Can a familiar face save Valparaiso basketball?

Column: Staying in the family is the right move for the Beacons

The texts and calls haven’t stopped.

What do you know?

Who are you hearing?

When is it happening?

I haven’t heard gossip like this since my friends were asking out prom dates in high school.

In the last week I’ve received more information, and likely disinformation, than I know what to do with.

This guy wants it.

This guy wants it to look like he wants it, but he doesn’t want it.

This guy wants it, but he doesn’t want anyone to know he wants it.

I’ve even received a handful of pitches myself from people on why they should be on the list for the next Valparaiso men’s basketball coach. As if I’m the one making the decisions.

Honestly, the whole information dance feels like a charade. My friends and I are batting around intel like a cat chasing a ball of yarn. No one really knows anything, yet we all want to feel like we’re on the inside.

The truth is, Charles Small is on the inside. Jose Padilla is on the inside. Parker Executive Search is on the inside. All the rest of it is just colored bubbles.

After a week of digging, this much is certain. The next three days are very important to the future of Valparaiso University. Conversations will be had and meetings will be held at the Final Four as the movers and shakers of the collegiate men’s basketball landscape arrive in Houston. Oh, to be a fly on those walls.

It’s been a week since Matt Lottich was shown the door at Valparaiso and much has happened since. Ben Krikke has entered the portal. Zane Doughty has reopened his recruitment. The rest of Valparaiso’s roster and recruits are seemingly in wait-and-see mode. With each passing day without a head coach in place, Valpo misses out on the portal. Homer Drew used to often say that “recruiting is like shaving; if you miss a day, you look like a bum.”

So, who should Valparaiso hire? I already published my list of potential candidates last week. Now, here is what I’d do if I were in charge.