As college basketball focuses on the round of 16, the coaching profession is zeroing in on another number: 25.
That's how many Division I men's coaching vacancies there were as of Tuesday, with Rutgers and Towson firing their coaches and Jerry Green resigning at Tennessee.
Two of the biggest names out there could be in new jobs by the end of the week.
Rick Pitino has said he will tell Louisville by Thursday whether he will succeed Hall of Famer Denny Crum, a move that would bring the program back to the forefront of the sport and start a wild debate in the state of Kentucky. Pitino, who coached the Boston Celtics for the last 31/2 seasons, led Kentucky to the national championship in 1996.
Louisville athletics director Tom Jurich has said Pitino is the only candidate for that job. Pitino spoke over the weekend with Michigan athletics director Bill Martin about replacing the fired Brian Ellerbe.
"He's going to have to come to that decision," Jurich said last week. "I've come to my decision. I like him very much. I want to do everything I can, not only for him, but for his family."
Bob Knight could be back to wearing red sweaters again by late Friday. That's the end of the 10-day period Texas Tech has to wait to replace the fired James Dickey.
Knight, fired by Indiana in September after 29 years, spent most of the weekend on the Lubbock, Texas, campus and except for some petition protests by less than 10 percent of the 900-member faculty, things seemed to be falling into place for him to take the job.
The Big Ten had one of its two interim situations settled Monday when Wisconsin fired Brad Soderberg. He moved into the head job when Dick Bennett suddenly retired early in the season.
Less than a week after the Badgers were beaten by Georgia State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, athletics director Pat Richter fired Soderberg and said he hopes to attract a coach with a "national reputation." Richter acknowledged that Utah's Rick Majerus, a Wisconsin native, would be a prime candidate if interested.
"If he's able to get Majerus in here, then he's making the right decision," Soderberg said.
At Tennessee, Green resigned Tuesday following a 22-11 season and the team's fourth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Green, who replaced Kevin O'Neill as head coach in 1997, said simply that it was time for a change.
Also Tuesday, Rutgers fired Kevin Bannon after he failed to lead the team to the NCAA Tournament in his four years; Towson fired Mike Jaskulski, who was 37-76 over four years; and Southern reassigned Tommy Green, who was 74-64 in five seasons.
Mike Davis, who succeeded Knight at Indiana, was waiting to hear about his future after the Hoosiers lost to Kent State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
A seven-member committee appointed by Indiana president Myles Brand met for the first time Monday without making a decision.
"Our group will gather once again, we don't know when," said university vice president Terry Clapacs, a committee member. "We are not at the end of our deliberations."
One of the bigger jobs open which hasn't had a lot of names connected with it is South Carolina. Athletics director Mike McGee has to hope things go smoother than the last time he hired a basketball coach. South Carolina alum Bobby Cremins took the job for three days in 1993 before deciding to return to Georgia Tech. Eddie Fogler moved within the Southeastern Conference from Vanderbilt to take the job, but he resigned last week after taking the Gamecocks to the NCAA Tournament just twice.
One conference could hold its own job fair the Atlantic 10 has four openings: Duquesne, La Salle, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
At UMass, St. Bonaventure coach Jim Baron interviewed for the job left vacant after Bruiser Flint was forced to resign. North Carolina-Greensboro coach Fran McCaffery was also expected to interview for the job.
Idaho filled its vacancy Tuesday night by hiring Leonard Perry. Perry, a former star guard at the school, was an assistant at Iowa State for three years and replaces David Farrar.
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