Cal State Fullerton basketball coach Donny Daniels has had
preliminary talks about joining Ben Howland’s staff at UCLA,
the Titans’ athletic department confirmed Wednesday.
Daniels, who served as Rick Majerus’ top assistant at Utah
for more than a decade, would presumably fill the same role for the
Bruins, but he has not been offered the job yet. He flew to Salt
Lake City for a family engagement Wednesday, and will not be
available for an interview in person with Howland until later in
the week.
Former North Carolina assistant Doug Wojcik, who served under
Matt Doherty the past two years, is also being considered for a
position on the staff according to published reports.
If he were hired, Daniels could be a valuable asset to Howland
because of his West Coast recruiting ties. In 10 years under
Majerus, Howland’s best friend in the coaching profession,
Daniels helped the Utes establish themselves as a perennial top-15
team, and was instrumental in bringing All-Americans Keith Van Horn
and Andre Miller to Salt Lake City.
Daniels, who is in his third year at the helm of Cal State
Fullerton, led the Titans to a 10-19 finish last season, and
recently signed a contract extension that would carry him through
the 2004-05 season.
He would join a UCLA staff that already includes one of
Howland’s former assistants at Pittsburgh, Ernie Ziegler, who
was hired on Monday afternoon.
Ңbull;Ӣbull;Ӣbull;
Kansas recruit Omar Wilkes declined to comment yesterday on
rumors that he may ask to be released from his scholarship after
head coach Roy Williams left the program to take the North Carolina
job earlier this week.
If Wilkes, the son of former UCLA legend Jamaal Wilkes, does
decide to leave Kansas, Westwood could be his most likely
destination.
“We’re going to let the dust settle,” Jamaal
Wilkes told the Los Angeles Daily News. “Right now,
Omar’s shocked and disappointed. We’re just trying to
absorb it right now.”
Widely regarded as one of the top prep shooting guards in the
nation, Wilkes chose to attend Kansas over either California or
UCLA largely because of the presence of Williams.
However, with Williams’ departure, and the Bruins’
hiring of Howland, it appears that UCLA has become a more
attractive option now.
Wilkes, whose sister is a sophomore at UCLA, will likely wait
until Kansas hires a coach before making a final decision.
Fellow Kansas signee and McDonald’s All-American David
Padgett reportedly also might leave the Jayhawks, and it is
possible that he might consider coming to Westwood as well.