Truth & Rumors: March 30, 2007
USC does not play Stanford until October, but new Cardinal coach Jim Harbaugh has already stoked flames with Pete Carroll. CBS SportsLine.com quoted Harbaugh as saying Carroll would be gone after next season. Carroll, who interviewed with the Dolphins in January but has said he would remain at USC, was miffed by Harbaugh's comments. -- Los Angeles Times
Texas basketball coach Rick Barnes estimates the chances of brilliant freshman Kevin Durant returning for a sophomore season are "50-50." Observers feel that Clipper Shaun Livinginston's knee injury would scare Durant into coming out. But Barnes claims Durant came to practice and said, "See? That wouldn't have happened if he'd been in college. He'd be stronger." -- Boston Globe
Meanwhile, there is no guarantee freshman sensation Greg Oden, the 7-footer from Ohio State, is coming out, either. A source close to the Ohio State program put a "60-40" estimate on it, the 60 being on the stay-in-school side. -- Boston Globe
Even with Arkansas moving out of the picture Thursday, several A&M officials said that didn't guarantee Billy Gillispie will be the Aggies' coach next season. The Kentucky job remains open, and those officials believe Gillispie would seriously consider it if offered. -- Dallas Morning News
Duke women's basketball coach Gail Goestenkors left Austin on Thursday after a three-day interview, without accepting an offer to take over the Longhorns' program. One source sounded confident about UT's chances of landing her. However, another source close to the UT program said he was concerned that Goestenkors was allowed to leave Austin without making a decision. -- Dallas Morning News
Whenever there's an outcry about a so-called "bubble" team failing to make the NCAA Tournament, what usually follows is a debate about expanding the field. The NCAA, however, squashes those arguments, saying it likes the format as constituted. This year, however, NCAA president Myles Brand opened the tiniest crack of a possible expansion, which could go a long way toward silencing those schools passed over. -- Boston Globe
Dawn Staley's name had been mentioned concerning several women's basketball coaching vacancies, including those at Penn State and Florida. Yesterday, the Temple coach officially stopped the rumor mill. -- Philadelphia Inquirer
Freshman point guard Josue Soto, the first Gatorade Player of the Year from Florida to play at Florida State in more than a decade, has decided to transfer. -- Tampa Tribune
North Texas used a ground-based attack that produced a pair of national rushing champions under former coach Darrell Dickey, but is now turning to a spread offense that features the passing game under new coach Todd Dodge. UNT is also moving back to a 4-3 defense after playing in a 3-4 last season. -- Dallas Morning News
