Indiana to go Sampson-less

WTHR out of Indianapolis is reporting that the Hoosiers will play their next game this Saturday without Kelvin Sampson on the sidelines. It appears they will finish the season with assistant coach Dan Dakich at the helm. Other sources have reported that Sampson will be suspended until the university feels comfortable (read: not liable to pay buyout) with firing him.

Dakich played and coached at IU under Bobby Knight.

Expect IU to court Baylor's Drew

Scott Drew's name is popping up on the radar of ADs looking to fill vacancies. It's too early to draw conclusions, especially since Kelvin Sampson hasn't even been suspended yet, but I fully expect Indiana to lean heavily in Drew's direction when the time comes.

Drew has also been mentioned as a possible replacement for John Brady at LSU.

Earlier this season Baylor was ranked for the first time since 1969.

Another former Wildcat back in the SEC?

Travis Ford could be headed back to the SEC, this time as a head coach. The former Kentucky point guard's name has been thrown in the hat for the LSU and South Carolina openings and there's a good chance he will wind up donning the purple and gold or the garnet and back come April.

Ford turned around the program at Eastern Kentucky before UMass came calling three years ago. The Minutemen are 15-9 this season, but they haven't played the way Ford had hoped down the stretch and an at-large bid appears to be out of the picture.

John Pelphrey, Ford's teammate at UK, is in his first season at Arkansas.

Ford would fit in better in Columbia, but the bayou seems to have more in-state talent to pull from.

Ford signed a contract extension last spring, taking him through the 2014-15 season and attendance has risen so expect UMass to at least match whatever LSU offers.

Indiana will fire Sampson, but when?

Bob Kravitz of The Indianapolis Star says it should happen within a week. He also wonders why Sampson hasn't been suspended pending the investigation. They could have Stallings or Beilein instead of this mess. Sounds like Mike Davis called it.

Pepperdine finalizing deal with former coach

Pepperdine is finalizing negotiations with former Waves coach Tom Asbury to return as coach, multiple sources said, with an announcement likely the middle of next week.

Two university sources said Friday the school was moving toward a deal with Asbury, but details were not final.

Asbury, 62, had a record of 125-59 at Pepperdine from 1988 to '94, taking the Waves to three NCAA tournament appearances. He had four 20-win seasons during his six as coach at Pepperdine before leaving for Kansas State, where he was fired after six seasons and one NCAA appearance.

Athletic Director John Watson earlier said if Asbury were the choice it would be important who his assistants are, since one might be groomed as the next coach. Marty Wilson, an assistant at Utah, was one of "five or six" assistants who were mentioned.

Watson also said the plan is for interim Coach Eric Bridgeland, also a candidate for the job, to finish the season no matter who is named coach.


Source: L.A. Times

Odom could be headed East

Dave Odom, the South Carolina head coach for at least nine more games, may already have a job lined up at East Carolina, according to Doug Gottlieb of ESPN.com. Odom's first head coaching post was at ECU in the early '80s and he was an assistant for Terry Holland, who's currently the AD at ECU, when Holland was at Virginia.

Mack McCarthy, who's been serving as the "acting head coach" this season, hasn't been offered a long-term deal yet. ECU is 8-13 overall and currently 11th out of 12 teams in the Conference USA standings.

Floyd, Grant, Kennedy on LSU's list

Jeff Goodman of FOXSports.com believes LSU should go after either Tim Floyd, Anthony Grant, or Andy Kennedy. Strong candidates for anyone's list, but patience will be necessary since they are all but assured of getting post-season bids.

Floyd is the veteran of the trio. In his third year at USC, he is 57-33 with the Trojans and took them to the Sweet Sixteen last season. Floyd is 300-163 in fifteen seasons as a college head coach. He has a 6-6 NCAA tournament record with six different teams.

Anthony Grant would be the head coach at Florida this season if Billy Donovan had not changed his mind about taking over the Orlando Magic. The 41-year-old Grant won a conference title with his first VCU team last season, upsetting Duke in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. He is 45-12 in two seasons as a head coach. If LSU doesn't grab him, someone else soon will.

Andy Kennedy served on Bob Huggins' staff at Cincinnati for four seasons, taking over on an interim basis when Huggins resigned. He is known as a top-notch recruiter and is now in his second season as head man at Ole Miss. His record at Ole Miss is 37-17. Kennedy is hoping to take the Rebels to their first NCAA bid in six years.

