By Andy Katz ESPN.com INDIANAPOLIS -- Money may be the only way Nebraska can lure Tulsa coach Bill Self away from the Golden Hurricane. But if Self were to accept Nebraska's offer of $1.1 million per year, he would likely end any chances of getting either the Oklahoma or Oklahoma State job, whenever either job opens. Coaches rarely move within a conference, and Self wouldn't be as marketable leaving for one of those schools if he were to be unable to reach the level of success at Nebraska that he has had at Tulsa. Self said he needs time to digest the offer, while he also waits for the Golden Hurricane to finalize its offer of $700,000 to $800,000 per year. Tulsa needs to get its offer through its Board of Trustees. Self's wife had a death in her family and had no time to talk to Nebraska athletics director Bill Byrne. While Self wouldn't commit to Tulsa, he's likely to honor his commitment and stay with the Golden Hurricane. If and when Self turns the Nebraska job down, the Huskers would next look at either Butler coach Barry Collier or Appalachian State's Buzz Peterson. Collier has heard from an intermediary from Nebraska, but Peterson has yet to speak with anyone. Drexler's successor A source close to Houston assistant Reid Gettys told ESPN.com that the former Cougar will learn within the next 24 hours if he has a chance to succeed Clyde Drexler. Drexler resigned Thursday after two years on the job. Drexler had trouble adhering to the demands of being a high-profile Division I head coach. Houston has to make a decision on Gettys, or former Houston player and present BYU assistant Dave Rose, soon. The Cougars can't afford to lose Houston signee Alton Ford. He still needs to qualify academically, but the McDonald's All-American would have to decide if he wants to sit out or declare for the NBA draft if he's not eligible. Houston would have trouble getting a higher-profile coach. To succeed at Houston, a coach needs to secure Houston-area talent in a fashion similar to that of DePaul, which kept Chicago-area players home. Knight fallout Coaches universally supported Indiana coach Bob Knight at the Final Four, with everyone we spoke to convinced that Knight would never resign. Knight is under investigation for possible abuse against players. But coaches, such as Duke's Mike Krzyzewski (a former Army player under Knight) said they must support him. National Association of Basketball Coaches chair Jim Haney said Knight has been controversial but didn't see a reason to take a side on the matter. Knight has gone to Palm Springs, Calif., for some rest and relaxation during the Final Four. A school committee is scheduled to meet Friday and discuss the allegations. Battle for summer set The National Association of Basketball Coaches is adamantly against eliminating summer recruiting and deregulating amateurism. The NCAA hierarchy is overwhelmingly in favor of both issues. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said he didn't understand why experts weren't brought in to analyze summer recruiting. Haney said the membership of 318 Division I schools would never adopt a policy that eliminates summer recruiting. Although the NABC said it favors dropping the recruiting days from 24 to 20, NCAA president Cedric Dempsey said tweaking the number of days isn't the answer. He said the whole culture of summer recruiting has to be scrapped and started over. The issue will be at the center of the Student Basketball Congress meeting this weekend. The NABC is also against deregulating amateurism because it fears players would play professionally and then want to attend college, making recruiting endless. The NCAA had no answer for how eliminating the summer recruiting time would get rid of the guardianship problem that had players like JaRon Rush, Kareem Rush, Andre Williams and Jamal Crawford being ruled ineligible for stretches this season due to extra benefits received prior to college. The NCAA also highlighted a proposal that limits scholarships to only four per school per year, something the NABC opposes. If each school only had four scholarships, that means schools like Purdue (five seniors this season) and Duke (which lost six players to graduation, transferring and the draft last year) wouldn't be able to replenish their rosters completely after each season. The NCAA also wants to up the Student Assistance Fund from $10 million to $25 million. This fund is set up to help needy students, mostly those who have had medical bills to pay. Dempsey said he would listen to the players' congress but the sentiment is that the players and coaches would have to agree to a change in the summer before their voices would be heard. Coaching chatter |
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