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Shaunsters posted the article on the home page of the site but here it is for message board consumption...... Exciting rumor I heard this week related to the Texas basketball program and had 2 trusted sources confirm it to me… Buzz Williams and Billy Donovan have both let (Steve) Patterson or the people around Patterson know that when he’s ready to make a decision on the coaching position, each wants to be let known. Wait, there’s more… Another surprise name (I originally said no way to) has surfaced again on the radar (much like the Saban situation behind the scenes) . This would most likely be a substantial pay raise type of deal if it were to materialize…. Bill Self!!! There has always been a little smoke suggesting Self thought highly of Texas and the program’s resources, but never did I think there was a even a slim chance of him eventually residing in Austin. Especially after the Andrew Wiggins “clown show” that was his recruitment. Never say never, but WOW! I lean toward Billy Donovan and Bill Self looking for a pay raise, but this site is for the fans. Our job is to let you know of the rumors and smoke that are circulating and rising behind the scenes. Here is a relevant question to consider: What if Rick Barnes Barnes leads this team deep into the NIT or earns an NCAA bid? What happens then? Barnes is back to his old ways – he’sactually coaching and putting kids in spots to win. If he does this the rest of the year with a young squad, you have to give him one more year. But if Barnes turns back to his post KD/DJ ways, very hard headed, no imagination, no creativity. He will have to be fired. Also a note – I was waiting on confirmation from another buddy of mine, but look for Texas to make a STRONG push in the recruitment of DJ Hogg (Plano,TX) . If you don’t know DJ Hogg, just YouTube him and stare. He is a 6’6 athletic, gifted and soon to be 5-star kid from Texas. Hogg was once considered a Baylor or OSU sure thing…. It was recently mentioned that schools like Kansas, Kentucky and UCLA are teams pushing hard for him, but from what I am hearing from some, Texas is considered the leader (unlike King McClure). Hogg is a a lights-out shooter with deep range and Texas needs to land him or McClure to hallmark the recruiting class. Make no mistake, Hogg is “loving him some Texas,” which is great news for Horns fans. Along with Tyler Davis who I mentioned on the message board, he’s a 5-star center (Liberty,TX). All the aforementioned are Texas Titans teammates. Landing 2 or 3 of these kids would be big for Rick Barnes and Texas as they are elite kids. One side note on all of these players – watch out for SMU! Anytime you have WWW leading the charge and Larry Brown giving him the ok, you have to be careful not to get to excited. But Hogg is the one kid that truly loves Texas! –Shaunsters

Well folks, I told you a lot was going on week and come to find out there was a TON of stuff going on this week. In this installment of "Crossfire" I will share with you information that some of my "connected friends of the program" have shared with me. Of course we'll talk about the hiring of Steve Patterson and what that means for Mack and everyone else at Bellmont and what it means in the Saban sweepstakes. We will also talk about Joe Jamail and his role today with UT Athletics today (is he disengaged? is he engaged? is Mack safe if he runs the table?) And of course we will talk about Saban and even engage in some rumors that are going on. Some of the stuff is insightful. Some of it is enlightening. Some of it is thought-provoking. But ALL of it is found this week in the "Crossfire." First let's talk about the hiring of Steve Patterson. According to my source Texas will always go through the "Process" of a formal vetting. That's not to say there aren't front runners going in to the process due to school affiliation, relationships, reputations and experience. My contact felt that Luck had everything going for him until they got to the point where the decision makers got to sit across the table from the candidates. That made a HUGE difference as the interviewing process unfolded. My contact went on to say, "I know a lot of folks that know Luck very well and they to a person find him a bit cold!" My contact went on to say, "one dad said he found Oliver to be condescending towards Andrew's teammates at Stratford. This guy's son was actually an o-lineman for Andrew!" He went on to say, "So I'm not surprised Luck may have not made the best impression. Steve on the other hand is my kinda guy. He can converse with the Paul Allens of the world as well as the kid holding the Parab for the in-house feed at a Texans' game." He went on to say, "I'll put it this way; from what I've heard and what I've observed, Oliver Luck will quickly tell you he's the smartest guy in the room and then try to converse with you from that position. Patterson will converse with you for awhile, hardly ever saying anything and when you walk away it hits you, you WERE just speaking to the smartest guy in the room." Keep in mind, there were reports last week that "the Houston Lunch Bunch" was the driving force for bringing Patterson back home to Texas. And if you subscribe to that theory then keep in mind "the King" of the "Houston Lunch Bunch" is STILL big, bad Joe Jamail. My contact shared with me, "Joe is doing MUCH better health-wise then I had been left to believe." My contact tells me, "Contrary to belief, Joe was intimately involved with the AD Search and ultimately he will be involved with the Head Coach search as well because of the money Joe has given to the program in the past, and the money he will be giving to the program and University in the future." He went on to say, "In contrast, Red & Jim Bob are out of the loop right now." My