Wake Forest talks with Colorado’s Jeff Bzdelik about coaching vacancy

Wake talks with Buffs’ Bzdelik about coaching job

RALEIGH, N.C. — Wake Forest is talking to Colorado’s Jeff Bzdelik about its coaching vacancy.

A Wake Forest spokesman told The Associated Press that Bzdelik arrived on campus in Winston-Salem, N.C., on Monday and would be interviewing for the job through Tuesday.

Colorado athletic director Mike Bohn says he’s monitoring the developments “on a daily basis, on an hourly basis, actually.”

“Jeff knows how we feel about him, and our constituents who support basketball have been incredibly encouraging and supportive of Jeff, and he knows that,” Bohn said. “And I’m sure this will be a tough and emotional decision for him.”

Bohn says he’s prepared, no matter what happens with Bzdelik and Wake Forest.

Bzdelik and Wake Forest athletic director Ron Wellman have a history together. Both were at Northwestern in the early 1980s when Wellman was the baseball coach and Bzdelik was an assistant on the men’s basketball staff.

Colorado officials previously said that Bzdelik met with the Buffaloes players Sunday to tell them he would discuss the job with the Wake Forest administration, but that the position had neither been offered nor accepted. Wake Forest officials later confirmed that statement.

The Demon Deacons are searching for a replacement for Dino Gaudio, who was fired last week with a three-year record of 61-31 but a combined record of 1-5 in Atlantic Coast Conference and NCAA tournament games. His dismissal came 2½ weeks after a 30-point loss to Kentucky in the second round of the East Regional.

Bzdelik is 36-58 in three seasons with the Buffaloes, and their 15-16 record this past season was an improvement. But he has not been to the postseason since taking Air Force to the semifinals of the 2007 NIT.

Coincidentally, that Falcons team gave Wake Forest its most lopsided nonconference loss of the modern era when it routed the Skip Prosser-led Demon Deacons 94-58 in November 2006.

In 2006, Bzdelik took Air Force to the NCAA tournament, with the Falcons losing in the first round. He finished 50-16 in two seasons at the academy.

Bzdelik also spent 2½ years coaching the Denver Nuggets, leading them to a 73-119 mark.