Report: Foley targeting La. Tech’s Michael White

Michael White has won three straight regular-season conference titles at La. Tech, but he's yet to get the Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament.

Michael White has won three straight regular-season conference titles at La. Tech, but he’s yet to get the Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament.

Published on Thursday, 5/7/15, at 3:45 p.m. Eastern.

According to a report earlier today from Yahoo’s Pat Forde, La. Tech head coach Michael White is the leading candidate to replace Billy Donovan as Florida’s head men’s basketball coach.

White was a helluva point guard for Ole Miss in the late 1990s, leading the Rebels in assists all four seasons of his playing career. He later returned to Oxford and was an assistant for seven years before getting his first head-coaching gig at La. Tech.

White, the son of Duke AD Kevin White, has been with the Bulldogs for four years. He has a 101-40 overall record, taking La. Tech to the NIT in the last three seasons.

White has led the Bulldogs to three consecutive regular-season conference championships, but they have been upset in the league tourney each year. La. Tech has gone to the NIT quarterfinals in back-to-back seasons.

Forde reported that a face-to-face meeting between Florida AD Jeremy Foley and White could occur as early as today.

With no other schools searching for a coach right now, there isn’t a huge rush for Foley to make a hire. With that in mind, one wonders if inquiries to Dayton’s Archie Miller were met with resistance? Miller does have a quality gig at UD, and there’s the old adage about coaches not wanting to replace The Man.

In this instance, that would be Billy Donovan.

White is 38 and has plenty of experience in the SEC. In addition, he has recruited well in Florida in the past. In fact, five La. Tech players hail from the Sunshine State.

Stay tuned…

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