Look for Arizona assistant coach Josh Pastner to accept an offer from Memphis to join the staff in the coming days, if not in the next 24 hours.

According to a report by Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post tonight, Nuggets assistant Mike Dunlap has been offered the job of associate head coach at Arizona and will likely accept. Dunlap, the former coach at Div. 2 Metro State, is very well-respected in the industry. It is believed, however, that Pastner was waiting to see where he would fit in the pecking order on a reconfigured Arizona staff before deciding whether to take the job at Memphis. According to my sources, Pastner was, at the very least, seeking the position that had been offered to Dunlap. With that apparently off the table now, I expect Pastner to join John Calipari on the Memphis bench.

If the sequence of events plays out as I expect, it would be a tremendous development for Memphis in the wake of Derek Kellogg’s departure. Pastner is one of the top recruiters in the country, and his addition would offset much of what was lost when Kellogg became head coach at UMass.

- I went to Atlanta this week to cover the Wesley Witherspoon announcement, which obviously went the way I expected it to go. Witherspoon will be a nice addition, and he’s a fun kid who will be interesting to cover as a college player. He has lots of personality, which I will write more about in the paper soon.

Someone who does a high school sports show in the Atlanta area was there and mentioned to me that Witherspoon will be a big help for Memphis because he can make free throws. I asked Witherspoon what his percentage was, but he didn’t know. “I didn’t miss many,” he said.

- Talk about reloading. The new name that has come up for the open assistant coaching position is Arizona’s Josh Pastner, as first mentioned in the blog of Dick “Hoops” Weiss. After talking to some people this weekend, Pastner is indeed in the mix, and I would not be surprised if something happens this week.

If Pastner is hired, it’s huge for Memphis. Usually, when you lose one of the best recruiters in the country — as Derek Kellogg was — you can’t immediately replace them with somebody who is just as good. But make no mistake, Pastner is absolutely in Kellogg’s league as a recruiter.

When I first heard about Pastner, I was a bit skeptical at first. For one thing, he played at Arizona (though he didn’t play much as a walk-on) and has been there as an assistant for awhile. And Arizona is an elite program in its own right. But the more I’ve heard about the situation there, the more it makes sense. Things are pretty chaotic in Tucson right now. Lute Olson is back, but Kevin O’Neill is gone and assistant Miles Simon was let go just a couple days ago. So pretty much an entirely new staff will be on the sideslines there. Pastner might also feel as though he’s spinning his wheels a bit at Arizona. His name has come up for a couple head coaching jobs recently but hasn’t broken through, and obviously Memphis has been a good situation for assistants. Pastner is from Texas, and obviously with four C-USA programs in that state, his name would be hard to ignore for any opening in the league. Plus, I wouldn’t be surprised if more money is involved, as the Pac-10 pay scale isn’t overly impressive (according to the Tucson Citizen, Simon was making $90,000 a year, which is less than what Memphis assistants make).

– The other name that has been out there with the Memphis opening is Oregon assistant Kenny Payne, another highly-regarded recruiter. I’m not sure that’s totally out of the question at this point, but I’m told Payne is reluctant to leave especially after bringing a couple of big-time guys from Chicago all the way out to Oregon this fall.

After a much needed hiatus of avoiding all things sports I feel better. After 8 months of football and basketball games you just get tired.

Over the next couple of months I’m going to interview former Tigers for my blog. The first “A Six Pack with…” interview is with Rusty Clayton. Clayton spent four seasons as the Tigers long snapper. I decided on interviewing Rusty first because of his academic accomplishments more than his football accomplishments. Rusty is going to graduate with his Masters of Arts in Criminal Justice tomorrow morning at FedEx Forum. This after already getting his BA in both history and psychology. He’s been honored on multiple occasions:

–2002 Rex Dockery Scholarship winner
–2006 All-CUSA (first time a long snapper was ever voted on)
–2006 ARA Sportsmanship Award
–3-time CoSIDA Academic All-District IV honoree (first-team in 2004 & 2006; second-team in 2005)
–2006 C-USA All-Academic team

Rusty and his mother, Sandi, still attend all the Tigers football games. He’s hoping moving into the work force won’t prevent this from continuing. During a game last year Rusty could be seen sporting a kilt and his “Braveheart” Tigers face paint. And even his car shows his spirit as his Mississippi license plate is his number 98.

Here’s the six questions with Rusty Clayton.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Grizzlies have decided to retain first-year head coach Marc Iavaroni for the 2008-09 season, according to an NBA source.
Iavaroni, who will enter the second of a three-year deal, was rumored to be on the hot seat. But team owner Michael Heisley met with Iavaroni Thursday and decided against firing the rookie head coach after one season, according to the source.
Heisley, though, reportedly stressed improvement on the defensive end and with personnel decisions.
The Griz finished with a 22-60 record – identical to their 2006-07 mark – and now look forward to the NBA draft lottery on May 20.

The Grizzlies, sitting in neutral since the regular season ended, will shift into gear with team owner Michael Heisley in town to meet with the coaching and management staffs. Player exit interviews were conducted immediately following the season and now Heisley will evaluate head coach Marc Iavaroni, general manager Chris Wallace, etc.

