Hiring of New Coach Expected For Next Week

Twenty-four hours before the mandatory 30-day open period for all applications looking to replace former head basketball coach Armond Hill expires, a knowledgeable source has indicated that the search committee has conducted its last interview and will now move into the discussion and evaluation phase of the process.

The source said that a decision is likely by the beginning of next week.

As of yesterday afternoon, no discussion had occurred within the committee about preferred candidates, but the group will likely begin its next meeting by discussing each of the 13 applicants who received interviews, leading to a ranking of the applicants and a likely determination of finalists and a second round of interviews if necessary. A short list will also be discussed by the two satellite committees: one made up of current players and the other comprised of basketball alumni.

Athletic Director John Reeves traveled to New Orleans for the Final Four last weekend and presumably discussed the job opening with coaches who were there for the annual conference of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). According to the source, however, Reeves did not come back to New York with any new candidates for the committee to consider.

Eight individuals likely remain as viable candidates for the position: NBA Hall-of-Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Iona assistant Tony Chiles, Penn assistant Gil Jackson, Villanova assistant Joe Jones, Northwestern assistant Paul Lee, Catholic Head Coach Mike Lonergan, former North Carolina assistant Bob MacKinnon, and New York Knicks Coaching Associate Michael Malone.

In the meantime, Columbia has lost out on two recruits who were seriously considering playing at Levien Gymnasium. Edwin Buffmire, a 6'3'' guard from Scottsdale, Ariz., who was the Arizona Division 4A Player of the Year, had the Light Blue high on his list before committing to Princeton early this week. Will Scott, a 6'5'' guard from the Collegiate School on West 78th Street, chose Cornell over nearby Columbia. Scott is the son of New York Knicks team doctor Norman Scott.

"It is mainly because of the uncertainty of the situation that we lost those two," Columbia Assistant Coach Walt Townes said. "Those kids had respect and love for coach [Armond Hill]."

Both Townes and Assistant Coach Bill Johnson are still working hard on the recruiting trail despite the absence of a head coach.
"We're still working on a solid group of recruits. There are still some strong guys on the board," Townes added.

Drew Baron, a 6'10" center from Indiana, is the only recruit to have committed to play at Columbia; he was accepted through the early decision program in December.