No need for U.Va. to rush
Published April 13 2005
David Teel
Daily Press

DePaul's Dave Leitao appears to be the University of Virginia's choice to guide its beleaguered basketball program. The overarching question is: Would Leitao accept an offer from the Cavaliers?

Unless Leitao can't be pried from Lincoln Park, Kentucky's Tubby Smith has an epiphany, or a mystery candidate emerges, the answer figures to be yes.

Granted, Virginia is hardly the Saint Tropez of coaching that many delusional Cavaliers believe it to be. But recent failures notwithstanding, the program's upside appears more encouraging than DePaul's.

A spiffy arena named for Led Zeppelin's bassist; an on-campus arena, no less; a superior athletic department; conference stability; not to mention a seven-figure salary. Those are among the Virginia assets DePaul cannot hope to match.

Virginia officials made their pitch to Leitao on Friday. They jetted to Norfolk, near where Leitao was watching DePaul seniors Quemont Greer and Drake Diener in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, and flew him back to Chicago.

This less than 12 hours after Leitao told the Daily Press he'd had no contact with Virginia. We'll chalk that up to semantics and move on.

On Saturday, DePaul athletic director Jean Lenti Ponsetto told the Chicago Tribune that she had "no indication at this point in time" that Leitao was Charlottesville-bound. At this point in time? Doesn't sound like an AD confident of retaining her coach.

Then again, perhaps Leitao is playing DePaul. Perhaps he's angling for facility upgrades or pay hikes for himself and/or staff. It wouldn't be the first time a coach played hardball with his boss, that's for sure. Just ask Virginia Tech athletic director Jim Weaver.

But DePaul's in a tough spot. Located in an upscale residential area, Chicago's aforementioned Lincoln Park, the university has no space to build, keeping the basketball program housed in an arena near O'Hare International Airport, more than a half-hour's drive from campus. The Blue Demons averaged 9,160 spectators per home game last season at 17,500-seat Allstate Arena.

Next season DePaul moves from Conference USA to the Big East, the league of Leitao's roots. But Leitao's 14 years as a Connecticut assistant coach under Jim Calhoun do not guarantee a smooth transition. The Blue Demons lose their top three scorers from last season and join an unwieldy lot of 16 schools, seven of which (UConn, Syracuse, Villanova, Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette and Cincinnati) boast national championships.

Sure, DePaul is 58-34 in three seasons under Leitao and advanced to the second round of the 2004 NCAA tournament. And yes, from all accounts, Leitao has made significant strides fumigating a team infested with academic neglect by his predecessor, Pat Kennedy.

But the university's athletics program (no football; 105th in 2004 Directors' Cup all-sports standings) is modest at best, and the basketball team has appeared in only two of the last 13 NCAAs.

Virginia (30th in 2004 Directors' Cup) confronts an equally daunting challenge in the ACC. The Cavaliers have not won an NCAA tournament game since 1995, the longest drought in a conference that has produced three of the last five national champions.

But Virginia's new coach at least will have a fighting chance. The school is an unapologetic contestant in the intercollegiate athletics arms race, witness $130-million John Paul Jones Arena (OK, named for a Virginia law school alum, not the Led Zep rocker), scheduled to open season after next. A new playpen guarantees little, but combined with quality coaches and Virginia's academic reputation, JPJ should help the Cavaliers return to prominence.

So what's takin' so long? Pete Gillen resigned more than a month ago, many searches last less than two weeks, and in an Internet world we want information yesterday.

Calm down, Beavis.

Given the stakes, Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage would be foolish to rush. Moreover, given that no other high-profile programs are coach-hunting, he has the luxury of time.

You think, against all odds, that Smith might be interested? Give him space. You want to vet every conceivable candidate, from George Mikan to George Welsh? Knock yourself out.

Then there's the small matter of a contract. After the fiasco that was Gillen's 10-year deal, rest assured university lawyers will be parsing every word. Virginia won't skimp on compensation (bank on $1 million a year, minimum), but buyout provisions will be critiqued more closely than Condi Rice's wardrobe.

If Leitao is Virginia's choice, if Littlepage considers him the second coming of Georgia Tech's Paul Hewitt, the contract may require language regarding UConn. Recently voted to the Basketball Hall of Fame, Calhoun turns 63 next month, and with retirement at least on his radar, he gushes about Leitao and says he'd be pleased to turn over the Huskies to him.

