I woke up Monday morning in horror. The Washington Post reported that Virginia offered its coaching job to Dave Odom and he would accept shortly.
Thankfully, The Post's source was erroneous (see, it happens to the best of us), and Odom reiterated Monday night that, though he and Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage had talked as friends about the Virginia job, he was not a candidate for it.
That is not a knock on the 63-year-old former Virginia assistant but rather a statement that he is not the right person for the job. He did great at Wake Forest and is doing a solid job now at South Carolina. But Odom, while a good coach, cannot resuscitate this program at his age. In five years, he would possibly make two or three NCAAs as a low seed and NITs the other years. He cannot take Virginia to the next level. Basically, it's settling for well-coached mediocrity instead of the poorly-coached mediocrity under Gillen.
So where does this leave Virginia?
Mike Montgomery and Rick Barnes have reportedly said "no." And everyone's favorite, Tubby? Littlepage contacted Kentucky's athletic director over the weekend, though it is not known whether he asked permission to speak with him. Rumor has it that Tubby Smith has said "no," but the door's not completely shut, with Virginia rumored to be offering $25 million over eight years. But let's assume that Tubby stays.
When Gillen was fired, Littlepage set a timetable of four to six weeks, and today is three-and-a-half. But what progress has been made?
This process has gotten more ridiculous than the number of commercials CBS aired between the end of the title game and One Shining Moment.
The top candidate at this juncture has to be 44-year-old DePaul coach Dave Leitao, a longtime Jim Calhoun protégé who, according to the Daily Progress, visited Charlottesville yesterday. Leitao spent 10 years as an assistant under Calhoun and six more as his associate head coach, sandwiched around a two-year stint as coach at Northeastern.
He is in his third year at DePaul, has a great pedigree and has a national championship ring. His teams exude toughness and play defense, holding opponents to under 65 points in each of his three seasons at DePaul. He has the chance to become a great coach in a league of hall-of-famers. He can recruit and brings in solid people; he put three Blue Demons on conference honor roll last year. This is not a Gillen-like hire. He did not earn this with a NCAA run, nor do his teams play a style that cannot win in the ACC.
The downsides are threefold: First, he could be Calhoun's eventual successor at UConn. I don't think this should figure into the equation. If he leaves down the road, so be it. Second, he has a $3 million buyout. This is a concern, with Gillen currently enjoying a $2 million payout. Third, with DePaul headed to the Big East next year, will Leitao part ways for the ACC?
As much as I like Leitao, my top choice remains Marc Iavaroni, a man who I have been touting since last year. Iavaroni is currently an assistant with the Phoenix Suns and a great one at that. He has been the main coach to work with All-Star Amare Stoudamire, having the experience of 10 years of work at Pete Newell's Big Man Camp.
He has roots here, having led Virginia to its sole ACC Tournament title in 1976, his sophomore year, and serving as a graduate assistant on the 1981 Final Four team. He also started on the 1983 NBA Champion 76ers.
Think he'll struggle recruiting with his NBA ring and the name Amare? I don't. He spent three years as an assistant at Bowling Green, and he'll pick things up quickly. Though he may not know the nuances of the college game, his ability to teach and develop talent separate him from others.
The problem is that Iavaroni has been mentioned as a candidate for three separate NBA jobs and could want to pursue them. Also, he might not want to discuss Virginia during the Suns season, which could go until June.
Unfortunately, the other candidates being mentioned hold little appeal. Mike Brey has struggled at Notre Dame once he was playing with his own recruits; Karl Hobbs and Mike Anderson play Gillen-esque styles in smaller conferences. ODU's Blaine Taylor and VCU's Jeff Capel are unproven.
I'd like to float two more names that could be great hires but probably won't happen. First, I like former UCLA coach and current ESPN analyst Steve Lavin. Though greasy, Lavin led his UCLA teams to win 20 games in six of his seven seasons and to five Sweet Sixteens in that span. Only Coach K equaled that feat. Lavin was UCLA's best defensive coach since John Wooden, has shown he can recruit (the nation's top class in 1998), is respected and would be a big-name hire.
Conversely, I'd like to float a name that hasn't gotten much talk anywhere: Arizona assistant Josh Pastner. Though just 27, he is viewed as one of the top young minds in the game. Pastner recruited himself to Arizona to play, graduated in two and a half years by taking as many as 33 credits a semester and worked his way onto Lute Olsen's staff.
He'd be a huge risk, but I bet he will be one of the nation's top coaches in a decade. Where better to do it? At least interview him. And remember his name.
To recap, Tubby remains a pipe dream, Leitao sits atop the list, Iavoroni is an outside chance and other names are lesser candidates. The only thing new is Dave Odom rumors.
Basically, we're back to square one. All I can ask is that I don't wake up in horror again.
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