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College Hoops Coaching Carousel: Fordham Gets Their Man

Yesterday we suggested that perhaps Fordham would have to wait until St. John’s and Seton Hall settled on their coaches before it could make a hire of its own. Apparently not: Fordham will reportedly name Hofstra’s Tom Pecora its head coach this afternoon, with a press conference to follow tomorrow. In Pecora, Fordham gets a coach with good ties to the city’s high school and AAU coaches, and who led Hofstra to four twenty-win seasons over the past six years. Also, Fordham wasn’t kidding about a willingness to spend on its basketball program: Pecora will earn $705,000 a year, making him one of the highest paid coaches in the Atlantic 10.

Elsewhere, St. John’s met with Georgia Tech’s Paul Hewitt yesterday, and he’s reportedly emerged as the leading candidate for the job. The Post says a deal could be near, though a couple of hurdles remain, most notably a clause in his contract that would require Hewitt to pay Tech $3.5 million if he leaves.

Meanwhile, Mike Rice is set to meet with Seton Hall today, and though Steve Donahue is on the Pirates’ short list as well, he can’t meet with them until Cornell’s tournament run is over. Cornell’s athletic director tells the Post he’d love for Donahue to stick around and become “a Pete Carril for Cornell.” An AD can dream, can’t he?

College Hoops Coaching Carousel: Fordham Gets Their Man