Smith likely to stay at Kentucky
By Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writer
March 30, 2005

If Virginia’s goal was to lure Kentucky coach Tubby Smith to Charlottesville, those plans may be for naught.

According to Scott Stricklin, Kentucky’s assistant athletic director for media relations, Smith had a meeting with Kentucky Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart on Tuesday morning. In that meeting, Smith told Barnhart that he was happy at the school and was committed to fulfilling the final six years of his contract.

Smith’s contract at Kentucky ends in 2011 and will ultimately pay him nearly $2.4 million a season and also includes several incentives and rewards for remaining at the school.

According to Stricklin, Virginia has never officially contacted Kentucky in regards to Smith but several sources have told The Daily Progress that the Kentucky coach was at the top of Virginia’s wish list to replace Pete Gillen. Gillen stepped down after seven seasons on March 14.

Virginia Athletics Director Craig Littlepage, who will leave this morning for the Final Four in St. Louis, has not discussed specifics of the search since his initial press conference on March 15 announcing Gillen’s departure.

Littlepage maintains that discussing specifics would only lead to unnecessary speculation and that his goal is to have tight control of the information resulting from the search process. Littlepage’s policy extends to any courting or naming of potential candidates, such as Smith or anyone else.

As of Tuesday evening, no schools have acknowledged that Virginia and Littlepage have contacted them seeking permission to speak to their coach.

In addition to Smith, coaches mentioned in connection to Virginia’s vacancy include Texas’ Rick Barnes, DePaul’s Dave Leitao, Notre Dame’s Mike Brey and Phoenix Suns’ assistant coach Marc Iavaroni. One coach that has been gaining some favor in Virginia circles is West Virginia coach John Beilein, who guided the Mountaineers to their recent run to the Elite Eight. Several media outlets, however, have reported that West Virginia may be close to extending Beilein’s contract given the tournament success.

Byington keeps watch over UVa basketball
By Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writer
March 30, 2005

Mark Byington’s life has been in a state of flux for the last two weeks but he’s handling it the best he can.

Byington, the director of basketball operations on Pete Gillen’s staff this past season, was put in a state of uncertainty when Gillen stepped down after seven seasons on March 14.

“It’s been pretty much business as usual for me. The circumstances certainly aren’t the same but the typical offseason things are what I have been doing,” Byington said.

Byington, a 1998 graduate of UNC Wilmington where he was a three-year starter, joined Gillen’s staff last summer. The Salem native came to UVa after two seasons as an aide on former UVa assistant coach Tom Herrion’s staff at the College of Charleston. Byington, who holds a master’s degree in sports psychology from UVa, was a graduate student manager for Gillen from 1999-2001.

Byington knew the risks when he came to Charlottesville last summer. He was hardly naïve and at 28 is already well aware of the ins and outs of the profession he has sought.

“The bad thing is that it is almost part of the business. As an assistant coach, you cannot expect to be at one place for many years or retire at the same place you started. It’s an unfortunate part of the business but it’s a realistic part of the business,” said Byington, who added that he’s had little contact with his former staff members since Gillen’s departure. “It’s one of the most unusual careers in terms of the risks and everything. It’s really tough to explain to someone not in the business what it’s like to coach college basketball.”

Perhaps it’s that outlook that has allowed Byington to handle recent events well. Of course, he also has specific responsibilities at the moment as well.

Last week, Virginia Athletics Director Craig Littlepage met with Byington. Byington was asked to essentially “hold down the fort” as the search for Gillen’s replacement progresses. Littlepage has said the search will take four to six weeks to complete.

“Basically what I feel that he [Littlepage] wants from me is to help with the transition from Coach Gillen to the next head coach. It’s important to keep the fort down and make sure the players are doing the right things academically, first and foremost,” Byington said.

Byington’s relative youth is no doubt an advantage in his relationship with the current Virginia players. He’s separated from them by only a few years and can relate to their experiences as Division I players. During a time of transition and uncertainty, that is clearly an asset.

