Mike Anderson to Oregon not dead yet

Could we finally be nearing the end of Oregon's search for a basketball coach?

The school has gone after names like Billy Donovan, Tom Izzo, Brad Stevens, Jamie Dixon, and Tubby Smith, throwing buckets of Nike money at their candidates. But nearly a month after the March 17th firing of Ernie Kent, the Ducks still are coachless.

Their latest target is Mike Anderson, who had reportedly rejected an offer of $3 million a year on Thursday. It wouldn't be surprising. Anderson, who makes $1.55 million a year, rejected $2 million a year from Georgia last off season.

Mike Anderson to Oregon? Well, Jeff Goodman tweeted this earlier.
(photo credit: Blog.Al)

But this morning, The Oregonian is reporting that Pat Kilkenny, the former Oregon AD and the man in charge of the search for a new coach, met with Anderson in El Paso, TX, where Anderson is in town to participate in a charity golf event, to discuss the position.

Anderson, who coached under Nolan Richardson at Arkansas where he learned the "40 minutes of hell" defense that he runs, has revitalized both the UAB and Missouri programs since 2002.

Anderson is just one year into a 7 year contract with Missouri, but if Oregon truly is offering $3 million a year -- double his current salary -- that is a lot of money to turn down.