Virginia Commonwealth coach Anthony Grant spent Wednesday touring Alabama’s campus and meeting with university officials in a second round of talks about potentially replacing Mark Gottfried.
Grant and his wife, Christina, flew into town at about 10 a.m. CST Wednesday for interviews and a campus tour, athletics spokesman Doug Walker said. It was not immediately clear if the job was offered.
Grant also met with Alabama officials Sunday in Virginia, a person familiar with the meeting said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the talks were ongoing.
Grant declined comment to reporters Wednesday before leaving with athletic director Mal Moore and several trustees for meetings, including one at the residence of President Robert Witt.
The 42-year-old Grant has led VCU to three straight Colonial Athletic Association regular-season titles and two NCAA tournament appearances in the last three seasons, including an upset of Duke. He was also a longtime assistant under Billy Donovan, including 10 years and back-to-back national championships at Florida.
That postseason resume was a big selling point for Alabama. The Tide, which has never had a black head coach in men’s basketball, missed the postseason for the third straight year under Gottfried after making the NCAA tournament five years in a row.
“We want to find a coach that we feel can keep us in the championship picture, where we are competing for the SEC championship and NCAA tournament play, that can take us as deep in that tournament as possible,” Moore said in January.
VCU pays Grant a base salary of $400,000, with bonuses and incentives that boost his pay to nearly $1 million. Gottfried was making roughly $1 million, but the Tide proved willing to pay a hefty rate to land a high-profile candidate when giving Saban a $4 million-a-year deal three years ago.
The Rams’ season ended with a 65-64 loss to UCLA in the opening round of the NCAA tournament after missing a jump shot at the buzzer. Alabama finished 18-14 and lost to Tennessee in the second round of the Southeastern conference tournament.
Tennessee's signing class for 2012
Tennessee defeats Georgia 3-2 in…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 28
jimmyrayvol writes:
WOW!!
danapurt writes:
Isnt this site about UT sports. who gives a phooey about what lame coaches Alabama is going to hire for basketball
CalPoly_Vol_Fan writes:
who gives a shat?
suPEARLman writes:
says it all....
newtonrail writes:
There are always some of you coming out of the woodwork when info on other SEC schools is posted. Give it a rest. 90% of the people on here want to know what's going on, although this story has been posted on at least two other sites for some time. Thanks Kaplan.
ut18vols writes:
well I think Grant will be a great hire where ever. I heard he was the top candidate to fill the Florida opening when Billy the Kid jetted to the NBA for couple hours lol.
auttat writes:
I honestly would like to see him as the coach at UT.
golfballs03 writes:
good for you
Mr_Brownstone writes:
this barely qualifies as news.
volaboard writes:
Honesty may not be your strength.
NashvillePreds writes:
You, honestly, don't know what you are talking about.
golfballs03 writes:
Latrell Sprewell should come back and be their coach
yabadabadoo1026 writes:
maybe a lot of the rest of us do care whats going on around the league----if the heading doesnt interest you , quit whinnin and just dont read it.
HotlantaVol writes:
Breaking News!!
Headline: Eric Berry has toe cheese
KNOXVILLE - Eric Berry, rising Junior All-American safety at the University of Tennessee, commented to a team mate between Dan Williams's farts and Rico McCoy's curse words, that his new socks are shedding an unusually large quantity of cotton fuzz which is absorbing sweat and becoming lodged between his toes, sometimes called "toe cheese". Head trainer Jason McVeigh, when asked to comment, stated that he didn't feel like the issue would cause Berry to miss any practice time but that he would be investigating further. Head Coach Lane Kiffin responded by accusing Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer of trying to play footsie with his players. Coach Meyer is reported to have complained to Mike Slive, the SEC Commissioner, who is expected to fly to Gainesville later this afternoon to play footsie with Meyer and All-American quarterback/roommate kisser Tim Tebow. More details when they are available, but no pictures please.
givehim6 writes:
I know the web site says govols.com, but i think sometime last year when kns won the ESRN award this unofficially became gosec.com
givehim6 writes:
Wonder if he will be making 4 mill? Are UK & UF next?
Volpride1967 writes:
hilarious
Pullingguard writes:
observing the enemy is the first component of winning the battle, therefore, one must read, view, and scout all elements possible. We must broaden our horizones beyond our back yard.
doverton#635371 (Inactive) writes:
I agree, tell someone who gives a s#*t.
volongulf writes:
Then don't read it!
golfballs03 writes:
If his team doesn't win they might get popped with a 2x4 or strangled into submission. Damn straight.
Besides, he needs the extra cash. He has to feed his family!
Imagine how entertaining Alabama basketball would be with Spree as their coach.
volball7222 writes:
...and I give a flip because?
tennezz writes:
Good luck alabama, Tennessee made several "great hires" before finally making a "GOOD HIRE"
ncvol17 writes:
someone new to dislike.....let's chip in on some TP rolls as a welcome gift
john#208876 writes:
Anybody see Saban crying on ESPN about how the fan's expectations on the football program are unrealistic? He said (paraphrasing) there was a big problem with the culture there! Maybe he is already planning his exit strategy; the over under on his tenure is down to 3 years now.
FulmerWasSabanated987 writes:
Im ready for a good bball coach. We need to get back to where we used to be...I know you hate to admit it but the SEC was down this year because Kentucky and Bama were down...
halloffamebowler writes:
Mark Gotfired was a good coach, but poor old Mark Gotfired.
Halls3 writes:
If you don't care then don't read the damn article. I personally enjoy reading about all SEC teams so don't ruin it for the rest of us. Oh and as for the subject this would be a good hire. I mean VCU has become a pretty strong Basketball program under him.
Share your thoughts
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.