Some Saturday “dirt”…
• It appears that Tony Barbee is safe at Auburn. AD Jay Jacobs said yesterday that he supports Barbee who will return next season. In his three seasons at AU, Barbee is 35-59 (9-23 this season). Auburn recently built a $92 million arena, so there is definitely some pressure to produce there. Looks like Barbee will now have at least one more season to prove he can get it done.
• I blogged about my Siena possibilities yesterday (http://hoopdirt.com/blog/ac0907a6/siena-rumors/…) – now I’ve got a few updates. It sounds like Loyola (MD) will not let Jimmy Patsos talk to Siena until after the CIT (they host BU on Tuesday). No surprise here, but it looks like he will definitely be in the mix. I’ve also heard from a great source that Pitino the Elder has been pushing hard for his son Richard. Rick Pitino is a huge horse enthusiast and knows the Siena area well– he is a frequent visitor to the Saratoga Springs horse track (only 30 minutes from Siena). Apparently he (and Richard) have reached out to Siena AD John D’Argenio multiple times over the past few days.
• I mentioned Earlier this week that I had heard ESPN’s Seth Greenburg may be involved with the Longwood job. I’ve now also heard that Cleveland State associate head coach Jayson Gee could be involved here. He has been a DI assistant at a bunch of places, and also the head coach at Charleston (WV) from 1996-2003 (159-55).
• Speaking of Greenburg, it sounds like he really wants to get back into coaching. His name came up yesterday when talking about the Old Dominion job. Another interesting name that I heard yesterday (and a huge stretch in my opinion) – former Virginia and NBA star Ralph Sampson. I’ve heard from someone one close to him that he has expressed interest in the gig. I should have a better ODU list published early next week.
• I’ve heard Texas- Permian Basin head coach Dwaine Osborne’s name mentioned surrounding the vacant Angelo State job. Before taking over at UTPB four seasons ago, he was the head coach at Glenville State.
