Portland vs Memphis

Damon Stoudamire, pictured above during his time as a Memphis Grizzlies assistant coach, is a candidate for OSU's men's basketball vacancy.

(Jamie Francis/The Oregonian)

Arizona men's basketball assistant Damon Stoudamire had a preliminary phone conversation Monday morning with Oregon State athletic director Bob De Carolis about the Beavers' open head coaching job, multiple sources have confirmed with The Oregonian.

At this point, Stoudamire and former UCLA coach Ben Howland are the only candidates known to have spoken with De Carolis about the position. Howland began discussing the opening with De Carolis shortly after OSU announced the firing of Craig Robinson early last week.

Stoudamire, 40, is a former Wilson High School star who logged eight seasons with the hometown Trail Blazers. A year after finishing his playing career in 2008, Stoudamire spent a couple seasons as a Memphis Grizzlies assistant. He then emerged as a trusted recruiter with the Memphis Tigers before returning to his alma mater last May.

Stoudamire could offer De Carolis an affordable option should OSU decide Howland, who has been to four Final Fours and was due a reported $3.5 million when UCLA fired him in March 2013 after 10 seasons, is too expensive. Stoudamire would accept the Beavers job for an annual salary of less than $800,000, a source said.

According to the job listing posted on OSU's official web site, "full consideration" of candidates will be made by Wednesday. Applications will not be considered after Friday.

-- Connor Letourneau | @ConnOregonian