WSU interviews UAB coach Davis

PULLMAN – Washington State University athletic director Jim Sterk headed home from Detroit on Saturday. Whether he’s decided on whom to hire to replace Tony Bennett as men’s basketball coach, however, is still unclear.

Sterk and associate athletic directors John Johnson and Anne McCoy interviewed prospective candidates at the Final Four, including University of Alabama Birmingham coach Mike Davis.

Davis is among a field that reportedly includes Ken Bone, Portland State’s coach, and former Phoenix Suns coach Terry Porter, who was interviewed by WSU, according to a Birmingham News story.

Porter, whose reported presence on campus last week was denied by WSU officials, played his college basketball at Wisconsin-Stevens Point under former WSU coach Dick Bennett. Bennett said Saturday night that Porter talks with him regularly, but has not contacted him since the WSU position opened.

Former University of Alabama coach Mark Gottfried, who was an assistant on UCLA’s 1995 national championship team along with University of Washington coach Lorenzo Romar, has reportedly expressed interest in the position. Whether he had contact with WSU officials in Detroit is not clear.

Gottfried resigned midway through this season, taking a more than $2 million buyout from Alabama. He posted a 210-131 record in 11 seasons with the Crimson Tide and took them to five consecutive NCAA tournaments, including an Elite Eight appearance in 2004.