ESPN Andy Katz Blog

Some quick hitters after nearly five hours of our coverage of Midnight Madness on Friday night on ESPNU:

• The Kentucky event was unprecedented. I'm not sure I've ever seen an entrance like John Calipari's at Kentucky. It was part Bono at a U2 concert and part President Barack Obama at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver. The hype over the Wildcats and their coach is something we've never seen before in college basketball. Calipari can handle the attention and is embracing it, but he also has said to me many times that his team will be young and inexperienced. So, we'll see how the populace handles some expected growing pains this season. I still think the Wildcats can make the Final Four, but there will definitely be losses in a rugged SEC East.

• I saw it Thursday at Cameron Indoor Stadium and then again during Duke's Midnight Madness event: Hall of Fame and Olympic coach Mike Krzyzewski is in as good a space as I've seen him in 20 years of covering the game.

• Cameron Indoor Stadium will have a different look this season with the graduate students taking hold of the end zones and the big boosters moving to more cushioned seats on the side. Duke has learned that the grad students are its most loyal student base and wanted to take care of them. Keep in mind these folks will also ultimately be the most influential as they move on to critical careers. Also, the fire marshal will be pleased with mandatory aisles that were being created with a coat of gray paint. In the past, if you were on the side bleachers, you had no shot to go to the bathroom during the game once you were sandwiched into the long rows of seats.

• Michigan State's Tom Izzo has figured everything out. He enjoys life, is intense with his job, but doesn't take himself too seriously. Last year, he wore a '70s outfit to celebrate the 30-year anniversary of the 1979 national title. This year, he came out in an Indy car because the Final Four is in Indianapolis. The Breslin Center had to close its doors at one point, as fans overcrowded the joint. The Michigan State fan base doesn't get enough credit for its annual passion for this program.

• The FedExForum had to shut its doors for Memphis' event, a first for the school and a celebration of first-year coach Josh Pastner. Pastner said he was overwhelmed with the interest. He has the hardest job of any first-year head coach this season, replacing Calipari. But the manner in which Calipari departed, by taking a number of the players, and with the vacated Final Four (pending Memphis' appeal) may give Pastner a longer leash in the short term.

Pastner is recruiting with the top programs in the country. If he can stay in the top three in Conference USA with some combination of upstarts Tulsa, UTEP and Houston, he should be even more celebrated on the court. Pastner said he had no issue easing into a more observational role during the double session of practice Saturday. He had been one of the grunt assistant coaches at Arizona and Memphis running stations. Now he was in charge, moving between both ends of the floor as his assistants handled the drills.

• North Carolina's John Henson is so slender but he continues to rise above the rest of his teammates. If Larry Drew II can pitch ahead the basketball as Roy Williams says, this team will be exceptionally difficult to defend on the break. If Drew can just get the ball near the basket, Henson, Ed Davis, Deon Thompson and Tyler Zeller -- the four big men who will likely get the most time -- can certainly snatch it and finish.

• Connecticut's event was festive Friday before tragedy struck early Sunday morning on campus with the fatal stabbing of football player Jasper Howard at a university-sponsored dance. The men's basketball team, like everyone else on campus, was stunned with the news. Many of the players, according to assistant coach Patrick Sellers, knew Howard. Sadness has covered the campus.

• UConn freshman forward Ater Majok suffered a stress fracture in his left tibia and is out of practice for a few weeks. Majok isn't eligible to compete until mid-December.

• Oregon State coach Craig Robinson has been waiting for freshman guard Roberto Nelson to be cleared to practice, but it didn't happen by the time practice started Friday. Getting paperwork has been a slow process, and while there doesn't seem to be a concern that Nelson won't be eligible, the process is certainly time consuming as documents get sent to the NCAA Eligibility Center.

• Georgetown coach John Thompson III is certainly changing the mood of the Hoyas. JT3 has lightened things considerably. He was a self-proclaimed huge Michael Jackson fan and didn't hesitate to don a white glove in honor of the King of Pop during the Hoyas' event Friday night.

• North Dakota State's Saul Phillips may never leave Fargo. The city and the school just give him too much material. He said the Bison were going to bring out during its madness event the famed wood chipper from the movie "Fargo" but they couldn't get anyone to go into it.

• Two teams I would have loved to watch their scrimmages but didn't get much of a glimpse of were Washington and Kansas. Both could play deep into March.

• Clemson's Oliver Purnell repelled down from the rafters at the Tigers' event. Purnell has settled in quite nicely at Clemson, producing a consistent winner. He is at ease in his surroundings at Clemson and continues to be a solid citizen in leading that program. Like Izzo, he has learned to not take himself too seriously.

• Give Roy Williams credit: It doesn't matter what occurred the previous spring because he'll dance with his Tar Heel players. Williams' ability to let loose allows him to connect with today's players.

Angel Garcia hasn't played a minute for Memphis since he arrived a year ago.

Yet, the news that he tore his ACL made headlines across the country, including on the front page of ESPN.com.

"I had never heard of the kid, I wasn't aware he was on the roster," Houston coach Tom Penders said. "[Former Memphis coach John Calipari] is a good friend of mine and he had never talked about him."

Meanwhile, the Tigers received two high-profile commitments for 2010-11 over the past few months -- one earlier in the summer from the top shooting guard on the ESPNU Top 100, Will Barton (Brewster Academy, Baltimore, Md.), and one last week on the same day as the Garcia injury, from the No. 5 point guard in the class, Joe Jackson (White Station High School, Memphis). And with each commitment the Tigers were the only headline from Conference USA.

"We don't announce commitments until they're signed," said Penders. Memphis didn't announce the commitments but the news, like many items about top players, tends to leak out.

The Calipari-less Tigers, now led by Josh Pastner in his first head-coaching gig, still are the team of record in Conference USA. It doesn't matter what they do, the news follows them. And nothing done by Houston, Tulsa or UTEP -- arguably the three schools that could make a strong case to be tabbed as favorites this season instead of Memphis -- seems to matter.

Tulsa was ranked No. 21 in my latest preseason top 25. Memphis was not ranked.

"They've done it, they've got stuff UTEP, Tulsa and Houston don't have and that doesn't bother me at all," Tulsa coach Doug Wojcik said of the Tigers' national recognition, NCAA tournament appearances, NBA arena and passionate fan base that does top the league.

"Nothing is going to change until something happens on the court," UTEP coach Tony Barbee said. "All of the news and the offseason articles [about Memphis], well none of that will change. Wins and losses change the perception."

