Just hours following the loss in the NCAA Tournament to Florida, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's basketball head coach Rob Jeter received a call from an old friend.

It was the athletic director from Iowa State University, Jamie Pollard, who worked at the University of Wisconsin as associate athletic director while Jeter was an assistant coach.

Pollard informed Jeter that he was one of two coaches being considered to replace Wayne Morgan, the head coach who was fired following a Big 12 opening round loss to Oklahoma State University. The Cyclones weren't invited to play in either the NCAA Tournament or the National Invitational Tournament, so Pollard took the opportunity to make a fresh start.

The other candidate for the head coaching job was Greg McDermott, leader of a Northern Iowa team that made the NCAA Tournament three consecutive years. McDermott's Panthers were bounced from the tournament in the first round by the Georgetown Hoyas.

McDermott was being considered for the job not only for that, but also for his strong recruiting ties in the state of Iowa.

When the time came for Iowa State to make an offer, it signed McDermott.

In an e-mail to the Post, Pollard said, "We felt his ties to the State of Iowa made him a better fit for our job at this time."

Coach Jeter would have been offered the job if McDermott didn't work out for ISU.

Even if ISU wanted to hire Jeter, they would have had to shell out $900,000 to the university as part of the buyout clause since Jeter was in his first year.

However, ISU insists that it wasn’t about the money.

“The $900,000 was no factor,” Pollard told the Des Moines Register.

Athletic Director Bud Haidet didn't take any chances. Following McDermott's signing, Haidet signed Jeter to a contract extension through 2013.

For the present, Rob Jeter will be the head coach of the UWM Panthers. As Jamie Pollard said, "He is a rising star in the profession."

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