University of Cincinnati Director of Athletics John Cunningham has aggressively begun his search for the school's next men's basketball coach.
Sources told The Enquirer that Cunningham on Saturday interviewed former UC point guard and longtime NBA player and assistant coach Nick Van Exel and former UC player and longtime West Virginia assistant Erik Martin.
UC Bearcats:Here's who could replace John Brannen as Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball coach
UCLA associate head coach Darren Savino is also believed to be on Cunningham's short list of possible candidates. Savino spent nine seasons as an assistant at Cincinnati under then-head coach Mick Cronin before the two moved to Los Angeles in April 2019.
Sources told The Enquirer that Cunningham had yet to speak with Savino as of Sunday morning.
Cunningham is looking to make a decision in a matter of "days not weeks," sources told The Enquirer.
Cunningham announced Friday that John Brannen had been relieved of his duties after two seasons as UC men's basketball coach. The announcement came two weeks after Cunningham said the university was conducting a review into unspecified allegations related to Brannen and the men's basketball program after six of Brannen's players entered the transfer portal.
Analyst: Former Bearcats back Erik Martin
Bearcats basketball radio color analyst Terry Nelson, who along with Martin and Van Exel helped lead Cincinnati to the Final Four in 1992 and the Elite Eight in 1993, told The Enquirer following Brannen's termination that former players are in support of Martin becoming the next head coach.
More:Ex-Cincinnati players speak out, want Erik Martin to be next UC men's basketball coach
"Nick (Van Exel) is working on his degree, so as Bearcats hoops alumni, we are promoting Erik Martin," he said. "Erik will bring Nick on staff so he can finish his degree by the summer and help with recruiting and all the other day-to-day operations."
Martin, who has spent the past 15 seasons as an assistant under Bob Huggins, the all-time winningest men's basketball coach in UC history, said it would be a "dream" to come back and coach at his alma mater.
"To be given the opportunity to coach at Cincinnati, what can I say? You can't put it into words," the 49-year-old Martin said. "I haven't been a head coach before, but I've been learning from a hall of famer and I've spent enough time with him, and he's spoken about some of the things that are a challenge at Cincinnati. I'm looking forward to having the opportunity to be that guy that leads the university."
Cunningham said Friday the university will "work quickly but judiciously in finding a new head coach."
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