Wojcik disagrees a bit. He said the publicity Tulsa received in the offseason has changed the perception of the Golden Hurricane. The word is out that Tulsa will likely be tabbed as the conference favorite.

"There's no doubt it has shifted for me a bit," Wojcik said. "But we've all got to go out and win some games in the nonconference. Memphis did play for the national title. You can't forget that."

Conference USA has had a serious image problem for the past few seasons. Memphis has dominated the conference the past three seasons, winning 58 straight league games. C-USA hasn't had multiple bids to the NCAA tournament since 2006, when UAB got in with Memphis, one year after the league lost marquee members Louisville, Cincinnati and Marquette to the Big East.

The conference could have done a better job of lobbying for its most marketable player in Tulsa senior center Jerome Jordan, a lock for the NBA first round. Jordan wasn't named one of the top 50 preseason Wooden Award candidates, something that befuddled Wojcik.

The change in thinking about Conference USA won't occur in the preseason. It might not happen until March. But it could happen in February if Tulsa can pull off an upset at Duke. Barbee said he likes the Duke game for Tulsa and Conference USA, but only if Tulsa wins.

Wojcik jumped at the chance to play at Cameron Indoor on Feb. 25 on ESPN. Wojcik, who was an assistant to Matt Doherty at North Carolina, knows the importance of playing in Durham late in the season. He said he wanted the experience for his seniors Jordan and Ben Uzoh.

"I love it, why not play that game in November, December, January or February?" Wojcik said. "It will give them a lifetime memory. That will be a huge RPI game for us, on national TV, and will prepare us for the tournament. I love that game."

He's right. Rarely do teams that are possibly on the bubble get a game like Tulsa's at Duke in late February. The BracketBusters event doesn't produce a matchup like that. Tulsa plays host to Oklahoma State, a likely NCAA team out of the Big 12 on Dec. 2, and based on the rest of the nonconference schedule the Cowboys might be the only NCAA-bound team the Golden Hurricane play prior to the Duke game.

Wojcik added the last piece to a team that won 25 games last season when Donte Medder joined the team. Through individual workouts Medder has been everything Wojcik hoped for with his "old-style game" and his strength at the point that allow Uzoh to move to shooting guard. Jordan Clarkson, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard out of San Antonio, the No. 63-ranked guard on ESPNU's list, is Wojcik's Joe Jackson-like recruit -- a potential game changer even though few outside of the region have noticed the commitment.

"[The changing perception] is not going to happen until someone else steps up on the national stage," Barbee said. "This is a high-level league and Tulsa and Houston have been a few wins away from getting over the hump. Someone else has to prove it. If you look at Memphis' roster they still have the talent to win the league."

While Pastner did add Duke guard Elliot Williams for this season after he was granted a waiver to play immediately due to an ailing relative in his hometown of Memphis, Pastner is quick to point out not everything has been going smoothly. The Tigers did lose expected frontcourt contributor Latavious Williams to an overseas contract. The Tigers will lean on Willie Kemp, Doneal Mack and Roburt Sallie, all returnees but none of them stars yet, to lead a depleted roster (eight scholarship players) this season.

Memphis' season isn't affected by the ruling by the NCAA's committee on infractions that its wins in the 2007-08 season, including the national finals appearance, had to be vacated for the use of an ineligible player (Derrick Rose). Of course that was a headline for weeks and deservedly so. But the Tigers are the team of record in Conference USA, regardless of what is occurring on the other contenders' campuses.

"All of this is a credit to what Coach Cal built at Memphis, making this an elite program," said Pastner, who worked one season for Calipari as an assistant. "We don't want there to be a drop-off. Our assistants are doing a super job in recruiting so far. We know this is a really good league and we want to be right there."

The Tigers do have four high-profile nonconference games that are leftovers from the Calipari era. Memphis will play Kansas in St. Louis on Nov. 17 in a rematch of the 2008 title game; play Tennessee on Dec. 31; are at Syracuse on Jan. 6; and host Gonzaga on Feb. 6.

"Josh has the toughest job in the country," Penders said. "There's no question he does. But he had to take the job [when Calipari went to Kentucky]. People forget about the Tic Price or Larry Finch stuff before Calipari. Memphis has had good players, but there is no Tyreke Evans or Derrick Rose. But I hope they are still good for all of us. We need them to be."

Putting Houston near the top of C-USA wouldn't be a reach, either. The backcourt of Aubrey Coleman and Kelvin Lewis averaged a combined 37 points a game last season. Sophomore point Desmond Wade was just the sixth freshman to reach triple digits in assists (113).

And Penders, never shy promoting his squad, said even Coleman and Lewis are being pushed for playing time by "the new guys." Penders was referring to JC transfers Adam Brown and Maurice McNeil. He said two freshmen, power forward Kirk Van Slyke and guard Nick Haywood, are impact players, too.

"We've got a lot of good pieces," Penders said. "I know how good we are. It's the best team we've had."

If that's the case then Houston needs to win games like its matchups against Oklahoma in the first round of the Great Alaska Shootout Nov. 26, against top-25 team Mississippi State at Hofheinz Pavilion on Dec. 19, and versus Sun Belt favorite Western Kentucky in Bowling Green, Ky., on Feb. 9.

The league finally moved the tournament out of Memphis and shifted it to Tulsa. The advantage is now for the Golden Hurricane.

"The chances are greater for getting more than one team in the tournament if someone else wins the league and Tulsa wins the playoffs," Penders said.

But if Conference USA is going to shake the news blackout outside of Memphis the change may come from UTEP. No player entering the league this season has had more written about him during his college career than Derrick Caracter, the much-maligned former Louisville center. Caracter will be eligible in mid-December. Caracter is now listed at 6-9, 275. Barbee said he arrived last January at 300 pounds.

"He's been the most impressive player I've ever seen skillwise in individual workouts," said Barbee, who was a Calipari assistant prior to getting the UTEP job in 2006. "He's been great the last two weeks."

Louisville coach Rick Pitino had issues with Caracter's conditioning. Barbee said that hasn't been a problem for him.

"Whether he's looking at this as a second chance or last chance, he's highly motivated right now," Barbee said.

Once Caracter is eligible, it will be hard to find a more imposing tandem of big men in the league than Caracter and 6-11, 240-pound Arnett Moultrie. Moultrie was a key big man for the gold medal-winning U.S. under-19 world championship team in New Zealand last July.

