FAYETTEVILLE — Love the job but can I make a couple of suggestions ?

That’s the response Arkansas is likely to hear from established coaches as the school tries to fill its men’s basketball job, Jimmy Dykes said Tuesday.

Dykes, who lives in Springdale, carries a unique perspective on Arkansas’ situation because he grew up here, played for the Razorbacks and now works as an ESPN game analyst. He gets a behind-the-scenes look at programs in almost every conference and 1-on-1 time with their coaches.

Dykes said he senses that much of the appeal that made the job attractive in the past still exists. He called it one of the top 20 jobs in the country and perhaps top 15 because it’s been proven that a national championship can be won at Arkansas and the SEC is a major conference that has produced national titles at other schools.

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“Nationally it’s not a top eight or 10 job like it was in 1994 the last time Arkansas won the national championship, but it’s a top 15 or top 20 job,” Dykes said. “Most coaches are going to look at it with the potential or ability to make it a top 10 job or better than that.”

Not knowing who the coach’s boss will be a year from now shouldn’t be a drawback, Dykes said. Athletic Director Frank Broyles has announced he’s leaving his post at the end of the year.

Broyles has said he wants to hire an experienced, winning coach. That kind of coach should be strong enough in personality and confidence not to let the AD situation bother him, Dykes said.

The candidate profile Broyles has described is what Dykes calls a “power coach.” Whoever it is most likely will ask for a pricey practice facility and changes that would heighten Walton Arena’s game atmosphere, Dykes said.

“Those are the kind of ideas the guys they make a run at will bring in,” Dykes said.

Practice facilities have become trendy.

Florida opened its basketballonly building in 2001 and spent $ 10 million. That’s the low-end cost now. Kentucky spent $ 30 million on its expansive, stateof-the-art practice facility.

Dozens of other schools have built them, and Tennessee, SMU and Arizona State are in the process.

Such facilities can feature two full courts, men’s and women’s locker rooms, coaches offices and a weight room.

“If you don’t have that and you bring those top 50 recruits in, it’s starting to catch those kids’ eyes because they never have to share the floor,” Dykes said. “They have their own major weight room, a major-level everything.”

Arkansas doesn’t have one. The men’s and women’s teams practice in Walton Arena and don’t need a separate practice facility because they don’t share the arena with anybody, Broyles said.

“I think it would be the most ridiculous thought to even think of one, unless we’re going to close Walton Arena down and rent it out to concerts and conventions,” Broyles said. “Ours is full-time basketball.”

A new coach might also suggest changes that could enhance Arkansas’ home-court advantage, Dykes said.

“As beautiful and as great a facility as Bud Walton is, it’s a little outdated on game day because the students are not situated where they can impact that game,” Dykes said. “The music, how they go about everything from the pregame to the timeouts, a lot of those schools right now are doing something a little bit different.

“ I think Arkansas is going to have to listen to a new coach with new ideas on how to upgrade Bud Walton on game night.”

Many schools give students a huge section behind one goal, often the same end as the visitor’s bench. Arkansas allots a relatively small section behind press row for students.

An emerging trend at some of the highest-profile programs is to jazz up the timeouts with high-energy offerings that help the spirit squads keep fans involved.

“Michigan State, North Carolina, places like that, in timeouts they’re piping in music, blasting and blaring like NBA games and the place is going nuts,” Dykes said. “Small things like that can make a major impact on those home courts.”

Arkansas’ spirit squads perform during timeouts to music from the pep band, like those at many other schools.

The arena itself, fan support and tradition make Arkansas attractive. So too do the seven-man senior class that could make the Hogs the SEC favorite and the opportunity to recruit for those seven spots, Dykes said.

“You’re in a part of the country that although you don’t have a great home recruiting base you still have the state of Texas to go to,” Dykes said. “You’ve still got the South you can go into, Chicago.

“ I think in the last 10 years Northwest Arkansas just as a community has also made it more attractive for a head coach not only to live here but also to recruit. It’s a great college town, a great place to live.

“ If any coach called me and asked me, I would tell them that.”