Rick Majerus to be new Iowa basketball coach?
Update #4: Iowa to name Butler coach (and Coach of the Year) Todd Lickliter as the new head coach.
Update #1 (3/31 @5:45PM): Despite being offered a lifetime supply of burritos, Rick Majerus told the Des Moines Register he is not interested in becoming the Iowa coach.
Cross off Central Florida's coach Kirk Speraw and former Wyoming coach Steve McLain too.
Chris Lowrey has agreed to a 7 year deal with SIU.
Ernie Kent's name is surfacing in the Iowa search.
The DM Register says Lon Kruger out, as well as Mike Montgomery and no Iowa contract with Butler coach Toff Lickliter.
Update #2a (Monday Apr 2) As everyone is reporting Dana Altman appears to be taking the coaching position at Arkansas..pig sooooeeeee. Former 'Hawg' coach Stan Heath is headed to Univ San Francisco (gee what a 'demotion' ).
Some feel Iowa is looking at Kirk Speraw.
The Nation, in a 'roid raged manifesto says this:
1. Mike Brey (Notre Dame), or Al Skinner (BC), unless either one would have problems going to a football school.
2. Mark Turgeon (Wichita State), if and only if fellow J-Hawk Danny Manning come with.
3. Reggie Theus, but only if he fails the Steve Alford Personality Inventory.
Update #3: The Des Moines register say Iowa will have a coach in the next 24 hours. We talked to someone who 'heard' but can't remember. 'Maybe a 't' in the name. Maybe "Theus, Turgeon, or Todd Lickliter".
Although this story has nothing to do with juice, The Nation is part of the University of Iowa. We want to summarize the short (long?) search for a basketball coach to replace the recently departed Steve Alford.
Current speculation centers on ESPN commentator, and long time Ball State/Marquette/Utah coach Rick Majerus. Reports have Majerus talking to Iowa AD Gary Barta, and not talking to Iowa
AD Gary Barta. All this despite that Majerus hasn't been in coaching
for 3 years, and in fact reneged on a deal to coach USC in 2004.
The University of Iowa might have a new Head Basketball Coach as soon as Sunday, and that man could be Rick Majerus.
CBS2 has learned that the Hawkeye Pep Band has been told to be on standby, and Recreational Services at Iowa have been told they might have to move Sunday's intramural basketball championships from Carver-Hawkeye Arena to the Fieldhouse in case there is a news conference.
Two sources tell CBS2 Sports Director Kevin Hall that former Utah Head Coach Rick Majerus is meeting with Iowa Athletics Director Gary Barta tonight to discuss the Hawkeye job.
Nation contacts at the most inside level last night agreed that Majerus was all but wrapped up. However, that rush has slowed today. It was said even Hawkeye head football coach Kirk Ferentz and strength coach Chris Doyle supported Majerus for bball coach. (Doyle worked with Majerus at Utah). Some sources even have former Hawkeye, and Chicago Bull BJ Armstrong as an assistant coach.
The Candidates:
- Rick Majerus
- Chris Lowery (S Illinois)
- Dana Altman (Creighton)
- Kevin Stallings (Vandy)
- Reggie Theus (NMSU; who's top recruit was just shot 4 times; thanks to the Wiz for the tip)
- And a new candidate: Lorenzo Romar, current coach for Washington. (Gary Barta, Iowa AD brought Romar to Univ Washington)
Dana Altman appears to be staying at Creighton.
Chris Lowrey won't comment. He seems to be in the Michigan and Arkansas mixes too.
Kevin Stallings may be focused on Michigan.
Nothing on BJ.
More on the coaching search:
Alford has weighed in on his replacement: Chris Lowery. (as we said, Lowery is mum.)
Former Iowa coach Lute Olson has even expressed an opinion: Central Florida coach Kirk Speraw.
Alford himself appears to be opening his pie-hole and frequently inserting his feet. He called Iowa signees to invite them to New Mexico, then said he didn't call them.
Stevie said Iowa was a football school (which caused Iowa AD officials to deny it was a football school), then he denied he said what he said. Good riddance to the self-absorbed one who can't keep his stories straight.
Alford seems to be dining high on the burrito and promoting himself as the greatest shooter (his mouth?) in NCAA history. From the Slick One's UNM blog:
I want to thank Carl Holderman and everyone at El Pinto for having us out on Sunday for brunch. The breakfast burrito was excellent. For the record, I had green on the side. They actually had some Steve Alford Gold Medalist Salsa that my family and I thought was really neat....
And:
Just wanted to let you know that CBS Sports is airing the GEICO Presents College Basketball's 10 Greatest Shooters special on Final Four Saturday, March 31, at Noon (M.D.T.). I am thrilled to be honored among so many great names in the history of college basketball. Below is a partial list of the honorees and I'll let you decide who the best was. Be sure to tune in.
• Steve Alford, Indiana 1984-87
How do we spell n-a-r-c-i-s-s-i-s-m? Here is a huge discussion(from Jon Miller) on Alford World and Alford version of Truth.
Alford's henchman, the great Craig -Noodle- Neal has said that New Mexico produced more NBA players than Iowa in the past 15 years:
...Craig Neal’s recent radio revelation that New Mexico has put more players in the NBA over the last 15 years (which I don’t even think is accurate, and even if it is, his boss was Iowa’s coach for more than half of those years and therefore whatever point Neal was trying to make is somewhat moot), but that would just be overkill.
Noodle, use yours. Who was the coach at Iowa failing to produce NBA players. Yeah your boy Stevie Alford. As they say in 'My Cousin Vinny': 'I got no more use for this guy'.
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