“I think I have a real good relationship with them because I played basketball myself and I’m close to the same age. A lot of the fears and doubt they have, I’m able to help them through,” Byington said.

Of course, there are some obvious questions regarding the search and who their next coach will be. Some of those, Byington cannot answer.

“There are a lot of questions that I’m unable to answer because this is something I’ve never been through myself,” Byington said.

Again, Byington’s chief tasks these days are academic related. He’s has been making sure that the players are going to class and are up to date on their workload. It’s a yeoman effort but certainly a necessary one.

“Like any college basketball program, you miss some classes during the season and are now playing catch-up. I’m meeting with the academic advisors to monitor their progress,” Byington said. “I’m also meeting with [Virginia Associate Athletics Director] Jon Oliver to take care of the day-to-day operations of the program.”

As for his own future, Byington still owns a house in Charleston that is currently being rented and recently bought a house in Crozet. There are obvious concerns about what future he may have here with the new coach.

It varies coach to coach whether they bring their staffs to a new school or retain some of the assistants already in place.

Again, Byington does not have to be told any of this. Byington likely would be an attractive assistant coach to a lot of programs given his youth, experience and resume. Few his age have the combination of the playing experience and coaching experience.

Still, he feels compelled to administer to his current duties before all else.

“I take a lot of pride in my work. I also take a lot of pride in the University of Virginia being an alumnus of the school. I’m going to work very hard and make the best possible situation for the next coach coming in,” Byington said. “The main reason is that I care a lot about the players on the team and about the university and I want to work very hard for everybody. … I grew up a Virginia fan and I want the best for Virginia. I want to do my part as long as I have to in order to make things work out here.”

Should money matter most in U.Va. hiring?
Parkhill believes need is for right coach, not best fundraiser
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Mar 30, 2005

CHARLOTTESVILLE - When Duke University hired him in 1980, Mike Krzyzewski was not universally known as "Coach K," the Hall of Famer whom Dick Vitale and the Cameron Crazies worship each winter.

He was a Bob Knight protégé who had posted a 73-59 record in five seasons at Army and had only one postseason appearance on his coaching résumé: a one-and-done trip to the NIT in 1978.

When the University of Kansas, home to one of college basketball's most storied programs, hired Roy Williams in 1988, he had never been a head coach in Division I.

When Georgia Tech hired Paul Hewitt in 2000, he had been a head coach in college for three seasons, at mid-major Siena.

Today, each is considered a brilliant hire. But can the University of Virginia, in its search for Pete Gillen's successor, gamble on a coach who is not a household name in basketball circles? With about $35 million still to be raised for the 15,000-seat John Paul Jones Arena, can U.Va. afford to hire an unproven coach on whose promise it's sold? Will only a Tubby Smith or Rick Carlisle or Mike Montgomery do?

Depends on whom you ask.

Some observers are convinced that an up-and-comer would do little to energize prospective donors, making it difficult for U.Va. to raise the rest of the money needed for the new arena. Moreover, a low-profile coach might not generate the interest needed to fill a gym that will have nearly twice the seating capacity of University Hall. Athletic Director Craig Littlepage, according to this camp, must "hit a home run" and hire a well-known coach with a history of success at the elite level.

Barry Parkhill doesn't necessarily buy that.

"We could end up, five years from now, with the greatest coach ever, and he doesn't have a 'wow factor' when he's hired," said Parkhill, a former U.Va. basketball great who is the associate athletic director for development at his alma mater.

To Parkhill, the top priority should be "getting the right coach at the right time for the University of Virginia. I personally don't think that a fundraising 'name,' if you will, is the most important thing. . . . I think the long term will take care of itself."

In recent years, Parkhill's professional focus has been on raising money for the new arena, which is scheduled to open for the 2006-07 season. Late in Gillen's tenure, a pall seemed to settle over Virginia basketball, and "I think any of us would be lying if we didn't say there's been some impact on the arena project from a fundraising standpoint," Parkhill said. "But I can't tell you what it is, and I don't know if anyone can."