People close to Heisley tell me that the Chicago billionaire wanted to take some time to step back and remove the emotion from his dissatisfaction with another 22-60 season in Memphis.

And, no, Heisley was not courting Larry Brown and that had nothing to do with Brown’s coaching or potential salary demands. Heisley, who interviewed Brown last year before hiring Iavaroni, was simply convinced that Brown would ultimately seek to change the roster with high-priced, veteran players. The Grizzlies remain committed more than ever (especially without Pau Gasol) to building through the draft.

So why exactly did Heisley take so long to address Iavaroni? Why, when other teams with coaching situations made quick, decisive moves? Does this mean that Iavaroni is safe?

Let the offseason begin.

Insiders paint a picture of a 50/50 situation. Wallace unexpectedly dialed up my morning sports talk show (The Morning Rush on Sports56) today and didn’t counter that equation. There will be little surprise if Heisley fires Iavaroni or if Heisley keeps the first-time head coach.

If Iavaroni is fired then he probably didn’t convince Heisley that he could accept change.

What changes?

There will be a strong emphasis placed on defense. The Griz were among the worst in the league at guarding people, and Iavaroni’s defensive philosophy is an issue. His schemes mostly steered opponents to the middle of the paint – something that was mindboggling to players and others connected to the club.

There will be some discussion about offensive philosophy. Iavaroni tried using the Phoenix Suns’ principles but the free-flowing, run-and-gun style was too much for such a young team to handle. The point guards weren’t NBA mature enough to handle the responsibility and so the challenge will be for Iavaroni to play a more structured offense.

There will be some discussion about decision-making. It will be a short talk. Iavaroni wielded heavy influence over personnel matters last season, and that will change. What Iavaroni wanted, he got. Until now. His curious talent evaluation regarding players such Casey Jacobsen, Tarence Kinsey, Stromile Swift, Hakim Warrick, and to some degree, Pau Gasol, means that his power will be greatly reduced. Expect the Griz to function with more of a collaborative effort, starting with the draft.

At the moment, the fact that high-profiled coaches (Avery Johnson, Rick Carlisle, Jeff Van Gundy and possibly Mike D’Antoni) are or could be available doesn’t seem to be coloring Heisley’s view of this situation. Today will be about exploring whether the Grizzlies can make it work with Iavaroni. It’s the first step into a long offseason.

Stay tuned.

After photographing the albino raccoon for Sunday’s outdoors story, I’ve added one more animal to a growing list of albino and/or strangely colored things that I’ve seen in person.

Here’s my latest count:

1. Albino ruby throat hummingbird (Manchester, Ga.) - It was solid white, and I actually got to hold it while the biologists banded its leg.
2. Albino bluebird (Columbus, Ga) - A really strange sight, considering its parents were normal bluebirds.
3. Piebald whitetail deer (Eufaula, Ala.) - I actually shot at it from a tree stand and missed. It was a stunning sight.
4. Albino corn snake (Fort Benning, Ga.) - I watched several of them hatching from their eggs, and they came out striking at everything in sight.
5. Melanistic spotted gar (LaGrange, Ga.) - It was solid black and looked like some kind of dinosaur.
5. Blonde mallard (northern Missouri) - I saw this bird during the snow goose conservation order. It really stood out among the normal mallards.
6. Albino raccoon (Cordova, Tenn.) - Super cool, especially sitting right next to a regular raccoon.

Since Sunday’s column on the yellow bass problem at Herb Parsons Lake in Fayette County, I’ve gotten several calls and e-mails from people wondering what is the best way to catch yellow bass.

It’s been my experience that anyone with a hook in the water at Herb Parsons has a chance to catch a yellow bass. But there are ways to increase your chances.

Right now, the yellows are spawning just like everything else. You’re most likely to find them around some kind of cover. For example, I caught more than 30 one evening last week while fishing around the pilings of the old fishing pier on the main body of the lake. Almost all of the fish were suspended in about 4 feet of water and clinging tightly to the old wooded pilings.

I was using Jiffy Jigs for bait, and the color didn’t seem to matter. But with the water stained right now, I’d stick with bright colors like hot pink, chartreuse or electric blue. If you can’t find Jiffy Jigs, any old jig will do as long as it’s no larger than 1/16th of an ounce.

As the water temperature rises and the spawn comes to an end, the yellow bass will begin schooling in the deeper water on the lower end of the lake. Sometimes you can actually see them chasing bait along the surface during the evening hours.

These are the times when you have a chance to catch insane numbers of fish on one trip. They’ll hit the same jigs we just talked about. They’ll also hit small crankbaits like the Bitsy Pond Minnow from Strike King and almost any kind of live bait you put in front of them (especially red worms and live minnows).

A lot of e-mailers also want to know if Herb Parsons will actually follow through with my idea for a yellow bass tournament. I can’t answer that question for sure. That is totally up to them.

But if they decide to do it, I’ll be the first one to pay my entry fee.