Not ideal. But look at it this way, Cavalier Nation: If Connecticut wants your coach five years hence, he will have done a helluva job.

Virginia's search continues
By Jerry Ratcliffe and Andrew Joyner / Charlottesville Daily Progress
April 13, 2005

The ball is in Virginia’s court as far as DePaul is concerned with the Cavaliers’ courtship of basketball coaching candidate Dave Leitao.
Leitao, 43, emerged as the frontrunner for the Virginia head coaching vacancy on Monday when previous favorite Tubby Smith of Kentucky removed himself as a candidate.
A source close to a DePaul assistant coach said Tuesday that Leitao addressed the Virginia issue with his staff for the first time on Monday and said he would consider taking the job if offered.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if [Virginia] made him an offer,” DePaul Athletics Director Jean Lenti Ponsetto told WSCR Radio in Chicago on Tuesday afternoon. “At this point and time, Virginia has not made Dave an offer to the best of my knowledge. I don’t know if they will or won’t.”
Ponsetto talked to the DePaul basketball network’s flagship station at 2:30 p.m., but said she also believed, “there is a very good chance Dave could be back in Lincoln Park next year.”

According to sources, Leitao (pronounced Lay-toe) has questions about the Virginia program that he would like resolved before considering leaving DePaul, where he has six years remaining on his contract. The coach has reservations about support for the UVa program and why the Cavaliers’ previous two coaches struggled to consistently compete for the conference’s upper division and NCAA Tournament bids.

The recently dismissed Pete Gillen owned an ACC record of 45-67 over six seasons, including only one trip to the NCAA. Predecessor Jeff Jones was 59-67 in the ACC, but made the NCAA Tournament five times in eight seasons (including an Elite Eight appearance), in addition to one NIT Championship.
Leitao has stated that it would take a lot of money to lure him away from DePaul, but Virginia could make the Chicago private school’s coach a lucrative offer that would be difficult to turn down.
“If [the offer] is life altering, I think he has to look at that,” Ponsetto said. “I think that any coach his age has to look at that.”
As far as anything happening with Leitao and Virginia as of late Tuesday night, DePaul Sports Information Director Scott Reed said Leitao was in his office Tuesday evening conducting the day-to-day operations of being the basketball coach at DePaul.
If Leitao-to-Virginia was not imminent Tuesday night, that sheds a little light on why South Carolina coach Dave Odom did not totally dismiss himself from the Virginia situation in a near two-hour press conference Tuesday afternoon.
Odom has consistently denied that he’s a candidate for the Virginia job ever since reports broke last week insisting that he was offered the position and was about to take it. Odom, an assistant under Terry Holland at UVa from
1982-89, did admit to meeting Virginia Athletics Director Craig Littlepage in St. Louis during the Final Four but said those conversations regarded only his “impressions” of the Virginia basketball program and not his candidacy for the position.
Numerous sources indicate, however, that Odom has always coveted the job at Virginia and would certainly be interested in more than just consulting Littlepage on whom the next coach should be in Charlottesville.
Yet, Odom did his best to dispel such notions - or at least tried to - during Tuesday’s previously scheduled press conference.
“I want to finish out my coaching career here,’’ Odom said. “I hope to do that. I expect to do that. … I am not a candidate nor have I been a candidate for the Virginia job.”
The loquacious Odom, known for addressing nearly each and every question a reporter may possibly conjure up, then continued in regards to Virginia and his current situation.
“I’m not going to sit here and tell you that 10 days from now or another year from now or two weeks from now, something could change. Something could change here and something could change up there [in Charlottesville],” Odom said. “I’m not into hurt. I don’t want to hurt the people here because I love the University of South Carolina. I love the people in Columbia and the people in the state and I love the Gamecocks and I love our team. But I also love the people back in Charlottesville… For me to say I have no interest in the University of Virginia hurts [them] and I’m not going to do that.’’
Then, Odom sought to clarify that statement as well.
“I do have an interest in Virginia, only that I want them to get the best coach possible who isn’t me. It’s not about me being the coach there,” Odom said.

