FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) – Bill Herrion, a new assistant on Arkansas basketball coach Stan Heath’s staff, is being courted by the University of New Hampshire for its head-coaching job.

The New Hampshire Union Leader reported Saturday that Herrion, a former head coach at Drexel and East Carolina, had been offered the New Hampshire job.

The newspaper said Herrion visited the New Hampshire campus in Durham last week, and was deciding if he should accept an offer from Wildcats athletic director Marty Scarano or stay at Arkansas.

Herrion, 47, was hired as a Razorbacks assistant by Heath on April 18 to fill a vacancy created by Rob Flaska’s departure to become Centenary’s head coach.

Herrion coached Drexel to a 167-71 record in eight seasons, including three NCAA Tournament appearances. At East Carolina, he had a 70-98 record, and was fired last year after his team went 9-19.

Herrion said at a news conference after being hired at Arkansas that he was looking forward to helping the Razorbacks return to the NCAA Tournament and that it wouldn’t be a tough adjustment being an assistant coach.

“This is coaching. This is basketball,” Herrion said. “This is something that’s been in my blood since I’ve been a little kid. My dad was a coach. All I know is being in a gym. So, to me, coaching is coaching.”

Herrion, a native of Worcester, Mass., would be returning to his home area if he took the UNH job.

The Wildcats coaching post opened up when Phil Rowe resigned May 5 after six seasons and a 45-125 record, including 9-19 last season. New Hampshire has finished with a winning record just eight times since the 1951-52 season and the Wildcats most recent winning season was in 1994-1995, when they were 19-9.

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Information from: New Hampshire Union Leader, http://www.theunionleader.com

AP-ES-05-22-05 1558EDT