Paper Reports Sampson Is Irvine’s No. 1 Choice

Washington State men’s basketball Coach Kelvin Sampson, who met with UC Irvine Athletic Director Tom Ford in Southern California last week, said the Irvine basketball coaching job is “my job to turn down” in an interview published Tuesday in a Pullman, Wash., newspaper.

Sampson was quoted as saying Ford “made it clear to me that I was the No. 1 choice.”

Neither Sampson nor Ford said the job had been formally offered. “I haven’t offered the job to anybody,” Ford said.

Sampson, who was chosen the Pacific-10 Conference coach of the year after guiding the Cougars to a 16-12 season, indicated he would be unlikely to leave Pullman for Irvine. He is currently renegotiating his contract with Washington State.

“Right now the only thing I’m doing is working with (Athletic Director Jim Livengood) on my contract,” said Sampson, who has one year remaining on a five-year deal. “The (renegotiation) is pretty much done. It’s not a matter of if. It’s a matter of when. I want to be back here next year.”

Asked what he would have done if Irvine had asked him to make a decision about the job when he met Friday with Ford, Sampson said, “I probably would have turned it down.”

Under Sampson’s direction, Washington State turned around last year’s 7-22 record, and was in the running for an NCAA tournament bid before losing six of its final seven games.

Sampson did not return The Times’ calls Monday or Tuesday.

You never know unless you ask, Ford says.

So why not ask P.J. Carlesimo?

An intermediary recently tried on Irvine’s behalf, seeking permission from Seton Hall Athletic Director Larry Keating to speak to Carlesimo, who is in Salt Lake City preparing the Big East Conference tournament champions for the NCAA tournament.

“After I stopped laughing, I wanted to know if they were joining the Pac-10 or something,” Keating said.

But did he give his permission?

“There was no need to,” Keating said. “P.J. wouldn’t talk to Dave Gavitt and the Boston Celtics. Why is he going to talk to Irvine?”

Keating said he was contacted by a representative of Raycom Management Group, a Charlotte, N.C.-based company that aids in searches for coaches and athletic directors.

Carlesimo guided Seton Hall to the Final Four in 1989, where the Pirates lost to Michigan in the championship game.

Two years ago, he was wooed by Kentucky, but after a trip to the campus, Carlesimo stayed put. He now has a hefty contract that Keating described as a “forever contract.”

Told that the Irvine salary was approximately $78,000 when Bill Mulligan resigned at the end of an 11-19 season, Keating laughed.

“Is that a month or is that a year?” he quipped.