Cinci has a new basketball coach. The corpse was barely cold following the NIT loss to South Carolina when Mick Cronin, formerly the head guy at Murray State, was named new coach.

Andy Kennedy, though, landed right on his feet as he was almost as quickly named the new head coach at Ole Miss.

And of course, the same day that Bob Huggins appeared back in Kansas State. By the way, read this Jim Litke article and assume that K-State is putting some good lawyers with experience with the NCAA on retainer.

Maybe it was just an unfortunate coincidence.

First, there was the story of O.J. Mayo, a junior at Cincinnati North College Hill High School and two-time Ohio Mr. Basketball. Mayo sat out the state high school semifinals Thursday night – on orders from his principal, who wouldn’t disclose the reason – and has no idea yet whether he’ll play in the championship game Saturday.

But Mayo has known for awhile now where he and teammate Bill Walker, another very talented junior, wanted to go to college: Whichever school Huggins wound up at.

“At the same time,” Mayo said recently, “we have to see where he ends up, what the school’s fan base is like, see what the fans think about him and make sure everything is great.”

Everything is not great, though, with the program Huggins left behind. Hours before its NIT quarterfinal loss to South Carolina on Thursday night, the University of Cincinnati suspended two starters, leading scorer James White and 3-point specialist Jihad Muhammad, for violating undisclosed NCAA eligibility rules.

Just a coincidence, I’m sure.

Here is what is actually known. Pitt and Arizona State have made offers to Jamie Dixon. Arizona State AD Lisa Love has actually managed to meet with Dixon somewhere on Thursday.

Dixon, who worked as an assistant at Northern Arizona University, was not on the Pitt campus Thursday.

Neither assistants on his coaching staff nor Pitt’s sports information department knew where he was.

ASU Athletic Director Lisa Love also was not on the Tempe campus Thursday. ASU’s sports information department did not know of her whereabouts.

The ASU contract offer is believed to be for 5 years.

Sometime today it is expected that Dixon will release a statement on the whole situation. And here’s where we just don’t know.

One paper is reporting that Dixon is leaning towards leaving for ASU.

Pitt basketball coach Jamie Dixon, faced with a chance to move closer to his West Coast roots, was weighing an offer Thursday from Arizona State to become its next head coach, a person familiar with the negotiations told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

The source said Dixon had not yet made a decision, but was leaning toward accepting the Pac-10 school’s offer. He would replace Rob Evans, who was fired March 10.
…
Earlier in the week, it was believed that Dixon had decided to remain at Pitt, where he has four years remaining on a deal reportedly worth close to $600,000 annually. But Arizona State increased its offer — a supposed five-year deal — over the past two days to “close to $900,000” annually, the source said.

Pitt’s new offer to retain Dixon is believed to be roughly $800,000 annually. It is unclear what buyout provisions are included in Dixon’s contract at Pitt.

If I’m reading that right, Pitt’s offer upped the salary, but not the years. That would mean more money and more years. Couple that with the reports yesterday that there are also some very achievable bonuses for Dixon in the ASU offer. Bonuses that put it right up to around $1 million/year.

The other paper is less clear, but seems to be indicating that Dixon is closer to staying at Pitt.

A source within the university said last night that Dixon is expected to release a statement, possibly today, about his situation at Pitt. Arizona State and Missouri have sought permission from Pitt to speak with Dixon about the coaching openings at their schools.

Pitt extended Dixon a new contract offer Monday, and Dixon has gone about his business of recruiting players for Pitt the past few days.
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The source refuted a report in yesterday’s Arizona Republic stating that Pitt had a deadline by the end of this week to receive an answer from Dixon.

The source said legal complexities could be holding up the announcement of a contract extension. Dixon is making around $600,000 annually on his current contract that has four years remaining.

Right now it is a battle of anonymous sources. The only thing that does seem obvious is that Missouri isn’t really in the picture — in fact a St. Louis paper thinks he’s staying.

No interviews have taken place and probably won’t until the weekend. Possible candidate Jamie Dixon, from Pittsburgh, is expected to release a statement today regarding his future. It is believed he will remain with Pittsburgh.

And, by the way, the Mizzou fan base is getting really agitated about the whole pace of the hiring process. Their AD, Mike Alden, better hire a guy who wins or he’s out of a job.

Just to keep things clouded, if Dixon were to leave Pitt, there are other teams’ coaching issues that could affect Pitt’s process. Specifically the lame-duck status of Louis Orr at Seton Hall.

Orr, who led the Pirates to the NCAA tournament this season for the second time in his five years, will likely decide from three scenarios: 1, accept a buyout from his original contract, which has two years left at $499,000 per year; 2, accept a provisional extension – most likely for one year – in which he will agree to making changes on his staff; 3, accept a non-conditional extension which would allow him to maintain the status quo.

The third option seems remote. Seton Hall – which has two scholarships available and no one signed – wants a proven metropolitan-area recruiter on the bench, be it an assistant or head coach. The recruiting dilemma became magnified this week, when the Pirates officially lost out on Robeson High point guard Malcolm Grant. With speculation rising about Orr’s future, Grant, who plans on attending Villanova, backed out of a verbal commitment to The Hall.

Quinlan, through the school’s sports information director Jeff Andriesse, had no comment regarding Orr. Calls to Dennis Coleman, Orr’s agent, were not returned. Coleman, who is believed to be exploring other avenues for Orr, is expected in Minnesota this weekend for the NCAA tournament’s Minneapolis Regional.

