Chip Towers is reporting in the AJC that Damon Evans will meet with Clemson’s Oliver Purnell and Miami’s Frank Haith in Detroit.

That does not mean we plan to offer the job to either.

This is the kind of thing I was talking about the other day. Georgia and Evans have no motive to leak anything about their candidates or even those with whom they’d like to chat up for advice. Evans wasn’t even a source for anything having to do with Mike Anderson. Purnell is in the process of negotiating an increase with Clemson, and Haith is just trying to defend himself after failing to make the NCAA Tournament. Each has a motive for appearing to be a candidate for other jobs.

As Roger Clarkson of the ABH reminds us, the Final Four is always the annual meeting of the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Just about every coach in the nation will be there. Evans is likely to speak with dozens of coaches in Detroit, not just Purnell and Haith. He’s not going to offer the job to all of them. And not every one of them are going to leak the fact that they’re meeting with Evans to the press.

Just keep in mind that “talking with”, especially at an event like this, is not necessarily related to “interview”, “candidate”, or “offer forthcoming.”

If you wonder why Frank Haith’s name keeps coming up (a coach who has never finished better than .500 in his conference), consider that he shares an agent with none other than Dennis Felton. Joseph “Ricky” Lefft also represents Tubby Smith.