Gary Parrish

Many of the top basketball assistants in the country have convened in Portland this week for the Villa 7 Consortium.

What the hell is the Villa 7 Consortium, you ask?

(Good question)

It's an annual event designed to help assistants learn from and network with the athletic directors who might someday hire them. There was a 'Casino Night' n Tuesday night and the assistants will pop in and out of sessions all day Wednesday as various head coaches speak about the ins and outs of running their own program. Among the 50-to-60 assistants in attendance to this invitation-only event are Ohio State's John Groce, Texas' Russ Springmann, Ole Miss' Michael White, Kansas' Joe Dooley, Florida State's Stan Jones and Clemson's Shaka Smart.

"It's a great opportunity for a young guy like me to not only learn more about coaching but to also develop more contacts in the business," Smart said by phone from Portland. "It's just a great event."

Head coaches speaking Wednesday are Arizona State's Herb Sendek, Xavier's Sean Miller, Virginia's Dave Leitao and Miami's Frank Haith.