Arizona lands Calipari's Mini-Me?
 

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=4035206

Updated: April 1, 2009, 10:39 PM ET
Report: Floyd to take Arizona jobComment Email Print Share ESPN.com news services

Tim Floyd will be named basketball coach at Arizona, Mark Asher of Sports 620 KTAR, ESPN's radio affiliate in Phoenix, is reporting according to multiple sources.

Floyd is meeting tonight with Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood to work out the final details of the deal and an announcement is expected Thursday, according to sources.

Floyd, 55, has spent the last four seasons at USC with an 85-50 record. He led the Trojans to three NCAA tournament appearances -- including the Sweet 16 in 2007.

Floyd previously coached in the NBA with the Chicago Bulls in 1999-2002 and the New Orleans Hornets in 2004.

He was also the head coach at Iowa State, New Orleans and Idaho.

Lute Olson retired as coach at Arizona prior to the start of the season. Arizona advanced to the Sweet 16 with interim coach Russ Pennell.

He likely brings with him 5-star center Renardo Sidney and 4-star SF Solomon Hill for 2009. That's huge since we don't really have any real 2009 commits with all of Lute's mess and our 3 best players likely gone to the NBA.

Damn, I was hoping Memphis was going to go after him.

He was the "merely good" name on that "three great names" list I mentioned.

Sucks that Capel backed out, but Floyd knows how to recruit like a mofo. The only real qualm I had about him was the boring style of play.

um wtf

edit: demar derozan = gone :(

Mike Davis to Memphis?

I think the Capel thing is good for both parties.

I think it would be a very bad idea for Capel to take the Arizona job. Right now, he has a stable program at Oklahoma with good players/recruits. And he's all but assured Coach K's job when he retires. Trying to rebuild at Arizona puts him at risk of failing in the years just before he gets the plum job of his life. I think he'd be a fool to go anywhere except Duke.

And given all of that, I am OK with him not coming to Arizona. I don't want to go through this again in 5 years.

All kidding aside, Is there really someone Memphis has a shot at that you're excited about?

'Cause, that'd be cool. The thought of giving up on your favorite team, (not to mention sports in general) disturbs me.

We're wondering if Alex Stephenson will be able to join him too. :)

lol no

Yes. Like, really yes.

Sweet. Best of luck.

Tim Floyd loaded ISU so that under Larry E. he dominated the Big 12. He's a great coach.

The unfortunate news for us is that we had to get turned down by Cal, Pitino, Capel and Few before Floyd. Good news is that is a pretty quality list of "no's".

The one I don't undestand is Few.

I know he's happy in at Gonzaga, but he's been campaigning for the job for 3 years. I assume the cubbard is so bare this year that he'd rather hold on one more year and try for OU (alum) when Ernie Kent is fired next season.

How do you feel about Scott Drew?

Speaking of awesome recruiters--Why you gotsta preempt me allatime

LOL. Garbage basketball coach.

Good to see that I'm not crazy for liking that possibility.

Drew('s guys) actually contacted Memphis, rather than the other way around. So it's like, there's your baseline.

Question: In your estimation, is R.C. a moron?

**** yes. RC may not be the most inept AD in the universe, but he's trying. He lowballed Cal again when he initially came back with Kentucky's offer. AFTER the NC State experience.

Thankfully, the adults have taken over now. He's hopefully in his room watching Spongebob.

He sure seems like it to me. I keep seeing the dumbest rumors floating around, but Drew has to contact them? /sigh

I gotta trust Saul on this. He knows a garbage coach when he sees one. KSU has/ had a bunch of them.

Gave him the Dawkins treatment?

Frank Martin, the angry coach.

But wait, there's more!

Floyd left town yesterday without a signed contract. No PC is scheduled, yet. Because....



.... wait for it...



... Memphis is trying to make a last minute play for Floyd.


And the real pisser is that Dixon could go to USC if Floyd leaves.

