Seton Hall Assistant Interviews Again at Irvine

Rod Baker, a Seton Hall assistant who is one of four finalists for the UC Irvine men’s basketball coaching job, was interviewed for a second time Thursday, a New Jersey source said.

Baker, who traveled to Orange County from New Jersey on Wednesday evening, became at least the second coach to be interviewed twice, joining Arizona assistant Jessie Evans, who met Tuesday with Irvine officials.

The second interviews might have been necessary because Horace Mitchell, vice chancellor for student affairs, and Don May, an Irvine player who is on the search committee, were out of town when Baker and Evans had their initial interviews. Baker and Evans traveled to Irvine before returning home after their teams were eliminated from the NCAA West Regional in Seattle in March.

Another of the finalists is Jan van Breda Kolff, a Princeton assistant and a son of Hofstra Coach Bill van Breda Kolff, the former Laker coach. The other is believed to be Matt Kilcullen, who declined comment when reached at the Notre Dame basketball office Thursday.

Former UCLA coach Walt Hazzard, another of at least 12 coaches interviewed for the job, had support among some involved with the Irvine search, and one source involved with the search said there had been “pressure” to hire him. But Hazzard said Thursday that Irvine has not contacted him since his interview.

It is unclear if further interviews will be conducted, but Irvine announced Thursday it will not name a coach this week.

The school has been searching for a replacement since Bill Mulligan announced Feb. 13 that he would retire at the end of the season. Irvine originally had a target date of April 1, seeking to have a coach in place in time to make recruiting efforts before Wednesday, the first day for high school players to sign a national letter of intent.

“The search committee is continuing to speak with the candidates and check with references,” Athletic Director Tom Ford said in a statement. “We are moving as quickly as possible and hope to have an announcement soon, but we will not set a specific timetable.”