According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, University of Wisconsin men's basketball associate head coach Rob Jeter is one of two top candidates for the vacant head coaching position at Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Jeter, who could not be reached for comment, and Mike Dunlap, head coach of Division II Metropolitan State in Denver, are at the top of UW-M athletic director Bud Haidet's wish list to replace Bruce Pearl, who took the head coaching job at the University of Tennessee following UW-M's surprise run in the NCAA Tournament.
Haidet told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel the school had made no offers to either Dunlap or Jeter and that he wants to meet with both coaches on the Milwaukee campus after he returns from the Final Four in St. Louis.
Should Jeter take the UW-M position, it would end a long-running partnership with UW-Madison head coach Bo Ryan. Jeter played under Ryan at UW-Platteville from 1988-1991 and led the Pioneers to the Division III NCAA title in his senior season.
Since ending his playing career in 1994, Jeter has coached on Ryan's staff for nine of the last 10 seasons. Jeter started his coaching career as an assistant on Ryan's staff at UW-Platteville from 1994-1998. After spending a year as an assistant to Mike Dean at Marquette, Jeter reunited with Ryan at UW-M, where Ryan was head coach from 1999-2001. Jeter followed Ryan to Madison when he took the job with the Badgers in fall 2001.
Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis head coach Ron Hunter, another former UW-M assistant, showed interest in the position when it became available but has recently taken his name out of the running.
UW-M finished the 2004-'05 season with a 26-6 record. The Panthers won the Horizon League regular season and tournament titles, and made a surprise run to the Sweet Sixteen, where they fell to Illinois. Despite losing Horizon League Player of the Year Ed McCants, the Panthers return much of their squad for next season, including star forward Joah Tucker.
