Johns Hopkins coach John Haus, who is trying to guide the Blue Jays to their 29th consecutive NCAA tournament after the school's worst start in 34 years, has dismissed speculation that he could become the next coach at North Carolina.
Haus, who took his first head coaching job at Hopkins in 1998 and signed a five-year contract extension there a year later, has talked with Tar Heels officials about the opening that will occur when Dave Klarmann steps down after this season.
Haus played the talks, saying they represented more of a "chat" than a job interview. Hopkins athletic director Tom Calder said he granted Carolina permission to talk to Haus last fall.
"John has talked with North Carolina, and I've talked to John. He's very happy with his situation at Hopkins," said Calder, who added that he plans to approach Haus next year about another contract extension.
Haus' ties to North Carolina -- he was a two-time All-America defenseman with the Tar Heels in 1982 and 1983 and part of two national championship teams -- have prompted speculation within collegiate lacrosse circles that Haus is headed back to Chapel Hill.
"There's nothing to any of that. I'd rather not talk about that at all," Haus said. "I'm with these 36 kids at Hopkins, and that's what's important to me. I'm the head lacrosse coach at Johns Hopkins, and I'm here to stay, I hope."
Haus laughed, alluding to the pressure that comes with running the show on the Homewood campus.
The Blue Jays, who advanced to the Final Four in Haus' inaugural season and were highly touted coming into 2000, stumbled through their first 1-3 start since 1966. They have since rallied with three consecutive victories to post a winning record for the first time this year.
With a challenging four-game stretch ahead that includes Saturday night's showdown with visiting Maryland and the regular-season finale at Loyola on May 6, Hopkins is facing the possibility of missing the NCAAs for the first time since 1971.
Dick Baddour, North Carolina's athletic director, did not return phone calls.
Terps' close calls
Saturday's game at Homewood figures to be a low-scoring affair, since neither team has lighted up the scoreboard much this spring. It also figures to be close, since Maryland always seems to play that way.
By taking a big step toward getting an NCAA bid with last week's 6-5 win over Navy, the Terps won their fourth game this year by a goal. They also have lost a one-goal decision to Duke. The five one-goal games tie a single-season record set in 1989.