"[Moultrie] came back with the confidence I thought he would return with," Barbee said. "He's put on [nearly] 20 pounds. He knows he belongs."

Arizona State transfer wing Christian Polk, who Barbee said is playing with a bit of a chip, and the return of one of the more maligned backcourts in the country in Randy Culpepper and Julyan Stone give the Miners a possible C-USA championship lineup. The Miners did lose 24-point scorer Stefon Jackson off a 23-win team last season. But the newcomers and the returnees make the Miners a formidable option atop the league.

UTEP's schedule has the potential to produce power-rating points if Ole Miss (in Southhaven, Miss., on Dec. 16), Oklahoma (in Oklahoma City on Dec. 21) and BYU (Jan. 9) live up to expectations of being NCAA-bound teams.

Clearly, the rest of the league -- UAB, Southern Miss, Central Florida, Tulane, SMU, Rice, Marshall and East Carolina -- can't be in power-rating purgatory if the image is going to change this season.

The window is open for UTEP, Houston and Tulsa to grab the league from Memphis and make this a multiple-bid conference in March and ensure that there are headlines from the members other than the Tigers from January to March. If it doesn't happen this season, if these squads can't make themselves relevant now, then the league will have an even harder time convincing television executives that there is more to see here. The NCAA tournament selection committee will have the final say in March. But there are no gifts. The opportunity is now to earn the bids and make the news themselves.

Jeff Bzdelik likely would have gone to Minnesota had the offer come earlier in the summer.

He met with Timberwolves executive David Kahn in Las Vegas. The discussion was about making Bzdelik a top assistant coach to be the nuts and bolts inside, while whomever Kahn selected to be the head coach would be the face of the team. But the head-coaching search dragged for weeks and into August before Kahn selected Lakers assistant Kurt Rambis for the gig.

Bzdelik didn't wait for Kahn or Rambis or anyone else from the Timberwolves organization to make a play, if they were going to do so after the hire was official. He knew he had to renew his commitment to Colorado. He had invested too much the past two seasons with the Buffaloes, suffering through a 9-22 season last year (1-15 in the Big 12) while losing eight games by five points or fewer and one game in overtime (by nine points) to Texas. Colorado went 12-20 in 2007-08.

If Colorado was ever going to get out of the dungeon of a conference in which Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Oklahoma State, Kansas State and Texas A&M hold a firm grip on the talented top half of the league, Bzdelik had to stay. The school couldn't afford another coaching turnover, even if it may have gone to well-respected associate head coach Steve McClain, who had done a decent job at Wyoming.

"This school has been through some bad situations," Bzdelik said Thursday as he prepared for a team workout. "The football program has gone through some things. We had to build back up the academic integrity, the APR, the competitive spirit. We had to create a culture that would be rock-solid.

"Yeah, last year, we won only one game, but we did that with only one senior and one junior," Bzdelik said. "Most of the time, we had three freshmen and a sophomore on the court. We weren't mature enough or experienced enough, and that's the truth."

Bzdelik didn't suddenly lose his ability to win games at CU. He led Air Force to a No. 11 ranking in the country after taking over a program that had been on quite a run from the Joe Scott-Chris Mooney Princeton-style revival. He was 50-16 in two seasons at the Academy, leading it to the NCAA tournament in 2006 and the NIT in 2007. Bzdelik, 56, coached for 31 years prior to CU, including taking the Denver Nuggets to the NBA playoffs. His two-year win total of 50-plus wins at Air Force was the best two-year period in Air Force basketball history, and he guided the Falcons to a 31-1 home record.

Bzdelik is coveted in the NBA. But he has been able to bridge the NBA and college game because of his wealth of knowledge and spending quality time early in his career at Davidson with Eddie Biedenbach (now at UNC Asheville), Bob McKillop (now the head coach at Davidson) and Rick Barnes (now the head coach at Texas). That was before he went to work for Wes Unseld and Pat Riley in the NBA.

"I've learned to coach at every level from great people who teach the game," Bzdelik said. "There's a balance there. And then I did inherit a junior- and senior-laden Air Force team."

The Air Force run appears over in the Mountain West, as the Falcons have won 16 and 10 games, respectively, in the two years since Bzdelik left and Jeff Reynolds took over.

But even Air Force in the Mountain West isn't comparable to Colorado in the Big 12. No one would argue that taking Air Force to the top of the MWC is harder. The MWC doesn't have national title contenders in the league, while the Big 12 does. The state of Colorado, home to both schools, doesn't produce elite talent. The most notable of late is senior Matt Bouldin at Gonzaga and sophomore Reggie Jackson at Boston College. Neither player is deemed a lock to be a pro.

The facilities at Colorado pale in comparison to those of the rest of the conference. The Buffaloes don't receive special treatment like other members of the league.

The abyss from which Colorado retreated included Bzdelik's flirtation with the NBA and rumors that Cory Higgins, who averaged 17 points per game, wasn't going to return for his junior season. Rumors were hot in the summer that Higgins would bolt. Bzdelik heard them and had to investigate.

"There were some coaches who approached him," Bzdelik said. "But he's rock-solid. He's a heckuva player."

The Buffaloes will need point guard Shannon Sharpe and Australian center Shane Harris-Tunks to contribute, and the expectations are low outside of Boulder. But there is certainly hope inside the basketball office. That's why Bzdelik said he called up Dick and Tony Bennett, formerly of Washington State, and Herb Sendek at Arizona State to see how they were able to resuscitate their programs. The Washington State example is probably more akin to Colorado, with a recruiting base that is hardly fertile.

Bzdelik said he has in his contract that by Year 3 a practice facility would break ground. It hasn't yet as Year 3 begins. But Bzdelik is committed to staying at CU.

"I realized last year, when the Chicago Bulls called me and when Minnesota called me, that I know I can do better here," Bzdelik said. "I can't say I've taken a team to the Final Four, but I've been to the NBA playoffs nine times [as an assistant or head coach]. A lot of people can't say that, including some of the big names in college. I have an opportunity here. I'm committed to the players. We dug ourselves a big hole, and now we're peeking out over the horizon to see what we can do. If it doesn't work, somebody else will be coaching here."

But to make it work in the near future, Bzdelik has to stay. A turnover every few years won't work at a place like Colorado. Bzdelik made the commitment to stay. We'll see if it pans out with a commitment from the school and, more important, players who can help turn around a program that hasn't been relevant for some time.

