West Virginia president David Hardesty left open the possibility Friday that the school would make another run at Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins when he said that Huggins' name would resurface in the job search.

He said that Huggins' name had already resurfaced on campus during his walk to the news conference announcing Dan Dakich's decision to return to Bowling Green a week after taking the job. Huggins turned the job down to his alma mater last month prior to the Final Four after meeting with Hardesty and athletic director Ed Pastilong. Huggins, who went to West Virginia, would likely be a reach for the Mountaineers, though.

Instead, Pastilong said the search will be exhaustive again and he's not in a rush. Pastilong wouldn't rule out assistant coaches, and Hardesty said it's important to find the right fit. He said he thought Dakich was the right fit, but maybe in the end, he wasn't based on his decision -- a decision that stunned West Virginia.

ESPN.com spoke to a few top assistants and head coaches who would have been interested in the job last month, but are now scared away by the potential for NCAA sanctions if the alleged violation involving a current player's amateur status proves correct. Dakich didn't find out about the violation until talking to players, which also is causing concern among prospective candidates.

The school had already been rebuffed by then-Kent State coach Stan Heath, who took the Arkansas job, and didn't draw enough interest from Southern Illinois' Bruce Weber or then Tennessee Tech coach Jeff Lebo, now at Chattanooga. Pastilong did interview Connecticut assistant Dave Leitao, West Virginia native and North Carolina assistant Doug Wojcik, and Georgetown assistant Ronnie Thompson.

Former Bowling Green choices -- Hampton coach Steve Merfeld and Ohio State assistant Paul Biancardi -- would also be natural choices for West Virginia.

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.