Coaching Carousel 2010

[Nutt House]

Timberwolves assistant Theus to interview with DePaul
March 31, 2010

MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota Timberwolves assistant coach Reggie Theus will interview for the current opening at DePaul University.

"That's my understanding," Timberwolves head coach Kurt Rambis said prior to Wednesday night's game against Sacramento.

Theus, who was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in 1978, said he hasn't had a direct conversation with officials from the Chicago school, but said that his agent is handling initial conversations.

"I'm getting calls, but I'm not picking up my phone until after the game," Theus said.

The Timberwolves have lost 16 consecutive games, and Theus was responsible for the scouting report for Wednesday night's game against the Kings.

Theus played 13 seasons in the NBA and was an assistant coach to Rick Pitino at Louisville for two seasons. He later was the head coach at New Mexico State and led the Aggies to the 2007 NCAA tournament. Theus had a 41-23 record at New Mexico State before coaching the Sacramento Kings for one-plus seasons.

DePaul fired coach Jerry Wainwright in January, and assistant Tracy Webster was the interim coach for the rest of the season.

A DePaul spokesperson told the Chicago Tribune that Theus would interview on Thursday. The Timberwolves don't play again until Saturday.

While Theus said his energy is focussed on the Timberwolves, he also added that, "there's no doubt that I want to be a head coach again."

Theus was a rookie with the Bulls in 1979, the last time the Blue Demons reached the Final Four.

"It's a great city," Theus said. "I was there when DePaul was going good and I know that the city of Chicago will support them if you put a good product on the floor."

DePaul has struggled to do that for most of the past 20 years. Since 1992, the Blue Demons have advanced to the NCAAs only twice. The Blue Demons went 1-17 in Big East play this season and dating to the middle of the 2007-08 season, DePaul has won only two of its past 46 regular-season conference games.

Rambis said he will support Theus if he leaves for a head coaching position after only one season with the Timberwolves.

"I'm happy if he gets a job, I'm happy if he gets something he wants," Rambis said. "All the coaches who are here have head coaching aspirations. If they get an opportunity, I want them to take advantage of it. I'm all for it.

www.cbssports.com/nba/story/13141711/timberwolves-assistant-theus-to-interview-with-depaul?tag=headlines;collegebasketball

[Nutt House]

WEDNESDAY'S COACHING SCOOP
Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Boston College athletic director Gene DeFillipo interviewed Cornell’s Steve Donahue and Fairfield coach Ed Cooley on Wednesday and will meet with Richmond head coach on Thursday. Northeastern’s Bill Coen, who was on the staff with Cooley under Skinner, is also expected to get a look.

- The three names in the mix for Siena to replace Fran McCaffery are Saints assistant Mitch Buonaguro, Coen and Jacksonville’s Cliff Warren – who worked under Paul Hewitt at Siena.

- Iona spoke to Fran Fraschilla on Wednesday and will likely speak to a few more candidates in Indianapolis. The group is expected to include Louisville assistant Steve Masiello.

- According to a source, Citadel coach Ed Conroy has been offered the job at UNC Wilmington.

- Wagner is down to three guys: St. Benedict’s head coach Dan Hurley, Vanderbilt assistant King Rice and Texas A&M assistant Scott Spinelli.

- Sources indicate that former Texas Tech head coach James Dickey has emerged as the front-runner for the job to replace Tom Penders at Houston.

- Gardner-Webb is looking at ex-Charlotte assistant Rob Moxley, Ohio assistany Chris Holtmann (previously coached at Gardner-Webb), Mississippi State assistant Phil Cunningham and Belmont assistant Casey Alexander.

- DePaul, according to a source, is interviewing former New Mexico State and Sacramento Kings Reggie Theus.

- Still hearing that Golden State Warriors assistant Russell Turner is the leader for UC Irvine.

community.foxsports.com/goodmanonfox/blog/?pref_tab=blog

[Rush the Court]

Reports: Houston hiring former TTU coach Dickey
March 31, 2010

James Dickey will be Houston's next basketball coach, according to multiple media reports out of Houston.

The Houston Chronicle is reporting a formal announcement could come Thursday.

