Louisiana Tech is in the process of searching for a new men’s head basketball coach and that new coach could be Ole Miss assistant Michael White.
White was flown down on the La. Tech campus Monday afternoon to meet with athletics director Bruce Van De Velde, according to a source. White, who played at Ole Miss from 1995-1998, has been an assistant at Ole Miss since the 2005 season. He started his coaching career at Jacksonville State.
Van De Velde told the Shreveport Times on Monday night that the search for former coach Kerry Rupp’s replacement was progressing well.
“It’s going a little bit faster than I thought,” Van De Velde said. “I didn’t expect to be this far along. We’ve made great progress. What has speeded it up is the quality of the candidates. We had some outstanding people interested in the position.”
Van De Velde then added that an announcement could be coming soon, but didn’t give a definite timetable.
Van De Velde, according to reports out of Ruston, La., is looking for a young, energetic coach who has great recruiting ties to the Southeast. White, who played his high school basketball at New Orleans’ Jesuit High School, meets a lot of the requirements Van De Velde is looking for and is considered a top up-and-coming assistant coach in the college basketball world. (March 29, 2011, Page 9)
