Maybe the headline today should be confessions of a sportswriter.
Or coaching searches are especially confusing when mum's the name, silence is the game.
Let's start with Kelvin Sampson, the coach of the Sweet 16 Houston Cougars, who was naturally of great interest to University of Arkansas Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek.
They worked together for three years. They are friends, and Yurachek recognized Sampson as a great coach. More than likely, an offer was put together and his agent was contacted, but there was nothing firm discussed because apparently he was not the supreme choice.
Arkansas has a list of coaches to interview, most likely not on campus (see Eric Musselman), but at a neutral site to ensure the clandestine operation's success.
There is one candidate who Arkansas officials can't talk to because he's preparing his team, Texas Tech, for the Final Four. It would be considered a major sin to try and get him out of the film room, where he's supposedly lived the last two days (he may know Michigan State as well as Tom Izzo), to talk about changing jobs.
More about Chris Beard later.
Then there was the Musselman is on campus, no he's not, yes he is, no he's not, Twitter battle that led to his wife eventually saying he's in Reno.
Whether he was or not -- his name was resonating for a while probably because Razorback fans wanted a name to research and discuss -- he is a coach of interest, but he would not be interviewed on campus.
With today's technology, a coach can see the facilities from the comfort of his office via the internet.
From the time Musselman's name came out until after midnight Monday night, yours truly received communications about Musselman from all over the country. Some were positive reports, some definitely were not.
When he was up for the California job two years ago he withdrew his name just before a new coach was hired. His wife said Tuesday afternoon they are not leaving Reno.
Only Yurachek knows who is on his list and the order, but a few who might be interested in the challenge of the SEC, which in the last three years has jumped back into the role of being a major basketball power: Minnesota's Richard Pitino, Kansas' Bill Self, Kansas State's Bruce Weber, Cincinnati's Mick Cronin and Steve Alford.
Of course there may be others, as already stated. Only Yurachek knows who and their ranking.
Which brings us back to Beard, who hasn't taken many breaks from coaching since the season started, but he does do everything he can to make sure his three daughters enjoy the NCAA Tournament ride, too.
His love and concern for those three girls outweigh everything else in his life, which is the way it should be.
Beard signed a new deal with Texas Tech last year, reported to be $18 million for six years. Tech originally got him for less than $900,000 a year. There is a buyout, most likely hefty. His agent is Bret Just, same as Sampson which could have added to the confusion.
Beard's motion offense may be the most disciplined in the country. His defense is more disciplined.
He spent seven years as an assistant for Bob Knight and whether you like that guy or not, he was a great coach who won 902 games. He also coached under Pat Knight and Tom Penders, who won 648 games.
Beard's Division I head coaching career was launched at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, where he went 30-5, won the Sun Belt Tournament and knocked off Purdue in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 2016.
While at UALR, he made a lot of friends who want him to come back to the Natural State.
Sports on 04/04/2019