Dickey coached at Texas Tech from 1991 to 2001 and made two NCAA tournament appearances. He was an assistant at Oklahoma State from 2002 to 2008, working for both Eddie and Sean Sutton. He's replacing Tom Penders.

This development is interesting because it's the second job in Texas that was filled in the past two days by somebody other than Billy Gillispie. The former Kentucky coach was reportedly in play at both UTEP and Houston. But UTEP went to Tim Floyd and Houston is hiring Dickey, and now it's unclear if Gillispie, a Texas native, will return to the sidelines next season.

www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6271764/20698183?tag=headlines;collegebasketball

[Rush the Court]

Smith working on extension with Minnesota
April 1, 2010

INDIANAPOLIS -- Tubby Smith is working on a contract extension at Minnesota -- not looking for a new job.

Rumors this week suggested Oregon would make a big-dollar offer to make Smith the successor to the recently fired Ernie Kent. Smith was in Indianapolis on Thursday during Final Four events and he says there was "nothing to talk about" in regards to Oregon.

He says he's so happy at Minnesota that he's working on a contract extension.

Smith just finished his second season with Minnesota, leading the Gophers to their second straight NCAA tourney appearance. Before taking the Minnesota job, Smith won a national championship at Kentucky.

Two weeks ago, Smith was reportedly linked to the Auburn job but the Tigers hired Tony Barbee.

www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/13145539/smith-working-on-extension-with-minnesota

[Sixth Man]

That’s why the name of Dayton’s Brian Gregory keeps popping up
David Haugh

Come to think of it, Reggie Theus was the ideal candidate for DePaul to interview Thursday for the job apparently nobody wants.

Like DePaul, Theus' name meant a lot to basketball in Chicago during the early '80s too.

DePaul needs a new calendar as badly as a new basketball coach, and both sooner rather than later. Most of all, DePaul needs to make Dayton coach Brian Gregory an offer he can't refuse now that the Flyers' season ended with an NIT title Thursday night.

The Blue Demons can restore credibility to a search process that has been mocked locally and nationally if they choose Gregory's steak over Theus' sizzle. In coaching, star power doesn't always equal staying power.

Sure, Theus offers DePaul respectable credentials, having inherited a New Mexico State program in 2005 that went 6-24 and taking it to the NCAA tournament two years later with a mixture of transfers and junior-college players. But if the job is as attractive as athletic director Jean Lenti Ponsetto says, DePaul should be able to lure somebody with more than two years college head-coaching experience — especially with a $2 million salary to dangle as bait.

As dynamic as Theus is, if he is DePaul's next basketball coach, his limited background building and sustaining a program would make it difficult to place the move in any other category but gamble. After one Big East victory in the last two seasons, Lenti Ponsetto's next hire must take risk out of the equation or else hers should be the next job the university tries to fill.

With the possible exception of his former boss Rick Pitino at Louisville, Theus possesses more panache than any other coach in the Big East. He would fill notebooks, dazzle high-def TVs and give the conference everything it expects out of the Chicago market. Seeing "Rush Street Reggie'' crash the party at Lincoln Park could be a rush indeed.

But buzz alone won't restore DePaul basketball to the condition it was in when Theus was last relevant in this town. From 1978-84, when Theus starred for the Bulls, DePaul was bigger. That's the image appearing in Lenti Ponsetto's memory when she sounds out of touch waxing poetic about the appeal of Allstate Arena. That's the stuck-in-the-past mindset getting in the way of DePaul's basketball future.

Rebuilding a program in the Western Athletic Conference, as Theus did at New Mexico State, isn't the same as doing it in the Big East. Quick fixes in a 16-team power conference come slower and more gradually. During the wait, a coach has to have something beyond flair and won-loss record to offer as signs of growth: a style of play, a hot-shot recruit, a pipeline to the NBA, a proficiency in X's and O's.

In that way, DePaul needs a more established program-builder such as Gregory, someone whose brand of basketball and recruiting structure has withstood a test of time longer than two seasons, a coach whose inclusion in the process won't raise eyebrows the way Theus' did. One college basketball source asked me once news broke that Theus was interviewing, "Is DePaul really going to hire somebody Central Florida didn't?''

