Russell comes to A2 to meet with Goss

Reid also involved in discussions

Search week rolls on today when Cazzie Russell, former Michigan basketball player and legend, comes to town to interview with University Athletic Director Tom Goss for the job of men's basketball head coach.

Goss said that after meeting with Russell, head coach at Savannah College of Art and Design, he will leave town to conduct a live interview with another candidate.

Goss also said he received a resume from Roger Reid, and was in the process of getting in touch with him by phone. Reid, the father of Robbie, who will play for the Wolverines this season, was head coach at Brigham Young University before he was fir

Goss

ed in the middle of last season. Robbie decided to transfer after his father was let go.

Reid's son Darren said last night that his father talked with Goss a few days ago and that he was returning from the University of South Alabama, which is interested in hiring Reid.

"The (Michigan job) is definitely something that he would really look into," Darren Reid said.

Goss said he has cut his list down to around eight candidates and will narrow it to four or five before conducting a final round of live interviews.

"There's three major areas that I will look at other than our core values," Goss said. "How well the person understands strategy, how well the person does as a teacher, and if he's a good recruiter."

Russell helped lead the Wolverines to two NCAA Final Fours and three Big Ten championships from 1963-66. Russell was the NBA's No. 1 draft pick in 1968 and led the New York Knicks to a championship. In all, the Chicago, Ill., native played for four teams before becoming a sports analyst for CBS television.

Russell coached at the high school level and in the Continental Basketball Association before taking the job at SCAD.

Meanwhile, California coach Ben Braun, who took himself out of the running Tuesday when he signed a new contract with Cal, called Goss yesterday.

"He was just apologizing for not really taking the opportunity to look at the opportunity," said Goss, who never interviewed Braun. "He doesn't know if it's a missed opportunity or not."

Another potential candidate taken off the list is Steve Alford from Southwest Missouri State. The university's Athletic Director Bill Rowe said he did not grant permission to Goss to speak with Alford. Goss is contacting athletic directors to receive permission before speaking to coaches.

Pete Gillen of Providence College, Kevin Stallings of Illinois State, Kelvin Sampson of University of Oklahoma, Tim Floyd of Iowa State University and Perry Clark of Tulane University may be among other candidates Goss is considering.

10-16-97