Now Holder is trying to recruit a men's basketball coach. Target No. 1, blue-chip prospect Bill Self, chose Kansas. Holder said you get "no" more often than "yes" in the recruiting game.

"I've had my heart set on a lot of great players through the years that I didn't get and somehow persevered and you never know who's the chosen one for you," Holder said. "I hope that's what we end up with at the end of the search."

Who will be the chosen one? Holder said his No. 1 priority is finding a coach who will be a "good fit" and run a clean program.

"We don't want to cheat," he said. "We want to go by the rules. Integrity is important to us and (so is) graduating players and dis cipline. We want a disciplined program. We want something that our fans can be proud of and then we want a coach that can relate to our fan base, which is kind of salt of the earth people.

"We are out here in the middle of the United States and it's good folks. Most of us aren't real sophisticated, me included, so I want someone that can be embraced by our fan base."

Self would have fit in all categories. He is a successful, popular alum whose arrival would have sparked jubilation.

Though many people say Holder marches to the beat of a different drum, he is apparently not a solo act in regard to the search. He has actively sought input from others when doing background work on potential candidates.

"I sat here and told everybody in that original press conference (when Sean Sut ton's departure was announced) that I don't know anything about coaching basketball and I don't really know basketball coaches personally," he said.

"So it wouldn't be good for me to just sit back and try to pick someone. I need to talk to people that I have confidence in that can tell me where I should be looking and who is a good fit for us."

Holder's research mission led him to the Final Four in San Antonio, where there were plenty of hoops brains ripe for the picking.

"I didn't talk to very many coaches there," he said. "I talked to mostly people in the business, and it's a big business. I just wanted to find out about the coaches as individuals, what type of people they were. Everyone I talked to, I learned something."

On Friday, Holder denied a CBSSportsline.com report that an OSU official, or someone representing the school, approached Washington State's Tony Bennett in San Antonio. The report said Bennett was asked if he would consider a big-money offer from OSU if Self stayed at KU. The Web site, citing anonymous sources, reported Bennett was not interested.

Also Friday, a Tennessee media outlet reported that OSU has not contacted Vanderbilt for permission to speak with Kevin Stallings.

Holder, who is not identify ing prospects, is continuing to gather information and even asked Self for a few names.

Holder indicated he will not be talking to agents or search firms. He wants to deal with candidates rather than mouthpieces for candidates.

When asked if he is confident OSU can land a good coach, Holder said, "I think this is a great job, so sure. Only time will tell and then it will be up to everyone to evaluate the quality of the individual that comes in here."

Holder said everybody will have an opinion when a hiring is announced.

"But the real proof in the pudding will be eight years down the road when you look at the body of work," he said. "And just because somebody has been successful at another place doesn't mean they are going to be successful here. I always felt like that a lot of things conspired to make me successful as a golf coach at Oklahoma State and you couldn't necessarily put me at another university in another location and have the same kind of success."

Holder told one additional golf story that relates to his current predicament.

When he came to OSU to try out for the golf team many years ago, he said the golf coach said, "you are a pretty good player, but you putt like you are shooting a shotgun. It's more like a rifle."

The coach said it many more times and Holder couldn't quite grasp the concept. Now he understands.

"Basically the (message) was I needed to be a lot better putter and I needed to focus on the target better and not just the general direction and that's kind of the approach I am going to take on this coaching search," Holder said Thursday.

"I haven't figured out what the target is yet. I am gathering information. But I would like to use a rifle when I make up my mind."

Jimmie Tramel 581-8389
jimmie.tramel@tulsaworld.com

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On Friday, OSU athletic director Mike Holder denied a cbssportsline.com report that someone representing the school approached Washington State coach Tony Bennett, who was not interested in the vacancy.

Also, a Tennessee media outlet reported OSU has not contacted Vanderbilt for permission to speak with Kevin Stallings.