Tweet
Here are some happenings within the conference.
-- The big story right now is the open head coaching position at Arizona. Up until this weekend, it appeared that Gonzaga's lead assistant and "coach in waiting," Tommy Lloyd, was all but a shoo-in for the job. But something has clearly happened. Part of the issue is what appears to be a former player revolt -- much like UCLA had when ex-players were stupidly pushing Earl Watson (who had no college coaching experience and didn't even have a college degree) as the successor to Steve Alford; unlike the UCLA situation, former Arizona players have a couple legitimately qualified candidates to point to, starting with Pacific coach Damon Stoudamire (former NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player, Miles Simon, is the other). Arizona's president, Robert Robbins, is driving the ship here; and he's apparently tied in with former Arizona walk-on guard Jason Ranne, who is the agent for both Jeff Fisch (who Robbins hired to coach Arizona football in a big surprise) and for ... you guessed it, Tommy Lloyd. As of this morning, despite Robbins interviewing Lloyd (twice), Stoudamire, Miles and current assistant Jason Terry, it does not appear that anyone has been offered the job, and there are rumors of a stealth candidate -- possibly former Wildcat player and assistant Josh Pastner.
-- Mick Cronin appears to be attempting to determine just how many openings he has on his roster for next season. With Jalen Hill retiring from basketball, that has opened up one scholarship. But the Bruins are still waiting on decisions from Johnny Juzang (who had a huge NCAA Tournament), Chris Smith (who entered this season as a projected draft pick), Cody Riley (who has been rumored to not be a big fan of school), and Jaime Jaquez (who had a really nice NCAA Tournament). That's a lot up in the air from a roster coming off a Final Four that didn't really have a draftable player when the Tourney started. The chief target right now is Rutgers grad transfer Myles Johnson, who announced over the weekend that he had been admitted to UCLA's graduate engineering program. This will be a big get for Cronin. As of now, however, it appears Johnson is looking at the engineering programs at Cal and Stanford as well; and Cronin is yet to offer. The next big target is KJ Simpson; though Cronin is also pursuing Tyty Washington.
-- Dana Altman has lost his head recruiter in Dana Stubblefield, who got the head coaching job at DePaul. As of now, the Ducks are losing Chris Duarte, Eugene Omoruyi and Amauri Hardy; freshman blue-chip recruit Jalen Terry has announced he's transferring, which implies that Will Richardson will stick around another season at point guard. Super-Senior candidate LJ Figueroa is still enrolled in school and may return next season; but reserve Chandler Lawson is moving on. That means Altman will start with a core group of Will Richardson (probably), LJ Figueroa (possibly), Eric Williams, Frank Kepnang and N'Faly Dante, along with 5-Star recruit Nathan Bittle. That's not a shabby foundation from which to build; and Altman, for sure, will build through the transfer market. Indeed, he is likely to target several of the guys SC is looking at: Boogie Ellis, Timmy Allen, Matt Bradley, Bryce Hamilton.
-- The big story right now is the open head coaching position at Arizona. Up until this weekend, it appeared that Gonzaga's lead assistant and "coach in waiting," Tommy Lloyd, was all but a shoo-in for the job. But something has clearly happened. Part of the issue is what appears to be a former player revolt -- much like UCLA had when ex-players were stupidly pushing Earl Watson (who had no college coaching experience and didn't even have a college degree) as the successor to Steve Alford; unlike the UCLA situation, former Arizona players have a couple legitimately qualified candidates to point to, starting with Pacific coach Damon Stoudamire (former NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player, Miles Simon, is the other). Arizona's president, Robert Robbins, is driving the ship here; and he's apparently tied in with former Arizona walk-on guard Jason Ranne, who is the agent for both Jeff Fisch (who Robbins hired to coach Arizona football in a big surprise) and for ... you guessed it, Tommy Lloyd. As of this morning, despite Robbins interviewing Lloyd (twice), Stoudamire, Miles and current assistant Jason Terry, it does not appear that anyone has been offered the job, and there are rumors of a stealth candidate -- possibly former Wildcat player and assistant Josh Pastner.
-- Mick Cronin appears to be attempting to determine just how many openings he has on his roster for next season. With Jalen Hill retiring from basketball, that has opened up one scholarship. But the Bruins are still waiting on decisions from Johnny Juzang (who had a huge NCAA Tournament), Chris Smith (who entered this season as a projected draft pick), Cody Riley (who has been rumored to not be a big fan of school), and Jaime Jaquez (who had a really nice NCAA Tournament). That's a lot up in the air from a roster coming off a Final Four that didn't really have a draftable player when the Tourney started. The chief target right now is Rutgers grad transfer Myles Johnson, who announced over the weekend that he had been admitted to UCLA's graduate engineering program. This will be a big get for Cronin. As of now, however, it appears Johnson is looking at the engineering programs at Cal and Stanford as well; and Cronin is yet to offer. The next big target is KJ Simpson; though Cronin is also pursuing Tyty Washington.
-- Dana Altman has lost his head recruiter in Dana Stubblefield, who got the head coaching job at DePaul. As of now, the Ducks are losing Chris Duarte, Eugene Omoruyi and Amauri Hardy; freshman blue-chip recruit Jalen Terry has announced he's transferring, which implies that Will Richardson will stick around another season at point guard. Super-Senior candidate LJ Figueroa is still enrolled in school and may return next season; but reserve Chandler Lawson is moving on. That means Altman will start with a core group of Will Richardson (probably), LJ Figueroa (possibly), Eric Williams, Frank Kepnang and N'Faly Dante, along with 5-Star recruit Nathan Bittle. That's not a shabby foundation from which to build; and Altman, for sure, will build through the transfer market. Indeed, he is likely to target several of the guys SC is looking at: Boogie Ellis, Timmy Allen, Matt Bradley, Bryce Hamilton.