Sources: Tim Floyd to Arizona & more dominoes could fall

The landscape of the Pac-10 continues to transform as 2009’s coaching carousel continues with this somewhat surprising move – Tim Floyd to Arizona

After unsuccessfully trying to woo Rick Pitino and reportedly going after Mark Few and Jeff Capel, Arizona is set to name Tim Floyd as its new head coach according to reports.

Fox Sports reports that Floyd is still weighing the offer.

Floyd, 55, has spent the last four seasons at USC and is 85-50 in his tenure in Southern California. He led the Trojans to three NCAA tournament appearances — including a Sweet 16 appearance in 2007.

According to a source close to the situation, Floyd — as of Wednesday night — is still deliberating on whether to accept Arizona’s offer.

Floyd’s Trojans won the 2009 Pac-10 Conference Tournament Championship and qualified for the NCAA Tournament by overcoming a 15 point deficit to Arizona State. The Sun Devils and All-American guard James Harden only scored six points in the last eight minutes and ten seconds of the game en route to mustering only 63 points for the day. They scored only four points in the last 7:37, which included only one field goal in the last 7:37. The Trojans took the lead with about 30 seconds to go in the game and continued to ride their momentum into the NCAA Tournament.

I thought USC was able to pull a surprisingly good move in their initial hire of Floyd four years ago, so it will be interesting to see where the Trojans choose to turn. Jobs at Georgia and Memphis also remain open.

As Andy Katz discusses in the above video, Floyd’s move could open the door for the dominoes to fall in a manner that sends Pitt’s Jamie Dixon to USC, opening the Pitt job for Sean Miller. First, such a move would suck for NC State as Sean Miller is clearly emerging as a top candidate for our job in the next couple of years if Coach Lowe were to unfortunately not show some improvement.

Excuse me while I continue to be baffled by these reporters. Katz, like Seth Davis and Greg Doyel and so many others, is usually fast to tout the attributes of former NC State coach, Herb Sendek. In this report he immediately mentions Miller and totally ignores Sendek as a candidate for Pitt. Hell…Miller coached for Sendek, who is also originally from Pittsburgh!

Sendek was (supposedly) the subject of speculation around the Pitt job when Ben Howland left for UCLA. Although the speculation was later proven to be a manufactured and appear to be an opportunistic PR stunt by Camp Fowler/Sendek to make Herb appear desired by other programs, it still baffles me that Herb could be such an amazing coach yet these media-guys who love him so much never even think of him as a potential candidate for any of these jobs where is obviously a natural fit. I wonder why that is?

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08-09 Basketball General

146 Responses to Sources: Tim Floyd to Arizona & more dominoes could fall

  1. GAWolf 04/02/2009 at 6:35 AM #

    Andy Katz said the fallout from this could be Jaime Dixon to USC and Sean Miller back to his alma mater Pitt.

    I know many here don’t think Sean Miller would be a good fit here, so good news for you. If he goes to Pitt we’ve missed yet another window of opportunity anyway (for better or for worse who knows).

    SFN: I think most people view Sean Miller as a very good (and rising!) potential candidate if our job ever unfortunately became available. I KNOW that Miller thinks extremely highly of the job and would take it in a heartbeat if ever offered. With this said, I view Miller as ‘the floor’ of what we could do in the market if a transition was executed with a modicum of competence.

    This is one of the reasons that I still think highly of the potential of our program – if talent like Sean Miller is ‘the worst that you can do’ then the program still has a chance.

  2. ktoh 04/02/2009 at 6:38 AM #

    Makes sense Dixon is from southern California. Miller is a perfect fit at Pitt. Miller may even be a slight upgrade as well from Dixon.
    And we are where and what we are.

  3. Dan 04/02/2009 at 7:34 AM #

    My biggest fear is that Sean Miller at Pitt + the high temp on Sid’s seat could = Larry Harris taking his recruiting skills back to what is also his alma mater.

  4. GAWolf 04/02/2009 at 7:36 AM #

    Certainly a very real concern…

  5. packbackr04 04/02/2009 at 7:42 AM #

    and at that point sid could promote monte towe as his head recruiter so we can fill our roster out with 5’9″ 3 star pg’s and 7″0″ Polack Projects. awesome

  6. Wulfpack 04/02/2009 at 7:53 AM #

    As much as I love college basketball, this year has really taken the wind out of my sails with our continued spiral downward. If these dominoes do fall, I will care about the future of ncsu basketball even less.
    Why we aren’t trying to line Miller up right now is beyond me. The rich will only get richer, and as someone else said on a previous thread, we come closer to becoming Duke football.

  7. ktoh 04/02/2009 at 7:54 AM #

    ^ Very good packbackr04 but I think we are heading down that path anyway.

  8. Daily Update 04/02/2009 at 7:59 AM #

    Herb Sendek to Pitt makes so much sense. Why would Pitt want Sean Miller over Herb Sendek? The media spent all season telling us “all Herb Sendek does is win games” and now we have the university in his hometown potentially having an open position.

