At Oregon they’re more than mildly amused at all the media pressure on them to name a new basketball coach in a hurry. Well, while they’ve been guilty of bringing some of that on themselves by promising to have their guy in place by the Final Four, I still tend to see their side of it.
There’s really no hurry in doing this when you consider how important the decision is and the fact that they have only one scholarship to give out this year, anyway. If Jefferson’s Terrence Jones is going to wait on them, it’s great — but I’m not sure they’re going to get him anyway, depending on who eventually gets the coaching job.
Rather than make a rash decision, it’s always best to wait when you’re looking at paying someone upwards of $2 million a season for the next several years.
It’s also interesting to note that so many coaches have been mentioned as rejecting the Ducks when Oregon has actually talked to only two of them — Jamie Dixon at Pittsburgh and Brad Stevens of Butler. And in neither case, did discussions even get as far as salary. This has been confirmed by a source close to the search process.
Another fact from that same source — there are coaches out there continuing to use the Ducks to get a raise or other considerations from their college who have been consistently begging for a UO interview and can’t get one.
The Ducks are trying to be thorough in their search and are taking their time, although this week promises to be the key week. There are a couple of names who continue to come up that haven’t been frequently mentioned and another name that’s come up a lot and dismissed, although still in play. Here they are:
Missouri Coach Mike Anderson — Young and energetic, known to be good with boosters and a solid recruiter. Coaches a fast-paced game and creates excitement. An up-and-comer who ought to be interviewed. Signed a seven-year contract before last season, though.
UNLV Coach Lon Kruger — Once one of the hottest college coaches in the country, after leading Florida into the Final Four in 1994. But he was not successful in a three-year run as head coach of the Atlanta Hawks and has been rebuilding his reputation at UNLV, where he’s done a respectable job.
Gonzaga Coach Mark Few – Yeah, I know. Old topic. He’s turned them down. Hey — including his time as an assistant coach, he’s been in Spokane 22 years now. But what I’m hearing now out of Eugene is that there’s still “a flicker” of an interest and that there’s been some movement on both sides. I say “both sides” because I think the Ducks have been put off that Few hasn’t shown more interest in the job at his alma mater.
This is where it stands right now — still fairly wide open. And I think the smart play for the Ducks is to do what they’re doing right now: take time and make a smart hire without being rushed. They have one scholarship to give out and no matter how good the player is who might take it, you want this coach to be around longer than that player.
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