That was in reference to Theus stating publicly in the Florida media how great of a job Central Florida was three days before the school hired Marshall coach Donnie Jones. Maybe Theus took himself out of consideration, maybe UCF liked Jones better. Whatever, the perception from at least two coaching peers is that Theus quietly expressed interest in the Central Florida and Auburn jobs and came away 0-for-2.

Now, needing an extra-base hit in the worst way, DePaul has given Theus another at-bat.

Why now? It's not like DePaul had to wait for the 15-victory Timberwolves to be eliminated from the playoffs. DePaul's season ended a month ago. Introducing Theus to the equation now smacks of desperation.

Similarly, asking erratic Isiah Thomas to interview — the Florida International coach is interested, a source told the Tribune's Fred Mitchell — would be asking for long-term pain in exchange for short-term gain too.

The names Reggie Theus and Isiah Thomas always will be magical in Chicago. But it has been 26 years since 1984. Top prospects in the Chicago area likely know Theus either as the guy who helped Pitino recruit a Top 5 class in '05 or as character Bill Fuller in the late '90s Saturday morning kid comedy "Hang Time.'' Many probably know Thomas, Mr. West Side, as a former Piston.

Those top prospects also know they will commit to DePaul if it offers opportunity, stability and a chance to win -- and the coach, whoever it is, conveys all that with a mixture of excitement and integrity.

While Lenti Ponsetto considers names that once resonated so deeply with Chicago's basketball community, she has to ask herself: What happens when the buzz over this hire subsides?

That question becomes easier to answer by hiring a highly respected guy who has proved himself over time when the lights weren't quite so bright.

www.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/ct-spt-0402-haugh-depaul-coach--20100401,0,7603236.column

[Bomber]

April 2, 2010
Kent State's Ford gets 2-year extension

KENT, Ohio -- Kent State coach Geno Ford has agreed to terms on a two-year contract extension with the school.

Ford's new deal runs through 2014-15 and will pay him a base salary of $300,000 per year, athletic director Laing Kennedy said Friday.

In just his second season, Ford was honored as the Mid-American Conference's coach of the year after leading the Golden Flashes to a 24-10 record and appearance in the NIT. Ford went 13-3 and won the MAC's East division.

Ford is 43-25 in two seasons at Kent State, one of 11 schools to win at least 20 games in 11 of the past 12 years.

sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=5049938

[Raider Fanatic]

Purdue's Painter signs extension through 2016-17
April 2, 2010

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Purdue coach Matt Painter signed a new contract that will keep him leading the Boilermakers through the 2016-17 season.

Purdue announced Friday that the new contract gives Painter a $1.3 million base salary, plus up to $1 million of incentives for academic, athletic and attendance performance.

Painter has a 112-56 record in five seasons at Purdue. The Boilermakers went 29-6 and shared the Big Ten regular-season title this year, winning two games in the NCAA tournament before a 70-57 loss to Duke in the Sweet 16.

Athletic director Morgan Burke said the basketball team has made positive strides each year under Painter and that the new contract shows a belief that "the best days for this program are yet to come."

www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/13149778/purdues-painter-signs-extension-through-201617?tag=headlines;collegebasketball

[Raider Fanatic]

April 2, 2010
Sam Houston State promotes Hooten to head coach

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) -- Jason Hooten has been promoted to basketball coach at Sam Houston State.

He succeeds Bob Marlin, who left to take the job at Louisiana-Lafayette. Marlin held the Sam Houston job since 1998 and led the Bearkats to a Southland Conference tournament championship and a berth in the NCAA tournament this past season.

Hooten was an assistant coach for Sam Houston State, which lost in the first round to Baylor.

Hooten had been part of Marlin's staff since 2004. He spent 11 seasons as an assistant coach for Tarleton State.

Marlin was 225-131 in 12 seasons with the Bearkats. The 25-8 record was the Bearkats' best in 23 seasons in NCAA Division I.


sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/basketball/ncaa/04/02/sam.houston.state.hooten.ap/index.html

[Rush the Court]

FRIDAY MORNING'S COACHING SCOOP
April 2, 2010

Here are a couple of coaching tidbits before heading over to the arena:

- Here’s the deal with the Charlotte situation, according to a source close to the situation. Syracuse coach-in-waiting Mike Hopkins is in the drivers’ seat – if he wants the job – and Xavier associate coach Pat Kelsey is a close second right now. Other candidates in the mix include Kansas’ Joe Dooley, Texas’ Russell Springmann and Ohio State’s Alan Major.

