The Morning Dish – Saturday, July 3rd
Coach K to LA?: Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski may be the next head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. Duke AD Joe Alleva confirmed that Coach K had been contacted by Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss and GM Mitch Kupchak, and that the two sides had serious discussions with the Lakers intent on installing Krzyzewski into the squad’s vacant head coaching position. Published reports have the potential deal as a multi-year deal worth over a million annually. Former Lakers head coach Phil Jackson, who has won nine NBA Championships in the past 12 seasons, including three with the Lakers, announced his retirement following the Lakers’ loss to the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Finals last month. New Duke president Richard Brodhead and Alleva are also meeting with Krzyzewski to keep him in Durham. Krzyzewski has been at Duke for 24 years, and has 621 wins and three national championships to his credit – along with 13 national coach of the year awards. Krzyzewski has previously turned down offers to coach the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks and Houston Rockets, as well as offers from UCLA and Kentucky.
Odom Extended: South Carolina announced that head coach Dave Odom has signed a two-year contract extension, which will keep him on the sidelines through the 2007-08 season. Odom, the SEC coach of the year this past season, receives a $10,000 raise, up to a base salary of $160,000. That of course does not include the “other” salary from radio and television shows, shoe endorsements, etc., which will also get a bump. Odom led the Gamecocks to a 23-11 record and an NCAA Tournament appearance, the school’s first since 1998. He has a 57-42 record at South Carolina, and is 335-216 overall in 18 seasons as a head coach, including stops at East Carolina, Virginia, and a 12-year span at Wake Forest, where he was national coach of the year in 1995.
Biancardi Calling: In the ongoing Ohio State scandal, the Dayton Daily News has uncovered that over 600 telephone calls were made from a phone account for former Ohio State assistant Paul Biancardi to a New York sports agency. While it’s not against NCAA rules for coaches to contact agents, they are not allowed to use agents to help recruit student athletes. Buckeye head coach Jim O’Brien was fired last month for allegedly giving cash to a recruit in 1999, and an NCAA investigation is likely.
Weaver Jumps to the Jazz: Syracuse assistant coach Troy Weaver has announced that he will be leaving the Orange sidelines, and will be joining the NBA’s Utah Jazz as a scout. Weaver, who previously was an assistant at Siena, also has coaching experience at New Mexico and at Pittsburgh. A specialist with forwards, Weaver worked with All-Big Easst forwards Hakim Warrick (2004), Carmelo Anthony (2003), and Preston Shumpert (2001 and 2002). Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim indicated that the position would be filled quickly for the July open recruiting period.
New Gent: Former Southeastern Louisiana assistant coach Mike Smith has been named by Centenary as an assistant on Kevin Johnson’s Gents coaching staff. Smith, who played collegiately at New Orleans in the late 80’s, replaces Lemuel Jones. Smith, who helped SLU to a 20-9 record this past season, will work primarily with post players and will help with on-campus recruiting.
