Chris Mack Appears To Be Staying At Xavier

Mar 17, 2014; Dayton, OH, USA; Xavier Musketeers head coach Chris Mack takes question from the media before practice the day before the first round the NCAA Tournament at UD Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Xavier fans can breathe a sigh of relief, Chris Mack appears to be staying at Xavier.

Mack was strongly rumored to jump ship and leave Norwood, heading to Winston Salem, North Carolina to take over as the head coach at Wake Forest University. The Demon Deacons fired head coach Jeff Bzdelik following another disappointing season. Mack previously had been an assistant at Wake Forest under then head coach Skip Prosser.

Wake Forest now appears to be targeting Tulsa head coach Danny Manning to take over for the fired Bzdelik. Manning led Tulsa to the NCAA Tournament this season, a second round loss to UCLA sent the Golden Hurricanes home early.

Manning a former number one pick in the 1988 NBA Draft was an assistant under Bill Self at Kansas from 2002-2012 when he took the head coaching job at Tulsa. Manning turned around the Golden Hurricanes in two seasons. He is expected to inform Wake Forest if he will accept the job within the next 24 hours. Tulsa has banded together to offer Manning a nice financial package.

Tulsa currently plays in Conference USA, they will make a move to the American Athletic Conference in 2014. Wake Forest plays in the prestigious AAC, that could be the determining factor for Manning.

With Wake Forest focused on Manning it is safe to assume the Demon Deacons contacted Mack about the vacant head coaching job. According to a CBS report Wake Forest wanted Mack due to his strong relationship with influential boosters.

This is great news for the Xavier Musketeers who will have one of the best freshmen classes in the country for the 2014-2015 season. Mack has done good things at Xavier, it appears he wants to take the Musketeers to the next level.