If rampant Internet rumors and the sudden late-evening unavailability of key personnel are any indication, Tim Miles of Division I independent North Dakota State will be named Colorado State’s next basketball coach.
Miles and NDSU athletic director Gene Taylor did not answer calls, and the school’s sports information director, Ryan Perreault, seemed stunned by the suggestion Miles was leaving.
CSU spokesman Gary Ozzello would neither confirm nor deny reports.
Miles, who turned down North Carolina-Wilmington a year ago, went 20-8 in his final year at an independent. The biggest win was 104-52 over New Jersey Tech.
NDSU, a relatively new Division I school which previously competed against the University of Northern Colorado in the North Central Conference, is set to join the Mid-Continent Conference next season.
CSU athletic director Paul Kowalczyk, who has remained mum on the search since firing Dale Layer on March 12, must have liked something he saw when the Bison scared CSU before falling 82-80 Dec. 18 in Fort Collins.
If indeed Miles is named, it would come on the same day Mountain West rival New Mexico is expected to announce luring Steve Alford from Iowa. It would also come a day after the University of Denver announced the hiring of former Air Force and Princeton coach Joe Scott.
None of the names believed to be on Kowalczyk’s search list had any contact with the first-year CSU AD. Former CSU assistant Randy Rahe, who took Weber State to the NCAA Tournament in his first year as head coach, said he had heard from Wyoming but not CSU.
New Orleans first-year coach Buzz Williams, who helped recruit Texas A&M’s Sweet 16 roster after leaving CSU as an assistant, also said Wednesday he had not heard from Kowalczyk.
Likewise, Purdue assistant Paul Lusk, on Matt Painter’s staff at Southern Illinois when Kowalczyk was in the Missouri Valley, said Wednesday he didn’t have any contact.
There also had been speculation Kowalczyk would go after Florida assistant Larry Shyatt, a former Wyoming and Clemson head coach, after the defending national champs finish the season.
North Dakota State beat NCAA qualifier Marquette this season and upended then No. 15 Wisconsin last season. Before his stint at North Dakota State, where he went 99-71, Miles led Southwest Minnesota State to the 2001 Division II Elite Eight.
Natalie Meisler can be reached at 303-954-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com.
