Who’s going to be the next men’s basketball coach at Pitt?
The honest answer is that no one in the media really has a credible answer to that question.
People can speculate on message boards and Twitter but only Heather Lyke and the hierarchy at Pitt really know who the candidates are at this point.
It’s apparent that Lyke is running a very tight search thus very few leaks have come out of Oakland.
As I tweeted yesterday, I’d be very surprised if there isn’t some concrete news concerning the Pitt job soon.
The reasons for that come down to recruiting and availability. Whomever is hired has a ton of work to do and needs to get started ASAP.
There are still 2018 recruits are available as transfers are hitting the market. Will anyone on Pitt’s roster from last year return? Lots of work will come with this job and the sooner the next coach gets started the better.
The other reason I anticipate some news is because of the availability of some of the rumored candidates.
The trendy names like Sean Miller, Danny Hurley, Thad Matta and Nate Oats are all available to talk and potentially meet/interview if they’d be interested in Pitt.
Hurley is certainly also in talks with other schools. If UConn can meet his financial demands, he might prefer that job over Pitt.
Now that Hurley’s season is finished, it wouldn’t be surprising to see something leaked today from his camp. One way or the other, it shouldn’t be long before we know where Hurley’s future lies.
As far as Miller goes, it’s going to come down to what kind of risks Pitt can identify and what they’re willing to accept. If they’re confident the university won’t be harmed, Miller will be someone that they could pursue.
Over the weekend, Craig Meyer of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Pitt officials have already interviewed former Ohio State coach Thad Matta.
For whatever reason, it doesn’t appear that Matta is a viable candidate at this point. It could be Pitt concerns about his health or Matta could be unininterested in doing anything more than satisfying the requirements of his buyout that demand he look for work.
We encourage you to stay with PSN for the latest news on Pitt’s search for their next basketball coach.
UPDATE (1:59 PM)-
UPDATE (2:01 PM)-
**Ron Sanchez is someone that was mentioned as a sleeper candidate for the PItt job. He is reportedly getting the job at Charlotte.
