By now, you're surely aware of the ESPN.com report that the Los Angeles Lakers plan to gauge Kevin Ollie's interest in their head coaching job, now that Mike D'Antoni has resigned. It was inevitable -- and, in fact, something that's been rumored for a while now, before D'Antoni left the position. And it will be something we'll be hearing a lot more of, not just in respect to the Lakers but Oklahoma City, the Knicks, maybe even the Celtics at some point.

As I discussed with Paul Nanos this afternoon on 979 ESPN Radio, I don't think Kevin Ollie's going anywhere. At least not yet. Just as Shabazz Napier said following the championship parade a few weeks ago, and Ollie essentially agreed.

For one, the Lakers aren't exactly an ideal landing spot right now. There's the Kobe Bryant drama, and the prospect that the team could be in a rebuilding phase for the next few years. A more likely scenario might be the Thunder, where Kevin Durant is an unabashed fan. But they have a coach, they're in the playoffs, and if they have any semblance of success in the playoffs, they probably won't fire Scott Brooks.

Plus, remember, Ollie could have taken a job with the Thunder after he retired from playing four years ago. Instead, he decided to come home to become Jim Calhoun's assistant (and, for all intents and purposes, UConn's coach-in-waiting). The man values his family life in Glastonbury, where his son, Jalen, is a senior in high school who'll attend prep school next year and his daughter will be beginning high school in a couple of years. Hard to believe he'd want to leave for the Midwest or West Coast ... yet.

From that perspective, the Knicks or Celtics would make a lot more sense. But seems the Knicks are intent on Steve Kerr, and the Celtics aren't about to give up on Brad Stevens ... yet. Check back in a couple of years on that one.

And don't forget, Ollie has preached loyalty from the time he returned to UConn. He's gone out of his way numerous times praising the players -- Napier, Niels Giffey, Tyler Olander, etc. -- who could have bolted the program after the postseason tourney ban was announced but remained loyal to the program. It's hard to believe Ollie would leave so quickly, no matter what kind of money the NBA could throw his way.

And make no mistake, the NBA can throw a lot more money Ollie's way than Warde Manuel ever could. (Through a spokesman, Manuel has said that there is "no update" on any contract extension talks with Ollie to this point). But remember: Ollie would have about as iron-clad grip on a job as any coach in the country would have in college basketball, what with a national title on his resume after just two seasons on the job. It's hard to imagine a scenario where Ollie would or could lose his job at UConn any time soon.

The shelf life for an NBA coach, on the other hand, is a lot shorter. Go through a couple of losing seasons, particularly in New York or L.A., and they'll be calling for your head. What's a more attractive financial future: making, say, $3 million a year for what could be 15, 20, 25 more years, or making $6-7 million a year with the prospect of getting canned lurking at the end of any disappointing season? Sure, Ollie could become the next Gregg Poppovich or Doc Rivers. But for every Poppovich or Rivers, there are dozens of guys who only last a couple years as head coach.

And let's also remember: if Ollie were to leave UConn now, he'd have to pay about a $2.5 million buyout.

Kevin Ollie may well wind up head coach of the Lakers or Thunder or Knicks or Celtics or who knows who else. I just don't see it happening now. Not yet.

I've been hearing a lot all day about the matchups in tonight's national championship game. Can Ronald Nored shut down Kemba Walker? Who matches up with Matt Howard? Can the Huskies control the boards? Who matches up with Jeremy Lamb? Can UConn stop Shelvin Mack?

It all makes nice conversation, and certainly some of it bears watching. But in a game like this, with history on the line, I more or less throw the matchups out the window. I look at tonight's game more like this: Will Kemba be denied? And, with all due respect to Brad Stevens, is he really the coach who stands in the way of Jim Calhoun being added to college basketball's coaching Mount Rushmore?

I don't think so, on either count.

I like the Huskies tonight. I think Butler will put up a good fight, and is more than capable of winning. But I don't think it will. I think UConn wins its third national title.

There's a quiet confidence about this team right now. Not cockiness, just supreme confidence, beyond its years. I think the Huskies legitimately respect Butler as a very tough opponent. But I also think they realize that something very special is right there for the taking, and it's hard to bet against guys like Walker and Calhoun.

UConn, 67-63.

Greetings from Reliant Stadium, a giant monolith right next door to the old Astrodome. Not much else in this vast city is right next door to each other, but these two structures are.

We'll have some notes 'n quotes from UConn and Kentucky's interview sessions later this afternoon. For now, here are some relevant numbers surrounding this year's Final Four:

2,900: The championship game will be the 2,900th all-time game in the NCAA tourney.

68: Jim Calhoun's age.

68: Combined age of Butler's Brad Stevens and VCU's Shaka Smart.

66: Age of Kansas's Phog Allen when he won the NCAA title in 1952. Calhoun would surpass him as the oldest if Huskies win it all.

41: Number of games UConn (or VCU) will have played if either reaches the national finals, most by any team since Oregon played 45 in 1945.

32: Age of Bob Knight when he took Indiana to 1973 Final Four -- youngest of any coach born before 1972 (Stevens and Smart are second and third).

26: Accumulated seeds of this year's Final Four, most ever. Previous high was 22 in 2000 (No. 1 Michigan State, No. 5 Florida, No. 8 North Carolina, No. 8 Wisconsin).

14: Final Four appearances by Kentucky.

7: National championships for Kentucky, second only to UCLA.

4: Final Four appearances by UConn and Jim Calhoun.

3: Final Four appearances by John Calipari, with three different teams.

2: Final Four appearances by Butler; national titles for UConn.

1: "Official" Final Four appearances by Calipari. His first two were vacated by the NCAA.