Names, names, names with UK opening

Like air rushing to fill a vacuum, names are being bandied about now that Kentucky officially has a opening for men’s basketball coach.

Florida Coach Billy Donovan seemingly took his name out of consideration when UF issued a statement on Friday, the same day UK fired Billy Gillispie. Donovan said he was committed to returning the Gators to the national elite.

Villanova Coach Jay Wright, a Philadelphia native, seems to take himself out of consideration. In a New York Times column by Harvey Araton, Wright said that any coach would be flattered by being linked to a job like Kentucky’s.

“You’re crazy if you don’t say that or you’re not being truthful,” Wright said. “But I don’t want my name mentioned anywhere. I love Villanova.”

Later in Araton’s column, Wright went even further.

“I’ve got a great athletic director (and) great president,” he said. “As long as those guys are there, I’m good.”

That fits with the feeling I got two years ago when Wright’s name got mentioned for the Kentucky job. The word then was that Wright and his wife had strong ties to Philadelphia and/or Villanova and would not be interested in leaving.

As for names that get mentioned, the ones I’d give credibility to include:

– Thad Matta, Ohio State. Proven recruiter and winner.

– Tom Izzo, Michigan State. Ditto (even more so, including a national championship).

– John Calipari, Memphis. Ditto (even more so as a recruiting, only fate as denied him a national championship).

On the second tier I’d put the Kentuckians, Travis Ford of Oklahoma State and John Pelphrey of Arkansas.

As an aside, I’ve been puzzled by the lack of buzz about Sean Miller of Xavier.

It must be acknowledged that rumors abound that contradict any assessment.

From what I’ve gathered, UK wants a thoughtful, thorough process. If that, that would blow away speculation of a done deal.

Hyper speculation that Donovan being introduced Friday. Of course, that was wrong. You also heard of Ford being lined up. The guess here is that would be premature, at best.