But it wasn't until Teague called Donovan earlier this week that Pitino emerged as a serious candidate.
"He asked me who do I know; someone who is maybe not on the radar, someone who was young and hungry," Donovan told The Associated Press in a phone interview.
Florida Gulf Coast's Enfield was mentioned, but he was already negotiating with USC.
"One guy you need to talk to," Donovan told Teague, "is Richard Pitino."
Donovan and Teague have developed a strong relationship dating to Teague's days at VCU. The first basketball coach Teague worked with there was Anthony Grant, a former assistant for Donovan. When Grant left for Alabama, Teague went to another Donovan assistant in Smart, who has emerged as one of the hottest young coaches in the country.
"I told him, 'If you don't hire him now, you're going to hear from him three, four, five years from now and say, 'I had a chance to hire this guy,'" Donovan said.
