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UCLA fans want top coach, but do top coaches want UCLA?

Florida Coach Billy Donovan, who has his Gators headed into the Sweet 16, might not be interested in the coaching vacancy at UCLA.
(Stephen M. Dowell / Orlando Sentinel)
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Reality check for UCLA.

Bruins’ basketball fans do have a coach shopping list. But it’s going to take more than Athletic Director Dan Guerrero saying, “The UCLA basketball job is open.”

Consider …

The three high-end names that make UCLA fans salivate: Florida’s Billy Donovan, Louisville’s Rick Pitino and Michigan State’s Tom Izzo.

Donovan makes $3.5 million per season; Pitino $4.5 million (including a $600,000 annual retention bonus); Izzo makes $3.49 million and gets use of a private jet for 25 hours per year.

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Don’t look for Izzo to waste any of those hours flying west for a job interview.

Tradition? Since 1975, Florida, Louisville and Michigan State have each won two national titles. UCLA has won one.

There is no indication that Guerrero intends to pursue any of those three, but what’s the harm in making a telephone call?

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