Asu Launches Hunt, But Majerus Yawns

Arizona State University officially began looking for a new men’s basketball coach Thursday, continuing a process that began long before coach Bill Frieder accepted a buyout offer.

“We’ve looked at four or five people in terms of just identifying prospects,” athletic director Kevin White said. “It’s kind of a typical thing where you always have a short-handed flow, maybe a handful of people that may make sense in the event you have a vacancy.”

White left Thursday afternoon for Saturday’s football game against Miami, and could not immediately be reached for comment on a report that he had offered the job to Utah coach Rick Majerus.

“Am I interested? I don’t think so,” Majerus said when contacted in Dublin, Ireland, where he and some Utah players are winding up a European tour. “Will I talk to them? Yeah, I’ll talk to anybody.

“You want to know how important it is to me? I’m packing right now to send gifts and some stuff back to Salt Lake, and then I’m going to bed. If it was important, I’d get on it.”

White obtained permission in advance of Frieder’s departure Wednesday to talk to Majerus, who has been courted by two NBA teams and several major college programs after taking the Utes to five NCAA tournament appearances in eight years.

Other head coaches who might be available include Kelvin Sampson of Oklahoma, who previously coached in the Pac-10 at Washington State; Rob Evans of Mississippi, Mike Brey of Delaware or Perry Clark of Tulane, where White was athletic director for five years.