I wonder why you want to leave USC for Arizona? Not a slam or anything, just curiousity got the best out of me.....

Money. Might be easier to venue to recruit to. But Floys has never had a problem recruiting wherever he goes.
Although, while I love Tucson, it's not as beautiful (to me) as the Phoenix, Glendale, Peoria, area.

Sure, it's all about the money, and I can see that. However, you're leaving LA to Tucson, and not to mention that, IMHO, expectations are much more higher in Arizona than it is in SC, since Arizona has won a NC under Olsen.

Well, at the moment, I don't know that he wants to. However, I guess he was Lute's pick to replace him as far back as 1997. He's always had a strong interest in the job.

True, that's largely based on Phoeinx's massive waste of water the state doesn't have.

I don't know if that's it or not. I just seems like the city is more asthetically pleasing to the eye. I was there for spring training and went to Tucson for a game between the Royals and D-backs. Tucson just seemed kinda dirty.

I liked it so much in the Phoenix area, that I'm considering a permanent move.

You are right. I agree. They have a lot more wealth there, (corporate HQs, etc.). Which translates to more money spent on street-level decoration, lawns, water features, new buildings, etc.

But water is a huge part of it. It's just far more lush there than here.

Memphis may be the reason for Floyd's last-minute holdup.

Fuuuuuuck. I'd much, much, much rather have Pearl.

Floyd's style is just so boring in comparison.

If the guy continues to bring in players and win games, I don't care if he goes to "Four corners" every time down the floor. He's comfortable in the south too, so maybe he's a long term answer. The concern I have is the shady stuff that's gone on out in LA under his watch.

Or not.

Floyd is staying at USC according to all reports now.

Honestly, at this point, I'm firmly convinced that reputable media outlets are at the point of making things up to compete with the internet. Accuracy no longer matters...we've all been desensitized, and it's now acceptable to report whispers in the wind.

Your guess is as good as mine as to the reliability of this, but http://www.govolsxtra.com/news/2009/...ew-deal-pearl/ shows that Pearl renegotiated with Tennessee.

Scott Drew or bust or other option!

They lost Pearl because they were chasing Floyd. Brilliant.

Welp,

no this report was true. he just changed his mind.
Posted via Mobile Device

So where does Arizona go now?

We know that Lon Kruger and Reggie Theus would take the job. As would Josh Pastner. They are all pretty far down our list, but at this point WE are pretty far down our list as well. Which is what makes it hard to know yet where they are headed. I don't think Livengood knows yet what the next step is. Even the boosters are at a loss.

That's what I thought. I wondered how far down Pastner is. Memphis is moving on the their 2nd tier as well it appears. Pitino (very unlikely and went nowhere), Floyd (why not pick one of U of A or Memphis?), Pearl (using Memphis to get an extension?)....not sure where they go next. Drew at Baylor is getting some play for Memphis, but I don't know if they'll want to go there.

Very interesting back-story...

1) Floyd was never going anywhere from the get-go. He used both Arizona and Memphis to get a raise, nothing more.

2) Our AD (Livengood) had Tim Floyd ahead of Capel, Few & Sean Miller. We are just now moving on to those guys. You remember that whole "Capel > Arizona" talk? Guess not, it's been Floyd since Monday. That's comforting as we have more options than I thought, but you have to ask WTF is that coaching board.

It might offer some hope to the Memphis folks, your AD may also have a different ranking than the fans or media has.

Jesus, Arizona can't even get Tim Floyd?


Arizona's "program" may be gone now that Lute is out of the picture.

its tough trying to recruit a top-tier coach when you aren't going to break the bank, and that coach will come into a situation with no talent on the roster and no incoming talent.

Yep, this is going to be a difficult, but critical hire.

I'm in favor of hiring Capel, even if he goes to Duke in 5 years, as long as he brings in Josh Pastner as his Assoc Head Coach in the process.

