Kentucky job is hot topic

Going into last night's Final Four men's semifinal games in Atlanta, the ongoing coaching rumors took a break as the business at hand -- the crowning of a national champion -- continued.

But that break will be temporary. Jobs are open -- major jobs -- and athletic directors will be on the clock again soon.

Foremost among the openings is Kentucky, which became vacant when Tubby Smith took the Minnesota job. Former Kentucky assistant and current Florida head coach Billy Donovan is the consensus front-runner.

In a press conference Friday, Donovan was asked about the Kentucky post and he gave a non-denial denial.

"My feeling is that we have a terrific program that's been supported very strongly by our administration," said Donovan. "It's been a great place to work. It's been a great opportunity for me, just building this thing and trying to build it. But it's not just me building it. So many people have sacrificed and worked hard.

"I'm so excited about what our team's been able to accomplish. My main objective is for us to be the best team we can be. That's really all it comes down to for me."

Whatever Donovan says doesn't matter unless it's a flat denial that he is interested in Kentucky. Others seem more than willing to say it for him.

Reports say Kentucky will offer Donovan a million-dollar raise on his current $1.8 million annual salary. With incentives, say the stories, the Kentucky offer could be as much as $3.5 million. Florida officials say they already are working on a raise and contract extension for Donovan. One tale has Donovan's family looking at houses in Lexington, Ky.

All of it has created a media feeding frenzy, which goes beyond the normal hysteria of a Final Four. Everyone has questions. The best may have come from someone who ran into Louisville Courier-Journal columnist Rick Bozich and wanted to know what was going on at Kentucky.

The person asking Bozich? Tubby Smith.

Some of the other openings, with contenders.

Michigan -- West Virginia's John Beilein and UNLV's Lon Kruger lead the list.

Arkansas -- Memphis has given the Razorbacks permission to talk to John Calipari. Although Calipari agreed to a one-year extension with Memphis, he did not sign a contract.

Iowa -- Creighton's Dana Altman could be the leading contender.

Harvard -- Former St. John's coach Mike Jarvis, former Michigan skipper Tommy Amaker, and ex-Arkansas boss Stan Heath are the candidates. The Crimson's decision could come early this week. Amaker and Heath are believed to be the front-runners.

Georgetown received no offensive help from its bench in its 67-60 loss to Ohio State as all of the Hoyas' points were scored by their starters . . . The Buckeyes are the fourth Big Ten team to advance to the NCAA title game since 2000. Michigan State (2000), Indiana (2002), and Illinois (2005) are the others . . . Ohio State's last national championship was in 1960.

Tennessee sophomore sensation Candace Parker picked up the Wade Award yesterday as the top female player in the country. She is the first sophomore to win the award and just the second from vaunted Tennessee, joining Daedra Charles, who won in 1991. (That's right, Chamique Holdsclaw somehow managed not to get it.)

"It is a tremendous honor," Parker said. "But that's all put aside now because we have a goal here at the Final Four to accomplish. So that's all behind me and hopefully we can go out [today] and take care of business."

Tennessee meets North Carolina in the second half of today's semifinal doubleheader in Cleveland. Rutgers and LSU meet in the first game.

Parker, the unanimous player of the year in the Southeastern Conference, averaged 19.9 points and 9.8 rebounds along with 2.9 blocks for the Lady Vols. She also was named to the 10-player Kodak All-America team.

Oklahoma's Courtney Paris, also a sophomore, was named player of the year by the Associated Press, while Duke's Gail Goestenkors was selected coach of the year.

UNC-Tennessee is a rematch of last year's regional final, which happened to be in Cleveland. North Carolina won, 75-63. UNC also defeated Tennessee this season, 70-57, in Chapel Hill, N.C. . . . LSU is making its fourth straight appearance in the Final Four. It still is looking for its first appearance in the championship game. It lost to Tennessee in 2004, to Baylor in 2005, and to Duke last year. Connecticut, Tennessee, and Louisiana Tech are the only other schools to make it to four straight Final Fours. The other three managed to win at least one title . . . LSU interim coach Bob Starkey repeatedly has said he is not interested in becoming a head coach, that he enjoys being an assistant. He replaced Pokey Chatman, who resigned before the start of the tournament. Starkey noted that he was 47 and had never thought seriously about being the main man. When told that 47 was pretty young, he said, "I don't know. In coaching, it's kind of like dog years. I think I aged about two years in the last three weeks."

The Rutgers-LSU game will be a matchup of teams with no seniors . . . North Carolina, Tennessee, and LSU are three of four teams that have put together 30-win seasons each of the last three years (Duke is the other). For Carolina, the 34 wins are a school record. Last year's team, which lost in the semifinals to Maryland, and the 1994 title team won 33. This UNC team also set school records for assists, blocked shots, and steals.

Mark Blaudschun reported from Atlanta; Peter May reported from Cleveland.