Should Orr leave, Quinlan is believed to have a short list of replacements, all with significant ties to the area: Pitt associate coach and Brooklyn native Barry Rohrssen, Florida Atlantic coach and Long Island native Matt Doherty, Manhattan College’s Bobby Gonzalez, and Hofstra’s Tom Pecora.

Rohrssen obviously would be considered for the Pitt job, but Gonzalez and Pecora have both been names floated about becoming the next Pitt coach.

Speculation abounds.

The thing that has surprised me so far is that the amount of a pay raise Jamie Dixon is being offered from Pitt is still unknown. It appears, though, that the amount Arizona State is offering has been leaked. Courtesy of e-mail from Pittsburgh Sports Report:

According to a source close the situation, University of Pittsburgh basketball coach Jamie Dixon was leaning toward remaining at Pitt early in the week, but Arizona State may have sweetened their offer.

According to the source, Arizona State won’t pay Dixon more than they currently pay football coach Dirk Koetter, who makes a reported $950,000 a season. Arizona State is reportedly prepared to pay a salary of $800,000 annually, plus easily attainable bonuses, which could include wins and attendance. “They don’t have many wins or much attendance now so the bonuses are virtually guaranteed,” says the source. “Then he would approach a million.”

The source goes on to say that as of now, Dixon could go either way. “My guess is that he is pushing the envelope on both ends.”

I’m guessing that does not include what he would get for his shoe contract with the school and radio/TV show

Pitt has to at least approach that if they want to keep Dixon. Yes, that means at least matching or even exceeding the amount they pay Coach Dave Wannstedt. In fact, here’s something I wrote just before Wannstedt agreed to terms with Pitt, regarding Louisville and Bob Petrino:

I’m just worried. The more I think about it, the more I become convinced that Pitt is looking to go cheap. Real cheap. I look at how Louisville just gave Petrino a big raise, and even then the AD acknowledged there will still be risks that he leaves.

Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich still expects Petrino’s name to come up when higher-profile jobs open.

“There are certainly schools out there that have more money than us,” Jurich said. “But we’re going to do everything in our power to keep everything stabilized here.”

That’s understanding the nature of college football, a willingness to look clear-eyed at it, and understanding if you want to keep or get someone you don’t wait to respond with the money and/or contract. Yeah, Petrino nearly bolted last winter for Auburn. There’s no guarantee he won’t go somewhere else in a year or two. But you deal with the situation, and prepare just in case.

I don’t see that from the Pitt administration. I see unpreparedness, fear and an unwillingness to pay or really look for the kind of coach they say they want — someone to take them to that mythical “next level.”

Happily, I was wrong about the football side, but it was mainly because they got the guy they really wanted and believed in. Not necessarily because they were willing to pay for the market rate.

I’m not sure how hard they are working to keep to Dixon.

Dave in Orlando pointed to this article on coaching salaries.

Tom Crean, at $1.65 million, is one of the rare exception in that his entire earnings are listed. But most of the other coaches listed have very lucrative other arrangements that more than supplement the salaries.

However, coaches are paid in different ways and can earn tens of thousands of dollars in so-called outside income. That makes exact comparisons difficult.

Marquette officials, for example, say Crean’s pay represents his entire pay, including compensation for holding basketball camps, and TV and radio shows. Other schools might report a base salary, but are not obligated to report outside income.

Crean’s salary appears in a tax document that Marquette, a non-profit organization, must file each year with the Internal Revenue Service. In addition to a salary of $1,655,819, Crean also made $28,884 that was placed in a benefit plan, and was given an additional $3,784 for expenses.

Crean has coached the Golden Eagles to three NCAA tournament appearances, including a Final Four appearance in 2002-’03. This season, the team surprised many by going 20-10 overall and finishing the regular season in the tough Big East with a 10-6 record, and gained a bid to the NCAA tournament. The Golden Eagles will meet Alabama on Thursday in San Diego.

John Marinatto, senior associate commissioner at the Big East and a former athletic director at Providence College, said Crean was in the upper echelon of highly compensated coaches in the 16-team conference.

Pitt doesn’t want to be seen as merely a stepping stone. Well, it also means that the school needs to step up, ahead of things in terms of what it is willing to pay to keep or have the coaches it wants.

If Arizona St. or Missouri wouldn’t be looking to take a run at nabbing Dixon, some other school would if he keeps having success. Just like Marquette has to face the buzz around Crean every year. Same with Izzo at MSU or Barnes at Texas and so on.

Maybe the numbers seem ridiculous, but they are what the market is paying.

Any name, successful coach Pitt would hope to target would very likely cost considerably more than it would to keep Dixon.

Seriously. Name another coach Pitt could likely hire with a reasonably comparable record of accomplishments that would come cheaper?

Not to pile on TOO much, but I enjoyed this bit of Schadenfreude that I found in the form of this article from Slate. Yeah, part of my enjoyment stems from the fact that I’m bitter, but then again, I’m ALWAYS bitter (at least according to many who know me, including Chas, Pat and Lee). Another part of my enjoyment, however, came from Jacob Liebenluft’s skillful deflating of the whole “Cinderella” myth.

