By SEAN BOCK & ADAM ZAGORIA
PITTSBURGH — With the news that Tom Crean was finalizing a deal to become Georgia’s next head coach, one option was taken off the table for UConn on Thursday.
Rhode Island’s Danny Hurley and former Ohio State coach Thad Matta are among the top coaching candidates UConn athletic director David Benedict has contacted since the firing of Kevin Ollie, according to the New Haven Register.
South Carolina’s Frank Martin has also been mentioned but a source told ZAGSBLOG Martin is likely out of the mix at UConn.
“He’s not expected to be a finalist,” the source said.
Matta met with Georgia officials earlier this week but declined the job offer. He told ESPN “he couldn’t dedicate himself to the position at this time.” Hurley, who says he’s not thinking about other jobs while his team competes in the NCAA Tournament, has been heavily linked to UConn and Pittsburgh but insists he’s focusing on his current team and that the coaching carousel talk isn’t a distraction for his team. No. 7 Rhode Island defeated Trae Young and No. 10 Oklahoma on Thursday and faces Duke in the Round of 32 on Saturday. “I haven’t thought one second about any other team or program or what city I’m playing in, relative to who has a coaching vacancy,’ Hurley said on Wednesday. St. Bonaventure’s Mark Schmidt and Vermont’s John Becker are two other names mentioned in multiple media reports. Legendary UConn coach Jim Calhoun is also a possibility if the program fails to bring in one of its top candidates.