SW Missouri opening linked with Giannini> UMaine coach named as candidate

University of Maine men’s basketball coach John Giannini has been mentioned as a top candidate for the vacant coaching position at Southwest Missouri State University.

Monday’s editions of USA Today list Giannini, along with former Southwest Missouri player Rand Chappell, and ex-Missouri assistant Kim Andrerson, as candidates.

Buzz Peterson has been offered the job and turned it down, and Fran Fraschilla was mentioned in media reports as the leading candidate for the job at one time.

Peterson accepted the job Thursday night, then changed his mind Friday and chose to remain at Appalachian State.

The job became open when Steve Alford took the head coaching job at Iowa at the end of the season.

“The only candidate who has been discussed publicly is coach Peterson at Appalachian State,” said Southwest Missouri sports information director Mark Stillwell.

Stillwell said the school would not be inviting a group of finalists to campus to meet with the media, as is sometimes done.

“What I expect to hear at some point is the name of the candidate the committee has chosen to be the next coach, with no intermediate steps as far as public disclosure,” Stillwell said.

Giannini, reached at his office on Monday, said he would not be commenting on the Southwest Missouri job.

He has not flown to Missouri, has not interviewed for the position, and has not been offered the job.

Giannini led the Black Bears to a 19-9 record this year in his third season in Orono. He is 37-49 in his tenure at Maine.

In his career Giannini has compiled a 205-87 record. He won the 1996 NCAA Division III national championship at Rowan (N.J.) College.

Sources close to the situation say the job will pay in the $200,000-$250,000 range per year, but reports have estimated the package offered to Peterson at about $300,000.

According to public records that are a year old, Giannini is making $66,513 in the second year of a three-year contract.

Southwest Missouri is located in Springfield, Mo., and has an enrollment of 17,570. The Bears qualified for the NCAA basketball tourney this year with a 22-11 record.

Southwest Missouri won two NCAA tourney games before bowing out to Duke in the regional semifinals.

Stillwell admitted that some key members of Southwest Missouri’s administration are out of town early this week, but said that fact wouldn’t slow the search for Alford’s successor.

“The expression from the time coach Alford left was to find the best candidate we could as quickly as we could but not to sacrifice the thoroughness of the search in order to make it go more quickly,” Stillwell said.