Current NBA player, Auburn assistant among interviewees
Houston Rockets guard Jason Terry (31) in the first quarter during an NBA basketball game against the Phoenix Suns, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
(AL.com reports)
When the news broke Thursday afternoon that an NBA player - who is still playing - interviewed for the UAB head coaching job, it raised plenty of eyebrows.
But that's what Jason Terry, a 17-year NBA veteran, did, yesterday just hours before his game with the Houston Rockets against the Chicago Bulls, a 103-100 loss in Houston.
Terry interviewed with UAB athletics director Mark Ingram and others in the early afternoon before the evening game, where he scored three points in 18 minutes off the bench.
UAB is interviewing candidates in Houston, site of the Final Four, this weekend in the search to replace head coach Jerod Haase, who left for Stanford a week ago. Interim head coach Robert Ehsan interviewed earlier this week in Birmingham. Auburn assistant Chuck Person interviewed Thursday afternoon.
Terry confirmed the interview to ESPN after the game.
"It went well," Terry told ESPN. "UAB is in an interesting situation, the success they had, but Coach Haase's immediate departure left that job open. I have deep roots in the Birmingham community -- uncles, cousins, aunts -- and so I'm very familiar with the area. So we'll see what happens. It was a good meeting that I had."
One of Terry's family members connected with a UAB supporter who has influence earlier this week. The message was relayed to the UAB search committee. With Ingram and his crew in Houston, there was time. Why not listen to what he had to say?
So, Terry met with UAB officials in the afternoon and then arrived at the Toyota Center for his game.
He has not confirmed whether this will be has last NBA season or not, but the 38-year-old's playing career is winding down and he wants to get into coaching.
The news of Terry interviewing for the job brought UAB more national attention. By the end of the night, news of it was scrolling across the ticker on the bottom of the screen on ESPN.
But here is the reality: Terry's regular season isn't over until April 13, and the Rockets, now in the seventh position in the NBA's Western Conference, are likely going to make the playoffs. So, his season won't get over until late April at the earliest.
The odds of UAB selecting someone to lead the program who has never even coached in college are very, very low.
This is especially true when someone like Robert Ehsan, who helped put the current roster together and also contributed to the development of UAB's current basketball culture, is a strong candidate for the job.