to move quickly in finding a replacement for men's basketball coach Travis Ford, University of Massachusetts athletic director John McCutcheon and his staff began the process yesterday by forming a consulting committee that will discuss the candidates McCutcheon and associate AD Tim Kenney choose. more stories like thisMcCutcheon and Kenney hit the road yesterday as they began the interview process, which they hope to have done in the next few days. Barring any snags, they hope to have a new coach in the next several days. Ford jolted UMass Wednesday when he accepted the head coaching position at Oklahoma State, one week after he turned down an offer from Providence and announced he was staying at UMass - presumably long term. Faced with the prospect of losing Ford after only three seasons, including this year's 25-11 campaign that included a trip to the NIT final, UMass officials reworked his contract, which was through the 2014-15 season, with a bump in pay and other perks. Although Ford had agreed to the deal, he hadn't signed it when Oklahoma State called Monday. McCutcheon already had started to update his list of candidates in the final hours of Ford's negotiations with Providence when it appeared he would accept the Friars' offer. As soon as Ford officially accepted the offer from Oklahoma State, McCutcheon began the search process. Leading the list is former Minuteman player and current Memphis assistant coach Derek Kellogg. Kellogg and UTEP head coach Tony Barbee, who is also on the UMass list, played for Memphis coach John Calipari at UMass and worked for him as assistants. According to sources familiar with the process, Kellogg was interviewed yesterday, with at least three or four other coaches expected to be interviewed. Yesterday, Barbee made it clear he was not one of them. "I have not been contacted by UMass, and I am not a candidate for their opening. I am extremely excited about our team returning for next season and the future of the UTEP basketball program," Barbee said in a statement. UMass did interview UMass associate head coach Tim Maloney. Ohio University coach Tim O'Shea is also on McCutcheon's short list. Neither O'Shea nor Kellogg was available for comment. Kellogg has the strongest UMass roots, dating to his playing days in Amherst and his high school and AAU connections in Springfield. Calipari backed Barbee and Kellogg, but was thought to have given the bigger boost to Kellogg, who remains on his staff and is ready to be a head coach, something Barbee has been doing for the past two seasons. www.boston.com/sports/colleges/mens_basketball/articles/2008/04/19/kellogg_heads_umasss_short_list/
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Post by Raider Country on Apr 19, 2008 9:38:17 GMT -5
Indiana makes top hire in tame coaching carousel By Andy Katz ESPN.com April 17, 2008 If Bill Self had gone from Kansas to Oklahoma State, the dominoes could have rivaled the Roy Williams-to-North Carolina fallout from 2003. But he didn't. And, unless there is a major job that becomes open again (i.e., someone splitting for the NBA in the spring), the coaching carousel will be rather tame compared to previous years. The gem, without question so far, was Indiana. The chaotic state of the Hoosier Nation was calmed down by the coup-like hiring of Tom Crean of Marquette after Washington State's Tony Bennett said no thanks. But there was no domino off of Crean as his assistant Buzz Williams was promoted. Through Wednesday's announcement of UMass' Travis Ford taking over at Oklahoma State, the job search was rather vanilla. What did occur for the most part was this: A number of coaches realized they were comfortable in their current gigs and didn't need to chase the money. Bennett is atop that list. So, too, are Davidson's Bob McKillop and George Mason's Jim Larranaga. Both were offered higher-paying jobs but decided to stay put because of their recent success and their desire to stay within their current comfort zone. Drake's Keno Davis could have done the same but chose to chase the money and the big-time conference dream after a one-year run, heading off to Providence. It's still unclear if VCU's Anthony Grant was ever seriously offered the LSU or South Carolina jobs. But he never made it seem as if he wanted to be involved in any of the searches. Once again, that's another example of a coach who is pleased to be where he is currently employed rather than just chasing the next big gig. The bottom line is that tournament access is the No. 1 priority for coaches, and in the case of McKillop, Grant and Larranaga, they'll have more of a shot to get into the Dance out of the Southern Conference and the CAA than they would going to a lower-level, albeit higher-paying, Big East or SEC job. So, how did some of the more notable openings go? Arkansas State Getting John Brady was a coup for the Sun Belt