OKLAHOMA CITY - Missouri Coach Frank Haith is in position to replace Danny Manning at Tulsa.
A person with knowledge of the situation at Tulsa says Haith is the front-runner for the job, and he traveled to the school on Thursday afternoon to discuss a possible deal. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because nothing had been finalized.
Haith coached at Miami (Fla.) before taking over at Missouri. He led Missouri to a 30-5 record in 2011-2012 and was The Associated Press Coach of the Year. The Tigers went 23-12 this season.
Manning left Tulsa after two seasons to take over at Wake Forest. He coached the Golden Hurricane to the NCAA tournament this season.
Haith would be leaving an uncertain situation. Missouri’s top scorer last season, Jabari Brown, is a junior who declared for the NBA Draft, but hasn’t signed with an agent. Brown, who had transferred to Missouri from Oregon, led the SEC with 19.9 points per game last season. Missouri went 7-8 after the start of February, missed the NCAA tournament for the first time in six years and lost to Southern Mississippi in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament.
Tulsa will be moving to the American Athletic Conference next season, which includes Connecticut.
Sports, Pages 20 on 04/18/2014