Is Arizona really an upgrade over OU?

Seems like a lateral move to me - OU has a solid bball history, good fan support, and a large athletic budget.

Apparently, we never actually offered Floyd. Or Pearl. Or insert other rumors here. Ablrlrllbbbbbbbbbbbppppppptttttt.

Wait, did someone say Theus? YOU WANNA FIGHT ABOUT IT?!

http://j.photos.cx/theus-271.jpg

http://j.photos.cx/averyjohnsonisee-06e.gif

The big issue with AJ is that he's never had to deal with recruiting before, so the assistants had better be pretty amazing in that department. Theus would be more in the Calipari "Successful in college, ehh in the NBA, returns to college" mode, but **** me, I love that little guy.

Getting out of hillbilly land would be an upgrade all by itself.

If I were Capel, I wouldn't make the move. He risks his shot at Duke for what is now another rebuilding process.

I think Theus is intriguing, but no one agrees with me. He didn't say long enough at NMSU to prove his value.

http://www.crimsonandcreammachine.co...l-nets-a-seven

Breaking: Jeff Capel Nets a Seven Year Extension
by dishingoutdimes on Apr 3, 2009 9:23 AM CDT in Basketball 2 comments

by Jeff Roberson - AP

This is according to Sports Illustrated's Seth Davis. No details on the contract, but obviously Castiglione locked up Capel long term with a nice contract. I'm imagining we'll hear more later. Here's the short article.

Here's a longer article from the Tulsa World. Interesting that no school requested permission to talk to Capel about a coaching vacancy.

Anyways, good news today, only 2 days after he was rumored to be in the lead for the Arizona job. Good job by Joe Castiglione, and we'll report more later as we learn it.

http://i41.tinypic.com/xawcq8.jpg "It's not only the base salary, but it's also the longevity bonus which wipes out the others. There are no other places. This is the place." - John Calipari, April 2008 http://i41.tinypic.com/xawcq8.jpg

Back in the present, we just blew any chance we had at Scott ****ing Drew because our wonderful athletic director couldn't get on the same page as the search committee and never outright told Drew that he was "the guy."

Between this and his utter failure when it came to the Big East effort in 2003, he may actually be the worst AD ever.

When Tim Floyd basically says he thinks USC is a better job and it's basketball your program has fallen pretty far.

The Memphis boards don't seem to like Scott Drew.

Wasn't Reggie Theus the guy in Hang Time?

That changes if we can land Sean Miller of Xavier.

http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/9...-far-from-done

Miller, Arizona to meet, but deal far from done
by Jeff Goodman

Updated: April 5, 2009, 10:13 AM EST 1 comment Xavier coach Sean Miller will meet with Arizona today, as the Wildcats continue to search for a new head coach.

According to sources close to the situation, Miller was picked up on a private plane on Sunday morning and will meet Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood in Albuquerque, New Mexico at approximately 12 p.m. ET

A meeting certainly doesn't guarantee that Miller will take the job. USC's Tim Floyd recently went to Tucson and wound up turning down the gig.

"By no means does this mean it's done," said a source close to the situation.

Miller, 40, has spent the last five seasons as the head coach of the Musketeers and has made four consecutive NCAA tournament appearances — including an Elite Eight last season and a Sweet 16 this past year.

Miller makes approximately $800,000 at Xavier and, according to sources, would earn in excess of $2 million a year in Tucson.

Miller is not a West coast guy, but he's a terrific recruiter and a proven coach. His hire would be a home run for Livengood, especially given the difficulties Arizona has faced in finding a permanent replacement for coaching legend Lute Olson.

However, he'd take over a program lacking in talent. The Wildcats went to the Sweet 16 this year with interim coach Russ Pennell at the helm, but will likely lose both Chase Budinger and Jordan Hill early to the NBA draft.

The best news about this, and what Goodman isn't reporting, is that Miller's people felt that Miller would only get on the plane if he was going to take the job.