First, the fun part; that is, the part about Bradley not being as pure as “they” would have us belive:

Let’s take a closer look at Bradley University, that great restorer of
innocence. Patrick O’Bryant, the Braves’ 7-foot-tall NBA prospect, was suspended for eight games earlier this year for accepting money for work he never did. Three other Bradley players were found to have
accepted excessive payments. (The school claimed the players didn’t realize they were receiving too much money.) After the Braves’ second-best player, Marcellus Sommerville, transferred from the University of Iowa in 2003, his father told the Peoria Journal-Star that Bradley coaches engaged in illegal tampering, encouraging Sommerville to
switch schools while he was still enrolled at Iowa. Starting point guard Daniel Ruffin was forced to sit out his freshman year when the NCAA refused to accept his test scores.

Adding on to this delightful take down, Mr. Liebenluft goes on to put the Missouri Valley Conference, this year’s Mid-major darling, in its place:

At least Bradley graduates 73 percent of its players—a figure many of its fellow Cinderellas can’t come close to matching. The plucky Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers, who dominated Oklahoma in the first round, have a graduation rate of 28 percent. Bradley’s Missouri Valley Conference rivals at Wichita State (50 percent) and Northern Iowa (30 percent) don’t fare much better.

Wrapping up, he then does his best to explode the “mid-major” ideal altogether:

Much of the little guys’ appeal comes from the fact that the players don’t turn pro after their sophomore year and the coaches don’t get paid big bucks. But that has less to do with morals than opportunity. Mid-major players don’t emerge fully formed from a magical peach-basket-laden gym in rural Indiana, ready to hoop it up and hit the books with equal enthusiasm. They come from the same shady prep schools and junior colleges as the major-conference studs—they’re just not quite good enough to get recruited by the top-tier teams.

Read the whole thing for yourselves. If you’re like me, and suspect that some of you are, then you’ll find it a great help to realize that many of these “Cinderallas” are really just hookers with hearts of gold.

I do hope Dixon stays with Pitt. If he doesn’t, though, I hope the Pitt administration is paying attention to the way Missouri has handled its search as a way not to do it.

Gary Link and Jon Sundvold apparently will have no further say in who will be Missouri’s new head men’s basketball coach.

Mike Alden, MU’s athletic director, has told Link and senior associate Mario Moccia that neither they nor Sundvold will be part of meetings between Alden, UMC deputy chancellor Mike Middleton and consultant Bob Beaudine aimed at selecting the man who will replace Quin Snyder.

The search committee’s job was apparently to simply put a list of candidates together. Sort of.

“I guess the definition of our committee was the same as last time,” Sundvold said, “a screening committee that put the list together, and then Mike can go make that decision.”

When MU hired Snyder, then an assistant out of Duke, Sundvold was one of the search committee members that favored hiring Bill Self, now the Kansas head coach. Alden hired Snyder.

This time, Link and Sundvold favored hiring, or at least interviewing, Bob Huggins. So too, Sundvold indicated, did Moccia. That position became moot when Alden and UMC chancellor Brady Deaton said that neither Huggins nor former Utah coach Rick Majerus would be interviewed at MU.

The reason, Sundvold was told by Deaton, was that Deaton and Alden weren’t comfortable with past NCAA or off-court problems associated with both those veteran coaches.

Now take a look at the list of candidates.

In no particular order of preference, it is believed to now include at least John Calipari of Memphis, John Beilein of West Virginia, Jaime Dixon of Pitt, Anderson, Alford, Creighton’s Dana Altman, Kelvin Sampson of Oklahoma and possibly even Kevin Stallings of Vanderbilt.

Yes, John Calipari has a sterling reputation, and Kelvin Sampson’s Oklahoma squad is now facing probation for their recruiting violations.

Andy Katz at ESPN.com had reported earlier that Iowa’s Steve Alford was still a possibility along with Mike Anderson (UAB), Dana Altman and John Beilein on the short list. This despite Alford’s press release yesterday professing his happiness at Iowa.

Cinci interim head coach, Andy Kennedy, or Murray State head coach, Mick Cronin will likely be given the head job at Ole Miss.

Meanwhile, Cinci, still playing in the NIT, has been given permission from George Washington to interview Karl Hobbs.

If Dixon were to leave Pitt, my guess is they would take another run at Wake Forest’s Skip Prosser. I don’t think Chancellor Nordenberg has forgotten him, and would like to try again. Just a hunch.

The Johnstown paper checks in on their local product, LaRod Stephens-Howling.

Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt wanted to use the freshman’s blazing speed and athleticism, two traits sorely lacking on the Pitt offense last season, and the Greater Johnstown High School graduate contributed a great deal when he wasn’t injured. He missed two full games and parts of others.

“We’d like him to play an even bigger role this season,” Wannstedt said.

Strangely, Stephens didn’t think he had that bad of a season staying healthy. He does have other goals.

Stephens-Howling and Collins need to stay healthy until the other players gain experience. And for the slightly-built Stephens-Howling, listed at 5-foot-7, 165 pounds, it’s going to be tough.

“I think I held up pretty good,” Stephens-Howling said. “One of the big questions for me was my pass-blocking, but I think I did a pretty good job at it. So, I just kept working hard in the weight room in the offseason to help out my pass-blocking and maybe get a little more power when I’m running.”

Stephens-Howling also said he expected to remain the top kick-returner. Injuries held him to just five returns, but he ran one back 95 yards for a touchdown against Ohio University. He also caught nine passes for 41 yards, but did not reach the end zone. His only score was the kickoff return.

“I think about it a lot when I’m in the weight room,” Stephens-Howling said. “I want to get a lot stronger and get more power, so I can finish my runs. That motivates me to keep working harder because I haven’t gotten into the end zone. I put on 10 pounds since the season, but I’ve gotten stronger. It’s not really about gaining more weight.”

