Can't say I was the least bit shocked when I heard earlier this afternoon that Michigan fired coach Tommy Amaker. Amaker inherited a mess when he took over for Brian Ellerbe six seasons ago, but he underachieved in never leading the Wolverines to the NCAA tournament. This year, Michigan finished 22-13 and lost in the second round of the NIT despite having one of the most veteran teams in the big six conferences.

I was asked on the radio the other day whether Marquette coach Tom Crean was a possible Amaker replacement. I said the university would be wise to pursue him, but it's an extreme longshot he would come to Michigan. Crean's got a great situation at Marquette, and the Wolverines would have to pony up a lot of money — and make a lot of promises of upgrading the program — to lure him away. I don't see that happening.

A few more realistic names to consider are Butler coach Todd Lickliter, who led the Bulldogs to a five seed this year and previously served two seasons as an assistant at Eastern Michigan; UNLV coach Lon Kruger, who spent four seasons at Illinois before jumping to the NBA in 2000; and Washington State coach Tony Bennett, who says he's committed to the Cougars but could be lured back to the Midwest near his Wisconsin roots. All three are solid X and O guys who might be able to rejuvenate one of college basketball's best brand names.

Bennett and Lickliter would seem to have the most to lose by leaving — Washington State has only three seniors on its roster and Butler returns junior guards A.J. Graves and Mike Green, while UNLV graduates four starters — and whoever takes over will have a sales job to do to keep Michigan's current talent on board. Rumors were rampant during the season that Ekpe Udoh was looking to transfer, and as a courtesy Michigan will have to let recruits Manny Harris and Alex Legion out of their letters of intent if they wish. Regardless, the decision to go in a different direction was best for the program and all parties involved.