Iowa State's T.J. Otzelberger, Alabama's Nate Oats address UNC coaching vacancy ahead of Sweet 16

CHICAGO -- The North Carolina coaching vacancy is arguably the biggest story in all of college basketball, even on the eve of the Sweet 16. The trio of Michigan's Dusty May, Iowa State's T.J. Otzelberger and Alabama's Nate Oats have been mentioned as logical targets for UNC's brass, and all three are in the Windy City this week, itching to book their tickets to the Final Four.

The messaging with Otzelberger has remained remarkably consistent. Even though Otzelberger has just a $4 million buyout, which pales compared to Oats' $18 million figure, the Iowa State head coach reiterated yet again that he plans to stay put. North Carolina did have Otzelberger on the short list, but he has rebuffed those advances.

"We're at Iowa State, we're thrilled to be Cyclones," Otzelberger said. "I know a lot of coaches get up here and say those types of things, and then you say, well, next week that changes. That doesn't change for us. We're Cyclones for the long haul. We're thrilled at the experience we've had up to this point, and we're excited for a future even better than the five years we've had. … There wouldn't be any other place in America I'd rather be than Iowa State."

In perhaps another example of alignment, Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard posted on X that "TJ is not going anywhere."

Pollard and Otzelberger were seen milling around the bowels of the United Center on Thursday. A similar script was unfolding on the opposite side of the basketball cathedral with Oats and Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne. 

"I'm not a guy that's trying to always jump around," Oats said. "The grass is not always greener. I love Alabama. My girls love Alabama. They're here with me. I love working with the administration that I work with. I think Greg Byrne is the best AD in the country. I love working with him. Would be great if I was able to work with him the rest of my career. They're doing everything they can to make sure that we've got a competitive program. And as long as we're able to compete to win championships here. National Championship, we haven't done that here yet. I'd love to be the coach to bring us our first National Championship. We got to a Final Four. To me, there's absolutely no reason to leave here. While it's flattering that a high school (coach) that caught a couple breaks would be mentioned with some of these jobs, because they've got a lot of tradition, I'm not a guy that's looking to get out of here anytime soon."

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While May was not directly asked about the UNC vacancy -- that will perhaps change later this week -- history can be important context. Two years ago, May picked Michigan over historic ACC powerhouse Louisville.

Why? May took the podium and delivered his version of a 95-mph heater on MLB's Opening Day.

"Well, first and foremost, my wife," May said. "She was always a big fan of Ann Arbor, the quality of life, everything that goes with the University of Michigan. And my family has always been a very important part of any decision that I've made, especially when you drag them around like I did chasing this dream. That's another reason why I don't get mad at these low-major guys trying to move up to the mid-major, because I was trying to do the same thing, and pride myself on not being hypocritical. But the opportunity to attract the best, the high-achieving people that have a desire to be around the brightest students, the best professors, the alumni base who's connected. I think Michigan is really unique. I'll tell you what we say in recruiting. We have what we feel is the academic profile of Stanford, with the passion of SEC football for our athletic department as a whole, and usually those two things aren't merged. So we're very proud that those two things are in great alignment at Michigan."

North Carolina is still looming. Tar Heels' brass wants to make a big swing, and May, Arizona's Tommy Lloyd and the Chicago Bulls' Billy Donovan are the biggest three names on the board. Otzelberger was on that tier but has seemingly removed himself from the running, while Oats is a bit further down the board.

For now, we wait. Oh, and play basketball.