The search for a new Penn State basketball coach continues, and a day after East Carolina's Jeff Lebo was implicated as a possibility for the job by ESPN.com's Andy Katz, it appears another possible candidate is coming to the forefront. Jim Boylen, a former assistant to Tom Izzo at Michigan State is "in the mix" according to Mark Brennan of Fight On State.
%20#fcfcfc;padding:20px;%7D%20p.bbpTweet%7Bbackground:#fff;padding:10px%2012px%2010px%2012px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px%20!important;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5px%7D%20p.bbpTweet%20span.metadata%7Bdisplay:block;width:100%;clear:both;margin-top:8px;padding-top:12px;height:40px;border-top:1px%20solid%20#fff;border-top:1px%20solid%20#e6e6e6%7D%20p.bbpTweet%20span.metadata%20span.author%7Bline-height:19px%7D%20p.bbpTweet%20span.metadata%20span.author%20img%7Bfloat:left;margin:0%207px%200%200px;width:38px;height:38px%7D%20p.bbpTweet%20a:hover%7Btext-decoration:underline%7Dp.bbpTweet%20span.timestamp%7Bfont-size:12px;display:block%7D</style>%20<div%20class='bbpBox73850180423786499'><p%20class='bbpTweet'>STAR%20SEARCH:%20@<a%20class=%22tweet-url%20username%22%20href=%22http://twitter.com/FightOnState%22%20rel=%22nofollow%22>FightOnState</a>%20editor%20@<a%20class=%22tweet-url%20username%22%20href=%22http://twitter.com/MarkXBrennan%22%20rel=%22nofollow%22>MarkXBrennan</a>%20says%20former%20MSU%20asst%20Jim%20Boylen%20in%20mix%20for%20<a%20href=%22http://twitter.com/search?q=%23PennState%22%20title=%22#PennState%22%20class=%22tweet-url%20hashtag%22%20rel=%22nofollow%22>#PennState</a>%20MBB%20HC%20job%20-%20<a%20href=%22http://goo.gl/WcVkN%22%20rel=%22nofollow%22>http://goo.gl/WcVkN</a><span%20class='timestamp'><a%20title='Thu%20May%2026%2020:37:09%20+0000%202011'%20href='http://twitter.com/#!/PlaybookMark/status/73850180423786499'>less%20than%20a%20minute%20ago</a>%20via%20web%20<a%20href='http://twitter.com/intent/favorite?tweet_id=73850180423786499'><img%20src=){kind=link}
STAR SEARCH: @FightOnState editor @MarkXBrennan says former MSU asst Jim Boylen in mix for #PennState MBB HC job - http://goo.gl/WcVkNless than a minute ago via web 
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Penn State Football
PlaybookMark
The article is behind FOS' pay wall, so you'll have to go there for more from Brennan, but we'll you what we can about Boylen after the jump.
Boylen was the head coach at Utah from 2008-2011. He went 18-15 in his first year with the Utes and led them to a five seed in the NCAA Tournament with a 24-10 campaign in 2009 where they fell to Arizona in the first round. Two straight losing seasons, however, got him fired this past spring and he's now on the market.
You can check out his Ken Pomeroy profile here.
Boylen also has professional experience. He worked as an assistant with the Houston Rockets between 1992-2003 where he was a member of two championship squads. Additionally, He spent time with the Golden State Warriors and Milwaukee Bucks before jumping on board with Izzo and the Spartans in 2005.
If Boylen is a real contender, he likely won't have to deal with East Carolina coach Jeff Lebo, who issued a joint press release with the school today.
Despite speculation from various national media reports, East Carolina coach Jeff Lebo confirmed Thursday that he hasn't been contacted about coaching vacancies at any other institutions.
"My family and I are very happy at East Carolina and I am committed to continuing to build the basketball program here," Lebo reiterated.
"We made great strides this past season and I'm looking forward to the upcoming season" he added, to bring closure to the situation.
The possibility of a Lebo hire seemed very unpopular on the message boards in the 24 hours or so he was rumored to be a candidate, so this will likely come as welcome news to a number of people following the search out there.
Stay tuned to BSD for all the latest developments in the coaching search.