Louisville seizes the prize in this round of star search.(Brief Article)

If we did not see it coming on that Sunday in September, when football season was kicking and Bob Knight was booted from the Indiana campus, we should have known when Rick Pitino declared himself America's most eligible coach four months later.

Their availability assured this year's coach-search season would not be about proven recruiting success, demonstrated work ethic or championships won.

It would be about celebrity.

Need a new coach?

Gotta have a "big name."

Rhode Island, accustomed to paying coaches barely 5 percent of what Pitino was paid with the Boston Celtics, made hiring him its first priority.

UNLV took a worthy shot at Pitino, then couldn't wean itself from its fixation with star quality. Duquesne, which bungled into dismissing three coaches in the past seven years, figured it could be a factor with Bobby Cremins. Upon moving out interim coach Brad Soderberg and the Dick Bennett system that produced more than half of the school's NCAA Tournament bids, Wisconsin thought it had a chance with Rick Majerus of Utah; Majerus is almost certain to excuse himself before the process gets serious.