Virginia Commonwealth athletic director Norwood Teague has Auburn basketball coach Jeff Lebo on his short list of candidates to replace Anthony Grant, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Grant was hired to be Alabama's head coach yesterday, agreeing to a contract that will pay him around $2 million a season.

So what to make of all this? Well, it's Saturday morning, and the athletic complex is generally vacant this time of the week, so any kind of comment regarding the situation might be tough to get today.

These questions have to be asked:

Q: What's the connection?
A: Teague is a 1988 North Carolina graduate who later worked in the athletic department for some time. Lebo, as you may have heard a time or two, starred at North Carolina from 1986-89.

Q: Who else is on the list?
A: Glad you asked. Here's it is:

• VCU assistant Tony Pujol (0 years head coaching experience)
• Florida assistant Shaka Smart (0 years head coaching experience)
• Texas assistant Russell Springmann (0 years head coaching experience)
• Lebo (11 years head coaching experience, 80-76 record in five years at Auburn)

Q: Huh?
A: Exactly. One of these things is not like the other. Lebo doesn't fit the profile of coaches VCU has gone after in the past (Grant, Jeff Capel), up-and-coming assistants who are going to shine for a couple years and move on to something bigger.

I've got to think this is just an old friend helping Lebo leverage a better contract. That's how the game is played. Remember, Lebo's only making $785,00 a year. That doesn't look so hot in the wake of Grant's $2 million a year windfall. Otherwise, this doesn't make much sense. Auburn is one year away from moving into a plush, new arena. VCU, while a good mid-major, doesn't have nearly the facilities Auburn will in a year. Plus, Lebo would be moving from the SEC to the Colonial Athletic Association. Not a step up.

There's also the matter of the buyout on Lebo's contract, which goes through 2013. It would cost $1.5 million for him to get out of it. That's a lot of cash for a school like VCU to pony up, considering it was only paying Grant $700,000 a year.

I can't imagine this goes anywhere, but we'll stay on top of it. The VCU AD said he wants someone in place by Thursday, so if anything happens, it will be quick.