Clippers’ Casey Will Explore Job Possibility

Don Casey, having been given no indication of his future as Clipper coach, will fly to the East Coast early Sunday morning to interview for the basketball job at Rider College in New Jersey.

Casey, who has directed a late-season Clipper resurgence that has brought praise from his own players and the opposition alike, said Thursday he will take a red-eye flight from Sacramento to Philadelphia shortly after the team’s season finale Saturday night against the Kings.

He is scheduled to meet with officials at Rider, a Division I school with an enrollment of approximately 5,000, Monday. John Carpenter, the college’s longtime basketball coach, moved up to become athletic director.

“There’s an interest,” Casey said, cautioning that this is not an ultimatum directed at Clipper management. “What it comes down to is, do I want to coach or do I not want to coach? Right now, the feeling is I want to coach. I’d rather coach these kids (the Clippers) than any other kids, but I have to consider any offer anyone else has.

“My first priority still would be to be a pro coach. I’m not saying it (the Rider job) has been offered and I’m not saying I will take it. It’s a normal business process.”

Casey’s roots run deep in the Philadelphia-New Jersey area, and Rider is located in Lawrenceville, not far from Princeton. He grew up in Collingswood, N.J., and became an assistant and then head coach at Temple. He had lived in the area all his life until becoming an assistant with the Chicago Bulls in 1982-83.

Clipper officials remained non-committal about their interim head coach, who has compiled a 11-31 record since taking over for Gene Shue Jan. 19, including 10-10 since March 10.

Although no word on Casey’s status with the Clippers is expected soon, the Clippers plan to talk with him next week.