Kevin Collier is all but presumed to grab the starting job, but Stephens as a change of pace and bouncing it outside is an enticing possibility to share time. Not to mention the general health for Pitt RBs the last few years has been spotty — possibly related to getting no blocking on their runs and having to absorb a lot of contact.

The article has some “between-the-lines” stuff on Stephens adjusting to the student part. A little worrisome.

We have speculation, noise, courtships but not much else.

Say this for Coach Jamie Dixon, he and “his people” seem to know how to keep the leaks to a minimum. While there are reports of talks, offers and shortlists — the one thing not reported is what Coach Dixon is actually thinking.

Usually in a Coaching soap opera there are some leaks about how the coach is actually feeling or leaning. Some unnamed source that gives a tidbit about being tempted, conflicted, not really interested, pursuing, or just something. Here there has been nothing. We don’t even know anything about the contract extension offer from Pitt. Nothing about years or money in even a rough figure.

Coach Dixon has let all the leaks come from the programs and just kept about his own business. Frustrating when you want information, but it is actually respectable that he has not made noise.

Here’s my only tip I can offer on effective Dixon Watching. Keep the closest watch on anything coming from Andy Katz at ESPN.com. For the past year, of all the national college basketball writers, he’s been the only one that gets quotes and comments from Jamie Dixon on a regular basis. That means regular communication and some level of trust. If there is any leak from the Dixon camp, Katz will likely have it.

So here’s what’s out there. It looks like Arizona State is talking by phone to Dixon.

According to sources at ASU, preliminary talks are under way with Dixon, whom the Sun Devils have targeted for the job that Rob Evans vacated on March 10.

If by “vacated,” you mean had his office packed up and fired, then sure.

A couple of weeks ago, Dixon hired Dennis Coleman of Boston as his attorney. He told the Pittsburgh media that Coleman would not serve as his agent.

Coleman is also Evans’ attorney. Coleman, who represents between 35 and 40 college coaches, has not returned calls to the media.

According to sources in both Tempe and Pittsburgh, ASU and Pitt are eager to get an answer – yes or no – from Dixon by the end of the week.

But a potential delay could happen as a result of Missouri’s reported interest in Dixon.

Dixon is back in the ‘Burgh, after a trip to Altoona to see Schenley and Harrisburg play in a PIAA high school playoff game. The local papers have nothing, only reporting on a very brief item in a small Arizona newspaper:

Arizona State officials have begun talks with Jamie Dixon, the University of Pittsburgh coach whose team recently was eliminated from the NCAA basketball tournament, a source familiar with the process confirmed Tuesday.

That’s all, that’s the story. In fact, looking at the stories, they all seem to just refer back to each other. Clearly no one in the media has a good sense of this either.

As for the Missouri possibility, well he’s on the list, but that’s all that is known. It seems the list has Mike Anderson of UAB as well. It also would appear that John Brady of LSU is under consideration. Missouri has a list of about 5 candidates by all accounts: John Beilein (WVU), Mike Anderson, Dana Altman (Creighton), John Brady and Jamie Dixon.

John Brady is paid a bit over $700,000 per year and was offered an extension by LSU prior to the SEC Tournament.

All reports about Bob Huggins being up for the Missouri job appear to be over, since he is heading to Kansas State.

… And you can’t wait until the Blue and Gold Scrimmage on Tax Day, then you can go see Pitt at an open practice this Friday.

The Pitt football team will take spring drills on the road when it visits Center Area High School this Friday, March 24. The Panthers will hold a two-hour workout from 7 to 9 p.m.

Practice attendance is free and open to the public. Center Area is located on 160 Baker Road Extension in Monaca, Pa. In addition to getting a sneak peak of the 2006 Panthers, fans can purchase Pitt merchandise and season tickets. Concessions will also be available.

There are directions in the press release.

From a PR and attention getter, I like it. As far as actual productive practice…

Well, I have my doubts.

It looks like Iowa and Steve Alford are stuck with each other.

Another day, another name dropped lower — if not completely off — the list of potential hoops coaching candidates at Missouri.

Sources told The Star on Wednesday that Steve Alford, contrary to a report Tuesday night on ESPN.com, is not high on MU’s list of replacements for Quin Snyder. In fact, the sports information director at the University of Iowa, Alford’s current employer, told The Star that Alford would not be interviewing for the MU or any other job.

“We expect to have a release to that effect within the next hour or two,” Phil Haddy, the Iowa SID, told The Star shortly before noon on Wednesday.

That’s a little bit of a switch from earlier. It still seems that the top names on the list are John Beilein (WVU), Dana Altman (Creighton) and Jamie Dixon. My guess is that is the favored order. Seems Missouri is definitely looking for a coach with some success and is clean.

Here’s the press release from Iowa and Alford.

University of Iowa’s men’s basketball Coach Steve Alford is looking forward to continued success with the Hawkeye program and has scheduled no interviews for vacant coaching positions.

“I’m the head coach at Iowa. My family and I love the Iowa program and the community,” said Alford. “We had a record-setting season with a second Big Ten Tournament championship and I look forward to continued success with this program.”

Of course he does.

Just as some asides, over at SI.com, Stewart Mandel gets self-righteous about Bob Huggins even being considered for another job at a major college. Then he pisses on the mid-majors.