Cavs turn focus to DePaul's Leitao
Dave Leitao could become the first African-American head coach in any athletic program at UVa.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129
The Roanoke Times

As Virginia's search for a new men's basketball coach grows closer to conclusion, the likelihood is strong that the Cavaliers will have their first African-American head coach in any athletic program.

After learning this past weekend that Tubby Smith would not be leaving Kentucky, Virginia has zeroed in on DePaul head coach Dave Leitao, recently named to the board of the Black Coaches Association.

DePaul athletic director Jean Lenti Ponsetto said Tuesday in an interview Tuesday with WSCR radio in Chicago that she would not be surprised if Virginia makes Leitao (pronounced LAY-toe) an offer.

Leitao, a 43-year-old Northeastern graduate, has a 58-34 record in his three years at DePaul. He previously was the head coach at Northeastern between two stints as an assistant at Connecticut.

"I think it would be significant to have a guy like Dave in a position like the University of Virginia, a very significant step for the Black Coaches' Association," said Georgia Tech men's basketball coach Paul Hewitt, a member of the BCA board.

"With that said, I think everybody realizes that basketball has made some tremendous strides in terms of equity hiring. Football is the biggest thing now. Really, it's an embarrassing record with football out there."

Hewitt said he was not aware that Virginia has not had a black head coach in any sport. However, UVa athletic director Craig Littlepage and senior associate athletic director Jon Oliver are black.

"That's what I know," Hewitt said. "That was a tremendous step that Craig got that job. I think, when you get more athletic directors, that football issue will be addressed as well. That's where we need to go. We need to start placing an emphasis on athletic directors."

Hewitt said Tuesday was the first time he had gotten curious enough to pick up the phone and see what was happening at UVa. He was an assistant coach at Villanova when Leitao was on the staff at Connecticut.

"I don't really know him that well," Hewitt said. "I know him as a competitor. [He's] a very, very polished guy. He has recruited some tremendous players, obviously. The coaching style, I have no idea about."

Connecticut head coach Jim Calhoun is viewed as one of Leitao's major influences, "but his teams didn't seem to reflect [Calhoun's style] at DePaul," Hewitt said.

"He's a high-powered recruiter with a lot of contacts in the New York area."

W.Va. Makes English Its Official Language
Tue Apr 12, 9:55 AM ET
By ERIK SCHELZIG, Associated Press Writer

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Two days after the end of the legislative session, state lawmakers are discovering something few were aware of: They voted to make English the official language of West Virginia.

The language amendment was quietly inserted into a bill addressing the number of members that cities can appoint to boards of parks and recreation. Among mundane details about record-keeping, the amendment adds the provision that "English shall be the official language of the State of West Virginia."

Senate Majority Whip Billy Wayne Bailey successfully offered that change to House Bill 2782 amid a flurry of bills moving back and forth between the House and Senate on Saturday, the last night of the 60-day legislative session.

"I just told the members that the amendment clarifies the way in which documents are produced," Bailey, a Democrat, said Monday.

House Majority Leader Rick Staton recommended that his chamber agree with the Senate's changes. But Staton, also a Democrat, said he was unaware of the substance of the amendment until asked about it by The Associated Press Monday evening.

Efforts to make English the state's official language have been introduced annually since the late 1990s. A group called U.S. English has championed the cause.

"I think it's wrong that's something like that was snuck into that bill in the last minute," said House Judiciary Chairman Jon Amores, who helped kill an earlier proposal to forbid any state or local agency from having to print documents in any language but English.

A spokeswoman for Gov. Joe Manchin could not immediately be reached for comment.

Andrew Schneider, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia, said English-only laws are based on the false premise that immigrants will not learn English without government coercion.

"And English-only laws do nothing constructive to increase English proficiency. They simply discriminate and punish those who have not yet learned English," Schneider said.

Leitao moves to top of U.Va.'s list
With Smith remaining at Kentucky, Cavs' focus shifts to DePaul coach
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Apr 13, 2005

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Informal conversations between Kentucky's Tubby Smith and his friend Craig Littlepage never turned serious, and so the University of Virginia's search for a new basketball coach is now focused on DePaul's Dave Leitao.

