The Morning Dish – Monday, June 2nd:
CSF Coaching Candidates: Cal-State Fullerton, who was the object of public affection by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar earlier this month, has announced its four finalists for the Titans’ head coaching position. Fresno State assistant Robert Burton, Florida Atlantic’s Sidney Green, Fairleigh Dickinson coach Tom Green, and former UCLA assistant Jim Saia will be interviewed this week, and a decision on the successor to replace Donny Daniels will be reached by next week. Daniels left the Titans last month to join Ben Howland at UCLA.
Calipari Staying, Again: Memphis head coach John Calipari has announced that he will exclude himself from being a candidate for the vacant Philadelphia 76ers head coaching position, vacated by Larry Brown last week. Calipari, who was an assistant under Brown for the 76ers prior to coaching the Tigers, had been contacted by 76ers president Billy King, but declined to become a candidate. King last week approached Kentucky head coach Tubby Smith for the vacancy. On April 8th, Calipari had released a statement saying that he was staying at Memphis and would not seek any other opportunities.
Pan Am Finalists: Seventeen players have been named finalists for the US team for the upcoming Pan-American games, coached by Michigan State’s Tom Izzo. The US Team, who last won a gold in the Pan Am Games in 1983, will be making final selections for the August 2nd-6th tournament in mid-July. Notable finalists include UConn’s Emeka Okafor, Kentucky’s Gerald Fitch, Missouri’s Rickey Paulding, Syracuse’s Hakim Warrick, Arizona State’s Ike Diogu, Oregon’s Luke Jackson, Gonzaga’s Blake Stepp, and Texas’ Brandon Mouton.
More ACC Expansion: A South Carolina PR firm has created a website to allow ACC fans to vote on possible conference expansion. Anderson, South Carolina-based Palmetto Consultants have created ACCExpansion.org. Actual impact of the voting on the ACC or Big East schools is unknown, but as of this posting only 300+ votes had been cast, with 45 percent opting for no expansion. Yes, it’s the offseason, so we can bring you these types of “news” items.