Does this mean Huggins should be exiled from coaching altogether? Of course not. He’s certainly entitled to a second chance. But much like Larry Eustachy, whose alcohol-related ouster at Iowa State has left him rebuilding his reputation at Southern Miss, or football’s George O’Leary (Central Florida), who took several steps down the ladder following his own scandal, Huggins’ second chance should not come at the sport’s highest level. To hand Huggins the keys to a Big 12-caliber program just to make a “big splash” is tantamount to endorsing and encouraging his renegade behavior.

In other words, Huggins is good enough for a “lesser” school, but not a BCS.

Fred Hill was promoted by Rutgers as their head basketball coach to the surprise of no one.

You can pour through the archives of this blog and find plenty of posts by me saying and (on occasion) explaining why the Big East will split by the end of 2010 between b-ball only and football schools.

I’ve always felt that the main reason would be the way ESPN has and will increasingly shunt televised Big East football to weekday nights — Fridays and Wednesdays — while minimizing the broadcasts on weekends.

Well I may have to hedge on the time, at a minimum, since the Big East is apparently close to a new deal with ESPN.

The Big East is close to a six-year contract extension with ESPN to televise conference basketball and football games, according to a network source.

Financial terms are not known, but the deal apparently would extend ESPN’s considerable commitment to men’s basketball and perhaps grant exclusive conference football rights to ABC and ESPN.

The basketball part looks especially good for the conference.

According to the source, the deal, which would start in 2007 and run through 2013, would increase regular season basketball coverage, including the addition of a second weekly prime time game to go along with Big Monday.

Under the terms, ESPN would agree to show every intraconference basketball game (except for those on CBS) on one of its outlets.

Games would be shown on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, ESPNU, ESPN 360 – a broadband service that allows fans to watch games on their home computers – or the ESPN regional network.

The Big East is already part of the network’s prime time Big Monday package, but under the new deal the network would add a nationally televised Thursday game to be shown in prime time on either ESPN or ESPN2.

Basketball games would also be part of the ESPN Full Court package, a pay-per-view plan that allows fans to see games not broadcast in their area.

In addition, every game of the Big East tournament would be televised by ESPN or ESPN2.

That would maintain the BET as the primary and marquee tournament on ESPN. Two national games on the weekdays is also a big deal considering the conference size. That would mean all 128 of the BE Conference games would be on some TV outlet, and likely would go to 144 if the BE expands to an 18 game schedule.

All games being on a national TV outlet is also huge — provided they can ever expand ESPNU to more then ten people.

As for the football side,

As for football, the details, in terms of the number of games, have not been finalized, but fans could expect to see Saturday games on ABC as well as weeknight and weekend games on ESPN.

ESPN would probably also broadcast a Labor Day or Thanksgiving weekend game.

Football games would also be included in the Game Plan package, which is the college football version of Full Court.

It doesn’t sound much better, to be honest. Except perhaps insuring that all games are televised — even in it’s through GamePlan. But if the deal is extended to 2013, breaking up the conference sooner seems less likely.

There is one glimmer of hope. The Big 11 is negotiating with FOX.

Fox Sports would love to seize a Big Ten football package after nailing down rights to four of the five BCS bowl games. Fox will break into the college game after the new year by broadcasting the Jan. 1 Fiesta Bowl, followed by the Orange, Sugar and national championship game, which figures to add a title sponsor. (The Rose Bowl remains an ABC property.)

Fox made a run at Notre Dame before the Irish re-upped with NBC in December 2003. And the network wants to join forces with the Big Ten to add a season-long buildup to the BCS games.

But ESPN has to be considered the strong favorite to retain its Big Ten rights, in large part because of its continued commitment to college athletics.
…
So while Fox might offer more money, ESPN would be nearly impossible to top in terms of national exposure. The NHL and Senior PGA Tour (now the Champions Tour) have not exactly flourished after leaving those omnipresent four letters.

The Big Ten could take an entirely different route by forming its own network and partnering with a cable distributor, such as Comcast.

The New York Yankees and New Jersey Nets live and breathe on the YES Network, and the NFL Network has boosted its availability to 65 million homes.

Such a move would be a radical departure for the Big Ten, which, since its first deal with ESPN more than 20 years ago, has thrived. If only its 2005-06 basketball teams could say the same.

Last year, ESPN’s networks and GamePlan had 42 of the 44 Big 11 games on TV. I just don’t see the Big 11 jumping to FOX unless they could get some sort of guaranteed set-up that would put other games on all of the Fox regional sports channels.

It would be a short-sighted move to get more money for less national exposure. And unlike the Big East’s issue with being shunted to weekday games increasingly, that isn’t an issue for the Big 11 in football.

Still, if that were to happen, that would open things up for more Saturday BE games on ESPN.

The big star in the first couple padless spring practices: Freshman Jovani Chappel.

When practice got under way Sunday, Chappel knocked three passes away from veteran receivers. Defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads was impressed that the rookie did not blow any assignments.

“That’s unexpected, quite truthfully,” Rhoads said. “I’m most pleased with how well he’s picking up the system. He’s worn out the playbook. Quite frankly, he’s moved ahead of some veterans from a knowledge standpoint. He’s extremely self-motivated.”

Chappel began studying film soon after arriving on campus Jan. 3. So he expected to have a sudden impact on the field.

“That’s one of the reasons I’m here, to show what I’ve got early,” Chappel said. “A lot of guys tell me I’m doing pretty good. So, I’m ready to get things really rolling so I can show what I’m all about.”