Smith, a former Virginia Commonwealth assistant who won an NCAA title in his first season at UK, is one of the most respected figures in his profession. Littlepage is athletic director at U.Va., which is seeking a replacement for Pete Gillen, who stepped down more than four weeks ago.

If Smith had expressed serious interest in discussing its vacancy, U.Va. might have gone to extraordinary lengths to try to hire him. But Smith indicated to Littlepage that he's staying at UK, The Times-Dispatch has learned.

Smith's decision leaves Leitao, a former assistant to Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun, as the man most likely to succeed Gillen. A recruiting period for college coaches opens this weekend, and U.Va. would benefit from having its new coach in place by then.

Leitao, 43, has compiled a 58-34 record in three seasons at DePaul, a Conference USA member that will join the Big East in 2005-06. He signed a six-year extension with DePaul last summer.

His first stint as a head coach at Northeastern, his alma mater wasn't as successful. In 1994-95, its first season under Leitao, Northeastern finished 18-11, a dramatic improvement over its 5-22 mark of a year earlier. But NU plummeted to 4-24 in 1995-96, after which Leitao chose to rejoin Calhoun's staff at UConn as associate head coach.

"It became more apparent to me that I could take advantage of an opportunity in terms of not only advancing myself in life," Leitao told the Boston Globe in May 1996, "but with all the love and respect I have for UConn and Coach Calhoun, I could return there and not miss a beat."

DePaul's athletic director, Jean Lenti Ponsetto, politely declined yesterday afternoon to say if U.Va. had offered the job to Leitao. She referred questions to U.Va. officials, who also have declined to publicly discuss Leitao's candidacy.

"It's really inappropriate for me to comment on the University of Virginia search, and I wouldn't want someone speculating about mine if I were to be in that position" with any DePaul coaches, Ponsetto said.

She gave U.Va. permission late last week to speak to Leitao, who was in this state for the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament. A delegation from U.Va. met with Leitao on Friday and flew him from Norfolk back to Chicago on the school jet later that day.

Leitao was in Chicago yesterday, said Scott Reed, DePaul's sports information director. Leitao was not granting interview requests, Reed said.

Before becoming president at U.Va., where he still serves, John T. Casteen III held that position at UConn. During Casteen's tenure there, the Huskies' coaches included Calhoun and Leitao.

At the Final Four in St. Louis this month, Calhoun was asked about Leitao.

"He's one of the highest-quality people I've ever known," Calhoun told the Daily Press of Newport News. "If he didn't have his own father, I'd adopt him."

Leitao casts wandering eye again
Virginia's pursuit of DePaul coach exposes pluses and minuses with Blue Demons job
By David Haugh
Tribune staff reporter
Published April 13, 2005

If Dave Leitao believed what Digger Phelps believes about coaching at DePaul, then the biggest basketball suspense in town this week might be worrying which team the Bulls will meet in the NBA playoffs.

"DePaul is the best job in the country now that they're joining the Big East," said Phelps, the ESPN commentator and former Notre Dame coach. "It has the best recruiting base, one of the three biggest media markets, realistic expectations, a great city, a great school. You can't beat it."

Much to the chagrin of DePaul fans, for the second straight spring it appears Leitao will try.

A year after talking to St. John's and listening to Auburn, Leitao interviewed with Virginia about its vacant head-coaching position. He was considered the front-runner in Charlottesville, Va., Tuesday after Kentucky's Tubby Smith withdrew.

A decision could be announced before the end of the week concerning Leitao, who has kept busy recruiting for DePaul. He has work to do there--the Demons lose their two best players, Drake Diener and Quemont Greer, leaving Sammy Mejia as the top returner.

Leitao's extended flirtation illustrates that the six-year contract extension he signed with DePaul last summer binds him no more than a dinner reservation. It also underscores how tenuous the line between loyalty and ambition can be in the suddenly lucrative world of college athletics.

"I'm sure it's disappointing for [DePaul athletic director Jean Lenti Ponsetto] to have renewed Dave's contract and then have him talk to someone else less than a year later," said Temple athletic director Bill Bradshaw, who held the same job at DePaul from 1986 to 2002. "DePaul stepped up for Dave Leitao, so it must be frustrating and, I'm sure, very challenging for Jean."

