It's that time of year: College coach carousel!

Not sure what if anything this means, but the Georgia Tech rivals.com site has a story about names on the Jackets short list, including Anthony Grant ... and the guy who replaced him at VCU, Shaka Smart.

http://georgiatech.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1199904

 

You may be right, Brian, but try telling that to the fanboard yahoos who want him gone. Of course, this is USM we're talking about, where a way over-inflated opinion among the fan base of the school's capabilities is legendary.

As it happens, Eustachy and the AD are negotiating a contract extension and Eustachy has expressed a desire to make this his last stop. He's got a very good recruiting class coming in, including a transfer from Kentucky, so another run at the NCAA next season is quite possible. But it's time for results, not promises.

 

Anthony Grant would be a great get for Georgia Tech.

 

Rumors starting to fly that Bruce Pearl is out at Tennessee after this year. The AD wouldn't even deny it, saying "the jury is still out."

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/campusrivalry/post/2011/03/tennessee-ad-jury-is-out-on-bruce-pearls-future-as-hoops-coach/1

 

Depends on one's point of view, Moddy. Would a coach rather have the spotlight and not mind the pressure of being in a sport treasured by the school and affiliated conference, like Georgia Tech, or does one prefer to be more of an afterthought, as basketball is at Alabama?

That Grant is doing a good job should make other schools want him all the more. Georgia Tech should have the deep pockets if it really wanted to make a run at Grant. Paul Hewitt was just paid $7 million to go away.

 

Sam, I love you and all, but you are talking out of your ass on this one. Bama put together a string of sellouts in a 15k arena as SEC play got rolling. The administration, boosters and general fanbase all love him. Wouldn't be surprised to see a raise and extension this offseason. Just because it isn't the sacred ACC doesn't mean it is a wasteland.

 

Alabama has as much basketball tradition as any SEC school outside of Kentucky (and yes, I realize that's akin to being the world's tallest midget, but still ...). They have always, always, always supported a winning basketball team in Tuscaloosa.

 

I'm glad folks in Tuscaloosa are getting behind Grant or behind anyone not named Nick Saban, Dixie. Would the school treasure an NCAA Tournament title in basketball with the same regard as they would another of those crystal footballs in the area? Call me an ACC snob - many of you have and will probably continue to do so - but ACC programs live and die by those accomplishments, no matter how lunatic-fringe that probably sounds.

Regardless, I hope Anthony Grant is rewarded with a raise and/or extension and continues to garner that sort of support. I had just remembered hearing stories of people barely caring when the school was in the AP polls under Mark Gottfried. Granted, it was second-hand rhetoric, but still ...

 

Part two of my rant would be that Georgia Tech hardly enjoys rock solid support. Hewitt would have been gone 2 years ago if the athletic department wasn't so strapped. They haven't been drawing flies in a 9100 plus arena and it is going to be even worse next year when they have to go off-campus. I know Tech has a fanbase and cares about hoops, but it is still closer to being Miami than North Carolina in the big picture.

Long story short: I wouldn't be surprised to see Grant move on someday, but I doubt it is to the Flats.

 

Georgia Tech has come as close to quitting on its basketball program as it ever has while a member of the ACC. The last time this much apathy flowed through the program was in the early '80s, when Bobby Cremins was trying to get it off the ground and competitive with new league foes.

The Thrillerdome didn't sell out once this past season. Worse, the six-year, automatic rollover deal Paul Hewitt made financial matters a mess. While it's always important to "get it right this time" when hiring a new coach, this point can understandably be further emphasized in Atlanta, where there will be no true home facility next year as the Thrillerdome is torn down in favor of a new arena.

 

Steve Cleveland leaving Fresno State as I type ...