program. Brady knows the South well. He didn't go there with a big-time ego, either. He wanted a job. He wanted to coach. And he didn't care where he landed. ASU came out ahead with this one. California The Bears hit a home run. It's not often that a school announces the hiring of a coach more than 60 years old, but no coach knows the Bay Area better than Mike Montgomery. Monty can share his wealth of Pac-10 knowledge as well as his recent NBA experience, even if he didn't win enough, with the players. The Bears should be an NCAA team next season. They were close this past season. The Bears made a play for Pitt's Jamie Dixon but then Monty swooped in late. Detroit Hiring Ray McCallum was a great save after Perry Watson had to retire. The most interesting thing is if McCallum gets his son, Ray Jr., in two years. He's considered one of the better prospects in the area. McCallum landed on his feet quite nicely after not being named interim coach at Indiana. Indiana Bennett was first. Crean was second. You can't go wrong at all with that as a 1-2. Crean is the perfect hire for this rebuilding job that needs a CEO. LSU As soon as the school hired Duke athletic director Joe Alleva, this had the look of a different search. Landing Trent Johnson from Stanford is a great get for this school. It changes the perception immediately since Johnson was used to recruiting high-end academic players. Of course, that won't be the only way to go at LSU with a much wider net available. But Johnson is clearly a quality coach with multiple Sweet 16 appearances at Nevada and Stanford. Loyola Marymount Hiring Billy Bayno could be considered a gamble since he's on the rebound from coaching at UNLV and then a stint in the NBA with the Portland Trail Blazers. But Bayno did get to the NCAA tournament with the Runnin' Rebels. He can get players. Expect LMU to be much more of a player in the WCC. Marquette Hiring Buzz Williams was a gamble. These kind of moves to bump up the assistant to keep everyone in the program and the incoming recruits happy can either work -- like Jamie Dixon of Pitt or Frank Martin this past season at Kansas State -- or they can implode -- like Jerry DeGregorio at Rhode Island. Oklahoma State Travis Ford might have been the third or fourth choice. But if he has the Cowboys playing at a frenetic pace, it should be a welcome change for the traditionally stodgy, defensive-minded program. Ford has been to only one NCAA tournament -- at Eastern Kentucky. He could never win those critical, late regular-season games the past two seasons to push UMass to the NCAAs. Oregon State Obviously hiring Craig Robinson from Brown was a gamble. Robinson was at Northwestern but really hasn't consistently recruited at this level. But seriously, no one wanted this job, so OSU had to take a risk. The Beavers were turned down by a number of coaches along the West Coast. Robinson is an impressive person and won at Brown. Give him a shot in Corvallis. All he has to do is win one game next season and he's done better than this past season. Pepperdine Tom Asbury was clearly a band-aid move to make sure the Waves stayed afloat before a pending transitional period. Asbury is on his second wind with the Waves after coming out of retirement. Providence Getting Drake's Keno Davis, the national coach of the year, after being turned down by three coaches saves face for PC athletic director Bob Driscoll. Davis has the right team next season to launch his 3-point offense. The key will be whether or not Davis can recruit well enough to keep the Friars afloat in 2009-10. Rice Nabbing Ben Braun on the rebound from Cal lends instant credibility to the Owls. Willis Wilson was one of those great guys who just couldn't get over the hump and take the Owls to the NCAAs. Braun has a winning record and has rebuilt Eastern Michigan and Cal. He should do the same at Rice. San Francisco The Dons did pull out solid name recognition with the hiring of Rex Walters. He'll have plenty of contacts. He works his tail off and he'll help strengthen what is already becoming a much more balanced league. South Carolina Darrin Horn got this gig after the hot run by Western Kentucky to the Sweet 16. The question is will Horn be like Bruce Pearl, taking a lower-profile team to a Sweet 16 and making a smooth transition? Or will he be more like Dan Monson, who struggled during the rebuilding phase at Minnesota after being in the Sweet 16 at his previous stop when Gonzaga was still considered to be Cinderella? TCU The hiring of Jim Christian from Kent State seemed to be a bit of a reach since it was out of market for him. But TCU is really a fish-out-of-water school in the Mountain West. This will be a given: Christian's teams work hard, and he'll be competitive. We'll see if anyone outside of Billy Tubbs can make the Horned Frogs relevant. Western Kentucky The Hilltoppers couldn't go wrong with tabbing a former assistant coach in Texas' Ken McDonald. He has been a winner at each step of his apprenticeship. This was the right way to go for this kind of a stepping-stone program. sports.espn.go.com/ncb/columns/story?columnist=katz_andy&id=3349522
