That guy I spotted walking into Crozet Pizza with high-ranking U.Va. officials the other night?

Well, the BP sign near the four-way stop obscured my view, and the clatter of a passing train distracted me, but I think it might have been Tubby Smith.  Or maybe Rick Barnes.  Or possibly Jeff Capel.  Or even Trent Johnson.

Or perhaps I dreamed all that.

More than 10 days into U.Va.’s search for Dave Leitao’s successor as men’s basketball coach, the names and rumors are flying around at a dizzying pace. I’ve been told or been e-mailed or read on message boards or blogs that Tubby is the guy ... that Tubby isn’t interested ... that Capel is the likely choice ... that Capel is too unproven ... that Trent Johnson is the dark-horse candidate ... that Rick Barnes has toured John Paul Jones Arena ... that John Thompson III might be interested ... that John Calipari is in the mix ... that Jay Wright is a candidate for the job ... that Sean Miller is on the list, and so on and so on and so on.

Some of this chatter no doubt contains elements of truth.  But as a wise friend noted today: “Information’s getting created because there’s a lack of it.”  My friend lives in Charlottesville and has contacts who are usually privy to inside information about U.Va. sports, and “they know nothing [about the search],” he said.

And that’s how Craig Littlepage and others directly involved in the search, including his No. 2 man Jon Oliver, want it.  U.Va. is working with a search firm out of Atlanta, and if the process goes as planned, I’m told, nobody will know whom Littlepage and Co. have chosen until that coach starts notifying his employer and soon-to-be-former players.

So, what have I learned, after working the phones and the laptop for more than a week?  Not as much as I’d like to know.  But I’m convinced Tubby Smith still heads Virginia’s wish list and that he’s still a possibility, his comments to the media in Minnesota nothwithstanding last weekend. 

I’ve spoken to people who know Smith from his days as a Virginia Commonwealth University assistant coach, people who’ve stayed in touch with Tubby through the years, and they don’t believe he’s made up his mind.  He has deep roots in this region, and the challenge of coaching in the ACC appeals to him.  Now, whether it’s appealing enough for him to leave Minnesota after only two seasons, we’ll have to see.

Finally, my sense is that fans and media members may be higher on Capel than U.Va. officials are.  My read on this one may be wrong, but Capel’s youth and inexperience concern at least some of the key decision-makers in the process.  Personally, I believe Capel would be a brilliant hire, but it’s not my call, obviously.

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