Semi-funny, but earlier today I was writing how the coaching carousel was in a tense pause while every coach was waiting to see what would happen with Calipari, Kentucky and Memphis. Now the carousel can go back to tilt-a-whirl.

Mike Anderson appears to be staying at Mizzou — rebuffing Georgia and a bigger offer. Presumably Memphis would be out for a chance at him as well.

Memphis will be left in ruins by the way. The expectations, money and fans may be there, but not the players. That’s the danger of a coach like Calipari. They don’t actually build a program. They build a cult of personality around themselves. In addition to the loss of recruits that haven’t signed yet, along with the recruits that had specific outs in their LOI’s if Calipari left. Tyreke Evans is one-and-done (to no one’s surprise), but there are also reports that Wesley Witherspoon, Roburt Sallie and Angel Garcia may be transferring. No Calipari, no team. It will be very interesting to see how that shakes out.

So Georgia is trolling for a coach and has $2 million to toss around. Arizona is still out there getting nervous as reality starts to dawn on them that they aren’t going to get Tom Izzo or Rick Pitino. Will anyone be able to lure Jeff Capel away from Oklahoma? Tim Floyd at USC is a perennial rumor to be moving.

That of course brings us to Coach Jamie Dixon. The fact is, Coach Dixon’s name is going to be mentioned a lot. He’s a very good coach. He’s still young enough, but with experience and success. He has proven to be a capable recruiter and a guy who hires the right assistants and develops players. He is not a Pitt alum or native to the area. That means programs are going to assume that he can and will sever ties for more money and what they may believe to be the better job.

I don’t know if Coach Dixon is going anywhere. I don’t want him going anywhere. I don’t think he will go anywhere. I don’t even want to worry about the “what ifs”. He’s in a good situation. He’s got a great relationship with both the AD and the Chancellor. There’s a lot more than money to keep him at Pitt.

That said, I expect him to listen if teams call. Not go, but listen. It is still in his best interest to at least listen. The Kentucky deal is another landscape changer. Just in terms of the money. That raises a lot of other pay checks. We are talking coaches and big egos. Dixon reportedly earns around $1.6 million. How do you not at least listen if a team might be  tossing $2 million or more your way?

I also don’t expect this to be over and done in just a few days. It will drag, and annoy. It will frustrate and there is a good chance we won’t know anything certain for at least a week. That’s the only thing I feel reasonably sure of knowing.

We can get all self-righteous about how he has a contract and should honor it. We can ask about how much money is enough? We can get arrogant and insist how Pitt is different and things are or should be done differently here. We can do all of that. It’s silly and a pile of crap.

We all know that this is the business side of it. We have all seen it every year in college football and basketball. It’s why so many programs get hung-up on the idea of alum or natives to the area. They want whatever perceived ties to make it more likely that the balance of power favors the school.

It may be the chosen vocation. It may pay extremely well. It may seem like a great job. But at the end of the day, it is still the job. The coaches know it can go up in smoke in just a couple bad years and you will never see the big money again. Then, maybe, you are back to being an assistant. Maybe making good money, but no where near the millions. The travel is that much harder, the contracts that much shorter.

So, brace yourself. Pitt will at least be on the periphery of the coaching carousel.

Congrats to DeJuan Blair for making the AP All-American 1st team.

The AP honor is the fourth first-team All-American honor for Blair, who also was recognized by Sporting News, Sports Illustrated and the United States Basketball Writers Association earlier this month.

“It’s cool; it’s a beautiful honor,” Blair said last night, two days after the Panthers were knocked out of the NCAA tournament by Villanova. “I don’t think anyone thought this was possible at the beginning of the season. I wasn’t even named [honorable mention] all-Big East.”

Blair finished third in the AP voting with 294 votes behind Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin (335) and North Carolina’s (304). Arizona State’s James Harden and Davidson’s Stephen Curry also were named to the first team.

“That group is an excellent group,” Blair said. “It could have been a lot of people on that list, too. Fortunately, I got that spot. It’s an honor to be on there with them. All of those guys lived up to the hype. I sneaked up there on a lot of people.”

It’s been a whirlwind few weeks for Blair, who also was named Big East Conference co-player of the year. He also is finalist for the Naismith Player of the Year Award, and was invited to Detroit this weekend for that presentation. He also is a finalist for the Wooden Award as well as the USBWA Oscar Robertson Player of the Year Award.

Well-earned and well-deserved. The article indicated something that should surprise no one. That Blair will at least go through the NBA pre-draft process.

I know there is some debate over whether Blair should turn pro or not. I do not, however, think that there is any debate that he should at least go through the process to see where might go in the draft and what he needs to improve.

I know the mock drafts to this point have him as a outside of being a lottery pick, but definitely a 1st round pick.  I also know the mock drafts pre-workouts are of some questionable value. That said, if he comes out of the workouts in a similar spot,  I don’t see how he doesn’t go pro.

As much as I would love for him to return, I fall into the camp that expects him to and thinks he should go pro. Blair benefits from the success of Detroit Piston’s Jason Maxiell not to mention Paul Millsap of the Utah Jazz. The Pistons took the undersized PF late in the first round of the ’05 draft (to the surprise of many who considered him a late 2nd rounder). He has become a vital bench player with energy who gets rebounds and plays inside despite his size.

Would Blair be able to improve on some parts of his game if he returns? Certainly. Of course, Blair has a great work ethic, so I would expect that he would do plenty to improve his game regardless.

The other aspect, is that while he might be able to improve his game with another year, that would not necessarily improve his draft status. This is considered a rather weak draft. I mean, that B.J. Mullens could be considered a first round pick (I know, 7’0″) after showing very little in the way of, um, skill should speak volumes about the draft this year.

Finally, with his past history of knee problems, he needs to consider the future. Given he plays inside, shown that he runs the court real well and his lack of natural height; a knee injury would cripple his future. Forget the NCAA insurance policies. That still doesn’t match the guarantee of a 1st round contract regardless of whether it is lottery or not.