The Coaching Carousel is turning fast and furious with meetings and movement. Here’s the latest:
**Texas is in talks with VCU coach Shaka Smart about its coaching vacancy, according to Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com. Texas parted ways with Rick Barnes over the weekend after 17 years, and Barnes wasted no time finding new employment by landing the Tennessee job.
**The other prominent name linked to Texas was Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall, but Marshall spent seven hours on Monday with Alabama AD Bill Battle in Wichita, according to AL.com. Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com reported the same thing.
**At Oklahoma State, there’s a report from The Oklahoman that the school is considering buying Travis Ford out of his massive 10-year contract. That would cost them $9.6 million for what he’s owed through 2019.
**George Mason officially named former Bucknell coach Dave Paulsen its new coach. In Paulsen’s seven-year tenure at Bucknell, the Bison became the first team in Patriot League history to record three straight regular season titles, having amassed four outright regular season championships in the last five years. He has led the Bison to four postseason berths – two NCAA appearances and two NITs – during that span.
“Dave Paulsen is a proven winner and an outstanding basketball mind,” said Director of Athletics Brad Edwards. “Over the past five seasons he has led his teams to four post-season appearances, including two NCAA tournament bids. He is a well-respected recruiter and developer of talent, playing a pivotal role of the development of a dynamic current NBA player. Combine all that with his superb academic pedigree, and we have a coach who is a perfect fit to execute our vision for a sustainable elite basketball program.”
**Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin, who sat out the majority of the season for precautionary reasons while dealing with a non-life threatening vascular condition known as arterial dissection, has been cleared to resume all duties with no restrictions, the school announced.
“I would like to thank the entire University of Cincinnati community and administration for their support during the past three months,” Cronin said. “I also would like to thank UC Health and its neurosurgery department, especially Dr. Norberto Andaluz and Dr. Todd Abruzzo, for the care that I have received.
“Obviously, I’m excited to be coaching again, but most importantly, I’m grateful to be 100 percent healthy,” Cronin said.
Cronin coached the Bearcats in the first nine games of the season before his arterial dissection was discovered in mid-December during a routine workup after a complaint of lingering headaches. He sat out UC’s contests against VCU (Dec. 20), Wagner (Dec. 23) and N.C. State (Dec. 30) while awaiting test results and treatment options. The department of athletics announced he would miss the remainder of the season on Jan. 2.
Photos: USA Today Sports
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