Chappel did early enrollment after completing high school early. He is battling Redshirt Freshman Irvan Brown (converted from RB), Junior Kennard Cox and Senior Reggie Carter for the open starting CB position. Come the fall, there will be additional competition from Freshmen Aaron Berry and Ricky Gary. Chappel’s biggest issue would be his size — 5′ 8″. The advantages are obviously that he works hard at understanding the routes and not being in a position to get beat. Couple that with his speed and athleticism and he compensates nicely, most of the time, for the height disadvantage.

“My best trait is that I’m a real physical corner and I play smart,” Chappel said.

“I don’t like to blow a lot of coverages. I spend a lot of time in the film room studying what I have to do right first. I think the game starts mentally more than physically.”

Just a few days into spring drills and Defensive Coordinator Paul Rhoads is calling out Sophomore DB Tommie Campbell.

“Given his physical skills and tools, I’d like to see a large amount of improvement,” Rhoads said. “Tommie has to help this football team and he has to help it a number of ways — on special teams and he has to become a regular-down contributor as far as the defense goes. He can easily win a starting position in our nickel and dime packages if he applies himself.”

Joe Starkey provides a capsulized look around the Big East for ESPN.com.

Second-year coach Dave Wannstedt will have an incredibly young team that likely is a year away from contending in the Big East. Wannstedt has a long-term contract and the administration’s backing on his rebuilding job. Some look at the fact that previous coach Walt Harris took the team to the Fiesta Bowl in 2004 and wonder why there is so much patience for Wannstedt. It’s a good question, but it’s also true that Harris’ final team finished in a four-way tie for the conference title in a watered-down, seven-team Big East, barely beat Temple and Division I-AA Furman and lost to Connecticut and Syracuse. Athletic director Jeff Long braced for a drop-off last season — though likely not a loss at Ohio — and isn’t expecting a quick fix.

Oh, there’s no doubt this is long term with Coach Wannstedt.

As stories detailed earlier in the week, the incoming talented receivers were literally looking over the shoulders of the rest of the corps. Now, would someone please tell me what the hell happened to John Pelusi’s right knee?

Sophomore TE John Pelusi had reconstructive right knee surgery and is a long shot to play this season.

Yesterday, I noted a press release saying he might be ready come the fall.

Sophomore DL Gus Mustakas is recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, but when he returns might find himself moved from DE to DT.

“We’re going to look at him at both spots,” coach Dave Wannstedt said Tuesday.

“But there is a high possibility he’ll be moved inside. We’re looking at all possibilities — him, Vernon Botts. Whoever can make a tackle, we’ll get on the field.”

The veteran Pitt players are finding their second spring practice with Coach Wannstedt a little smoother than the first time round.

“Everybody’s comfortable now, and everybody knows what’s going on,” middle linebacker H.B. Blades said. “Last year, everybody was feeling each other out, but we know what everybody else can do now.

“And that way, we can go out and make everybody else better. And we know what the coaches expect from us, so nothing surprises us now.”
…
“It’s going to be easier for everybody, because the system isn’t as new,” Palko said. “But on offense, you’re continually learning. It’s not like we have guys in their 14th year here … It’s a constant learning process of your reads and continuing to progress through the offense so you can master it.

“It’s going to be a little easier, because it’s not so foreign, and we’re all speaking the same language now. We might be at step one or two, but it’s going to be a continual learning process for everybody on offense.”

And what can the offseason rubber chicken speaking circuit in Pennsylvania for Coach Wannstedt entail but discussion of Pitt playing Penn St. (hat tip, Chris). Nothing new. Just the usual rehashing, but worth noting because even in Wilkes-Barre it seems no one really buys the Paterno excuses. Not that it matters right now, but it will after Paterno is gone.

Maybe it’s the egos and money involved. Maybe it’s because to some degree it involves a little exposure on incompetent bureaucracies, but I do find myself following all the coaching moves with great amusement.

I do love this rumored interest that Arizona State might want to consider Bob Knight. Seems quite unlikely, but then that is why it’s a fun rumor. Heck, any rumor involving Knight tends to be fun. It means another chance to dreg up his antics and insanity. Shooting his friend during a hunting trip seems to be a popular one to rehash at the moment. Not sure why.

Iowa Head Coach Steve Alford going back to his alma mater Indiana seemed like fait accompli for the last month or so. Now reports are that Indiana will interview only two candidates. Neither of whom will be Alford. Not that Iowa and Alford are necessarily stuck with each other. Missouri sought and received permission from Iowa AD Bruce Bowlsby to interview Alford. The Missouri search is far from close to complete, though.

Sources confirmed that representatives for Missouri have contacted the intermediaries for LSU’s John Brady and Pitt’s Jamie Dixon to test their interest. Another source said Creighton’s Dana Altman is a strong choice for Missouri and might be interviewed as well. A source said Missouri has also had interest in UAB’s Mike Anderson.

No actual word, though, as to any of these coaches interest.

In a surprising burst of confidence, and much to the dismay of at least one member of Missouri’s search committee, Rick Majerus and Bob Huggins are not on the Missouri short list.

About the only high-profile names left on the list are Jamie Dixon of Pitt and John Beilein of West Virginia. If either of those coaches doesn’t wind up at Missouri, the choices might fall back to some coaches who once were considered in the lower level of possible candidates.

My sense is they are dying to try and nab Beilein, but are stuck while he is still coaching and just aren’t getting clear enough signals whether to wait on him or find another. For some reason, I don’t put a lot of stock in their interest in Jamie Dixon. There just hasn’t been much talk about him.

