SMU to interview four coaches Monday

Peruna_Ate_My_Rolex · Post by **Peruna_Ate_My_Rolex** » Mon Mar 22, 2004 2:17 am

SMU to interview four coaches Monday

01:02 AM CST on Monday, March 22, 2004

By CALVIN WATKINS / The Dallas Morning News

SMU plans to interview four candidates Monday for the men's basketball head coaching position, according to university sources.

A 10-person search committee led by athletic director Jim Copeland will meet with assistant coaches Jimmy Tubbs (Oklahoma), Doug Wojcik (Michigan State), Norm Roberts (Kansas) and John Treloar (Indiana). SMU officials plan to interview an undetermined number of candidates Tuesday and bring two finalists to the university by Thursday, according to sources.

Copeland said last week there was no timetable to hire someone because of scheduling conflicts with candidates whose teams are in the NCAA Tournament or NIT.

Copeland declined comment. Tubbs, reached at an AAU tournament in Lancaster, refused comment. After Kansas beat Pacific in the second round Sunday, Roberts said to refer all questions to SMU.

Wojcik did not return phone calls; Treloar could not be reached.

After Mike Dement was fired Feb. 27, Copeland said he received numerous calls and resumes from across the country. Locally, Lincoln boys coach Leonard Bishop said he applied last week.

SMU's other official candidates are Frank Haith (Texas), Jeff Jones (American University), James Dickey (Oklahoma State) and Eric Reveno (Stanford).

Dickey said he would not interview for any position until the Cowboys' season ended. On Sunday, OSU won and advanced to the Sweet 16. Jones, whom Copeland hired to coach at Virginia, is the only head coach in the group.

DallasDiehard · Post by **DallasDiehard** » Mon Mar 22, 2004 2:53 am

Anyone know anything about Bishop? He clearly has talent at his disposal.

I wonder if the DISD coaches who signed that letter pushing for Coach Tubbs would have signed it if they had known Coach Bishop was interested. I wonder which coach they would prefer to see at SMU?

Interesting new development.

BigEasyPony · Post by **BigEasyPony** » Mon Mar 22, 2004 7:44 am

There's no way SMU is going to hire a high school basketball coach as their next HC. I think Copeland probably sent him a nice letter for applying, but that was it.

I'd be interested to see who is on tap for Tuesday, maybe Reveno from Stanford and Haith. It appears by the end of the week we'll know who the #1 choice is.

DallasDiehard · Post by **DallasDiehard** » Mon Mar 22, 2004 8:25 am

Is it safe to assume that if Roberts is interviewing while his team is still playing in the NCAA tournament, that he is extremely interested in the job, and that he might have been told he's the front-runner (perhaps he was told "you'd better interview or miss out")?

BigEasyPony · Post by **BigEasyPony** » Mon Mar 22, 2004 9:04 am

I think that applies to all the candidates interviewing including Dickey. The only way Dickey gets this job is if the other candidates don't impress the committee b/c Dickey had siad he's not going to pursue it until the season is over.

I don't think any of these candidates would go through the interview process unless they were interested in the opportunity. After the interviews are over on Tuesday you'll see the several of these coaches pull their name from consideration to prevent looking like they were declined. I think Tubbs has a reasonable shot at making the final two.

k pony · Post by **k pony** » Mon Mar 22, 2004 9:19 am

Why not hire Tubbs as Head Coach and Bishop as an assistant?

Hoop Fan · Post by **Hoop Fan** » Mon Mar 22, 2004 10:31 am

K Pony, now you are talking. I'd like to see Tubbs as HC, Lineburg or Crawford stays as #1 assistant and Bishop joins the staff.

I agree with somebody who said it looks meaningful that Roberts is here to interview while his team is still in the tournament. Roberts would be a great candidate if we didnt have a Tubbs.

BigEasyPony · Post by **BigEasyPony** » Mon Mar 22, 2004 11:30 am

If Tubbs were hired and I think he'll get edged out of this one, do you think he would hire someone who applied for the HC position? I think Tubbs would hire a local HS coach, but someone that actually endorsed him to be HC. I would be shocked if he hired the guy from Lincoln. That would probably not sit well with the 17 HS coaches who endorsed him in the letter to Copeland.

As a matter of fact whomever is hired would probably hire one of those 17 HS coaches to build a bridge to the HS community and begin building a relationship with area HS coaches.

Hoop Fan · Post by **Hoop Fan** » Mon Mar 22, 2004 11:44 am

I don't think Bishop applying for the job means that he either doesn't or wouldn't support Tubbs. Why shouldn't Bishop or anyone else apply that wants to? Same would go for Lineburg, if he applies for the job, does that necessarily mean he could not stay and work for whomever is hired? Of course not, it happens all the time in the coaching world. If they are compatible and can work out a deal with the guy who is eventually hired, nothing is precluded at all by somebody applying for the job when its open. And since when are high school coaches compelled or expected to formally support anyone for a college job? That letter was unique, not commonplace, no one should be held accountable to it.

BigEasyPony · Post by **BigEasyPony** » Mon Mar 22, 2004 11:57 am

My point is that Tubbs probably wouldn't consider Bishop as an assistant if he didn't sign the endorsement letter, but would prefer someone who did sign the letter. Don't you think that the group would be unahppy with Tubbs if he hired a coach that didn't sign the letter? I also think it would be unlikely that Lincoln endorse Tubbs for the SMU job and then apply himself. I guess its possible, but it would be odd.

I agree that Linclon would support Tubbs for the job if he were hired, but that doesn't mean Tubbs would hire him. I also think that Lineburg would certainly be considered by whomever was hired as well as Crawford and Brickey as well whether they applied for the job or not. Its different than Bishop's case though. I do think that Lineburg was told by Copeland not to apply and that he would ask the new HC to consider the some of the present assistant coaches. Let's face it unless Jones is hired none of the coaches will be bringing a bunch of assistants with him.

Charleston Pony · Post by **Charleston Pony** » Mon Mar 22, 2004 6:41 pm

If I'm on the committee, one of the questions I would have for any candidate is what kind of staff he wants to put together. I personally like the idea of hiring another H.S. local head coach, because a big part of the assistants' job is recruiting. If we are going to compete on a national level, we have to retain some of the top Dallas talent every year. It also fits our recruiting budget.

gostangs · Post by **gostangs** » Mon Mar 22, 2004 10:25 pm

Grabbing the Lincoln guy as an assistant would be a GREAT move for several reasons - most of which are currently in uniform for Lincoln.

Corso · Post by **Corso** » Mon Mar 22, 2004 10:59 pm

k pony wrote:Why not hire Tubbs as Head Coach and Bishop as an assistant?

Hey webguys, here's your Poster of the Week!

I wonder if those two would be convincing enough to get Byron Eaton to SMU? That alone might be worth it. He and Hop (as a senior) might be the quickest backcourt in the country. Longshot, but interesting to consider.

SMU to interview four coaches Monday

SMU to interview four coaches Monday

Tubbs/Bishop

Re: Tubbs/Bishop