- The job to replace Donnie Jones at Marshall will likely come down to: Pittsburgh associate Tom Herrion, former Charlotte head coach Bobby Lutz, Appalachian State’s Buzz Peterson and Cleveland State associate head coach Jayson Gee. UNLV assistant Steve Henson is also in the mix, but sources have told FOXSports.com that the job will likely go to someone with current or previous D-1 head coaching experience.

- Iona has interviewed Fran Fraschilla, who has proven himself as one of the most diligent and intelligent TV guys in the business. Fraschilla will have to decide whether it’s the right move for him to get back into coaching, but he’s one of the few television guys who has displayed the relentless work ethic to be able to get back in after such a lengthy layoff. Other candidates at Iona include Louisville assistant Steve Masiello, ex-St. John’s head coach Norm Roberts, Florida assistant Richard Pitino and Iona assistant Dan McHale.

- Keep hearing that former Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard could be returning to Worcester after spending last season with his best friend, Rick Pitino, at Louisville.

- Boston College will likely hold off until early to middle of next week.

- Reggie Theus interviewed at DePaul yesterday and something could be done in the next 24 hours. Then again, at DePaul, you never know. Maybe the administration will sit on their you-know-what’s for another few months in hopes that they can land Coach K or Roy Williams.

- The three names I continue to hear at Siena are assistant Mitch Buonaguro, Northeastern’s Bill Coen and Jacksonville’s Cliff Warren. My sources tell me that Buonaguro has the inside track.

- Purdue has signed Matt Painter to an 8-year deal thru 2016-17.

- Kent State inked Geno Ford to a two-year extension that goes through 2014-15.

community.foxsports.com/goodmanonfox/blog/?pref_tab=blog

[Rush the Court]

April 2, 2010
Report: Amaker not contacted by BC

Harvard University is working on a multiyear extension for men's basketball coach Tommy Amaker, the school said Friday afternoon.

Amaker, who previously was at Seton Hall and Michigan before landing at Harvard in 2007, led the Crimson to their highest victory total in school history this season (21) and earned Harvard its first postseason tournament berth (CIT) since 1946. There has been some speculation he could become a candidate for the coaching vacancy at Boston College.

"There have been some flattering reports of opportunities at other fine institutions but my heart is at Harvard," Amaker said, according to the school.

A source told the Boston Herald that BC had not yet contacted Harvard for permission to speak with Amaker.

Boston College has spoken with Richmond coach Chris Mooney about its vacancy, and will interview Northeastern's Bill Coen on Monday, the Herald reported.

sports.espn.go.com/boston/ncb/news/story?id=5050861

[Rush the Court]

SOURCES: RICHMOND'S MOONEY SIGNS EXTENSION
April 2, 2010

Richmond coach Chris Mooney is now officially out of the running for the Boston College job.

Mooney, who met with BC athletic director Gene DeFillipo earlier this week according to multiple sources, would not comment on withdrawing from the Eagles' open position but did confirm to FOXSports.com Friday night that he had signed a seven-year extension with the Spiders.

The other candidates to replace Al Skinner are former BC assistants Ed Cooley (Fairfield), who already interviewed, Bill Coen (Northeastern) and Cornell coach Steve Donahue.

Donahue has also interviewed, while Coen will talk to DeFillipo on Monday.

community.foxsports.com/goodmanonfox/blog/?pref_tab=blog

[Rush the Court]

April 3, 2010
UNM's Alford gets 10-year extension

New Mexico's Steve Alford has agreed to a new 10-year deal with the Lobos, the coach said in a statement Saturday.

Alford led the Lobos to the Mountain West conference regular-season title and a No. 3 seed in the East for this season's NCAA tournament.

The Lobos beat Montana in the first round before losing to No. 11 Washington.

Alford had been working under a three-year extension that ran through 2015-16.

Alford, who left Iowa and the Big Ten after the 2006-07 season to take over a struggling New Mexico program, had signed a six-year contract when joining the Lobos.

sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=5052685

[Tipp City Raider]

April 5, 2010
Source: Dan Hurley hired at Wagner

Dan Hurley will make the rare jump from the high school ranks to a Division I head coaching position.