    It really is mindboggling why they spend so much time telling everyone what a great coach he is, but then they same people never once mention him for open head coaching positions even in his hometown of Pittsburgh.

    If Pitt really would hire S. Miller, then there is no reason that we shouldn’t also be having discussions with him at this time. I see Statefansnation edited comments in Gawolf’s post above. Miller very well may represent the “floor”, however if S. Miller gets hired(it is going to happen sooner or later), then our floor suddenly drops if Miller is off the table as an option.

    If he truly would take the job if offered, then what in the hell are we waiting for if S. Miller is there to take the job after we try a couple of other options quickly and quietly 1st?

    I think I interpreted BJD95’s comments yesterday that S. Lowe may have sent out feelers about going back to the NBA after each of the last two seasons. I am sure he would do it if he could get a head coaching job. However, I don’t see a chance in hell of that happening at this point. But if that is the case, then that isn’t a good sign about the current situation and IMO means that NC State should make a coaching change whenever the “right coach” becomes available. If he is available right now, then you make the the change right now.

  9. SidtheKid 04/02/2009 at 7:59 AM #

    Would Dixon really walk away from Pitt? Someone posted he is from Southern California, but wouldn’t that be a downward move? I thought coaches were always about best school best conference? I believe it could happen but still can’t wrap my mind around it haha.

  10. packbackr04 04/02/2009 at 8:00 AM #

    i have also heard that Fowler is in the process of a national search for a womens bball coach. The good news is that a “large” serch comittee has been formed to limit Fowlers input. The bad news, Fowler evidently still has input.

  11. packbackr04 04/02/2009 at 8:06 AM #

    pitt is a commuter school. it is garbage up there. if that is a destination job then you can keep it as far as im concerned. If i were Dixon, i would much rather be basking in So Cal sun than be in Pittsburgh?????

    “hey honey lets go to the beach this weekend….”

    “sure, you want to go to the jersey shore? its only like an 800 hour drive from here in Pittsburgh”

    OR… Dixon could be saying

    “hey honey lets go to the beach….”

    “no thanks, but you go ahead and walk down there, ill be up here making you a sandwich for when you get hungry”

  12. SidtheKid 04/02/2009 at 8:09 AM #

    I’m not that familiar with Pittsburgh but ok. I mean who wouldn’t prefer So Cal over Pittsburgh. The question I still have is how is USC a better job. I understand USC is superior in other ways, but I still see Dixon bucking the trend of coaches going to better schools or better conferences.

  13. Noah 04/02/2009 at 8:13 AM #

    This is one of the reasons that I still think highly of the potential of our program – if talent like Sean Miller is ‘the worst that you can do’ then the program still has a chance.

    Of course. Anyone who doesn’t think our job would be one of the most desirable openings in the country is either an idiot or is begging to be ignored.

    It’s a $1.5-$2 million salary. It’s the ACC. It’s 20,000 fans and two national championship banners and 10 ACC titles. Being the head coach here gets you in the door to every recruit in the country (whether you sign them is up to you, but you’ll get an audience with them).

    No, we’re not the top of the mountain. But you can throw a rock from here to there.

  14. SaccoV 04/02/2009 at 8:16 AM #

    I would say given the weight of each’s resume, Miller has to edge out Sendek for the Pitt job. Also, to partially correct the record (hopefully, without sounding a–holy!) Miller is from Ellwood City, PA (according to Wiki) even though I remember Beaver Falls as the town with teh high school. Sendek is from Penn Hills, the most eastern township in Pittsburgh proper. After doing some research, I didn’t know Dixon was a Californian. I thought he was like a Jay Wright, from Philly or something, eager to keep east coast college basketball thriving. The jobs available at Memphis and Georgia could play larger roles than some believe. IMO, no body really cares about the USC job because football greatly outweighs basketball at that school.

  15. Noah 04/02/2009 at 8:17 AM #

    The question I still have is how is USC a better job.

    It’s not. It has some built-in advantages.

    – USC can outspend Pitt. If they really want to, they can pay Dixon $3 million without breaking a sweat.

    – Southern California still cranks out a ton of good players. You can recruit the LA metro area exclusively and still field a decent team. Expand your base to the area west of the Rockies and you’ll be a top-10 team.

    – LA is not Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh is not as bad as people think, but it would be hard to confuse Manhattan Beach or Malibu with Western Pee-Aye.

    – The Pac-10 ain’t the Big East. You can build a pretty good team and still get buried in the Big East. A pretty good team is capable of winning the Pac-10. Hell, Floyd won the Pac-10 team with a mediocre team.

  16. Noah 04/02/2009 at 8:18 AM #

    Is Beaver Falls where Jeff Lebo and Billy Owens played? Or was that Carlisle?

    Tons of QBs come out of Beaver Falls. The most overrated player in NFL history is from there.

  17. Bubba 04/02/2009 at 8:18 AM #

    Please pardon my ignorance, being new to this site I am trying to understand why almost every entry has backhanded stabs at a coach that left 3 years ago.