Anything can happen, particularly given the Tim Floyd disaster, but that he's on his way to ABQ is HUGE news for us.

Who is Miller? It must suck to be AZ right now.

Xavier's Sean Miller. Who is a really good coach.

I guess I just haven't heard much about him till today.

Miller, our AD and our University President are all meeting in Santa Fe, NM with an Atty on stand by.

Any other day, I'd say this is a done deal. No coaching prospect flies to ABQ to meet with the AD then drives for an hour+ to Santa Fe only to start the discussion. But I thought the same thing when Floyd flew into Tucson.

Honestly, the more I learn about Sean Miller, the much, much, much happer I am with him as our next coach, than Floyd.

It just has the feel of a young Lute Olson. Sky high integrity, ability to find diamonds in the rough (he and Lute were the first 2 to offer Jordan Hill when no one knew who he was). Willingness to coach a style that fits players, not a rigid ideology, etc.

While he doesn't have 2 super-star 2009 recruits that we can slot in to follow him, like Floyd, he has been recruiting some quality players that haven't signed yet including the 9th best center in the country. And one of Floyd's big two recruits (Soloman Hill) wants to switch his commitment back to Arizona anyway... he's just looking for a quality coach to make it workable.

Plus he can do this.

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Heh... Calipari played a big part in getting Sean Miller to this meeting.

LOL. Sean Miller says no to Arizona.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/s...=ESPNHeadlines

What he said.

According to ESPN, Utah's coach (whoever that is) is now at the top of Arizona's list.

Who is Miller? lol.

Does Herm Edwards coach basketball?

AZ running through the list. Anybody of quality left. Quin Snyder maybe?

Reggie Theus is basically begging them to interview him.

You guys LOVE stealing other people's coaches, don't you? ;)

Why yes we do. ;)

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketb...yhoo&type=lgns

Miller takes Arizona job
By Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports
15 minutes ago


Sean Miller accepted the job as head coach of the Arizona Wildcats on Monday, one day after turning the position down, a source close to the negotiations told Yahoo! Sports.

Miller told Arizona he would remain at Xavier late last night, however then asked for a chance to sleep on the decision. After going back and forth during the morning, a source said, he informed XU athletic director Mike Bobinski of his decision at noon ET.

Miller could not immediately be reached for comment.A message left for Xavier officials has not been immediately returned.

Miller led Xavier to two Elite Eights and a Sweet 16 over five seasons. He had met with UA officials Sunday in Santa Fe, N.M. and flown back to Cincinnati to make his final decision.

Looks like Xavier will be breaking in a new coach when K-State plays them next season.

I'm assuming Miller's top assistant will take over. He's young and a Xavier alum.

Good deal - hope they keep playing well, K-State will need a few good non-con wins next season.

And spent a long time on the phone with Miller last night talking him into taking the job.

Oh sweet!

Book Richardson is Miller's east coast recruiting assistant. He was previously head of NY Gauchos, and coached... wait for it...


http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/wei...n-colorad.html

Lincoln High’s sensational 6-5 rising junior Lance Stephenson continues to make a case for himself as the best player in his class. Stephenson, playing for Book Richardson of the Gauchos, scored 24 points as the Red team defeated the Blue, 137-121, to improve its record to 2-0 in USA basketball’s Youth Festival at Colorado Springs.

The non-con is really what hurt them this year, so any help they can get would be good.

Calipari knows all about leaving for worse situations just for the sake of ESPN stroking you off more...

He's probably choice #1 among Memphis fans at the moment, but apparently they're not pursuing him because of concerns about work ethic.

So instead, RC is going broken arrow and meeting with Leonard ****ing Hamilton. Jesus Christ.

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHGODOHHHHHGOD PLEASE BE TRUE:

Exact same thing at Arizona, I'll see what I can find out about the *why* of taking Reggie off the board entirely.