The search for a University men’s basketball coach is wide open once again.
University of Virginia Athletics Director Terry Holland officially withdrew his interest in the job Tuesday night, leaving the Gophers with no other front-runner candidates.
Gophers men’s athletics director Mark Dienhart expressed both slight disappointment and resilience in a press release Tuesday.
“It is unfortunate that the timing wasn’t right for Terry to pursue our opening,” Dienhart said in the release. “We will continue our search and are committed to hiring the best coach available as rapidly as possible.”
That search resumed Wednesday, when Dienhart and Senior Associate Athletics Director Jeff Schemmel travelled to Dallas to interview four more candidates.
Jim Crews of Evansville, Willis Wilson of Rice, and Dan Monson of Gonzaga are all expected to be interviewed by week’s end. The fourth candidate, Bill Self of Tulsa, reportedly turned down an interview Wednesday.
“Obviously, the basketball coaching position at the University of Minnesota is an attractive opportunity,” Self said. “However, I am happy at the University of Tulsa and thrilled about the future.”
Dienhart and Schemmel might get more of the same kind of answer from interview sessions with Crews and Monson this week, as neither seem overly enthusiastic about leaving their respective schools.
“It’s one of those deals where I’ll listen, but it’s not my number one priority right now,” Monson told the Spokane Spokesman-Review on Tuesday.
“I’ve turned down a number of good jobs because I like it here,” Crews said Tuesday. “But I’m willing to listen to Minnesota because it’s the Big Ten.”
— This report contains information from the Associated Press.