PUR – More names surface in Puerto Rico coaching hunt

SAN  JUAN (FIBA Americas Championship) - Add former boss Julio Toro to the list of men Puerto Rico are considering for their vacant national team coaching post.

The Puerto Rican tactician was famously at the helm of the side at the 2004 Athens Olympics that upset the United States on the opening day of the tournament.

He met with the country's basketball federation evaluation committee on Monday.

"I am proud that I was interviewed and that they thought about me as I thought they already had in mind a foreign coach at all costs," said Toro, who led Puerto Rico from 1999 to 2006.

"They spoke about their concerns and I gave them my ideas. It was a good talk."

For those who believed they would not see Toro at the helm again after he stepped down following the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan, he said: "If it is for your country, one always leaves the door open.”

Most of those up for consideration are foreign coaches and on Monday, the evaluation committee also spent two hours interviewing former NBA coach Eric Musselman.

Los Angeles Lakers assistant Jim Cleamons, former Wake Forest University and University of South Carolina coach Dave Odom, ex-Brazil boss Moncho Monsalve and Spain's 2008 Olympic coach Aito Garcia-Reneses have all had talks with the evaluation committee.

Puerto Rico had reached an agreement with ex-NBA and current Louisville Cardinals coach Rick Pitino to lead the national team but the NCAA would not allow his college side to train in another US state or territory.

Pitino had wanted to hold Louisville workouts in Puerto Rico.

The Puerto Ricans, coached by Manolo Cintron from 2007 until last year’s FIBA World Championship, will play at the FIBA Americas Championship in Argentina this summer.

FIBA