• Kentucky held its first individual workout this week, and the overall opinion of coach John Calipari is this: "What I saw is that we don't have any bad players; every guy can play," Calipari said late Thursday night. "Even Mark Krebs, who we just gave a scholarship to, can play. He can shoot. He's not bad. I don't know what all this means because we are still inexperienced."

Calipari didn't break down every player but added a few quips, saying that freshmen DeMarcus Cousins and Eric Bledsoe need to pick up their conditioning; that Darnell Dodson can score but has to be stronger; that Daniel Orton still isn't 100 percent in both legs after dealing with a knee injury last year; and that he was impressed with Ramon Harris' shooting, the activity of Perry Stevenson and the overall skill development of Patrick Patterson.

As for that other guard, the one who is hyped as the top pick in 2010 -- John Wall. Well, Calipari said he's more verbal than his last elite guard, Derrick Rose (at Memphis), but is just as much a leader. "Neither one would reprimand a teammate. They'll defer to their teammates to make sure they get better," Calipari said.

• The Memphis case brought up Duke's 1999 Final Four appearance in a valid way. The case, presented by a few columnists at CBS Sports, was made that if Derrick Rose was ruled ineligible after the season once he was already cleared by the NCAA to play for the Tigers, and Memphis still had its season vacated, then why shouldn't Duke's 1999 season suffer the same fate after reports emerged of Corey Maggette receiving funds from his former AAU coach, Myron Piggie?

The charge of favoritism is certainly felt among a number of other programs. But there is a distinct difference in the cases. Whether you believe there was special treatment or not, the basic fact is this: Rose was ruled ineligible after the season when his test score was invalidated in May 2008. Maggette, according to Duke, was never ruled ineligible. You may believe that he should have been ruled ineligible. But he wasn't, and that remains the main difference between the two cases.

At the 2004 Final Four, an event in which Duke participated, NCAA vice president of enforcement David Price said at the time that the NCAA and Duke "conducted a fairly lengthy joint investigation" into the allegations that Maggette received illegal payments from his summer-league coach (Piggie) from 1997 to 1999. Maggette spent one season at Duke (1998-99) before declaring for the NBA draft.

"Our executive regulations specify that if an individual plays while ineligible in the NCAA championships, we can either vacate the team's participation in the championship and/or assess a fine for the money that they received." Price said in an April 2, 2004, Boston Globe article. "The standard for that is whether either the institution knew or should have known that Maggette was ineligible or if Maggette himself knew that -- or should have known that he was ineligible."

Price went on to say that the NCAA came to the conclusion that there was "insufficient evidence to determine that Maggette knew or should have known, and we believe firmly that the institution did not know and should not have known. Consequently, we have notified the institution that there will be no action taken by the NCAA."

The NCAA eligibility center was clear in stating earlier this year that regardless of when a player becomes ineligible, he's ineligible and that the center has the right to review new information when it comes to light. The same standard is likely going to be applied to O.J. Mayo if the allegations of agent-related payments prove correct. Mayo was cleared to play for USC, yet he might be deemed ineligible after the fact, and the Trojans may end up vacating wins from his one season in L.A.

Duke contended this week that it didn't know about the payments to Maggette, since it didn't start recruiting him until the fall of his senior season.

Had Maggette deemed ineligible by the NCAA -- even years after his one season at Duke -- then the Blue Devils would have had to vacate the Final Four season. If Maggette had been deemed ineligible after he completed his one season and the NCAA didn't vacate Duke's season, a charge of favoritism would have rung from every other Division I institution.

Memphis will not be able to retry its case with the Committee on Infractions as it attempts to win an appeal on the penalty of vacating the NCAA-record 38 wins and 2008 runner-up appearance because of the use of an ineligible player.

Colonial Athletic Association commissioner Tom Yeager, a member of the COI from 1997-2006 and chair of the committee from 2001-04, said Memphis will have to prove the COI erred in its decision.

"They are not going to start over," Yeager said. "The appeals process is a very narrow process. They have to focus on a few items and show inconsistencies."

Yeager said when he was first on the COI, the appeals went to the NCAA council -- and since they weren't experts on the rules, the council rarely overturned the COI's decision. But recently a separate appeals committee was created. Yeager said that two members of the COI, who didn't participate in the hearing but were observers, would be involved in the appeal process. He said each entity would get a chance to give their side: the COI and the institution in the case (Memphis). And then the appeals committee will render a decision.

Conference USA commissioner Britton Banowsky, who is a member of the COI, had to recuse himself from the Memphis case since the school is a C-USA member. He also cannot represent the COI to the appeals committee on this case.

Yeager said the COI has a vested interest in these appeals. He said the COI will be just as anxious about the decision as the school that is appealing. Its work is on the line, too. Yeager said to keep an eye on how the appeal process handles the Florida State case, which is set for a Nov. 15 hearing in front of the NCAA Infractions Appeals Committee. FSU is seeking to overturn a decision that the school had to vacate wins in football after there was an academic-fraud scandal involving 61 student-athletes.

Yeager defended current COI chair Paul Dee in what appeared to be indifference as to why Derrick Rose took his challenged standardized test in Detroit instead of his native Chicago. Yeager said, without knowing the specifics of that aspect of the case, he anticipates that someone on the COI was privy to information on the matter. He said when he was on the committee they had a similar question with a standardized test when a New England prep school player took a test out of state. He said the player did so because the team was playing a game out of the region and decided to have the player take the test there since they were near a testing site.

• St. John's sports information director Mark Fratto has been a proponent of Twitter since the social-networking site began. In an effort to reach a new medium, Fratto is doing something his colleagues in similar positions in professional sports leagues have not -- embrace Twitter.

St. John's was scheduled to announce Tuesday that it is credentialing Peter Robert Casey for all of its men's basketball games. According to the school, Casey is believed to be the first primarily Twitter-based blogger anywhere in the country to earn a spot on press row.

Casey has more than 50,000 followers on Twitter, and Fratto has deemed that enough of a "circulation" of readers to credential him for all games. In terms of basketball-specific Tweeters, the Brooklyn-based blogger is among the top 10 in followers, behind only prolific posters such as Shaquille O'Neal, Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh, Charlie Villanueva and Kentucky coach John Calipari.

In its press release, St. John's included a quote from athletic director Chris Monasch promoting the addition of Casey to press row, saying "social media platforms like Twitter are what's hot right now, and very few people are connecting better with the online basketball community than Peter."

St. John's, which has moved the majority of its home games away from Madison Square Garden and to its Queens campus, is hoping to reach more fans through the new medium.

The 1985 Final Four banner that Memphis earned is down for the summer.

The plan, as is the case every year, is to put it back up at FedExForum in the fall.

Memphis officials say the NCAA's ruling against the Tigers in 1985, in which then-Memphis State was accused of several NCAA violations, never forbade the school from hanging the Final Four banner it earned that season. But last week's ruling that required the Tigers to vacate their 2008 Final Four appearance and wins from that season is much more specific.

If the Tigers lose the appeal they vow to file, all references on stationery and signage relating to the event will have to be removed. The record books will have to be aligned to reflect that the Tigers' 38 wins, including five in the NCAA tournament, are no longer valid.

For the NCAA's part, it can't redo its cover for the 2009 Men's Final Four Records Book. That edition features former Memphis coach John Calipari and former Tigers players Derrick Rose -- who was found to be ineligible -- and Chris Douglas-Roberts among the nine photos. And you can visit the NCAA's site and buy for the low, low price of $24.99 a DVD of your favorite Memphis 2008 tournament game. You know, one of those that never happened.

Since the 1980s, in an effort to put more teeth into its enforcement, the NCAA has tried to enforce its signage ban for the guilty schools -- to varying degrees of effect.

UMass officials say the Final Four banner and trophy recognizing its 1996 NCAA tournament team, coached by Calipari, are on display at the Mullens Center. UMass proudly hangs its Final Four banner and treats the event as if it happened -- and in reality it did, although not according to the NCAA, which forced the school to vacate its wins from that season.

Two Big Ten schools that had Final Fours vacated have taken more drastic approaches to the rule.

Michigan's 1992 and '93 Final Four banners were taken down at Crisler Arena and are now in storage at the school's Bentley Historical Library, according to Michigan officials. The records from the Fab Five teams have been removed from the Michigan record books, although the Michigan sports information staff continues to keep two record books -- one with the totals from those two seasons and one without.

When Ohio State went to the 2006 Final Four, there was no mention of its 1999 Final Four appearance in any of the school's promotional literature. The 1999 Final Four banner hung in the main bowl of Value City Arena for the 1999-2000 season before it was moved to the Buckeyes' practice facility for the 2000-01 season. The banner was taken down after a graphics project incorporated the Buckeyes' overall success, rather than just banners. The banner was donated to a charity after the 2001 season.

According to Ohio State, all references to the 1999 Final Four team as well as the records from 1999 to 2002 -- the seasons for which the Buckeyes were penalized for using an ineligible player -- were removed from the school's media guides.

UCLA had an easy solution when it came to dealing with its vacated 1980 Final Four team: ignore it. Why? The Bruins hang only championship banners at Pauley Pavilion. UCLA officials say they have never been forced to change the record books.

Other Final Four teams that have had their appearances vacated were Minnesota (1997), Saint Joseph's (1961), Villanova (1971) and Western Kentucky (1971).

What would have happened to the national title had Kansas' Mario Chalmers missed the game-tying 3-pointer that sent the game into overtime, and Memphis had won? The banner still wouldn't be in Lawrence.

According to the NCAA, if Memphis had won the game and the committee on infractions forced the school to vacate the title, there would have been no official champion for 2008. The records book would have listed Memphis' defeating Kansas with an asterisk noting that the Tigers' participation in the 2008 championship was later vacated by the COI. There would be no acknowledgment that Kansas had won the title.

The precedent for this occurred in men's lacrosse in 1990, when Syracuse won the national title but later had to vacate it because it used an ineligible player. Syracuse says it has 11 national championships, but the NCAA recognizes only 10. The runner-up in 1990 -- Loyola of Maryland -- was not given the title.

• Conference USA isn't making any statements on the decision to vacate Memphis' Final Four appearance until the Tigers' appeal is heard. This is a tough spot for C-USA commissioner Britton Banowsky. He is on the committee on infractions but had to recuse himself from the entire Memphis case.

• More than 28,000 people responded to our poll within last week's Daily Word on who should lead the list for the 2010 national player of the year race. The top vote-getter was Kentucky junior forward Patrick Patterson, who certainly could make a run at the award. In second place was his new teammate, incoming freshman guard John Wall.

Kansas' duo of forward Cole Aldrich and guard Sherron Collins were third and fourth, respectively, with Notre Dame senior forward Luke Harangody rounding out the top five.

Michigan State junior guard Kalin Lucas was a close sixth. What does this tell us? That the race is wide-open, and Kentucky and Kansas fans might be the most passionate in voting for their respective players. It's unlikely that KU and UK would have four of the five All-Americans, but they do have four legitimate candidates. The possibility exists for the second straight season that the player of the year could be the top pick in the NBA draft (Wall).

• There was one glaring omission on the Wooden Award list and on my ballot. His name is James Anderson of Oklahoma State.

Mike Noteware, Oklahoma State's sports information director, provided plenty of stats to back up criticism of Anderson's omission, which should be viewed as a poor oversight.

Anderson ranked in the top five in four different statistical categories in the Big 12. He is the third-leading returning scorer behind Iowa State's Craig Brackins and Kansas' Collins, and only he and Aldrich ranked in the top five in field goal percentage last season. Among Big 12 returnees, Anderson ranked fourth in scoring, fifth in field goal percentage, fifth in 3-point percentage, fifth in free throw percentage and 15th in rebounding.

Anderson also was on the World University Games squad that won the bronze medal in Serbia. He outscored Brackins, Mississippi State's Jarvis Varnado, Ohio State's Evan Turner and Clemson's Trevor Booker. Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford expressed his dismay with Anderson's absence from the list. All points are valid, and going forward, Anderson will be included on the Wooden watch list.

• The combination of NBA voters' likely not being enamored with Rick Pitino's or John Calipari's time in the league, as well as the events of the past two weeks, likely means that neither will get into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. This is merely a prediction. Past entrants are hardly without a transgression, but the criteria might get tougher in the years to come for all these types of museums. The scrutiny placed on potential entrants is higher than it has ever been because the 24-hour news cycle constantly churns out information.

• Before clearing Renardo Sidney to play at Mississippi State, the NCAA is asking for the financial records of his family in its attempt to prove how it was able to afford lodging in the Fairfax High district in Los Angeles. But does the NCAA do this in different cases? Did it ask for Reggie Rose's financial records to see how Derrick's older brother would pay for the flights and lodging on Memphis' trips? Just curious as to whether the NCAA is consistent in this manner.

Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan was heading out to grab some souvenirs with his USA Basketball staff from their time at the World University Games in Belgrade, Serbia, and the cab driver made sure to take the Americans past bombed-out buildings, a harsh reminder of the war in the Balkans that tore apart the former Republic of Yugoslavia.

"U.S.A. did this, NATO," the taxi driver said to his passengers.

"Wait a minute; what does this have to do with us?" Ryan said he thought to himself. "You knew then that the cab driver had blown his tip. There is a sentiment that is still there. It's still the United States and in basketball, they also know we're pretty good."

The staff coaching the World University Games team through the first two weeks of July said that for the most part they weren't treated harshly when they were walking around. They were protected by a security force, a dedicated detail that USA Basketball said was top-notch. But the reception inside Belgrade Arena when they played the Serbs in a preliminary game that was won by the Americans was understandably nasty. The Americans were the ultimate road team. Everyone expected that.

What wasn't predicted was the treatment the Americans received last Saturday night when they went out to receive their bronze medals after a win earlier in the day against Israel -- after Serbia had just won the gold medal with a win over Russia.

"It was the worst I've ever seen," said Miami coach Frank Haith, an assistant to Ryan at the WUG. "There were little kids shooting us the bird. There were people yelling '[bleep] you!' It was ridiculous. We had a planned escape route if it got even worse. We were in a section for the gold-medal game where there was no one around us [for a buffer]."

Haith said the Americans were instructed not to go to the bathroom without a security person.

USA Basketball spokeswoman Caroline Williams, who was traveling with the team, said the Americans were told that security had been ramped up for the gold-medal game between Russia and Serbia.

"When it was one-on-one with the Serbs we had no problems, everyone was great," Williams said. "Our security force was phenomenal. They didn't want there to be any problem."

Williams said that the 20,000 fans booing during the medal ceremony was "pretty bad." And she added that everyone was reminded at times by the locals of the bombed-out buildings and who was allegedly responsible.

Ryan said he received a call from U.S. senior national team coach Mike Krzyzewski of Duke, who told him: "Nobody knows what you're up against. It was everything to them."

Still, despite the rude reception, the Americans desperately wanted another shot at the Serbs in the gold-medal game. But they lost to Russia by one point in the semifinal, forcing a bronze-medal game against Israel.

Ryan said that except for a three-minute stint against the Russians, the Americans played exceptionally. The Americans held teams to 67.7 points a game and 21 percent on 3s -- something that USA Basketball junior national team selection committee chair Jim Boeheim of Syracuse warned Ryan of before the event. Ryan said Boeheim told him he had to defend the 3-point line, so limiting their opponents to shooting 30-of-143 from 3 was a statistic Ryan took pride in.

"I'm not sure we would have beaten Serbia in the championship, but I would have loved to have played them in that atmosphere," Haith said.

"They booed us because of the '90s," Ryan said. "We wanted to play in that final game against Serbia. But we couldn't close the deal against Russia."

Ryan didn't have a Wisconsin player on the squad, but he did have four players who will go against him next season. He said he told them that they all improved during the tournament and "will likely kick my rear end next season."

At the top of that list is Penn State's Talor Battle. He wasn't expected to beat out Arizona's Nic Wise to make the team, but he did and led the Americans in scoring at 10.3 points a game and made 52 percent of his 3s in seven games (13 of 25).

"He not only improved during that NIT run for Penn State, but with this experience, too," Ryan said.

Ohio State's Evan Turner was last on the team in scoring at 4.0 a game. He's a scorer for Ohio State. But for the U.S. team on this trip he was more of a facilitator and a defender. Turner had 18 assists and six turnovers and six steals.

"He wasn't looking for his shot, but he was a great team player," Ryan said. "Everybody knows he can score."

Purdue's Robbie Hummel was a typical glue guy for Ryan, averaging 7.3 points and 5.6 rebounds a game and doing just about everything for the Americans in the seven games. Marquette's Lazar Hayward was a pleasant surprise, averaging 9.3 points and 5.6 rebounds. Hayward, who will go against Ryan's Badgers in a nonconference game next season, will be counted on to be much more of a go-to player for the Golden Eagles with the departures of seniors Wesley Matthews, Jerel McNeal and Dominic James.

"Every coach that has done this knows how hard it is to play 12 guys," said Ryan, who managed the minutes somewhat evenly, with no one getting more than 19 or less than 10 a game. "You've got to be tough to get a medal -- be it gold, silver or bronze -- and be booed like that. But we were on the road."

• One detail that is coming out of Memphis' hearing with the NCAA on June 6 dealing with charges of violations by the men's basketball program under former coach John Calipari could be telling. Calipari wasn't named in any of the allegations, which dealt with an allegedly fraudulent SAT score by former player Derrick Rose, as well as possible extra benefits received by Rose's brother, Reggie Rose, in the form of unpaid travel expenses.

Yet when Memphis and the NCAA's committee on infractions met in Indianapolis, Calipari was asked to join the meeting via conference call from China, where he was conducting basketball clinics. Calipari, now the head coach at Kentucky, was on the phone for three hours, according to multiple sources, and was barely involved in the conversation, with only one or two questions directed at him. That might be an indication that Calipari won't be named in any penalties.

A decision from the committee on infractions is likely due in the next three to four weeks. The major issue addressed by the COI is whether it will decide to vacate Memphis' NCAA-record 38 wins from the 2007-08 season for using an ineligible player (Rose) after his test score was invalidated in May of 2008. Rose may also be deemed ineligible if his brother was found to have received improper benefits in the form of unpaid travel expenses.

The NCAA eligibility center contends it has the right to determine whether a student should have been cleared even after he has played a full season. Memphis' defense is that since Rose was initially cleared by the NCAA, why should any wins be taken away retroactively, even if Rose was deemed ineligible after new information came forward after the season?

If the NCAA does vacate Memphis' wins, there would be even more precedent in the future to take away wins if any wrongdoing is uncovered after the fact, even though a player may initially have been cleared to be eligible. The next case like this would involve USC and the allegations concerning former player O.J. Mayo, if it is determined that Mayo shouldn't have been eligible after new information revealed allegations of extra benefits that would have jeopardized his amateur status.

• No offense to Providence's Keno Davis. Getting an extension after an NIT season and 19 wins isn't totally crazy. After all, it was just his first season with the Friars.

But the spin out of the public relations department is always a bit humorous. One of the points the Friars are selling is that Davis led them to their first Big East tournament victory since 2003. That is factually accurate. But the win was over DePaul, which went winless in the regular season, and came on Day 2 of a five-day Big East tournament.

Former coach Tim Welsh was fired for being essentially an NIT coach with the Friars. Davis made the NIT with Welsh's players in his first year. The team was senior-laden, so we'll see how quickly Davis transitions with his team in the future. He'll have time, given that he now has through 2015-16 to coach the Friars.

Kentucky gets the nod for having the best recruiting class from the late-signing period and as well as the one with the most NBA-level talent. Cincinnati grabbed the headlines for taking Lance Stephenson, the last big name, and possibly one of the most significant players in this year's class if he can elevate them to a conference contender.

But no one may have pulled off a bigger coup than Arizona under Sean Miller.

"On April 7, we had no one," Miller said.

Now, on July 1, the Wildcats have a team that is certainly capable of making a run for a top-3 finish in the Pac-10 and keeping alive a remarkable streak of 25 straight appearances in the NCAA tournament.

Miller had no idea the "Arizona brand" was so powerful until he got to Tucson. Seeing Jordan Hill go No. 8 in the NBA draft to the New York Knicks, Luke Walton win an NBA championship with the Los Angeles Lakers, and Richard Jefferson get traded from Milwaukee to San Antonio as one of the NBA offseason's key moves further enhanced the rep of the school under Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson as a factory for elite talent.

"The Arizona brand speaks for itself," Miller said. "It's an amazing recruiting tool."

Miller was fortunate that Tim Floyd imploded at USC. Arizona landed three former members of the USC recruiting class in wings Solomon Hill and Derrick Williams and guard Lamont Jones. The Cats also added Kevin Parrom, a onetime Xavier recruit under Miller, and Kyryl Natyazhko, who was heavily recruited by Pitt and Xavier. The five-player class has a little bit of everything -- a point, three wings and a center.

Kentucky's haul of guard John Wall, forward DeMarcus Cousins, point Eric Bledsoe and wing Darnell Dodson late, plus the retention of forward Daniel Orton (a Billy Gillispie signee), may produce multiple NBA-level talents and could put the Wildcats in the Final Four (along with returning all-SEC forward Patrick Patterson) if they mesh.

Cincinnati's addition Tuesday of big guard Lance Stephenson out of Brooklyn's Lincoln High, ranked No. 12 on the ESPNU top 100, to go along with the return of guard Deonta Vaughn, forward Yancy Gates and point Cashmere Wright means the Bearcats picked up a season-changing recruit (to go along with two other key newcomers in the class in point Jaquon Parker and shooting guard Sean Kilpatrick).

Kentucky was expected to be a major player on the scene as soon as John Calipari moved north from Memphis. The Stephenson pickup was unexpected for the Bearcats after the soap opera in his recruitment from all over the country, which reportedly touched even Arizona (though a Cats source denies this).

Miller's performance in late recruiting shouldn't come as a shock considering his recent success at Xavier in taking that program deep into the NCAAs and dominating the A-10. Still, he still made sure the Wildcats won't fade from relevance anytime soon. There was fear of an Indiana-like situation with the departures of Hill and Chase Budinger and a void in recruiting during two seasons of interim coaches. But Miller offered stability immediately. Having senior point guard Nic Wise come back gives the Wildcats an anchor to right the newcomers.

Wise didn't make the U.S. team for the World University Games, which is currently competing in Serbia, after he withdrew from the NBA draft. But Wise looked as though he had a bit of a post-draft hangover while competing in Colorado Springs. Miller was there for the first day and isn't fretting about Wise's decision-making. He said he expects Wise to be just fine under his get-it-and-go system. Miller, a former point guard, thrived with smaller playmakers like Drew Lavender. He should enjoy coaching Wise, too.

The Wildcats' schedule will be challenging early, with an appearance in the Maui Invitational against likely favorite Maryland and/or Gonzaga. Hosting UNLV, NC State and Northern Arizona, playing BYU in Phoenix, going to Oklahoma in the Pac-10-Big 12 Challenge and playing at San Diego State should prep the Wildcats for a run toward a possible bid out of the Pac-10.

• Richmond coach Chris Mooney expects the Spiders to contend for the Atlantic 10 title, challenging Dayton, Xavier and anyone else that figures to be in the mix. But he's also trying to put the Spiders in position to receive an NCAA tournament at-large berth. To do that, Mooney knew he had to upgrade the nonconference schedule. Tuesday, Mooney finalized the slate that should put the Spiders in position to be taken seriously if they can win some of these games.

The Spiders (20-16, 9-7 A-10), who get back center Dan Geriot from a torn ACL that kept him out of last season, return the top 3 scorers from last season's team -- Kevin Anderson (16.6 ppg.), David Gonzalvez (16 ppg) and Justin Harper (9.2 ppg) -- giving them a chance to be in the discussion come March.

Mooney said the Spiders will play in the South Padre Island event with Mississippi State, Missouri and Old Dominion. Mooney said the Spiders are guaranteed to play MSU, the favorite in the SEC West. Richmond is also playing at South Carolina, another possible NCAA tournament team from the SEC. Mooney picked up an open spot in the Orange Bowl Classic in South Florida against Florida, another team that could be in the NCAA tournament mix. Richmond is also at Wake Forest, VCU and William & Mary and hosts Chattanooga and UNC-Wilmington. That means Richmond will play three SEC teams -- a good year to do that -- one ACC team and possibly one Big 12. The rest of the A-10 should take note of this schedule. This is how you put yourself in position for a possible at-large bid if you don't win the automatic berth in a conference not among the power six.

• The addition of Stephenson, assuming he's eligible, should put Cincinnati in the thick of the chase for third in the Big East. Maybe I'll be wrong, but I'm conceding the first two spots to Villanova and West Virginia. After that, though, Cincinnati, Georgetown, Connecticut, Notre Dame, Pitt, Louisville and Syracuse can make a case for third. The other team that could potentially climb a bit more is Seton Hall, which adds transfers Herb Pope (New Mexico State) and Keon Lawrence (Missouri).

• USC assistant coach Bob Cantu is becoming an institution on campus. Cantu has survived multiple coaching changes. Cantu has worked under Henry Bibby, Rick Majerus, Jim Saia, Tim Floyd and now Kevin O'Neill.

• Wing Marcus Johnson, who played in only 16 games last season for the Trojans because of a combination of a shoulder injury and his midyear transfer from Connecticut the previous season, is now expected to come back to campus. Johnson won a waiver for a fifth season of eligibility but then initially said he was going to pursue the NBA. He went undrafted, and the USC staff expects Johnson to return. His athleticism on the wing should help an offensively challenged crew. Backup point guard Donte Smith is also expected back, as is forward Kasey Cunningham, who was injured for all but four games last season.