Hurley, who transformed St. Benedicts Prep of Newark, N.J., into a national powerhouse, will be named coach at Wagner College, a source close to Hurley said Monday.

Hurley will be introduced at a Wednesday news conference.

Hurley, 37, inherits a program that went 5-26 in the final season under veteran coach Mike Deane but returns several experienced players to the Staten Island school, a member of the Northeast Conference.

Hurley previously was an assistant at Rutgers before landing at St. Benedicts, where he went 223-21 in nine seasons.

During his tenure he coached J.R. Smith, who successfully jumped to the NBA after being the first-round pick of the New Orleans Hornets in 2004.

Other notables include Corey Stokes (Villanova), Lance Thomas (Duke) and Eugene Harvey (Seton Hall). This year the Gray Bees went 20-1 and will send at least five players to Division I schools, led by Aaron Brown (Temple) and Gil Biruta (Rutgers). Juniors Sidiki Johnson and Myck Kabongo will sign in November with Arizona and Texas.

This is not the first time Hurley was hired as a college head coach. Two years ago, he accepted the position at Marist only to later turn it down.

Others considered for the Seahawks vacancy were Vanderbilt assistant coach King Rice and and Texas A&M associate head coach Scott Spinelli.

Hurley's hiring at Wagner completes a big weekend in New Jersey's first family of basketball.

On Friday it was announced Dan's father, Bob Hurley Sr., was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

The elder Hurley, the legendary high school coach at St. Anthony in Jersey City, is closing in on 1,000 career wins with 23 state titles.

sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=5056832

[Tipp City Raider]

Sources: Gregory out of running at BC

INDIANAPOLIS -- For the second time in less than a week, an Atlantic 10 coach has decided to stay put rather than pursue the coaching vacancy at Boston College.

Dayton's Brian Gregory talked to BC athletic director Gene DeFilippo, who received permission to talk to him, but has declined to visit Boston for an interview, according to a source close the situation.

Last week, Richmond's Chris Mooney interviewed for the job, which opened when longtime coach Al Skinner and the university agreed to part ways, but decided to stay put in the A-10 and agreed to a seven-year contract.

DeFilippo has also reached out to BC alumnus Bruce Pearl of Tennessee, but he declined to be interviewed as well.

Cornell coach Steve Donahue is now seen as a favorite, given the Big Red's recent success in the Ivy League and trip to this year's Sweet 16. Meanwhile, DeFilippo has interviewed two of Skinner's former assistants, Ed Cooley of Fairfield and Bill Coen of Northeastern.

According to sources, the reason Gregory and Mooney decided against jumping to Boston College and the Atlantic Coast Conference is the comfort level they feel at their respective jobs -- a coup for the A-10. Both jobs are at "basketball-first" programs, where the sport doesn't take a back seat to football for facilities or finances.

Sources said the possible expansion of the NCAA tournament to 96 teams also played a role. Dayton and Richmond are expected to remain top-tier programs in the A-10 and an expanded field would give them greater access to the NCAAs than rebuilding Boston College within the rugged ACC.

Skinner, who led the Eagles to seven of the last 10 NCAAs, parted with BC after the Eagles went 15-16 overall and struggled in the ACC with six conference wins and a first-round exit in the ACC tournament.

sports.espn.go.com/boston/ncb/news/story?id=5057355

[Tipp City Raider]

A few tidbits before I head to this Hall of Fame deal:

- Source told FOXSports.com that St. Benedict’s coach Dan Hurley has accepted the Wagner job.

- Syracuse assistant Mike Hopkins, the coach-in-waiting when Jim Boeheim retires, withdrew from the Charlotte opening. The candidates include Pat Kelsey (Xavier), Russell Springmann (Texas), Joe Dooley (Kansas) and Alan Major (Ohio State).

- Iona has targeted television analyst Fran Fraschilla, who has withdrawn from the opening. The Gaels are looking at Louisville assistant Steve Masiello, ex-St. John’s head coach Norm Roberts and Florida assistant Richard Pitino.

- St. John’s coach Steve Lavin’s first hire on his staff will be that of Drexel’s Tony Chiles.

community.foxsports.com/goodmanonfox/blog/?pref_tab=blog