Top ten buzzworthy items from the weekend:8. Kennedy's mentor, Bob Huggins, may be back on the sideline at Kansas State, so says ESPN.com.
This is a booster pick. Sundvold is pushing for Huggins and has been from the beginning. However, Huggins is going to be tough to clear past the administration. I spoke to Alden before he got on a plane to see the women play in State College on Sunday. He denied having ANY interviews this week. He denied having Huggins as the main candidate. He said the coaching search wouldn’t be wrapped for a couple weeks. He said there were still several coaches they were looking at, and that it would be wrong for me to focus on one or two.Now, I take all of that with a grain of salt. However, I did speak with Huggins’ agent Sunday, and he said he didn’t know what I was talking about when I asked him about an interview this week. I didn’t get the feeling he was being coy either. He said he hadn’t spoken with Huggins about an interview. This is just me, but I think if you’re going to have an interview about a possible job, I would think you’d inform your agent. Again, that’s just me. I left a couple messages for Huggins. No return call. Not a surprise, but I tried.[...]Bear in mind all of this is as of Sunday. It could just as easily change on Monday or Tuesday. But right now, I have it on good authority that there is no interview for Huggins - or anyone else - in the near future. In fact, there really isn’t a short list either. There might be a short list for some, but as far as an offical short list, there isn’t one.
Inside dish: Huggins could land at MizzouFormer Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins has the backing of two prominent boosters in his pursuit of the Missouri job. The boosters could have enough pull to help Huggins overcome the image concerns that contributed to his departure from Cincinnati. . . .
COLUMBIA — Bob Huggins has vaulted to the top of the list of coaches that influential boosters are pushing Mike Alden to hire as Missouri’s next basketball coach.Huggins said Friday that he’s definitely willing to listen if the Tigers call. So far, he said, no one from MU has contacted him.But, Huggins said: “We’re going to listen to whoever wants to talk.”
Rumors swirled Friday that Kansas State officials met with Bob Huggins about their vacant men's basketball coaching position.But Huggins' agent refused to verify the murmurs, which circulated on at least one area radio station and an Internet message board."I can't either confirm or deny that," Cincinnati-based attorney Richard Katz said by phone Friday night.
Former Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins continues to be the most notable name that’s available. His agent, Cincinnati attorney Richard Katz, said his client hasn’t spoken with him about the Wildcats. But he knows Huggins is eager to return to the game.“Obviously, he wants to coach,” Katz said. “He missed it this year.”
• Speaking of the former Cincinnati coach, according to a high-level source, Huggins met with Kansas State, which is looking for a replacement for Jim Wooldridge. There is mutual interest from both parties. Huggins could also be a player at the now-vacant Iowa State post. As ESPN.com has reported, there is a power struggle emerging at Missouri, where one segment of the influential boosters are intrigued with hiring Huggins while Missouri athletic director Mike Alden is against the move.
From 3-15:After spending much of this week traveling with the Denver Nuggets and three of his former players, Huggins will return to his hometown of Cincinnati today to resume discussions about his future.At this point, Kansas State doesn't appear to be part of it."I have talked to absolutely nobody from Kansas State or representing Kansas State," Cincinnati-based attorney Richard Katz, who represents Huggins, told The Topeka Capital-Journal on Wednesday. "Nobody. I can categorically tell you that."Huggins has. The former Cincinnati coach admitted he has spoken with K-State search consultant Eddie Fogler and that the subject of the Wildcat job may have been broached -- "Honestly, I don't remember," he said -- but he cautioned not to read too much into the conversation because he has known Fogler for a long time.I talk to Eddie a lot. Eddie and I are friends," Huggins said by phone from Indianapolis. "So I'm not going to lie to you and tell you I haven't talked to Eddie this year. But I can also tell you I've talked to coach (Bob) Knight and virtually anyone that I've coached against or been in the fraternity with."
Last week in Dallas, he revealed former Wichita State coach Eddie Fogler, a friend since their Shocker days, was assisting in the process. On Tuesday, Weiser tossed out a name that will assure K-State fans how serious the athletic director is in steering a winner to Manhattan.Texas Tech coach Bob Knight."Bobby is someone I consider a close friend, and we've had several conversations about this," Weiser said.
"To be honest -- and I don't want to sound callous -- I'm not going to allow the general public or the media decide who our next coach is going to be."
"We have not talked about the Kansas State job," Katz said. "Yes, he's looking to coach this season. Some schools have contacted him, some situations that have been informal."But we have not been contacted by anyone on K-State's behalf."Asked specifically if he'd like to coach at K-State, the Cincinnati-based agent said, "That's hard to say. We haven't had an opportunity to talk about it, and I don't want to speak for him."