Another former U.Va. hoops player, Dirk Katstra, is executive director of the Virginia Athletics Foundation, the fundraising arm of the school's athletic department.

"At the end of the day," Katstra said, a new coach will "be measured over the long haul."

Katstra, who is also U.Va.'s associate AD for external affairs, said yesterday that about $95 million had been pledged for the arena project by the end of last month.

U.Va. hopes to raise at least $27 million more by selling the prime seats in the arena's lower bowl. A premium seat between the baselines requires a commitment of at least $25,000 to the arena project, payable over five years, as well as an annual pledge of at least $2,200 to the VAF.

The hiring of a big-name coach almost certainly would provide an immediate boost to the arena project. But Katstra, like Parkhill, doesn't believe that hiring a low-profile coach would cripple U.Va.'s fundraising efforts.

It's difficult to say exactly what "motivates people to give," Katstra said, "other than if they believe the program is headed in the right direction, they're going to feel good about making an investment . . . With any hire, I think people are going to be excited about it."

Virginia pines for Smith
Published March 30 2005
David Teel

The courtship undoubtedly has commenced. Perhaps contact was direct, as in, "Hey, wanna grab dinner and a movie sometime?" Or maybe the first step was straight out of junior high, as in, "I have this friend who thinks you're cute but is too scared to call."

Either way, Virginia's admiration of Kentucky basketball coach Tubby Smith has been relayed. Virginia wants to upgrade its program, and many within the university community believe Smith is just the man to do it.

Smith's season concluded Sunday with Kentucky's double-overtime loss to Michigan State in the NCAA Austin Regional final. One game shy of a second Final Four. One game shy of pursuing a bookend national championship to accompany 1998's.

Virginia, which forced Pete Gillen's resignation March 14, could not, in good conscience, pursue Smith until Kentucky exited the tournament. In-season tampering with another school's coach violates no rule but is equal parts unethical and unattractive.

Now all bets are off. Smith is off to St. Louis and the coaches' convention that annually coincides with the Final Four. And Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage is St. Louis-bound as a member of the tournament selection committee.

Think they might bump into one another? Trek to The Hill and chat over linguini and Chianti?

During Smith's season-ending radio show Monday, a caller asked about Virginia.

"I'm very happy with where I am and I'm very pleased," Smith said. "I've got to be excited about the team returning. ... The sky is blue and I'm looking forward to next year."

Plenty of wiggle room there.

And even more here.

"What good does it do for me to say that I have no interest?" Smith told the Louisville Courier-Journal. "That only makes me look like I'm too comfortable in my job."

Well now ...

Kudos to Virginia for aiming high. Sure, it's arrogant to believe that the Virginia job is remotely appealing enough to pry a man of Smith's stature away from one of the game's top three gigs. But as I discovered with the blue-eyed blonde in 11th-grade typing class (she said yes but never let me drive her Corvette), ya never know unless you ask.

History says Smith won't say yes. History says coaches don't voluntarily leave premier jobs for rebuilding challenges.

Roy Williams departed Kansas after guiding the Jayhawks to the 2002 national championship game, but that was for North Carolina, his beloved alma mater. Smith did not attend Virginia, and unless the Earth stops rotating, he won't be coaching anytime soon at his alma mater - High Point.

If "Kentucky" stitched across the uniforms isn't enough for Smith, the players in those uniforms might be. He spoke often in Austin of his affection for this team, which includes only two seniors, and with freshmen such as Randolph Morris, Joe Crawford and Rajon Rondo set to return, the Wildcats should be better next season.

If Smith remains, where might Virginia turn?

West Virginia's John Beilein, no stranger to our state after five seasons at Richmond, earned raves by steering the Mountaineers to their first regional final since 1959. But with his son Patrick a rising senior on the West Virginia team, is the timing right to uproot the family?

