COLLEGE BASKETBALL / NCAA MEN’S TOURNAMENT REPORT : OTHER REGIONALS : Tulsa’s Coach Emerges as Hot Prospect

With three consecutive winning records and the school’s surprising run through the NCAA tournament, Tulsa Coach Tubby Smith is one of the hottest coaching prospects around.

Tennessee has asked for permission to meet with Smith, and outgoing Tulsa athletic director Rick Dickson said he has received a couple of other feelers.

“We’re just telling everybody they need to wait until basketball is over,” said Dickson, who will leave next month to become athletic director at Washington State. Tulsa will play Arkansas in the Midwest Regional semifinals Friday night in Dallas.

Smith said he is willing to listen to offers, “but I’m really going to listen to the University of Tulsa first.” He said that Tennessee was an offer he would listen to, but he declined to elaborate.

“This is where I want to be at this point,” Smith said. “I think we’ve got a program well on its way to being what we all hope we can do. You’ve got to do the best job you can where you are. If you do, people are going to recognize you’re doing a good job, and you’re going to always be in demand. That’s what I want to do.”

Smith was left with no returning starters when he took over for J.D. Barnett, but still managed a 17-13 record and lost by three points in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament final. The next year, Tulsa learned it was banned from postseason play only three days before the season started because of NCAA violations by the track team.

This year, Tulsa won the MVC regular-season title and 20 games for the first time since 1987. Throughout the season, Smith has had a five-year contract extension on his desk. Smith said he hasn’t signed it because he wanted to concentrate solely on basketball.

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Starting forward Donyell Marshall has a sprained ankle and has been unable to practice, Connecticut Coach Jim Calhoun said. However, he said there is no ligament damage and not much swelling, and team doctors expect Marshall to recover in time for Friday’s game against Florida.