Bradshaw thinks it could prove equally challenging for Leitao if, for some reason, talks with Virginia ultimately collapse and he returns to lead DePaul into the Big East.

"You always worry about stuff like that being used against you in recruiting," Bradshaw said. "And DePaul people are very big on loyalty too."

DePaul people always took comfort in knowing Ray Meyer was never going anywhere but the Hall of Fame. Even though successors Joey Meyer and Pat Kennedy left before they were ready, school officials always structured the job so that the men they hired would be motivated to buy instead of rent.

Leitao, a polished 44-year-old coveted more than his 58-34 record as a head coach might suggest, has reshaped the perception of the job simply by answering his phone.

"I always felt DePaul was not a steppingstone," Bradshaw said.

Why would Leitao leave DePaul for Virginia? If Leitao were to list the pros and cons of being the head coach at DePaul, here is what it might look like.

Cons

1. The power of the Big East.

Joining the league might put DePaul further from the NCAA tournament than it is from the East Coast given the Big East's level of talent and intensity.

Leitao could recruit a solid team, coach players to their full potential and still finish 10th.

"There's no question Big East affiliation is a double-edged sword," Bradshaw said. "Somebody's going to finish 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th. And a bigger conference doesn't guarantee more spots in the NCAA tournament for the league."

2. No on-campus facility.

Many Big East teams play in gymnasiums off campus, but in the case of DePaul, playing in Allstate Arena instead of in the city helps limit the buzz of Blue Demons basketball. Students can find getting to Rosemont as big a hassle during rush hour as fans, no doubt affecting attendance and enthusiasm.

3. The opportunities afforded athletic programs with deeper pockets.

Virginia bought out Pete Gillen for $2 million and was prepared to offer Tubby Smith $3 million per season. Leitao's buyout is believed to be navigable but expensive at around $2 million. Still, it is not considered an impediment to Virginia.

The Cavaliers benefit from the ACC's inclusion in the Bowl Championship Series and the millions generated from its football program. DePaul competing with that kind of free spending would be like the Minnesota Twins trying to outbid the New York Yankees.

"Like it or not, there is a definitive advantage for BCS schools that makes it hard to compete with if you're not one of those schools," said Loyola athletic director John Planek, who spent 13 years in the DePaul athletic administration. "You like to think if you find the right coach and the right situation that your job will be a destination job, but dollars usually are going to dictate that."

4. The success of Illinois.

The Illini just completed a monthlong commercial for the basketball program that surely resonated in the living rooms of the Chicago area's top high school players. It says everything about the ground DePaul still has to make up in local recruiting when guard Jon Scheyer of Glenbrook North narrows his choices to Illinois, Arizona and Duke and nobody wonders why DePaul isn't even in the mix. Why shouldn't the Blue Demons be?

The more Illinois sustains its success, the harder it will be for DePaul to compete for Chicago's best talent--not to mention biggest headlines. The fact DePaul got off to its best start in years last season only to have Illinois dominate the front and back pages of the city's papers must have bugged Leitao.

Pros

1. The prestige of the Big East.

The newest Hall of Fame class includes Jim Boeheim of Syracuse and Jim Calhoun of Connecticut, Leitao's former boss. John Thompson at Georgetown and Lou Carnesecca at St. John's carved out historic niches at Catholic schools in major cities (Washington and New York, respectively) the way Leitao has an opportunity to do in Chicago.

"Win in Chicago and you can own the town," Phelps said.

The competitiveness that drives most coaches compels them to seek the greatest challenge available; and the addition of Final Four-caliber programs Louisville, Marquette and Cincinnati to the 16-team Big East makes it the most competitive league in America.

2. The way the potential increase in TV exposure might deepen DePaul's recruiting impact in a part of the country Leitao knows better than Chicago.

Though joining the Big East cannot guarantee more national TV appearances than DePaul might have enjoyed in Conference USA, because of the glut of appealing programs, its association with the highest-profile league in the country only can extend the program's reach into the public leagues and playgrounds heretofore considered off-limits.

"You already have enough talent in Chicago, and then to be able to go and recruit any Big East city . . . it's only going to get better," Phelps said.