Virginia Commonwealth's Jeff Capel is intriguing, but mercy, he's young (30). Texas' Rick Barnes remains persona non grata for snubbing Virginia in 1990. Phoenix Suns assistant Marc Iavaroni is a card-carrying member of Cavalier Nation (class of '78) but lacks head-coaching experience.

The name I keep returning to: Notre Dame's Mike Brey. His team's failure to make the NCAA tournament the past two years and his preference for mock turtlenecks notwithstanding, Brey is a quality coach with the ideal background for Virginia.

He grew up in suburban Washington, D.C., and played for Hall of Famer Morgan Wootten at DeMatha High. He coached under Wootten and Duke's Mike Krzyzewski. He knows the ACC and is comfortable recruiting elite players with some semblance of academic pedigree.

But we're getting ahead of ourselves. First on Virginia's dance card is Tubby Smith. Cue the violins.

Krzyzewski Amex spot catches heat from critics
3-30-05
By Robert Bell, Staff Writer
News & Record

Of all the enduring images the NCAA tournament has wrought so far, the most repeated is coming off the court: Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski shilling for American Express.

Or is it, as some allege, American Express shilling for Krzyzewski and Duke?

Critics argue the 30-second television commercial, which has been aired repeatedly during the first two weeks of the tournament, amounts to free publicity (read: recruiting edge) for Duke.

The issue comes on the eve of the NCAA's so-called "quiet period" -- seven days during which coaches are prohibited from talking to potential recruits. While other coaches are banned from recruiting, the Krzyzewski commercial will run on WFMY-2 and CBS affiliates across the country during Saturday's semifinals and Monday's championship game.

At times it's hard to tell what the commercial is promoting: a credit card or a coach. During the commercial Krzyzewski says he wants his players "armed for life," adding, "My life isn't about playing games; that's why my card is American Express." Most fellow coaches begged off the debate or declined to return phone calls. "There is absolutely no way you are going to get him to talk about that one," a spokesman for Miami coach Frank Haith said.

Coaches who agreed to talk chose their words carefully.

"It certainly is a nice advantage for them," Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt said. "But considering the profile of their program, I don't know how much more of an advantage he gets."

Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser: "I've really got no comment, which is rare for me."

Pressed, Prosser said he found nothing wrong with Krzyzewski endorsing products "as long as it fits within his contractual rights with Duke. This is America, right?"

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo has been Krzyzewski's biggest supporter. "There is some recruiting advantage to it, but you earn what you get and there's no question he has earned what he has gotten," Izzo said.

Krzyzewski found himself having to defend the commercial at a news conference last week. When a reporter told the coach he had heard complaints about the commercial, Krzyzewski seemed surprised. "You must have been in Chapel Hill," Krzyzewski joked.

"I've heard nothing but great comments about it because it's very representative of our program and of Duke. We've done a really good job. We're not going to hide. And anyone who does a good job, more power to them to do those same things. We're not doing anything bad. Whoever is a naysayer is probably somebody who isn't getting those opportunities."

NCAA rules prohibit college athletes from identifying themselves in commercial interests, but a spokesman for the association said there are no rules prohibiting coaches from endorsing products.

At least one business has severed its ties with American Express because of Krzyzewski's commercial. Tar Heels Moments, an Internet company that sells lithographs of Carolina basketball, suspended its ties with the credit card company last week, said company President Mike McCracken.

McCracken said the commercial "comes off as a recruiting video."

"It very much so turns off my customers, who you might guess are pro-Carolina," he said. "They are reacting to it just as Duke fans would react to a commercial by Dean Smith, so I chose to do something about it."

Move over Billy Packer, Pete Gillen is coming
Sean McLernon, Columnist

I'm trying to move on. Really, I am. It's been over two weeks since Athletic Director Craig Littlepage called Pete Gillen "the classiest person in the coaching profession" and then just seconds later talked about how he is "very excited about the opportunities that lie ahead" without him, officially marking the departure of the Sultan of Sweat. But the fact is Pete Gillen didn't just disappear. He's still around. I've seen him. Everywhere.

