Oliver Purnell to Clemson

Probable career suicide by a decent basketball coach. I hope he knows what he's doing....

Purnell reportedly leaving Dayton
Dayton Daily News

University of Dayton men's basketball coach Oliver Purnell's name has surfaced as a candidate for the Clemson coaching position.

ESPN reported this morning that Purnell could be named the Clemson head coach today.

Purnell guided the Flyers to their first Atlantic 10 Championship this year. UD lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Tulsa.

Purnell's name has been linked to other coaching jobs, including Georgia. Neither University of Dayton officials nor Purnell could be reached for comment. Purnell is in Louisiana watching the Final Four.


Purnell ready to take reins at Clemson
ESPN.com news services

Dayton coach Oliver Purnell has accepted the head coaching job at Clemson and will be introduced on Saturday, ESPN learned Friday night. No other details are available.

Purnell, who led the Flyers (25-6) to the Atlantic 10 championship and a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament, would replace Larry Shyatt, who resigned March 17.

Shyatt's Tigers were 15-13 overall this season. Clemson was shocked when it wasn't invited to the NIT after finishing 5-11 in the ACC, with a key non-conference win over Cincinnati. Shyatt had two seasons left on his contract.

Clemson lost its best player in Ed Scott, who was a senior.

 

i don't know. Seeing as how the acc is probably gonna be weaker next year (maybe) and depending on whether jeff lebo is coaching the heels or not, he may be able to sell that clempsun with the right players could challenge for the acc crown. Seeing barnes in texas right now really makes me wish he would have stayed. There was already bad blood between him and carolina, just imagine him and doh going at it.

 

It would've Saturday night at the fights for sure.

 

Coaching Changes - Hoop Scoops's Scoop of the Day

Some interesting news here with the Georgia vacancy and the Sendek relationship in Pittsburgh

"Sam Albano of Redmen.com not only tells us that Indiana University head coach Mike Davis interviewed for the Georgia job today, but that the offer is on the table and our guess is that he will take it. As a matter of fact, we've been telling for you for several weeks that Davis was one of the leading candidates to become the next head coach of the Bulldogs.

Obviously this would not good news for former Chicago Bulls head coach Tim Floyd, who has had Clemson on hold, because he too was hoping to become the next head coach at Georgia. And we think he would be smart to wait a little longer, because Memphis and Illinois, both of which are ideally suited for Floyd, may open soon, if John Calipari takes the Pittsburgh job and Illinois head coach Bill Self moves onto Kansas. Remember, Floyd is from the Deep South (Louisiana) and has roots in the Midwest after being head coach of Chicago Bulls.

Other great candidates for Memphis would be Chattanooga head coach Jeff Lebo, Manhattan head coach Bobby Gonzalez, and Davis, if, by some chance, he doesn't take the Georgia job. We also have confirmed that Ohio State assistant coach Paul Biancardi has taken the Wright State job and Louisville assistant coach Mick Cronin has taken the Murray State job, which means the top two assistant coaches in the nation by HOOP SCOOP have already gotten head coaching jobs.

We also wouldn't be surprised to see our #3-ranked assistant coach (Villanova's Fred Hill) get Manhattan, if Calipari decides to stay put and Bobby Gonzalez leaves Manhattan for Pittsburgh; our #4-ranked assistant coach (Michigan State's Brian Gregory) get the Marquette job, if Tom Crean gets a job that is so good that he can't turn it down, like Kentucky, if Tubby Smith were to take a pro job, or Illinois, if Self moves onto Kansas, our #9-ranked assistant coach (Pittsburgh's Jamie Dixon) get the Illinois State job; and our #10-ranked assistant coach (Florida's Anthony Grant) get the South Florida job. In other words, six of the top 10 assistant coaches, according the HOOP SCOOP, could get head coaching jobs this spring, which would be even better than a year ago when four of our top 10 assistant coaches (#1-ranked Jay John moved from Arizona, #2-ranked Neil Dougherty moved from Kansas to Texas Chrisitan; #5-ranked Dave Leitao moved from Connecticut to DePaul, and #9-ranked John Pelphrey moved from Florida to South Alabama) got head coaching jobs.

