Daily Tourney Talk (Thursday March 29, 2007)

Coaching Carousel

Indiana State has found a new head coach sitting on the Creighton bench, assistant Kevin McKenna

Some more names mentioned by Andy Katz for the Michigan job, including Chris Lowery (prepare for 41-39 games) (also mentioned at Iowa and Arkansas), Sean Miler, and of course John Beilein. Stallings is interested [allegedly] but only if he is offered the job (he doesn't want to interview (how nice!)).

Meanwhile TV coach Reggie Theus wants a primetime salary that can elevate WAC's status. Theus made $325K with bonuses included this season. After all New Mexico just paid Steve Alford almost $1m/year, while the most successful WAC coach (Mark Fox @ Nevada) is at $400k/yr.

AOLSportsBlog is talking about the Michigan job where John Beilein and Kevin Stallings are among the most frequently mentioned names. Beilein has a $2.5m buyout. Is Michigan willing to pay big money for its next coach?

Florida recruits are allegedly alleging that Donovan told them he is staying at Florida

Bob Knight makes $1.3million . Not sure how much extra he makes from all the ads on his red sweater :-)

The Texas A&M Board of Regents will vote on Friday on Gillespie's new deal ($2m per year thru 2012, vs $1.25m per year now).



Reader Segment (sort of)

Some readers are hoping for Tom Crean going to Iowa.

Kentucky fans are digging into Billy Donovan's past

Question: Why did OJ Mayo choose USC?... Answer: 1) For marketing purposes, so he can be at a high profile media market, 2) he wanted to play for an NBA coach and also (according to Tim Floyd) 3) he wanted to go to a place where he could create a legacy, as opposed to following other superstars (eg if he went to Carolina, Kansas, etc).

We are getting closer and closer to the Final Four. Today is "travel day" for a lot of the TV analysts, so there won't be as much coverage. But expect a barrage of stuff tomorrow, including the press conferences on ESPN News, a three-hour show live from the Final Four in Atlanta on CSTV, a 40-minute College Gamenight on ESPN...

The NIT final takes places tonight at 4pmPT/7pmET on ESPN, with Clemson trying to maintain a palmetto NIT-dynasty, while West Virginia wants to put a banner in their building (hopefully the shotgun fired at the start of each game won't tear it down).

Right after the NIT final, the 2007 college basketball skills (or is it skillz?), dunks and three-pointer contest takes places somewhere in the ATL.

Also at 1230pmPT/3:30pmET, the Outside the Lines first report centers on the ...Centers of Attention (Greg Oden vs Roy Hibbert). Also the Centerpiece ...piece looks at the Golden Anniversary of the 1957 final of Kansas vs North Carolina. Must see/record TV!


Incidentally the November 2006 issue of "Slam" magazine is a high-school basketball special issue with Kevin Love and Kyle Singler on the front cover. It's available on Amazon for $5, and eligible for free shipping with orders over $25. Also eligible for the 4-for-3 promotion.