He's a regular attendee at the 5:15 Sunday mass at St. Thomas Aquinas. He occasionally can be seen swimming laps at the AFC in the evenings. He likes to get sandwiches at the Bel Air Market. There he was, the same old Pete Gillen, ordering a turkey sandwich and holding a bottle of Aquafina.

In a lot of ways, it would be easier if Gillen could just vanish into thin air. Like many followers of the Virginia program, I was rooting for Gillen to do well. Now, every time I see the newly unemployed coach, it makes me feel sad. He is a genuinely nice guy who cared about the community as well as his players. If life was fair, Gillen would be one of the top coaches in the ACC and would spend the rest of his career coaching at Mr. Jefferson's University.

But, life's not fair. Gillen is out of a job, and sooner or later he'll have to start thinking about what he's going to do next. In fact, it seems like he already has. When the woman behind the counter at Bel Air Market mentioned how she was sorry about what happened, Gillen said something about giving her his resumé.

Obviously, he was kidding. Sort of. I'm guessing there is a grain of truth in his request for a job making sandwiches: Gillen wants to work again.

Sure, he is 57 years old and has made a few million dollars working for the University. They even paid him two million just to leave. Early retirement is a legitimate option, financially. He's already removed himself as a candidate for the coaching job at Sienna -- a small Division I school outside of Albany, N.Y. that plays in the MAAC and said he plans to take a year off for personal and family reasons.

Assuming he does return to the ranks of the working stiff, I think there is a better option out there for him than a head coaching spot at a mid-major: a job where his likeable personality and sense of humor will serve him just as well as his basketball knowledge and eye for talent. I'm talking about a job as an ESPN or CBS TV analyst.

Like most college basketball fans, I've listened to several different broadcaster/analyst teams during the NCAA tournament. Because the first 32 games of the tournament are played in eight different locations in a span of 36 hours, CBS can't have Jim Nantz and Billy Packer doing every game. I'm convinced that Gillen would be able to do just as good a job as most of the guys who worked the early rounds of the tournament.

Gillen may not have had much success at developing players and cultivating their talent during their time at Virginia, but his ability to bring players with potential into the program never was questioned. He knows the skills that make a good basketball player and as an analyst will likely be able to provide insights and make astute observations that the viewer at home might miss. Plus, he's spent almost 20 years coaching Division I basketball and should have plenty of stories and anecdotes he could sprinkle throughout a broadcast.

Considering that Gillen took the Cavaliers to the Big Dance only once during his seven-year tenure, it's pretty amazing that he's not despised throughout the community. But most fans have a lot of good things to say about the man who arguably ran this program into the ground. It may just be that people are happy to see him go, but I think that he still remains close to the heart of many students and alumni. There aren't many people out there who would be able to pull that off. If Gillen is so likeable that even Virginia fans still think favorably of him, I imagine that a neutral TV audience would be quick to warm up to the Brooklyn native.

Gillen's quick-witted sense of humor also will serve him well on television He consistently was able to make an often-hostile Virginia media corps laugh at post-game press conferences. When asked about what caused a lively exchange between himself and assistant coach Walt Fuller, Gillen quipped "He said, 'great taste,' I said 'less filling.'" After a narrow exhibition win in 2003, Gillen was asked if he would sleep well that night. He responded, "Yeah, I'll sleep like a baby. I'll wake up every two hours and cry."

I could go on, but I think you get the point. Gillen's prospects as an analyst seem bright. The former Virginia coach would be a breath of fresh air in a world where an astute-but-bland Jay Bilas gets major airtime and an entertaining-but-obnoxious Dick Vitale has achieved celebrity status.

After all, it would be good for Gillen to have a backup plan just in case making sandwiches doesn't work out for him.