MHERST - With Travis Ford gone, the University of Massachusetts will launch a search for its next men's basketball coach in hopes of maintaining its recent success.

UMass is unlikely to pursue someone who plays a completely different system than the one installed by Ford, so a coach who wants to play an up-tempo style is likely to succeed him.

"The style of play we've been exhibiting over the past couple years is very important to us," UMass athletic director John McCutcheon said. "We think that's what the current players were brought in to play."

UMass also will likely look for a coach with a strong record recruiting in the Northeast, including New York and the New England prep schools.

The choice of coach also could reveal something about the athletic department. In Ford, UMass hired a coach who had no ties to the area. UMass had to know he would move on if he was successful.

McCutcheon needs to decide if he's willing to have UMass be a stepping-stone again or if he will look for someone more likely to stay for a long time.

The following are some likely candidates.

Those with UMass ties

Tony Barbee, University of Texas at El Paso head coach - The former Minuteman star player interviewed for the job last time, but didn't get the job as UMass stressed the need to hire someone with head coaching experience. After two years at Texas-El Paso, would he be interested in heading to Amherst?

Derek Kellogg, Memphis assistant coach - The Springfield native and former UMass point guard and might be the school's best chance at a coach who would look at Amherst as a long-term destination. He's well-regarded as a recruiter and has drawn praise from Memphis head coach John Calipari as a tactician. He could be the only assistant considered.

Tim Maloney, UMass associate coach - Already a candidate for the head coaching job at Jacksonville (Ala.) State, Maloney is the only current member of the UMass staff who might be considered, although he'd likely be a long shot and could follow Ford to Oklahoma State.

Strong credentials

Ron Everhart, Duquesne head coach - The former Northeastern coach was interested in the job when Ford was hired, but couldn't get in the mix because of the acrimony between UMass and Northeastern over the hiring of football coach Don Brown. He turned the Dukes, once an Atlantic 10 bottom feeder, into a legitimate program and plays an up-tempo style.

Fran McCaffrey, Siena head coach - When he was still coaching UNC-Greensboro, McCaffrey was a candidate at UMass in 2001 when Steve Lappas was hired. He would be interviewed by a completely different athletic department staff this time. Siena upset Vanderbilt in the first round of the NCAA Tournament this year.

Jimmy Patsos, Loyola head coach - The Boston native turned the Greyhounds around and plays an up-tempo style.

Tim O'Shea, Ohio head coach - The former Boston College and Rhode Island assistant coach was a candidate at Providence and is well regarded in coaching circles.

Brad Brownell, Wright State head coach - Very well regarded, but may not play a fast enough to be among the favorites.

Dark horses

Billy Lange, Navy head coach - Helped turn around a floundering Navy program that finished second in the Patriot League last year.

Mike Rice, Robert Morris head coach - Led the Colonials to a 26-8 record and the Northeast Conference Championship.

Joe Mihalich, Niagara head coach - Has been consistently successful, though he generally stays under the radar.

Possible but unlikely

Mike Jarvis - Former George Washington and St. John's coach wants to get back into coaching, but he's loathed by UMass fans because of his success against the Minutemen in the 1990s and smugness after winning those games.

Jim O'Brien - The former Boston College and Ohio State coach was exonerated after being fired by the Buckeyes for an NCAA violation. He's interested in getting back into coaching.

Tim Welsh - The former Providence coach is trying to get back into coaching, but it's hard to picture UMass hiring anyone who has been fired so recently.

Matt Vautour can be reached at [email protected]. For more UMass coverage, including a UMass sports blog, go to www.dailyhampshiregazette.com/umsports.

MHERST - University of Massachusetts athletic director John McCutcheon said it is impossible to tell which candidates for men's basketball coach would be likely to stay in Amherst for a long time and who would be tempted to move on quickly.

So McCutcheon said potential longevity is not a major factor as he begins his search for a replacement for Travis Ford, who left after three years.

"It's something you don't really have any control over," McCutcheon said. "There have been a lot of hires that on paper look like one where the person would stay there a long time and left very quickly. But there's no way to tell. The crystal ball gets very cloudy. I think it's more the situation itself and I think we have a great situation here.

"I think we've proven we have a situation where you can win," McCutcheon continued. "You never hire anybody with the feeling that they're only going to be here for a few years. Certainly if we see a candidate who has a history of that, that wouldn't work in their favor. The task at hand is to get the best possible person and the best possible fit for our situation right now."

McCutcheon said the volume of interest is similar to three years ago, but the caliber of candidates is better.

"The interest we have is at a national level and it's significant," McCutcheon said.

Whoever UMass hires will have to sort out the scholarship situation Ford left behind.

The Minutemen have 14 players who are expecting to get one of the 13 available scholarships, plus Sedale Jones, the freshman walk-on from Pittsfield, who had been told he'd get an opportunity to earn a scholarship if he played well his first year. Jones averaged 2.6 minutes and 1.1 points per game in 2007-08.

If David Gibbs, a signed recruit from Connecticut, either chooses to ask for his release or does not qualify academically, that could solve the problem.

Even if Ford had stayed, there were several players who were candidates to transfer. Max Groebe, who didn't play in the last 20 games of the season, was expected to leave. In addition to Jones, Matt Hill and Trey Lang barely played in their first season and could be looking for a team with more playing time.

But all three could see a new coach as a fresh start and decide to stay.

With a new coach however, other players could look elsewhere. Most juniors would be unlikely to transfer because few schools would take a player for one year. That really applies only to Chris Lowe as Tony Gaffney and Luke Bonner both have transferred once already and would have to go to a Division II or non-NCAA school to transfer again.

Anthony Gurley, who will be a sophomore in 2008-09 after transferring from Wake Forest, as well as Travon Wilcher and Tyrell Lynch, who sat out as academic nonqualifiers last season, would all have to sit out a second year if they left.

At Wednesday's press conference after Ford announced his departure, Gaffney and Bonner said they did not expect any teammates to transfer.

COSBY UNSURE - Add Aaron Cosby, the high school sophomore from Louisville, Ky., who had given UMass a verbal commitment, to the list of people caught off guard by Ford's departure.

Cosby said he has not ruled out still going to UMass.

"I really don't know yet. I'm going to talk to Travis first. I'm going to call him after things settle down at Oklahoma State," Cosby said. "It caught me by surprise. After he turned down the Providence job I was thinking he was going to stay" at UMass.

Because Cosby cannot sign a letter of intent until his senior year, neither he nor UMass are bound by his verbal commitment.

CANDIDATES - Expect UMass to quietly inquire about Bob McKillop who led Davidson to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament and nearly knocked off eventual national champion Kansas.

But with All-American guard Stephen Curry returning, McKillop, who deflected interest from South Carolina, might be more likely to stay put.

UMass alumni Tony Barbee and Derek Kellogg, as well as Tim Maloney, who was Ford's associate head coach, will almost certainly get interviewed shortly.

ADVISORY COMMITTEE - McCutcheon said Wednesday that he planned to form an advisory committee to work with him during the search. Its members will be announced today.

UMass is not appointing an interim coach.

"We're working administratively to work with (the players) and support them in any way that we need to," McCutcheon said. "We don't think it will last that long without some direction."

Matt Vautour can be reached at [email protected]. For more UMass coverage, including a UMass sports blog, go to www.dailyhampshiregazette.com/umsports.

MHERST - Former University of Massachusetts star Tony Barbee pulled his name out of consideration for the Minutemen's head coaching opening at the same time his former teammate and colleague Derek Kellogg was reportedly interviewing for the job.

Barbee, who is currently the coach at Texas-El Paso, issued a statement Friday saying he would not be a candidate at UMass.