contact continued with ,"the AD Search Committee was a smoke screen. The real AD Search Committee were the "new money guys" who were doing the real leg work on behalf of Joe and the University." More on Joe as it pertains to the LHN; as many of you are already aware, Joe Jamail was INTIMATELY involved with the UT General Counsel and DeLoss on LHN negotiations. What I've learned is the financial projections add up to an even LARGER pay-out should we go Independent. In light of potential Head Coaching changes in the near future as it pertains to Football & Basketball, along with possible change in conference affiliation or altogether going Independent in Football, do not be surprised if in the near future we renegotiate into an even MORE lucrative deal for the University than it is today. Funny thing about the negotiation, we didn't go with a large accounting firm during the negotiation of the LHN because we didn't want to risk the wrong set of eyeballs getting sight of what was actually going on between UT and ESPN during these negotiations. My contact then said, "It is known that the Big 4 Accounting Firms don't have many Aggies on their payroll however there is just enough of them for their to be a concern that a zealot Aggie would risk his license, reputation, financial well-being, and even legacy to be an "Aggie Hero" to expose UT while these negotiations were going on- ridiculous thought however understandably so knowing what Aggie is capable of!" Now on to Saban- don't underestimate the relationship between Tillerson & Saban. Apparently there are some oil & gas deals where Saban has already been "hooked-up" with already with penalty clauses associated with them just in case Saban is NOT the next Head Coach at the University of Texas. Expect an awful lot of smoke screens on this front in the days ahead. More on Saban. I get a lot of questions from folks asking, "Darrell, what does Luck losing out to Patterson mean on the Saban front? Is Saban a lost cause?" My answer is an EMPHATIC NO! Since we're talking about smoke and Saban, here's a nice little factoid for you: did y'all know that Nick Saban and Steve Patterson have a hunting lease together. Probably not if you aren't reading "Crossfire." Now on to rumors. Last night I get an email from a friend of the program and site asking if there is any validity to Mack possibly announcing his retirement in the next couple of weeks. Well, apparently one rumor has the Longhorn Network actually putting together a "tribute" to Mack Brown and his accomplishments set to air in the up-coming weeks. My knee-jerk reaction was ABSOLUTELY NOT! And then something interesting happened on the way to the circus- Steve Patterson (who has an uncanny knack of firing people in established organizations) is announced as the next AD at UT. Well I must admit, the timing is very coincidental. On the flip-side, I hear that with Jamail being re-engaged with the decision-making process, perhaps if Mack runs the table he can retain his job if Saban doesn't accept the position? Saban on the Patterson hire..... Saban likes the patterson hire...Sexton told some of our BMD's that the only guys he would work for was Long(from Ark.), Castiglione, Patterson,Haden, or Ray Tanner (from South Carolina). Haden and Castiglione were out from the get go. Tanner is a USC guy and didnt want to leave. Long, Patterson, and Luck were the last 3 standing. Luck was the guy alot of the current regime wanted. His political stance actually helped powers and Mack. Before anyone goes and sucks on the end of a shotgun please note that AT THIS TIME I am sticking with my 60% chance that Saban is coaching at the 40 Acres come '14 but ANYTHING is possible. If we cannot get the guy we truly want, perhaps we hold-off a year and let Mack finish-out on his terms? Do I think that is the case? No, but like I said, "anything is possible!" Knowing Steve Patterson's history I don't think that's the case. UT Hoops News from Shaunsters regarding the current coaching situation... Talked to a very good source this week, asked him about the current coaching situation and what Texas will look for in a new coach... He simply stated to me that in his opinion it's going to get interesting... Buzz Williams is the popular name and most likely the favorite right now for the job. Shaka Smart is a name being thrown around but not much legs right now on that one. We don't know how his style would fit at Texas. Full court press, sometime a slow offense style. We at Horn Sports have talked about these two previously... But the surprise name... I have heard he would at least listen if Texas called. Billy Donovan. Yes that Billy Donovan of Florida... The first thing I said was no way. Won't happen. Hell, he turned down Kentucky a few years ago. The story behind that, is Billy didn't want to have all the pressure on him to rebuild Kentucky. Billy isn't that type of coach... So he got a nice raise and stayed at Florida. But the smoke and rumors coming out is that Billy D. knows as long as he is at Florida he will always be behind. Now why Texas? -A log of talent in a basketball rich state -The support and help of former players is something Florida dosent have right now. This helps recruiting a lot -Money. A bit more money is never a bad thing -The chance to lead a sleeping giant into being a Top 5 program in the country year in and year out -No pressure on him And he knows he will be given any and every chance to make this a powerhouse again. One last side note on this... Will this happen for sure? Probably not. Will Billy D. flirt with Texas maybe just to get a raise? Most likely. But if one of the best college coaches is interested and let's you know he is, you go after him. I didn't just hear this info from one person either. Smoke could soon be rising. Until next week, --McPhaul