I really hope someone offers Majerus a job and he takes it. Anything to get him off ESPN and doing “analysis” of games. Between always sounding like he just crammed another donut in his mouth and not actually saying anything useful, he has rapidly risen on my dread list for people calling games.

As for Coach Dixon and Pitt, the news seems fluid from day to day. Today seems like an optimistic day.

The matter could be resolved as early as this week, according to multiple sources connected to Pitt.

Dixon confirmed that athletic director Jeff Long has offered him an extension, even though the coach’s current pact, worth upwards of $600,000 annually, has four years remaining.

“Jeff and I have talked about it. They want me to coach here for a long time,” Dixon said.

While Dixon and his staff continue to woo Hargrave (Va.) Military Academy star Tyler Smith, two recruits — Gilbert Brown of South Kent (R.I.) Prep and Austin Wallace of New York La Salle High School — already are committed to Pitt for next season. Both say they hope Dixon remains with the Panthers.

Brown, by the way, stated that he was coming to Pitt regardless of what happens with Dixon. He doesn’t have a lot of leverage since he signed an early letter of intent.

I hate doing it, but it is time for an annual plea for funds for season tickets. And I’m ambitiously going to ask for a significant amount of support for blogging related things.

The last few weeks, blogger and blogspot has been incredibly flaky and frustrating. Some lost posts, missing archives, and lots of other nagging problems. Stuff that had been building for a while.

It’s gotten to the point where I want to move the blog to its own domain. I also am ready to leave blogger for either word press or movable type blogging software.

The advantages are better stability, appearance, commenting and just an overall better site.

The problem is, it costs money. Paying for domain registration, server space, etc.

The one advantage of blogger versus the other blogging software I mentioned, is that blogger is browser based software. That means I can blog from any computer with an internet connection.

Right now, the home computer is a 4 year old desktop. Ideally, I’d like to move to a laptop, so I can do more. Liveblogging of football and basketball games while they are on TV. More immediate blogging before and after home football games. Just being able to do more blogging from anywhere. Obviously that would mean more content.

The deal with the wife, though, has been the time taken by this is (usually) okay as long as it doesn’t eat into our tight budget.

Believe it or not, those “blog ads” up there don’t really pay that much.

Some of you have donated in the past, and I appreciate it immeasurably. I’m asking again, and for a little more if possible from more of you.

Ideally, this would happen quickly so I could get the new site up and running over the spring and summer — working the kinks out during the slow time — so it would rolling by the fall.

Sorry, if it makes you feel uncomfortable to read this solicitation. You have no idea how uncomfortable it is for me to ask.

Thank you.

Iowa State didn’t waste any time.

Iowa State has hired Northern Iowa coach Greg McDermott, a source close to McDermott said Tuesday.

McDermott replaces Wayne Morgan, who was fired last Friday.

McDermott is from Iowa, and everyone figured he would be nabbed by Iowa when Indiana came calling for Steve Alford. The problem for Iowa, Indiana hasn’t acted yet.

As of late Tuesday morning, Indiana still hadn’t contacted Iowa’s Steve Alford while Missouri’s search for Quin Snyder’s replacement was moving along molasses-like as well. Can you believe that? Five weeks into their coaching searches, Indiana and Missouri are still doing their due diligence. Iowa State, meanwhile, has done a firing and a hiring, and soon Greg McDermott will be kicking Iowa’s and Indiana’s butts for available recruits.

That, of course, meant that neither could Iowa. Iowa State did not hesitate, and McDermott took the sure job over the potential one.

Now, moving to Arizona State, Coach Dixon and a Pitt extension. Well, no news, but just some other things. I agree with a lot of the comments about the Arizona State job not being as good as Pitt in terms of situation, facilities, exposure, etc. Let’s also consider the fanbase and what it would take.

Dumb hires happen. Passionless Steve Robinson to apathetic Florida State in 1998 comes to mind. So does city slicker Pat Kennedy to Montana in 2002. But if dumb hires happen this year — and they will — it won’t be without warning.

Ten for Tuesday presents 10 potential hires that shouldn’t happen
…
6. Lon Kruger to Arizona State: Arizona State basketball is such a sleeping giant, it would take major pizzazz to deliver the wakeup call. Kruger? The only thing he has in common with pizzazz are the zzzzzz’s. (Sleeping noise — get it?) Kruger is a solid X-and-O coach, but he’s not going to excite anyone about Arizona State. Not boosters, not recruits, not television executives and, most important, not me.

Coach Dixon’s come a long way this season from his first two as far as showing something resembling a personality to the public. He hasn’t come that far to be leading the invigoration of the fanbase and do the rubber chicken circuit to alumni groups for ASU.
Now as to Dixon and Pitt, this may simply be a useless piece of information that happens to be a coincidence, but consider this nugget regarding the Sweet 16 teams (ESPN Insider):

Compared to the 65 teams that started the 2006 tourney, the Sweet 16 teams are:
Led by coaches with more tourney experience (7.1 to 5.7 years on average)
…
Compared to 21 years’ worth of Sweet 16 groups, the 2006 field:
Is relatively inexperienced in the coaching ranks, with the six fewest average years of tourney trips (7.1) and the fourth fewest average Elite Eight appearances (1.4)

Just a casual look at the list of teams that are in the Sweet 16 shows that 10 teams (Memphis, UConn, Villanova, WVU, Duke, BC, Texas, Florida, Gonzaga, UCLA) are headed by coaches who have taken teams to the NCAA 4 or more times. Experience in the post-season may not matter as much as it once did, but it still counts for something.

