Getting past Sean Miller deciding to stay with Arizona, is not going to be easy for the University of Maryland.
To Maryland’s credit, their official statements repeatedly said he was a ‘Candidate of interest,’ but should be deemed the ‘Front-Runner.’ However, with Athletic Director Kevin Anderson electing to fly out to Las Vegas to meet with Miller, he effectively became the ‘Front-Runner’ to Terrapin fans. With large parts of the Maryland fan-base still smarting over the decision to hire Coach Edsall to lead the Football program over Coach Leach; Anderson is not getting the benefit of the doubt by many.
The Washington Post has reported (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/terrapins-insider/post/mike-brey-to-meet-with-maryland-officials-about-coaching-position/2011/05/08/AFBSWyMG_blog.html) that Maryland will be meeting with Notre Dame Head Coach Mike Brey. Like Edsall was with UConn’s Football program, Brey is also coming off of a season where he was named the Big East Coach of the Year. Brey’s State of Maryland roots have been well documented. There is no doubt that Brey is a quality coach. His .660 winning % speaks for itself. He has taken 9 teams to the NCAA Tournament. Still, I’m not sure the 52 year-old is the best fit for the Terps. If anything, I anticipate his hire would feel like a ground-rule double vs. a home-run.
ESPN’s Andy Katz is reporting (http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=6504485) that Maryland is attempting to turn their interest to Butler’s Brad Stevens. If Stevens says no, Katz has been told Maryland would then look at Brey, and Mark Turgeon of Texas A&M.
Despite Butler’s success over the past two seasons, there is little doubt that Maryland is a better overall job. Better facilities, better recruiting grounds, higher TV exposure, two large media-markets, and the ACC over the Horizon League. That said, it does not make the job necessarily better for Stevens. He recently signed a 10 year extension. He is a Indiana native. He has taken that program to back-to-back NCAA Championship Games. He is not going to be touched in his Conference any-time soon.
I’m going to suggest that Stevens is unlikely. It has also come out that Pitt’s Jamie Dixon will not be a candidate (http://insidepittsburghsports.com/story/dixon-not-interested-nor-a-candidate-for-maryland-job/38292/).
Here is my list of Coaches I myself am interested in:
1) Mark Few, Gonzaga
2) Jay Wright, Villanova
3) Brad Stevens, Butler
4) Lorenzo Romar, Washington (Recently signed long-extension)
5) Rick Barnes, Texas
6) Shaka Smart, VCU
7) Mike Brey, Notre Dame
8) Bruce Pearl (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Pearl)
9) Anthony Grant, Alabama
10) Tom Crean, Indiana (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Crean_%28basketball_coach%29)
11) Frank Martin, Kansas State (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Martin_%28basketball%29)
12) Mark Turgeon, Texas A&M
13) Jeff Capel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Capel_III)
EDIT: BSL has been told that by a Texas source, that UMD has not made a direct inquiry (not that they would have to) on Barnes. Also told Barnes would not be interested.
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Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.