Notebook: Holder is still tight-lipped

Published: April 7, 2008

Oklahoma State athletic director Mike Holder has been playing his cards close to his vest for the last week. The AD and senior associate AD Dave Martin spent the end of last week and the weekend in San Antonio at the Final Four. But Holder said he didn't speak with any coaches, and didn't plan to speak with any while in San Antonio.

As for a timeline, Holder was also not giving many answers. Asked if he might have a coach in place in two weeks, Holder responded via email: "Depends on my ability to sell. Don't rush the monkey and you will get a better show.”

•Also near the Alamo: Along with numerous other coaches, Eddie, Scott and Sean Sutton were reportedly in San Antonio for the Final Four and the National Association of Basketball Coaches convention.

•Beating the best? Oklahoma State's 2007-08 record against the NCAA Tournament field got more impressive the longer the tournament went. The Cowboys went 4-11 against teams that made the NCAA Tournament this season and 1-3 against Elite Eight teams (all three losses were to the Texas Longhorns).

But against Final Four teams, OSU is a sterling 1-0, having defeated national finalist Kansas on Feb. 23.

•In interesting company: Oklahoma State was one of the eight teams mentioned in a story by ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach about teams that have "flamed out after reaching the Final Four in recent seasons.”

The other teams mentioned are Georgia Tech, Indiana, Oklahoma, LSU, Maryland, Syracuse and Illinois. Three of those schools — Indiana, LSU and OSU — had coaching vacancies this year.

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