BOULDER - When Nuggets assistant Mike Dunlap ended his candidacy for the University of Colorado men's basketball vacancy earlier this month, his boss, George Karl, offered this rationale:

"I think he wanted to get out of the Colorado job just because it could get messy and ugly. I don't think he really wants it. I think he wants to be with us. That's my feeling."

In case you've changed channels while CU's five-month coaching search continues, the process appears to have slumped to the unsavory levels - "messy and ugly" - Karl believed Dunlap foresaw before his abrupt withdrawal.

Kind of makes you want to get your hands on Dunlap's crystal ball.

CU athletic director Mike Bohn told staffers earlier this week that Air Force coach Jeff Bzdelik remains the Buffaloes' top choice but added there is "a list" of other candidates, whom he wouldn't identify, to replace Ricardo Patton.

Since Bzdelik's name surfaced in late October as a potential candidate, Bohn steadfastly has indicated CU would take the high road and let Bzdelik do his work at the academy, uninterrupted by the Buffs. But Air Force athletic director Hans Mueh apparently believes the only way Bohn winds up on the high road is if he's lost.

Since Bohn's briefing, Air Force - by advancing to the National Invitation Tournament semifinals next week - once again has shifted CU's search into neutral. And Mueh has branded Bohn and his bunch, well, shifty.

Wednesday, when the Falcons edged DePaul 52-51 in the NIT quarterfinals and earned a trip to Madison Square Garden to play Clemson on Tuesday, Mueh told the Boulder Daily Camera and The (Colorado Springs) Gazette that CU already has contacted Bzdelik "numerous times, which is a little annoying to me, to be honest with you, and it's a little annoying to him."

Mueh gave CU permission to speak with Bzdelik and said he would do that for any school interested in Bzdelik. But, he added, "at that point, I would hope the programs would be smart enough to at least wait until this coach is done doing what he's doing for us. And that hasn't happened."

Bohn, meanwhile, maintains CU has dealt professionally with all its coaching candidates - the total is a mystery - and has observed proper protocol. But CU, which knew Oct. 25 it would have a men's hoops vacancy, now is the only Division I school on the Front Range that hasn't hired a coach.

And, it should be added, the only school among Colorado State, Wyoming and the University of Denver - throw in New Mexico, if you wish - willing to wait to formally interview Bzdelik, whose "hot commodity" status probably would have been retained even if the Falcons had not reached the NIT semifinals.

CU obviously believes it can land Bzdelik, who signed a new five-year contract after last season and insists he isn't seeking another job.

But here's the rub, and in this case, there are enough of them to constitute a cheap massage: So much about this scenario doesn't make sense.

Even if CU was getting antsy, maybe even panicky, about the Falcons extending their season and, therefore, delaying the Buffs' process, why jeopardize the process with premature contact that could prove to be a deal breaker?

If Bzdelik genuinely is interested in relocating to Boulder, he still has been in Colorado long enough to recognize the CU men's hoops job for what it is - a nationally recognized project in a conference where upward mobility is difficult. (Don't even start with the Texas A&M argument; we're talking different worlds.)

If you're Bzdelik, who seems to have been completely above board and honest with his players during months of speculation about his future, why blow the whistle on the Buffs - perhaps your future employer - and acknowledge to Mueh you've been a "little annoyed" by an alleged early flirtation?

Of course, that's Mueh's version, which, like Bohn's assurances that protocol has been preserved, is virtually unverifiable. And Bzdelik, who has his mind on his team and Madison Square Garden, isn't about to confirm either story and be caught in this web.

In time, meaning at some point next week when the Falcons return from New York, Bzdelik and Bohn likely will engage in that long-awaited face- to-face meeting.

Or if I'm Bzdelik and truly have been peeved at CU's alleged advances, does the meeting even occur? Instead, do I meet with Mueh, who insists Bzdelik is content, reassess life at the academy and reaffirm my commitment?

With no choice now but to wait it out, Bohn might want to keep his shortlist handy and try to consult Dunlap's crystal ball - just to determine whether messy and ugly remain in the forecast.

brooksb@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5466