The list for East Tennesse State continues to grow, as former Virginia Commonwealth and UT-Chattanooga head coach Mack McCarthy, Tennessee assistant coaches Kerry Keating and Chris Ferguson, Maryland assistant coach Jimmy Pastos, Murray State assistant coach Jim Hatfield, East Tennessee State assistant coach Tom Conrad, Alabama assistant coach Orlando Early (formerly of Charlotte), and USC assistant coach Kurtis Townsend all appear to have interest in the job.

We also know that Mike Byrnes, who is the #10-ranked head coach in high school/prep school by the HOOP SCOOP, is hoping that either Calipari or Gonzalez gets the Pittsburgh job, because in the past both coaches have recruited players out of his program and, as a result, the new coach at Pittsburgh might be more inclined to stash 6'9 Chris Taft from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY at Winchendon (School) MA. Speaking of players who may be heading to Winchendon next year, did you know that we've heard that 6'2 Jr Isaiah Swann from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'3 Jr Robert McIver from New Haven (Hillhouse) CT, 6'7 Jr Barbacar Thiem from Washington (Spingarn) DC, 6'0 Soph Eric Price from Washington (Dunbar) DC, and 6'8 Jr Jerome Hable from Bethesda (Walt Whitman) MD all appear to be interested in playing for Byrnes next year? In other words, Winchendon recruits better than a lot of the schools in Big East.

Now that Ben Howland has made it official for UCLA, the race to become the next head coach at the University of Pittsburgh, could become very interesting. We had always been under the assumption the N.C. State's Herb Sendek would be the leading candidate for the job, due to his close relationship with adidas' Sonny Vaccaro.

Remember, Vaccaro, who is originally from the Pittsburgh area, is the most powerful man in basketball and, as a result, most people think he will have a lot of influence when it comes to who becomes the next head coach of the Panthers. But the word on the street is that J. O. Stright, who runs the Pittsburg Jots Club Team program, along with John Miller, doesn't want Sendek to get the job.

This important, not only because Stright is one of the most influential basketball people in Pittsburgh, PA, but also because Miller's son, Xavier assistant coach Sean Miller, bailed out on Sendek when it appeared that he was a lame-dunk coach at N.C. State two years ago. Apparently there is a lot more to this story than we can tell you, but what is important for our purposes is there appears to be some animosity on both sides. Instead, it appears that Memphis head coach John Calipari is the coach that everybody can agree upon.

And if this does happen, the first person Calipari will probably hire at Pittsburgh is Miller. And this wouldn't the first time Calipari has recruited Miller. Not only did he try and hire Miller as an assistant coach three years ago when he got the Memphis job, but Calipari signed Miller when he was a high school senior at Beaver Falls (Black Hawk) PA in 1987. And if Tubby Smith goes to the NBA, that would open the door for Tom Crean at Kentucky. We think Xavier's Thad Matta or Butler's Lickliter would be sure candidates for the Marquette job." - Hoop Scoop

 

so former fsu coach steve robinson, now an assistant at kansas, is getting no love? for shame...

 

Age, not color is his problem LarryD. Not too old to coach IMO but Mick Cronin who was assisting at Cincinnati before moving to Louisville got the Murray State job at age 31. Robinson might get some looks if RW brings him to Chapel Hill (IF that occurs).

 

deal just about done

Dayton AD: Purnell to coach Clemson
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By JAMES HANNAH
Associated Press
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) – Dayton coach Oliver Purnell has accepted an offer to coach Clemson, Dayton athletic director Ted Kissell said on Saturday.
“He’s the new head coach at Clemson,” Kissell said. “He’s on a plane for Clemson right now, I imagine.”
Kissell said he talked to Purnell on the telephone Saturday morning and that the two parted on good terms.
“Obviously, they decided he’s the guy,” Kissell said of Clemson. “He’s a friend of mine, and I wish him well. We both feel proud of what we accomplished.”
Clemson would not confirm Saturday that Purnell had been hired.
“Negotiations are ongoing. It’s not a done deal,” Clemson athletic spokesman Tim Bourret said. However, Purnell was expected to be introduced on campus Sunday.
Purnell could not be reached for comment on Saturday. He was en route to Clemson.