News updates are sent daily. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Capel top candidate for UA job
Digg|
Save|
License|
Print|
E-mail|
Jeff Capel is 69-33 in three years as the coach at Oklahoma.
The Associated Press
Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel appears to be a leading candidate for the University of Arizona men's basketball job, but two Oklahoma newspapers are reporting that Capel has not had any contact with Arizona as of Wednesday afternoon.
UPDATE: USC's Floyd turns down Arizona job
A source told the Tribune on Wednesday that Arizona is interested in Capel, and the school hoped to wrap up its search in the next couple of days.
Capel emerged as the frontrunner after Arizona's attempts to get John Calipari (who left Memphis for the Kentucky job) and Gonzaga's Mark Few were rebuffed.
Both the Tulsa World and Norman Transcript newspapers cited sources close to the Oklahoma program saying Capel had not had contact with Arizona, and had been in his basketball offices in Norman all week. He was scheduled to leave Wednesday afternoon for Detroit for the Final Four.
It was not clear whether any talks regarding Capel could have occurred through back channels with his representatives.
USC coach Tim Floyd has also been mentioned as a possible candidate.
The Arizona Daily Star reported that no announcement from Arizona will come Wednesday, and the earliest a press conference could happen would be Thursday, although there is nothing scheduled.
Capel, 34, led Oklahoma to a 30-6 record and an Elite Eight appearance this season -- his third with the Sooners. Oklahoma also reached the NCAA tournament in 2007-08 before losing in the second round.
Prior to Oklahoma, Capel was the head coach at Virginia Commonwealth University for four years. When he took the job at age 27, he was the youngest head coach in Division I men's basketball.
Capel, a former four-year starter as a player at Duke from 1993-97, is 148-74 in seven years as a head coach, including 69-33 at Oklahoma.
Please add your comments, but follow these guidelines to keep this a safe, credible place for discussing the news: