Alabama AD spends most of Monday in Wichita looking for a coach | Wichita Eagle

Alabama appears committed to making a bold statement about basketball and that process took a big step on Monday at Jabara Airport.

Alabama athletic director Bill Battle flew into Wichita on Monday morning and spent almost eight hours before flying out. How much of that time was spent meeting with Wichita State basketball coach Gregg Marshall or the progress of their talks is unknown. WSU athletic administrators declined to comment on Monday’s events.

Battle, 73, likely tried to convince Marshall that basketball matters at Alabama and he is the man to make it matter even more.

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While Alabama’s basketball tradition — 19 NCAA Tournament appearances and second in SEC winning percentage— might be stronger than most think, it is surely lacking in recent pizzazz and accomplishment. The Tide made its most recent NCAA trip in 2012 (losing to Creighton), last won a game in 2006 and made its lone Elite Eight trip in 2004.

Marshall might be the kind of coach who can change that. Alabama, reportedly, is willing to bet big money.

“UA is expected to make a financial offer to Marshall that would make him one of the nation’s Top 10 highest-paid basketball coaches,” Tuscaloosa News reporter Cecil Hurt wrote. “The deal would be expected to exceed the $3.4 million annually that Steve Alford received for moving from New Mexico to UCLA in 2013.”

Marshall, 52, makes a base salary of $1.85 million, plus bonuses at WSU, an amount that will likely go to around $2 million soon. He is on a seven-year rollover contract with a buyout of $400,000 that drops to $300,000 on April 15.

The hiring of Bruce Pearl at Auburn and Ben Howland at Mississippi State increases the pressure on the Tide to keep up. UAB’s NCAA Tournament win over Iowa State added to the contrast earlier this month. The rivalry with Auburn is so fierce, one Alabama booster didn’t want to comment on Pearl in any way in for fear of saying something that could help Auburn. Or hurt Auburn. He preferred not to recognize the Tigers.

“After Bruce Pearl was hired and UAB made their run, a lot of basketball stuff needed to get looked at at Alabama,” said Gary Lewis, owner of Rama Jama’s diner, located across the street from the Bryant-Denny Stadium. “Y’all got a good basketball coach, from what I hear. We’re in a heavy search and his name is sure at the top of the list, from a coffee shop perspective.”

Football coach Nick Saban recently said he didn’t want Alabama to be known as “just” a football school.

“When the man said that, a lot of eyebrows were raised,” Lewis said.

Steve Shelton sits courtside at Alabama games at Coleman Coliseum. He served as secretary and treasurer of the Tip-Off Club for the past 30 years.

“They just kind of elect people around me for the other positions,” he said.

Shelton loved former coach Anthony Grant and wishes his tenure played out differently. Now that Alabama is in the market for a new coach, he is ready for a bold move. Grant, in addition to making the NCAA Tournament once in six seasons, failed to connect with fans with his reserved demeanor.

“Alabama basketball, if you go over a fairly long period of time, has been better than its perception,” Shelton said. “We typically run right behind Kentucky and Florida , but we're just not high-profile. I do think the university is ready to take whatever steps are needed.”

Shelton watched the Shockers closely in recent seasons. The schools met in the 2011 NIT title game and during the regular season in 2011-12, 2013-14 and earlier this season. WSU won three of those meetings. Shelton admired the way WSU played and the way the Shockers behaved.

“We have nothing but great things to say about Wichita State,” he said. “We have a lot of loyal, sincere basketball fans. Everybody is waiting to see something major happen.”

Marshall qualifies as a major move. He has guided WSU to four straight NCAA Tournaments with a Final Four in 2013, a No. 1 seed in 2014 and the Sweet 16 this season. He is 204-75 in eight seasons at WSU. In nine seasons at Winthrop, he went 194-83 with seven NCAA trips.

Meanwhile, Shockers fans also worried over Texas and its open job. Media reports from Austin and Dallas focused on VCU’s Shaka Smart and NBA names on Monday. Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com reported the parties were discussing the the opening. One reporter noted that several Texas players followed former Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson on Twitter.

Former Texas coach Rick Barnes, according to multiple reporters, was close to taking Tennessee’s job.

Marshall did not hold his weekly radio show on Monday night, host Mike Kennedy said, a move that isn’t necessarily connected to a job search. Kennedy said Monday was not included on the show’s original schedule, as is often the case during post-season play. Kennedy said an end-of-the-season show remains a goal.

Earlier this month, Marshall told radio host Jim Rome he would listen to Alabama’s offer.

“‘I’m coaching my team, and that’s what I’m going to do, hopefully, for another couple of weeks,’” he said. “And if Alabama is still interested in talking to us with some type of crazy offer at that time, then we will certainly entertain that, but it’s going to take some type of crazy offer to get us to leave Wichita State.”

Beyond the money, Alabama may not offer features that separate it from other high-profile schools that Marshall turned away in recent seasons. Marshall’s most consistent standard for a new job is that it not be a rebuilding situation. Alabama went 19-15 this season, 32-34 the past two seasons and 117-85 in Grant’s six seasons. Grant made three NIT appearances and grabbed an NCAA berth in 2012.

Marshall’s name is annually connected to openings and Wichita State athletic director Eric Sexton acknowledges his school can’t win a bidding war with schools from high-profile conferences, should it come to that. So far, WSU’s combination of fan support, emphasis on basketball and comfortable working conditions have been enough to keep Marshall happy through eight seasons.

“If it ends up being about money, then there is some point that number is not attainable and wouldn’t be financially responsible,” Sexton said last week. “But there are so many other things that add up to what is a great job opportunity. We try to pay attention to all of those things.”

East Tennessee State hires Forbes — East Tennessee State hired Wichita State assistant Steve Forbes as its basketball coach on Monday.

“I’ve been blessed throughout my career to work alongside so many outstanding administrators, coaches, and players,” Forbes said at his news conference. “If it wasn’t for Gregg Marshall, I wouldn’t be standing here today. He provided me with a blueprint for success that I will use at ETSU.”

Forbes, 50, spent two seasons at WSU. He has experience as a head coach for two seasons at Northwest Florida State College, where his teams went 61-6, at Barton Community College and Southwestern (Iowa) Community College. He spent five seasons as an assistant at Tennessee and two at Texas A&M.

He replaces Murry Bartow, who was fired after 12 seasons with a 224-165 record and three NCAA Tournament appearances. ETSU went 16-14 this season, 8-10 in the Southern Conference.

Marshall must replace at least one assistant for the sixth straight season. Last season, Chris Jans left to take the top spot at Bowling Green.

In a release Monday announcing the move, ETSU athletic director Richard Sander said “when you look at his accomplishments, it’s easy to see that Steve Forbes and winning are synonymous.”

This story was originally published March 30, 2015 10:42 AM.