"I have not been contacted by UMass, and I am not a candidate for their opening," Barbee said in the statement released by UTEP. "I am extremely excited about our team returning for next season and the future of the UTEP basketball program."

Kellogg, who has been an assistant coach at Memphis under former UMass coach John Calipari since 2000-01, is in Pittsburgh this weekend for an AAU Tournament.

Sources close to Kellogg and at UMass said the former Minuteman guard and current Memphis assistant coach interviewed with UMass athletic director John McCutcheon in Pittsburgh. McCutcheon, may have met with other candidates at the event as well.

Kellogg and Barbee played together at UMass under Calipari. Barbee previously was an assistant to Calipari at Memphis.

ADVISORY COMMITTEE - UMass announced the members of the consultative committee that will advise McCutcheon throughout the search for a new coach.

The committee consists of Carol Barr, the co-chair of the UMass athletic council; John Dubach, a special assistant to the chancellor; associate athletic directors Tim Kenney and Elaine Sortino; Ron Nathan, the executive director of the UMass court club; Vice chancellor Esther Terry; and Glenn Wong, the athletic department's faculty representative.

WEEKS BACK IN COACHING - Former UMass forward Tyrone Weeks will be an assistant coach at Marist under Jose "Chuck" Martin, who was hired as the coach there earlier this week.

Martin, who was an assistant coach under Bruiser Flint at UMass and Drexel, is a New York native and was an assistant under Calipari at Memphis for the past two seasons.

Weeks previously was an assistant coach at St. Bonaventure and Rhode Island. He spent a year out of basketball but returned as a non-coaching assistant under Calipari last year.

Matt Vautour can be reached at [email protected]. For more UMass coverage, including a UMass sports blog, go to www.dailyhampshiregazette.com/umsports.

niversity of Massachusetts athletic director John McCutcheon said Sunday that the earliest a new men's basketball coach would be announced is Wednesday and he is pleased with the progress of the search for a successor to Travis Ford.

However, McCutcheon did not confirm the number of candidates with whom he has spoken nor their identities.

"We're pleased with where we are. We said from the beginning we wanted to move as quickly as possible, but the most important thing is to find the right candidate," McCutcheon said. "We are still on track to do just that."

McCutcheon believes the soonest UMass could announce a hire is Wednesday.

"But if we don't have a new coach on Wednesday, that doesn't mean something has gone wrong," McCutcheon added.

Because today is Patriots Day, a state holiday in Massachusetts, there are administrative procedures in the hiring process that could not occur until Tuesday.

Multiple sources have confirmed that McCutcheon and associate athletic director Tim Kenney interviewed Memphis assistant coach Derek Kellogg and Tim Maloney, the associate head coach at UMass.

Ohio coach Tim O'Shea and Maryland-Baltimore County coach Randy Monroe also are in the picture.

MALONEY NOT HEADING TO ALABAMA - Maloney did not get the head coaching job at Jacksonville State in Alabama. Maloney was one of four finalists for the job that went to Mississippi Valley State coach James Green.

Maloney, who was with Ford at Eastern Kentucky and followed him to Amherst, will likely get the chance to join Ford at Oklahoma State if he is not selected for the UMass vacancy.

FORD BACKER - Ford may have C.M. Newton, the former athletic director at Kentucky, to thank for getting his name into the mix at Oklahoma State.

According to the Lexington Herald Leader, Oklahoma State athletic director Mike Holder sought Newton's advice during the coaching search. Newton, now the head of the National Invitation Tournament, suggested Ford.

"I told Mike, you're getting the next Billy Donovan," Newton told the Herald Leader, in reference to the Florida coach.

Ford last week left UMass for the job at Oklahoma State, where he will be paid $1.3 million annually for seven years.

Matt Vautour can be reached at [email protected]. For more UMass coverage, including a UMass sports blog, go to www.dailyhampshiregazette.com/umsports.