    IMO, it takes away from the quality that this site has over other Wolfpack Sites.It seems to me that its become almost an obsession with some folks.

    Anyhow,I enjoy reading and if this opine is out of line please delete/censor and I’ll just continue to read the blog

    SFN: Our ‘constant’ mentioning of Herb is actually part of the point that we are trying to make. We actually agree with you.

    Since you’ve read the site for a while you will note that we have actually NOT posted very many Herb entries since he left. However, the members of the media can’t seem to help themselves (see slew of articles and mentions this season).

    We aren’t the ones who have obsessed over Herb. Heck, we’re the ones that coined the acronym ‘HWSNBN’ during our ignoring of him.

    So, we have decided to respond to the behavior of the media as opposed to just sit back and allow them free reign to frame the issue with their ‘drive-bys’. They want to make Herb an issue, we will gladly oblige.

    I hope that you and others can appreciate our position here and afford us this latitude for a bit. Thanks so much for the manner in which you shared your comments!

  18. SaccoV 04/02/2009 at 8:19 AM #

    Of course. Anyone who doesn’t think our job would be one of the most desirable openings in the country is either an idiot or is begging to be ignored.”>

    What exactly are you basing this opinion on? If this job was so desirable, why did it take months to fill it?

    SFN: Really? You don’t understand how to separate the merits of the job from the MORON executing the hiring who was both unprepared and incompetent?

    Think about this another way — if the job in and of itself was so ‘bad’ then how in the world did we get INBOUND interest from the likes of John Calipari, Tubby Smith, Mike Montgomery, Bo Ryan and Rick Barnes?

  19. Daily Update 04/02/2009 at 8:27 AM #

    Bubba: Do you not wonder why with all of these open jobs that Herb Sendek doesn’t get mentioned for these open positions? For the last 2 years, there appeared to be an article every week during basketball season telling us how much of a mistake it was for NC State fans not to have been happy with Herb Sendek. Why aren’t the people in the media promoting Herb Sendek for these jobs or is that because none of these programs are interested in Herb Sendek?

  20. GAWolf 04/02/2009 at 8:29 AM #

    http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/4866919/

    NC State to cut jobs… a lot of jobs.

    Does Sid have a buyout? If so, consider it a potentially unethical move unless a private entity is willing to step forward and PUBLICLY take the hit.

    Daily Update and I discussed last night before and after going to the not-so-exciting baseball game that there’s ample opportunity for everyone to come out looking like a hero with a Sean Miller transition. Larry Harris and Sean or close (or at least we can only imagine such is the case), and Sid could go back to the NBA having truthfully saved whatever was left of our reputation after Fowler’s collasal bungle of a coaching search. He came here, he started bringing in better talent (Harris sticking around is key to keep that talent) and Sid started the ball rolling from STOP which got our program moving back in the right direction. He could be lauded as a hero, and pitch to his recruits that he’ll be in the NBA waiting to help them out there after they finish what hopefully is a good career at NC State. It would take some hard work and certainly some manipulation of public perception, but ultimately all could benefit.

    But then we’re back to the crux of the matter: It’s actually way too logical to be an NC State move…

    SFN: Buyouts aren’t paid with public money. Usually raised from private money.

  21. GAWolf 04/02/2009 at 8:32 AM #

    SACCOV: because Lee Fowler, the man that knows basketball, threw shit against the wall and hoped something would stick. Sid simply saved us from more public humiliation. He went from adviser to candidate after Fowler struck out. Hence the opportunity for Sid to leave here a hero even if he never wins another game…. assuming we take action at the appropriate time. And of course that takes us back to the age old Herb debate. His tenure here was exactly twice as long as it should have been. Take out those last 5 years and our fan base is nowhere near as divided as it remains today.

  22. Dan 04/02/2009 at 8:32 AM #

    Sean Miller is not the floor when the last three openings ended with Les Robinson, Herb Sendek, and Sidney Lowe.

    Come to think of it, let’s get really real. When was the last time State hired a big name basketball coach?

    SFN: Just because Lee Fowler fucked up the execution of the previous search does not mean that NC State couldn’t/shouldn’t have landed a more experienced and more successful historical college coach.

    Our own incompetence is mutually exclusive from the conversation about the floor of the candidate pool.

  23. GAWolf 04/02/2009 at 8:33 AM #

    With all of that said, I’m not one that thinks we can fire Sid today… or maybe even next year and save face publicly (for him or us). He has to be in on it, and it will take some effort to spin it as it must be spun.

  24. packbackr04 04/02/2009 at 8:38 AM #

    “What exactly are you basing this opinion on? If this job was so desirable, why did it take months to fill it?”

    Noah already said what he based his opinion on…. 2 national titles and 10 ACC titles. the reason it took 2 months is because we have an idiot AD who actually considered hiring Steve Lavin before going to candidates like Sean Miller.

  25. choppack1 04/02/2009 at 8:40 AM #

    Sacco – please tell me you are kidding.

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