Yesterday, TwistNHook mentioned a story about Cal recruit D.J. Seeley, who was shocked by the news of Ben Braun’s firing, and said that he was going to have to reconsider his commitment to Cal.  (FYI, Seeley has signed a National Letter of Intent, but schools often let players out of such commitments after a coach has been fired if the player feels they will no longer be happy at the school.)

Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised, then, when I read this today:

Top Cal basketball recruit D.J. Seeley got a call from ousted coach Ben Braun encouraging him to stay committed to the Golden Bears, and the Modesto Christian High School star said he’s just curious to meet his new coach.

Braun didn’t have to do that; he doesn’t owe Cal anything, and no one would have noticed if he’d simply decided to move on and let Cal deal with any wayward recruits on its own.  But that’s not the kind of guy Braun is.  It’s the sort of move that speaks of class, integrity, character; of a guy who really cares about his recruits development not just as basketball players, but as human beings.  Cal may indeed find a more successful basketball coach than Braun, but they won’t find a better man.

And Seeley?  Well, he’s doing the smart thing in continuing to look out for his own interests.  If I were in the same situation, that’s what I’d do.  Hopefully Cal’s next coach can work with Seeley to maximize his talents, making him feel comfortable at Berkeley, but if not, it’s probably best that D.J. moves on.  After all, you’d hate for a guy to come to Cal, only to transfer in a year or two after he discovers that he still isn’t comfortable.  It’s better for everyone involved if he finds out what he’ll be getting into before he heads to campus.

So, it has now been almost 72 hours since Ben Braun was fired, and the coaching search stories are starting to come in; how is Cal faring?

Well, they’re not hiring Pitt’s Jamie Dixon, that’s for sure.  From ESPN.com:

Multiple sources told ESPN.com that Cal made an attempt to hire Dixon within 24 hours of firing Ben Braun. Dixon told the Bears he wanted to stay at Pitt.

There is a perception that Dixon wants to move back to the West Coast because he is from Santa Barbara and his wife is from Hawaii. In truth, he is not looking to get back there as his family thoroughly enjoys living in Pittsburgh.

Well, that sucks.  He’s clearly a guy with a track record of success, one that our AD was interested in hiring, but despite West Coast ties, he turned Cal down cold.

Still, this development doesn’t trouble me too much.  First off, he has already turned down Arizona State, so I don’t think his decision to stay at Pitt was as much as an indictment of Cal as a statement that he likes living in Pittsburgh (sure, it could happen).  Plus, it comforts me that Cal at least offered the job to someone that quickly.  Clearly, even before the decision to terminate Braun was even made, Sandy Barbour’s people were busy making and vetting a list of candidates, and so when the decision came down, they were ready to pounce on a candidate who will almost certainly draw interest from other schools.  No, they didn’t get their guy, but they’re prepared and they’re proactive, which gives me hope that they eventually will get a quality coach.

So with Dixon out, where does the search focus now?  Sources (via the Chronicle) apparently say that the front-runners are now Washington State’s Tony Bennett and Denver Nuggets assistant Mike Dunlap.  (Who?  More on that in a second.)  First, Bennett.  From the article:

If, as sources indicate, Bennett does not return to Pullman, his next move wouldn’t necessarily be Cal. He might also be a candidate for the open Indiana job, among others.

True, although according to ESPN.com, Indiana has yet to offer the job to anyone.  Still, if Bennett were looking to upgrade his job (and whatever Ray Ratto says, Cal would be an upgrade over WSU), now would be a good time to get out.  Only a year-removed from being named the national coach of the year, this year he took a senior-laden team to the Sweet 16, where they were thoroughly outclassed by North Carolina.  Next year might not be so successful, and big job offers might begin to dry up.  In any case, it’s unlikely that he’ll be a hotter coaching talent that he is right now.

The same article also mentions that Mike Montgomery is expected to be on Indiana’s list, and that Xavier’s Sean Miller’s buyout would be too rich for Indiana, which almost certainly means that he would be out of Cal’s financial range as well.

In any case, it appears that Indiana will be our chief rival for whatever basketball coach we want to hire, though of course special circumstances will come into play for each specific candidate.  Oh, and both want winners with integrity, which does reduce the potential candidate pool somewhat.

And Mike Dunlap?  From the Chronicle:

Dunlap, 50, joined the Nuggets after a historic nine-year run at Metro State College (Denver), where he went 248-50 and won two Division II championships. He was named NABC Coach of the Year in 2000 and 2002, the championship years, and went to the national semifinals in 1999 and 2004.

In all the articles I’ve read, both by professionals and amateurs, not one has ever mentioned Mike Dunlap.  So where did his name come from?  I’m assuming it popped up due to the diligence of the ADs staff, or through personal contacts, or something.  Regardless, it comforts me that Sandy’s staff is more thorough and prepared than a bunch of idiot columnists and amateur bloggers (myself included).  Rest assured that in the search for the next coach, stones will not remain unturned.

"Yeah, I’d be interested in (the Cal job)," Dunlap said. "I don’t know a whole lot about it; I don’t know particulars about the process. I think a lot of people would be interested in Cal."

Sweet!  At least somebody thinks this a great job, and not just anybody, but an actual head coaching candidate.

Dunlap was a finalist for the USF job in 2004, but he was specific about what it would take to beat perennial West Coast Conference winner, Gonzaga, and was denied the budget for assistant coaches and recruiting, according to a source. He walked out of the final meeting within 30 minutes.

So he wants to get into college coaching, has a plan for being successful, has standards for what job he would be interested in taking, and is interested in the Cal job?  I’d never heard of this guy before this morning, but already I like him.

Anyway, there’s been one overture and one rejection already, but I’m initially encouraged by how the coaching search is proceeding.  It sounds like our athletic department is prepared and ambitious, coming up with inspired candidate choices and not settling for coaches that Cal knows it can get.  Barring unforeseen circumstances, I predict that this whole process will end well.