It's been a busy day in college basketball coaching circles and one that directly involved two of the candidates highlighted below as potential Cal head coaches. Tom Crean is the next coach at Indiana University and Bill Grier has left USD after only one season to take over at Oregon State. The openings created at Marquette and USD are not likely to negatively impact the Bear search but one new opening might. Oklahoma State parted ways with Sean Sutton after only two years. Lingering bitterness between Eddie Sutton and the AD and OSUs patron saint, T Boone Pickens, gave Sean very little rope and apparently missing the NCAAs this year used up what little he had. OSU is a big time college program. Fantastic facilities, a storied history and a rabid fan and alum base make this a very attractive opening. Cowboy fans are clamoring for former alum Bill Self to come back to Stillwater, but that seems like a long shot. As a result, guys like Jamie Dixon, Sean Miller and Jay Wright could be on their wish list.
Speaking of Jay Wright. His name has come up as a finalist for the Cal job. He would be a BIG time catch. As excited as I would be to see Mark Fox move down from Reno, Wright is in another league. He has taken Villanova from the abyss to a perennial top 20 program. While the Wildcats have a great basketball heritage, it is a tiny school with mediocre facilities and limited resources. Still, they are a regular to the NCAA tourney and three years ago went to the elite eight as a #1 seed. Wright has recruited exceptionally well and his teams play a tough minded brand of basketball that has been missed in Berkeley. The opening could be attractive to Wright because of Cal's size and natural recruiting advantages. Keep your fingers crossed.
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3 comments:
Don't get your hopes up. Jay Wright is a Philly guy and in his dream position. He's turned down the Kentucky gig and was approached for the spot at Indiana. Why would he head to Cal?
Villanova just opened a new practice facility in November '07. And is located smack in the middle of the Northeast Corridor which is any coach's recruiting dream.
vuhoops,
The odds of Wright coming to Cal are slim. Let me ask you a question. If Villanova is Wright's dream job why even entertain opportunities elsewhere? Cal is a far larger school than Nova with better resources and far less pressure. It's not impossible to imagine Wright being interested.
greg richardson, this is pretty funny. "Why even entertain opportunities elsewhere"? What do you mean by "entertain"? Does a polite "no thank you" from his agent qualify as "entertaining" the opportunity.
Indiana didn't even get an interview with Wright, and you think that Cal will?
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