If Pitt were to let Dixon leave, is anyone that confident that Pitt would really and successfully hire someone not only better than Dixon but more experienced (not to mention more expensive)? If you are frustrated with Pitt not getting as far as they could, are you that sure someone new would?

There are several ways to look at Pitt’s loss to Bradley in Round Two of the NCAA. Here are two.

The big picture, is that this is the NCAA Tournament, and what makes it so compelling is the big upsets and Pitt was simply a part of that.

The first weekend was a big one for the little guys. There were 10 surprises that qualified as major upsets under the definition in the NCAA record book, which counts winners who were seeded at least five slots lower than their opponents. Eight of those 10 winners came from mid-major conferences. The 10 major upsets tied the first-weekend record, set in 1986 and matched in 1990 and 2002.

First round
No. 14 Northwestern State 64, No. 3 Iowa 63
No. 13 Bradley 77, No. 4 Kansas 73
No. 12 Montana 87, No. 5 Nevada 79
No. 12 Texas A&M 66, No. 5 Syracuse 58
No. 11 George Mason 75, No. 6 Michigan State 65
No. 11 Wisconsin-Milwaukee 82, No. 6 Oklahoma 74

Second round
No. 13 Bradley 72, No. 5 Pittsburgh 66
No. 11 George Mason 65, No. 3 North Carolina 60
No. 7 Wichita State 80, No. 2 Tennessee 73
No. 7 Georgetown 70, No. 2 Ohio State 52

It’s small comfort to realize Pitt was one of the 3 5 seeds eliminated, along with a 4, 2 3s and 2 2s. I know I only take very, very small comfort in the fact that there are fans of other schools probably as disappointed. Even less of a comfort to realize that Pitt wasn’t exactly the biggest or most shocking of the teams upset.

Then there’s the moan and simpering perspective (or lack thereof) that Pitt may never be a great basketball program because it always loses in the NCAA.

So, at Pitt, once again, it’s the same old refrain:

Wait ’til next year!

The good news is Pitt should have a terrific team next season, one that should be considered a favorite to win the Big East. Krauser is the only significant player who won’t be back unless Gray pulls a surprise and takes a chance at going after NBA money a year early. On paper, at least, it should be Pitt’s most talented team since its 1988 team, which included future NBA No. 1 draft picks Charles Smith and Jerome Lane.

I think I know what you’re thinking.

You’re afraid to get excited about the possibilities, right?

I don’t blame you.

You have been burned too many times.

Geez, you’d think we were rooting for the Cubs or something. What does that say about rooting for the Pirates and Penguins. At least Pitt can get to a post-season.

It’s bad enough that Bradley was an inferior opponent that happened to live a little of the tournament magic in its first-round upset of Kansas, which, it should be noted, isn’t feeling so hot about its program this week, either.

Um, is he channeling Billy Packer? I think I’ll let his co-worker respond to that.

Ray Fittipaldo: It’s hard to explain. And I’m sure it’s frustrating to the coaches and players. Let me say this first: Bradley is a very good basketball team. As I stated earlier, I thought the Braves had superior athletes than Pitt.

The flip side, is that Pitt should be very, very good next year.

“We’re going to have a great team next year,” said forward Levon Kendall, one of those three returning starters. “We just have to remember this feeling for the next six months and use that to drive us the next six months. We have the chance to get back here and do some damage next year.”

Kendall will be joined by center Aaron Gray, if he chooses not to enter the NBA draft, and guard Ronald Ramon. Freshmen Levance Fields and Sam Young are poised to take on bigger roles, possibly as starters, and Dixon has Antonio Graves, Keith Benjamin, Tyrell Biggs and Mike Cook, a transfer from East Carolina, ready to challenge for starting positions and playing time.
…
“There is a lot to look forward to,” Krauser said. “They’re going to continue to be good with Levance Fields at the point and Ronald Ramon and Aaron Gray and those guys coming back. The future is bright.”

Pitt has two freshmen coming in next season and Dixon has one more scholarship to give. One of the freshmen, guard Gilbert Brown, is expected to make an immediate contribution.

Brown, a 6-foot-6 shooting guard who also can play small forward, is rated the No. 100 senior in the country by Rivals.com. He played last season at South Kent Prep in Connecticut.

The other freshman is 6-9 Austin Wallace, a less heralded player out of New York but someone the coaches believe has a big upside.

Pitt is recruiting several other top 100 players to fill out its class. One of them is Tyler Smith, a small forward who could help fill a gaping hole. Smith, who played last season at Hargrave Military Academy, is also being recruited by Memphis, Kentucky and Iowa. Smith is rated No. 57, according to Rivals.

[Emphasis added.]

I’m actually very excited about Mike Cook for next year. I think he will be big as an experienced inside out guard/forward. He will push Young and Benjamin to get even better. He’s also hungry and spent the year practicing with the team. A big potential impact with him.

And how can any post on Pitt basketball end without some more coaching speculation.

If Dixon opts to go to another school, Pitt could set its sights on a number of coaches, including Xavier’s Sean Miller, the former Pitt star; Carnegie native Skip Prosser of Wake Forest; Oklahoma’s Kelvin Sampson; and Hofstra’s Tom Pecora.

Or, Long could follow the same path Pitt took when former coach Ben Howland resigned to take over at UCLA. Just as Dixon was elevated to his present position from associate head coach, Long could move current associate head coach Barry Rohrssen into the top spot.

Just get a deal with Dixon done.