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Post by Willie on Apr 20, 2008 15:27:24 GMT -5
Drake to hire Arizona State assistant Phelps to replace Davis April 20, 2008 By Gary Parrish CBSSports.com Senior Writer Arizona State assistant Mark Phelps has reached an agreement in principle to become the men's basketball coach at Drake, a source confirmed for CBSSports.com early Sunday. An official announcement is expected Monday. Phelps is a Virginia native and Old Dominion graduate. This is his first collegiate head coaching job, and his only obvious connection to Drake is that Drake athletic director Sandy Hatfield Clubb was an associate director of athletics at Arizona State when Phelps came with Herb Sendek from North Carolina State to ASU in April 2006. Phelps replaces Keno Davis. Davis left last week for the Providence job. www.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/10790020
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Post by Raider Country on Apr 22, 2008 18:13:08 GMT -5
Official: UMass set to announce Kellogg as new coachBy JIMMY GOLEN, AP Sports Writer BOSTON (AP)—The University of Massachusetts has agreed to hire Memphis assistant and former Minuteman player Derek Kellogg as the new basketball coach, The Associated Press learned Tuesday. Kellogg takes over from Travis Ford, who left to coach at Oklahoma State, a UMass official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the announcement was scheduled for Wednesday. Kellogg, 34, played at UMass from 1991-1995 under current Memphis coach John Calipari and was an All-Atlantic 10 player. He has been an assistant coach at Memphis for eight years, and previously was at Youngstown State and George Mason. During his time in Memphis, the Tigers produced eight consecutive 20-win seasons and five NCAA tournament berths in six years. This year’s team won a record 38 games but lost to Kansas 75-68 in overtime in the national championship game. Ford led UMass to a 25-11 record this season and an appearance in the NIT championship game, where it lost to Ohio State. He directed the Minutemen to a 62-35 mark in three seasons, including NIT bids the past two seasons. Ford turned down a job offer from Providence, and UMass athletic director John McCutcheon announced that Ford had agreed to a new contract. Six days later, Ford left for Oklahoma State. sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/news?slug=ap-umass-coach&prov=ap&type=lgns
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Post by OG Raiderfan on Apr 23, 2008 20:11:42 GMT -5
Tom Izzo in line for Bulls job?FREE PRESS STAFF REPORTS 4/23/2008 Yahoo! Sports this morning is reporting Michigan State University basketball coach Tom Izzo is being considered for the head coaching job with the NBA's Chicago Bulls. Citing unnamed sources, the Web site named Izzo and former Pistons head coach Rick Carlisle as the leading candidates for the Bulls job. According to Yahoo! Sports: When reached on Tuesday night, Izzo said he hadn't been contacted by the Bulls. “I'm not counting out any (job openings) because you can't,” Izzo said in the story. “College or pro. “I go back and forth on (coaching in the NBA),” he continued to tell Yahoo! Sports “I still think it's the ultimate level. There is something about it. I look at it and say, ‘It's a real challenge.' But I love what I do too. I go down and look at what the Pistons (coaches) do in preparation and I think, ‘That's insane.'" “But I look at what I do in terms of recruiting and I think, ‘That's insane.' ” The Bulls are under the impression, Yahoo! Sports sources said, that Izzo is eager to speak with them. www.wzzm13.com/sports/pro_basketball/basketballsports_article.aspx?storyid=91070
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Post by Raider Country on Apr 24, 2008 20:54:55 GMT -5
Davis gets two-year contract extension, $25,000 raiseAssociated Press April 24, 2008 BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- UAB coach Mike Davis received a two-year contract extension and a $25,000 raise Thursday. The new deal was approved by the compensation committee of the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees. It runs through the 2012-13 season. Davis also got a raise in his base salary to $625,000, along with increased incentives. Davis will receive a $35,000 bonus for an NCAA tournament appearance and $100,000 for leading the team to the national championship game. The Blazers went 23-11 last season and played in the NIT. sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3365569
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