3. The ability to sell the city.

It can be said without offending the locals in Charlottesville, or anywhere else that DePaul's urban setting has more to offer recruits than the average city. The restaurants, the nightspots, the ability to hide in a sea of humanity, all contribute to a buzz that many 18- to 22-year-olds find irresistible.

One coach who did not want to be quoted for attribution talking about somebody else's job called DePaul, "one of the easiest sells in recruiting," based largely on the energy derived from its location. A confirmed city guy, Leitao might find it hard to disagree.

4. The comfort of working for a reasonable boss and chance to restore tradition to a program that always has cherished it.

If Leitao left, he would be remembered as much for the annual job searches as he would for leading DePaul in 2004 to its first NCAA victory since 1989. Legacies usually matter to coaches, and some fear Kennedy's impact in cutting corners to restock the program with talent after the decline in Joey Meyer's final seasons might be remembered more than Leitao's dignified consistency if he took the Virginia job after three seasons.
 

ACC opposes plan to extend football season to 12
BY BRYAN STRICKLAND : The Herald-Sun
bstrickland@heraldsun.com; 419-6671
Apr 12, 2005 : 11:49 pm ET

DURHAM -- The NCAA is one step away from allowing its Division I football programs to play 12 games every season, but the ACC isn't in step with the proposal.

The NCAA Division I Management Council gave nearly unanimous approval to the proposal at its meeting Monday in Indianapolis, leaving it up to the NCAA Board of Directors to seal the deal at its April 28 meeting.

The ACC was the only conference to oppose the plan.

"They felt like with everything they've discussed about the demands on student-athletes, we'd be going against everything we had said the last two years," said Shane Lyons, the ACC's associate commissioner for compliance and governance. "We understood that we might be the only conference not supporting it, but we felt like that was in the best interest of our student-athletes.

"And we're not just going to say, 'Well, if everybody else is supporting it, we'll just go along with them.' "

Despite the ACC's stance, Lyons said that if the legislation is approved, the league likely would accept the decision and allow its member institutions to schedule a 12th game beginning in 2006.

Given the potential financial benefits of an extra game, the ACC probably couldn't afford to not follow suit. And Lyons said that the league had little doubt that money was "at the heart" of the proposal.

Beginning in 2002 and again in 2003, the NCAA allowed schools to schedule a 12th game in years that contain 14 Saturdays beginning with the first playing date and ending with the last one. Most years only contain 13 Saturdays in that window.

As such, schools are allowed to schedule a 12th game in 2008, 2009, 2014 and 2019 under current rules. Those rules, however, are one vote away from changing.

Lyons said the ACC presidents had been looking for ways in recent years to reduce the burden on student-athletes, so when the proposal first was brought to their attention at their September meeting at the University of Maryland, they expressed concern. Lyons added that at a meeting of ACC football coaches a month before that, the proposal didn't get much support.

Lyons said that the presidents believe the proposal isn't in the best interest of ACC football players in terms of their well being, both physically and academically.

When the presidents met again in March in Washington D.C., along with each school's athletics director, faculty representative and senior women's administrators, they stood strong in their opposition -- even though an initial vote by the NCAA Management Council in January suggested that the ACC would be the only conference to oppose the legislation.

The league already had added one game to the schedule in the form of an annual ACC championship beginning this fall.

"There's a general movement to not approve expanded seasons for anyone," said Kathleen Smith, Duke's faculty athletics representative. "The ACC is already expanding [its football schedule] with a playoff game.

"They would have hardly any weekends off, and even though football players as a whole miss less class than many other sports, it's still a draining process."

Duke athletics director Joe Alleva, a quarterback at Lehigh in the early 1970s, said he could see both sides of the argument.

"I support the ACC's decision to not endorse a 12th game," Alleva said. "However, football players miss very little class time, and it would generate some extra revenue. But we have a nice TV contract for Thursday night. If a 12th game came into play, it would make the Thursday night game pretty difficult to work out without a bye week in there."

Lyons agreed that leaving teams with one bye week instead of two would make it even more difficult to put the puzzle together while respecting each school's unique scheduling needs.

UNC senior associate athletics director Larry Gallo, who works closely with head coach John Bunting in putting together the Tar Heels' schedule, has a suggestion for a solution.

Gallo said he would like Division I-A schools to be allowed to count a victory over a Division I-AA team toward its bowl eligibility every year, rather than every four years.

