Altman latest to stir UT interest

Dana Altman of Creighton isn't a new name to pop up as a possible replacement for Buzz Peterson, but he could be one of the hottest.

The News Sentinel learned Tuesday that Altman has been contacted about the coaching vacancy and has impressed UT representatives.

Altman, 46, just completed his 11th season at Creighton, guiding the Bluejays to six NCAA tournament appearances along the way.

Creighton won 29 games in 2002, was ranked as high as No. 10 and finished 23-11 this past season after a first-round NCAA tournament loss to West Virginia.

As previously reported, Bruce Pearl of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Bob Knight of Texas Tech are two coaches still involved in the NCAA tournament that are garnering interest from UT. John Beilen of West Virginia may also be part of the coaching search that is being conducted by Champ Search.

Meanwhile, former UT assistant coach Chris Ferguson has landed at East Carolina.

Altman, who also coached at Kansas State and Marshall, has a career record of 218-111 at Creighton.

Lutz has turned Charlotte into a consistent winner and UT was given permission to talk with him on Monday.

After eight years as a Tennessee assistant under Jerry Green and Peterson, Ferguson was hired to join the staff of new East Carolina coach Ricky Stokes.

He didn't waste any time landing on his feet or getting busy.

In his first official day on the job, Ferguson was in Hutchinson, Kan., for the junior college national tournament.

"You've got to get out there and get busy," Ferguson said. "I think East Carolina is a sleeping giant.

"It's the third largest university in North Carolina and has a good recruiting base."

Ferguson was the only assistant coach to survive Green's ouster as UT basketball coach four years ago.

He spent nearly a decade surviving the ups and downs of the Vols' program.

"I had a great eight years at Tennessee with six post-season appearances and one Sweet 16," Ferguson said of his time as an assistant at UT.

"I'd like to thank all the players, from the first recruit I was associated with, Vincent Yarbrough, to the last, Chris Lofton."

Ferguson chose to remain in college coaching despite an opportunity to become an NBA scout. He'll serve as recruiting coordinator on Stokes' staff.

"Ricky and I have known each other for a while, and I'm looking forward to the opportunity and challenges ahead," he said. "I also want to thank coach Green, coach Peterson, coach (Doug) Dickey (former athletic director) and Mike Hamilton (current athletic director) for the all of the help they gave me.

"I developed a lot of friendships in Knoxville and I want to thank the best fans in the world."

Mark Burgess covers Tennessee men's basketball. He may be reached at 865-342-6277.