Successor expected within 10 days

University Athletic Director Tom Goss said yesterday that the national search for a new basketball head coach would be short, but not that short.

"It will probably take me about 10 days to decide," Goss said from his office yesterday evening where he was working on the search.

Many have speculated that Ben Braun, University of California at Berkeley basketball coach and former Eastern Michigan University coach, will be the replacement. But Goss said he has not contacted anyone about the position and Braun said last night he has not heard from Michigan.

Braun

"I have not been contacted by anyone from the University of Michigan," Braun said in a written statement. "My focus has been on our fall recruiting efforts and the start of practice this week."

After announcing the firing of head coach Steve Fisher on Saturday, Goss placed first-year assistant coach Brian Ellerbe in charge of the team until he hires a replacement.

Unless a new coach is hired, Ellerbe, who served as head coach at Loyola College in Baltimore, Md., for three seasons, will lead practice, which starts Saturday. Goss surprised some by choosing Ellerbe over 10th-year assistant coach Brian Dutcher.

When asked about his decision, Goss simply said, "because I wanted Brian Ellerbe."

Ellerbe's head-coaching experience may have been one deciding factor in Goss's temporary choice. "I like his interchange with people. I like the way he relates to kids," he said.

Goss, who was hired just more than two months ago, said he will use several resources to help narrow his search, including the advice of Big Ten officials and nationally respected coaches.

"I will use a variety of resources," Goss said. "(Big Ten) Commissioner Jim Delaney has a variety of understanding of who's where across the country.

"Then I'll try to contact some of the senior coaches that might exist, assuming they might have some input on people they respect and like ... people like (Duke University head coach) Mike Krzyzewski and (Indiana University coach) Bobby Knight."

Braun took over Cal's program before last season under circumstances similar to the current situation at the University. He replaced Todd Bozeman, who was forced to resign after admitting to paying $30,000 to the family of an athlete, a flagrant NCAA violation. The NCAA placed the team on probation this past July.

Braun, after leading the Bears to a 23-9 record, a Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA tournament and taking Pacific-10 Coach-of-the-Year honors last season, agreed to a five-year contract extension with California this past August.

At EMU, Braun garnered three Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year awards. His teams made the NCAA tournament three times, including the 1995-96 squad that upset Duke in the Midwest Regionals of the NCAA tournament.

Other candidates Goss may be looking at include Kelvin Sampson of the University of Oklahoma, Phil Ford of the University of North Carolina, Pete Gillen of Providence University, Ray McCallum of Ball State University, Tim Floyd of Iowa State University, Ricardo Patton of the University of Colorado and Gary Williams of the University of Maryland.

10-13-97