Campus Watch

UB assistant basketball coach Turner Battle just got back to me to make it known he's not taking the job at UNC-Greensboro.

-- Bob DiCesare

Could Turner Battle be leaving UB's basketball coaching staff?

Sources say that Battle has had discussions with UNC-Greensboro coach Wes Miller about becoming an assistant with the Spartans. Miller last month signed a five-year deal with the school, and Battle hails from Kernersville, N.C., about 20 minutes away.

Battle, one of UB's all-time playing greats and a member of the school's hall of fame, has spent five years as an assistant to Bulls head coach Reggie Witherspoon.

-- Bob DiCesare

Canisius College this afternoon confirmed it has hired Jim Baron as its next men's basketball coach.

"I am extremely pleased to introduce Jim Baron as our men's basketball coach," Canisius Athletic Director Bill Maher said in a press release issued by the school. "In naming Jim to this position, we have hired a man who has a proven track record of building successful basketball programs and developing young men. He is excited to return to Western New York to lead the Canisius College basketball program."

Baron has plenty of experience in the Big 4. He's a 1977 graduate of St. Bonaventure who coached at his alma mater for nine years (1992-2001), making one of his two career NCAA Tournament appearances with the Bonnies (in 2000). Baron went on to coach for the past 11 years at Rhode Island, leading the Rams to five NIT appearances and a 184-165 overall record.

Baron's hiring was first reported Sunday night by cbssportsline.com, although it wasn't made official by the school until this afternoon.

Baron, 58, will be introduced at a press conference at 3 p.m. Tuesday at the Koessler Athletic Center. The coach, who was fired from Rhode Island last month after a 7-24 season, signed a five-year contract. He has an overall career record of 390-367 in 25 years as a Division I coach.

Prior to his time at Bona, he coached St. Francis (Pa.) for five seasons, including his other NCAA Tournament appearance, in 1991.

"This is a great day for Canisius College basketball," school president John J. Hurley said in a release. "Jim Baron has demonstrated throughout his career that it is possible to match success on the court with success in the classroom. He has been a positive influence in the lives of hundreds of young men, and I'm tremendously excited about the prospect of working with Jim to restore Golden Griffin basketball to glory."

Baron takes over for Tom Parrotta, who was fired last month after a 5-25 season. The Griffs do return all five starters from that team.

Baron and his wife, Cindy, have two sons: Jimmy, a 2009 graduate of URI who played for his father, and Billy, who just completed his sophomore season with the Rams.

---Jay Skurski

http://twitter.com/jayskurski

Jim Baron will be returning to Western New York as head coach of the Canisius men's basketball team, according to a report tonight from Jeff Goodman of cbssportsline.com. Goodman's report can be found here.

There has been no official word from Canisius on the hiring as of yet. Baron, 58, was fired last month by Rhode Island after a 7-24 season. 

He previously coached St. Bonaventure from 1992-2001, leading the Bonnies to one NCAA Tournament appearance and three trips to the NIT. At Rhode Island, he took the Rams to the NIT five times in 11 seasons, but was never able to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

Canisius fired Tom Parrotta last month after a disappointing 5-25 season.

---Jay Skurski

http://twitter.com/jayskurski

---Former St. Bonaventure coach Jim Baron has been offered the job at Canisius multiple sources have told The News.

Baron, who was fired after 11 years at Rhode Island, is in negotiations with the school and is seeking additional funds for assistant coaches to help build a stronger infrastructure in the program.

While waiting on a commitment from Baron, Canisius AD Bill Maher is still talking to candidates in case Baron turns down the job. A source told The News that Maher on Wednesday spoke with Jayson Gee, the associate head coach at Cleveland State and former a St. Bonaventure assistant.

Baron, who coached at St. Bonaventure from 1992-01, had four consecutive 20-win seasons at Rhode Island before last season’s 7-24 finish and was fired a year after he agreed to a contract extension through the 2013-14 season. He has a career record of 390-367 (.515).

Norfolk State's Anthony Evans and Rhode Island College's Bob Walsh are also candidates, according to sources.

---Rodney McKissic

(twitter.com/rodneyjmckissic)

---Canisius College placed as 4-6 week window to hire Tom Parrotta’s replacement and the process appears to be on schedule.

Canisius AD Bill Maher, with the help of Bill Carr Associates, is narrowing his list of candidates, which includes former St. Bonaventure coach Jim Baron, according to multiple sources. The list also includes Norfolk State’s Anthony Evans and Bob Walsh, the former San Diego and Iona assistant now at Division III Rhode Island College, according to sources. All have head coaching experience which Maher desires.

Baron, who coached at St. Bonaventure from 1992-01, had four consecutive 20-win seasons at Rhode Island before last season’s 7-24 finish and was fired a year after he agreed to a contract extension through the 2013-14 season. He has a career record of 390-367 (.515).

After leading Norfolk State to its first MEAC championship, Evans led the school to an upset win over Missouri in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. A native of Brooklyn, Norfolk State has seven New York natives on its roster.

Walsh just completed his seventh season at RIC where he’s made seven consecutive trips to the postseason and six straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament.

---Rodney McKissic

(twitter.com/rodneyjmckissic)

---Charlie Coles made it official what has been long rumored: Former Iowa and Butler coach Todd Lickliter is joining the Miami (Ohio) staff as an assistant coach. Lickliter coached Butler to NCAA Sweet 16 appearances in 2003 and ’07 which means Coles is adding a quality assistant. One can also speculate that - given Coles age - Miami has already hired its next head coach.

---Former UB assistant coach Chris Hawkins has been hired as an assistant at Radford, his alma mater. A strong recruiter, Hawkins was part of the staff when UB advanced to the MAC Tournament finals for the first time in 2005.

---Saint Peter's John Dunne received an extension from the school.

---Rodney McKissic

(www.twitter.com/rodneyjmckissic)

---The resignation of West Virginia football coach Bill Stewart is "imminent," a university source told ESPN.com's Ivan Maisel on Friday.

Earlier Friday, ESPN's Joe Schad reported that WVU leaders were pondering whether terminating the coach-in-waiting scenario it created this year with offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen would be in the best interests of the program. Holgorsen is scheduled to succeed Stewart after the coming season.

---Rodney McKissic

(www.twitter.com/rodneyjmckissic)

---Pat Chambers, pictured left, believes he can change the perception that Penn State is a bad coaching job. Why Chambers got into coaching is a good story.

---Gary Parrish hopes that no coach patterns his coaching career after former Kelvin Sampson.

---Bob Knight calls some NCAA rules idiotic.

---Jason King previews the top junior transfers in 2011-12.

---Here's a list of the 12 most-hyped recruits ever.

---The movers and shakers from pre-draft workouts.

---Rodney McKissic

(www.twitter.com/rodneyjmckissic)