Floyd may feel the pull to return home to the south, but for now, he says he wants to stay at USC. Although Kennedy didn't play at Ole Miss, he is a Mississippi native (as is Floyd). The most obvious choice for LSU and Grant is each other.

Flannery returns to bench

Bucknell coach Pat Flannery returned to practice Friday after missing a week because of an undisclosed illness. Following a two-game absence, doctors cleared Flannery to lead the Bison tonight against Navy.

"After undergoing thorough medical evaluation and treatment, Flannery's doctors have determined the cause of the illness and have given him full authorization to resume coaching," the school said in a statement. "Since this is a personal medical situation, further specifics are being kept private at this time."

Getting ugly quick at OSU

Sean Sutton is only in his second season as the head coach at Oklahoma State but he may find himself looking for a new job within the next 6 weeks or so. The Cowboys fell off late last season, finishing 7th in the Big 12. This year they are in 11th, sitting one game out of the cellar. Sutton is 33-24 and not exactly getting public support from his AD. Home attendance has dropped and his daddy is defending him in the media. The team is young without much Division I experience but that may not matter much to the powers that be. Sutton may soon find himself wondering what happened and where does he turn next. San Francisco, maybe?

LSU fires Brady

Barely two years removed from a Final Four appearance but now sporting the worst record in the SEC, LSU has parted ways with head coach John Brady.

Brady's firing was first reported by several Baton Rouge media outlets on Friday morning and later confirmed by LSU spokesman Kent Lowe. Brady will be allowed to coach the Tigers on Saturday against No. 7 Tennessee before handing the reins to assistant Butch Pierre for the remainder of the season.

The Tigers are 8-13 overall, 1-6 in the SEC West, and have lost 17 of their last 23 conference games.

Source: ESPN.com

Evans loses interim tag

Anthony Evans has been named to the head coaching position at Norfolk State University and has agreed to a three-year contract that runs through the 2010-11 season.

Evans, 37, has been a part of the staff at NSU since 2003. He was appointed interim head coach last April when Dwight Freeman took another position at the university.

NSU is currently 10-10 and 6-2 (3rd) in the MEAC.

Knight resigns from Texas Tech

In a stunning midseason move, Bobby Knight, college basketball's all-time winningest coach in Division I, has resigned from Texas Tech, effective immediately.

Coach Knight had given no indication a change was coming. His son, Pat, an assistant on his staff, will take over. Knight's contract ran through the 2011-12 season. In 2005, Pat Knight was appointed his successor.

Knight has 902 career wins, more than any coach in the history of Division I men's basketball. Win No. 900 came last month against Texas A&M. The Red Raiders are 12-8 this season.

Fans' interest a must, opinions will follow

Despite what Dennis Felton thinks, fans and the media will continue to share their opinions about coaches. They care about their team so it's a given they will discuss what they perceive to be the solution to a team's woes.

In a nutshell, a coach will have the support of the fans, and thus job security, if he wins with the talent he has. No one ever claimed it was easy...

Hamilton still waiting on extension

Last November, Florida State announced that head coach Leonard Hamilton would receive a two-year extension to his contract. Nearly three months later, Hamilton is still waiting for it to come to fruition.

The Seminoles are fighting to stay out of the ACC cellar in a year they were expected to make their first NCAA tournament appearance since 1998. While injuries, illness, suspension, and transfers have been cause for their underwhelming start, erratic play from veterans has also been a factor.

Through Tuesday night's game at Virginia Tech, FSU has an ACC record of 32-55 with Hamilton at the helm. They are a measly 7-37 on the road against conference foes.

While the program looks strong on the recruiting front, Hamilton's time just may run out before he can reap the rewards of his efforts.

Source: Jacksonville Times-Union

Bucknell coach hospitalized

Coach Pat Flannery was hospitalized and undergoing medical tests Friday, two days after leaving the bench during a game. Flannery appeared to slip on the sideline after arguing a foul in a game against Lehigh. Flannery's symptoms were not made public. He was listed in good condition but it's unclear when he may be released or returning to the bench.

Assistant Nathan Davis will lead the team while Flannery is away.