Quick hitters on Tuesday:
• San Diego coach Bill Grier could pull a Stan Heath-like move after one successful year -- highlighted by an NCAA tournament appearance -- at a lower-profile school. If you recall, Heath coached Kent State to the Elite Eight in his only season at the MAC school and then went to Arkansas. Heath has since been fired and landed at South Florida.
Grier, the former Gonzaga assistant, led San Diego to the WCC tournament title with a win over the Zags. The Toreros then upset No. 4 Connecticut as a No. 13 seed in the first round of the NCAAs before losing to Western Kentucky in the second round.
Grier interviewed Monday for the vacant Oregon State job. The Beavers are looking to replace fired Jay John (and interim coach Kevin Mouton). Multiple sources told ESPN.com that Grier is the front-runner for the gig. Portland State's Ken Bone would likely be a fallback candidate.
Saint Mary's coach Randy Bennett informed Oregon State Tuesday that he would not pursue the job and decided against going to Corvallis to interview. Bennett is expected to be in play for the vacant Cal job. Bennett led the Gaels to the NCAA tournament, losing to Miami in the first round.
According to multiple sources, Grier also has an interest in Cal.
• Maybe Tony Bennett knew what he was talking about by choosing not to pursue the Indiana job and staying put at Washington State for now. Late Monday, Indiana interim coach Dan Dakich confirmed the Indianapolis Star report that
Jamarcus Ellis and
Armon Bassett were dismissed from the team for a violation of team rules. The newspaper reported the players missed an appointment last week and then missed the punishment, a 6 a.m. run the next morning.
The expectation is that Indiana will also lose freshman guard Eric Gordon to the NBA draft. Seniors D.J. White and Lance Stemler will be gone. That leaves, according to Dakich, a roster of juniors DeAndre Thomas and Kyle Taber and freshmen Brett Finkelmeier, Jordan Crawford, Brandon McGee and Eli Holman. The top returning scorer would be Crawford (9.7 ppg), followed by Thomas (3.6 ppg) and McGee (1.5 ppg). It gets worse. IU already released two of its signed recruits and is down to two left in Tom Pritchard and Matt Roth. Can you say, "major rebuilding job"?
But there's more. There is the uncertainty about what will come of the NCAA Committee on Infractions hearing in June, plus the fact that Indiana cannot have any official campus visits this spring and summer due to self-imposed sanctions. Dakich, who has taken on Kelvin Sampson's sanctions as a head coach, said he cannot recruit on the road right now.
• As for the search, the reason an Indiana source was confident the new coach would be named by the Final Four was based on the assumption that Bennett would leave Wazzu. Now, the Hoosiers are diligently going about their business. But the Final Four deadline could be in jeopardy.
• Still awaiting word out of George Mason after Jim Larranaga went to his alma mater, Providence, for an interview. GMU athletic director Tom O'Connor, who is the head of the NCAA tournament selection committee, still had no news on what Larranaga is going to do.
• Also waiting to hear if Sean Sutton is safe at Oklahoma State after expected meetings with the administration this week to discuss his future.
• No one should be shocked that Stanford lost both
Brook and
Robin Lopez to the NBA draft Monday. Both players are expected to skyrocket in the first round, according to a number of NBA sources. Stanford will have a decidedly different look next season. There's just no way the Cardinal can be close to the same team without the dominating presence of the offensively skilled and defensively imposing 7-foot twins.
• Duke announced that freshman forward
Taylor King has been granted a release to transfer to another school. According to multiple sources, Gonzaga and Villanova are likely to be his finalists.
• Two assistants who want in on the Western Kentucky opening are Texas' Ken McDonald and Minnesota's Vince Taylor, according to multiple sources.
Andy Katz
