A Duck Named "Billy Clyde"

Oregon basketball: Ducks face deadline pressure after Butler takes Brad Stevens off the market

By John Hunt, The Oregonian

April 08, 2010, 5:55PM

Associated Press

EUGENE - Oregon's latest hope to lure a big-name basketball coach ended Thursday when Butler University announced a new contract that keeps coach Brad Stevens signed through the 2021-22 season.

Meanwhile, deadlines are fast approaching for the Ducks.

April 15 is the beginning of college basketball's regular signing period and the Ducks the only Pacific-10 Conference team without a commitment in the class of 2010. Terrence Jones, the 6-foot-8, 220-pound Parade All-American from Portland's Jefferson High School, is waiting -- until April 23 or 30 -- on Oregon's decision before deciding his future.

April 30 is also the deadline to make a deposit for season tickets at the new Matthew Knight Arena. The arena is on schedule to be completed by the start of the Pac-10 season.

The coaching search is not as far along.

Pat Kilkenny, Oregon's former athletic director who is leading the coaching search along with help from Nike and the search firm Spencer Stuart, had said he expected the hire to be announced by the Final Four -- that was nearly a week ago.

Mike Bellotti, who took over as athletic director for Kilkenny on July 1, had said he expected a coach to be in place by March 29, the start of spring term. That date came and went, and so did Bellotti, who was originally supposed to lead the coaching search with Kilkenny's help.

Kilkenny spent all weekend in Indianapolis, site of the Final Four and home of Butler University, and didn't leave until Thursday morning, fueling speculation that he was talking at length with Stevens. The Ducks are known to be willing to pay a coach more than $2 million in salary, and Stevens was making less than $1 million.

Although terms of Stevens' agreement were not announced Thursday afternoon, hours after Kilkenny flew out of town, it's likely Oregon could have easily surpassed the offer monetarily, but Stevens opted to stay put in the state in which he grew up.

So where do the Ducks turn in their coaching search now, with deadlines approaching?

Billy Gillispie is emerging as a candidate. He resurrected the Texas A&M and UTEP programs but failed at Kentucky before being fired a year ago. He has been mentioned recently as a candidate at Houston and DePaul.

Former Blazers star Terry Porter has interviewed and is available. Porter has coached two NBA teams -- the Milwaukee Bucks and, most recently, the Phoenix Suns in 2008-09 -- but has not coached at the college level. His is not an up-tempo style of coaching, but he does have a strong rapport with players and has the considerable advantage of being a local hero.

Former Blazers coach P.J. Carlesimo joined Kilkenny in Eugene on Thursday. The presence of Carlesimo, once considered a strong candidate, could speak more to his strong ties with Nike than to his re-emergence as a contender for the job, however.

There is Mike Dunlap, an associate head coach for the Ducks last season with Ernie Kent, but he is on the verge of joining Steve Lavin's staff at St. John's.

What are Kilkenny and Carlesimo discussing? Details are hard to come by in this tight-lipped coaching search, but what is known is that the Ducks need to do something very soon.