Since almost nothing came out of Bill Cords’ Thursday news conference, Marquette basketball news once again must come from unofficial outlets.

The biggest development in recent days came Thursday night, as CBSSports.com’s Gary Parrish reported that Shaka Smart is not coming to Marquette. Parrish’s claim was quickly confirmed by both ESPN’s Jeff Goodman and Paint Touches’ Mark Strotman. Parrish also referred to the now infamous “done deal” phrasing coined by Brew City Ball’s Jim Ganzer in his false report of the Smart hire as “inaccurate and premature.”

Smart’s elimination as a candidate ends almost four days of speculation that spiraled out of control Monday, when several local sports reporters claimed that Marquette would hire Smart. Although Smart was almost certainly offered the position, Bill Cords could not confirm or deny that Marquette had contacted Smart in Thursday’s news conference. As Anonymous Eagle pointed out Friday, Smart’s public rejection of the position was easily avoidable.

Another recurring storyline in the coaching saga is the presence of a mystery candidate still active in the NCAA Tournament as of the Sweet 16. Names like Cuonzo Martin of Tennessee and Tony Bennett of Virginia have surfaced on Twitter with no major substantiation taking hold.

OnMilwaukee.com sports editor Jim Owczarski made an interesting point about the potential mystery candidate that not enough people are considering. The candidate does not have to be a head coach. In fact, with such high profile coaches remaining in the field, it’s almost more likely that the mystery candidate is an assistant coach.

Some names that jump out are longtime Wisconsin assistant Greg Gard, LaVall Jordan from Michigan and Virginia’s Jason Williford. They would join the only other assistant coach to come up in rumors for the opening from a reputable source, Syracuse’s Mike Hopkins.