"I think that would be good for everybody involved, including the I-AAs," Gallo said. "Scheduling a 12th game would be an easier proposition if that was allowed.

"If you try to go and get an extra I-A game, there's only so many out there. It could create a bidding war: 'I'll give you an extra $100,000 or whatever.' "
 

Odom leaves the door open
Coach expresses love for USC, but admits things could change in the future
By STEVE WISEMAN
Staff Writer

Dave Odom professed his love for South Carolina on Tuesday, saying he intends to finish his basketball coaching career with the Gamecocks.

But while the 62-year-old coach said he is not and never has been a candidate to coach Virginia, Odom stopped short of saying he would not be interested in coaching the Cavaliers.

“I’m not going to sit here and tell you that 10 days from now or another year from now or two weeks from now, something could change,” Odom said. “Something could change here and something could change up there.”

Virginia has been without a coach since Pete Gillen resigned under pressure on March 14. The school’s athletics director, Craig Littlepage, is a longtime friend of Odom’s since the two were on Terry Holland’s staff at Virginia in the 1980s.

The only coach to officially interview for the job is DePaul’s Dave Leitao, who met with Virginia officials Friday.

During a news conference Tuesday at USC, Odom spoke glowingly about his life in Columbia and the friends he has made since coming to USC in 2001. He revealed that on the day he was hired four years ago this month, he told USC athletics director Mike McGee that he planned on USC being his final coaching stop.

He reiterated that feeling Tuesday.

“I want to finish out my coaching career here,” Odom said. “I hope to do that. I expect to do that.”

In the same breath, Odom said the friends he made and the memories in his mind from his seven-year stay as an assistant at Virginia from 1982-89 also hold a special place in his heart. He said he has similar feelings for his other coaching homes at Wake Forest and East Carolina.

“I’m not into hurt,” Odom said. “I don’t want to hurt the people here because I love the University of South Carolina. I love the people in Columbia and the people in the state and I love the Gamecocks and I love our team. But I also love the people back in Charlottesville. ... For me to say I have no interest in the University of Virginia hurts (them) and I’m not going to do that.”

Odom said he and Littlepage met in St. Louis during Final Four weekend on April 3 to talk about college basketball and the Virginia opening. He insisted that at no time did the two discuss him as a potential candidate.

The next day, the Washington Post cited anonymous sources saying that Odom had been offered the job and was poised to accept. Odom has denied that report.

“It never got beyond that (Sunday conversation with Littlepage),” Odom said. “Thus there was no need for me to talk about it on Tuesday or Wednesday or Thursday.”

Odom said he and Littlepage have not spoken since their St. Louis meeting. They have exchanged voice mail messages, Odom said, in which they both expressed regret over the firestorm created by news reports linking Odom to the Virginia job.

Littlepage has not contacted USC to ask permission to interview Odom.

The easy thing to do, Odom said, would be to simply say that he is staying at USC and will not be taking the Virginia job. But Odom said he doesn’t want to be painted as a liar should situations change with his current job or the Virginia search.

“What you don’t want to do is to be made out to be a liar,” Odom said. “That’s what people would make me out to be if I said never say never. People would come back and say, ‘Wait a minute. On April 12 you said you weren’t a candidate and you aren’t going to be a candidate. This is forever and ever and ever.’ Yeah but I didn’t know they were going to offer me $10 million and a 17-year contract. I didn’t know that. And they would say ‘Yeah, but you said you wouldn’t,’ and ‘You’re a liar.’

“I’m not a liar. I’m not. So you go as far as you can go.”

Odom has gone that far in speaking to the three recruits who have visited USC’s campus and are mulling scholarship offers from the Gamecocks. He called last week’s Virginia news a few “blips” that he said he worked through.

The spring signing period begins today, and USC is expected to sign 6-foot-9 Theryn Hudson of LaVergne (Tenn.) High School either today or tomorrow. Odom met with Hudson on Thursday in Tennessee and told him he planned to be USC’s coach into the future.

Odom repeated that message in a more public setting on Tuesday.

“I do have an interest in Virginia, only that I want them to get the best coach possible who isn't me,” Odom said. “It's not about me being the coach there.”