If the Trojans can find a point guard over the summer, they have a chance -- with scoring guard Dwight Lewis and defenders along the front line in Alex Stepheson, Marcus Simmons and Leonard Washington -- to be highly competitive in the Pac-10.

• Holy Cross is expected to interview one more candidate Wednesday before a final decision is made on the replacement for Ralph Willard. The stealth candidate, Holy Cross alumnus Rod Baker -- a former Tufts head coach and longtime college assistant who was in Massachusetts for the Paul Pierce camp -- comes on the heels of Holy Cross athletic director Dick Regan's interviewing Notre Dame assistant Sean Kearney on Monday and Pitt associate head coach Tom Herrion on Tuesday. Barring Baker's knocking Regan back, the choice will come down to Herrion or Kearney sometime before the end of the week.

• St. John forward Anthony Mason Jr. has been cleared the past month to play in games after missing last season with an injured right foot. The Red Storm, hoping to move up into the top 10 of the Big East, have settled on their nonconference schedule. St. John's will play Temple and Virginia Tech in the Philadelphia Classic at the Palestra in late November, host Georgia in the SEC-Big East Invitational, go to Duke, host Fordham, play St. Bonaventure in Rochester, and will participate in the Holiday Festival with Cornell, Hofstra and Davidson at Madison Square Garden in late December.

Memphis didn't make my Top 25 after the NBA draft's early-entry withdrawal deadline.

I had Tulsa representing Conference USA at No. 21.

Should Memphis now be in the mix?

It's a worthy debate. But it's hard to know until a decision is reached on whether Duke transfer guard Elliot Williams will be granted a hardship waiver because he is going home to be with his ill mother, allowing him to play for the Tigers immediately without sitting out a season.

Williams was instrumental in Duke's turnaround during ACC play last season. The move of Jon Scheyer to the point was a catalyst for Scheyer and the Blue Devils. But it didn't hurt that Williams got more run, either. He went from consecutive DNPs to playing 31 minutes and scoring 11 points in a win at St. John's. He played over 30 minutes in each of the next six games -- all of them wins save the regular-season finale at North Carolina.

Since Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski started using Williams more on the perimeter, the Blue Devils went 10-2 to close the season. That's one reason why Duke will move down a few pegs in a fall preseason Top 25 from the No. 10 I had it at in June. Losing Williams means Duke won't have its two most athletic wings (Gerald Henderson left a year early for the NBA).

If Williams is eligible for Memphis then the Tigers would have Williams, Willie Kemp, Roburt Sallie and Doneal Mack on the perimeter, four scoring-minded guards who can also beat their defender off the dribble (much more so for Williams and Kemp than Sallie and Mack).

The question will be scoring in the post. New Memphis coach Josh Pastner said returnees Pierre Henderson-Niles and Angel Garcia are more than capable in the post as is 6-9 power forward Will Coleman from Miami Dade Junior College (Fla.). If 6-8 Latavious Williams (Christian Life Center Academy, Texas) gets through the NCAA eligibility center then the Tigers will have not just one but two legit options in the post arriving in the fall (the jury is still out on Niles' and Garcia's ability to produce).

With or without Williams (who will begin the appeal process with the NCAA with the help of Memphis), the Tigers have the personnel to challenge Jerome Jordan, Ben Uzoh and newcomer point Donte Medder of Tulsa for the Conference USA title (UTEP coach Tony Barbee wants to make sure you don't dismiss the Miners, either, with a front line of Arnett Moultrie and Louisville transfer Derrick Caracter as well as returning guards Randy Culpepper and Julyan Stone).

But one thing is certain: While the Tigers won't win 33 games next season or go 16-0 in the league, they will be in contention for the league title and a Top 25 appearance either in the preseason or in possible cameos throughout the season.

• The U.S. team's head coach at the World University Games, Bo Ryan (Wisconsin), shook up his starting lineup for his third exhibition game after splitting the first two with Canada (win) and Serbia (loss). Against Russia, Ryan moved Mississippi State's Jarvis Varnado and Ohio State's Evan Turner into the starting lineup, replacing Marquette's Lazar Hayward and Clemson's Trevor Booker. Varnado was 2-of-4 from the field, grabbing six boards and scoring seven points. The nation's top shot-blocker had just one block.

Turner, the team's best 3-point threat, missed all six shots he attempted and didn't take a 3-pointer. The U.S. won 67-63 and still struggled on 3s, making just 4 of 14. Villanova's Corey Fisher remains the most consistent player. He scored 15 points, had three steals and made two of the four 3s he attempted. Fisher's play should continue to give Cats fans hope that the Wildcats will be the Big East favorite. Fisher will team up with Scottie Reynolds to form the best backcourt in the Big East. The WUG tournament in Serbia begins Thursday.

• The decision by the NCAA to uphold Kelvin Sampson's show-cause penalties shouldn't come as a surprise. The committee on infractions is rarely supportive of a repeat offender, especially when it is similar rules that have been broken. Sampson lucked out when he was hired by Scott Skiles and the Milwaukee Bucks. He doesn't have to worry about any kind of college opportunity anyway.

• Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith was named the chair of the NCAA tournament men's basketball selection committee for the 2011 tournament. The 2010 tournament will be chaired by UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero. The selection committee continues to look at ways of improving the tournament. But expanding the field still hasn't had traction. The idea I wish could gain legs would be if there were four opening-round games between bubble teams for the four No. 12 seeds. Those No. 12s are usually teams that are the last ones in the field from either high- or mid-major conferences. You could have two of those games on Tuesday with the games feeding into Thursday's 12-5 matchups and then two on Wednesday to feed into Friday's 12-5 games.

To make it work, you would have to organize the pairings so as not to upset the bracketing principles (i.e., same conference teams meeting before the Elite Eight) as well as take into account logistical concerns. You can't have play-in games with bubble teams with the 16-seeds because the top seeds still need to be protected in the first round with a game against a 16-seed.

• In other news pertaining to the selection committee, the NCAA has decided to eliminate from the at-large discussion the results of a team's last 12 games. Starting in the 2009-10 season, the selection committee will no longer take into consideration the results of the last 12 games a team has played when awarding one of the 34 at-large berths.

Considering a team's record over its final 12 games was seen as a way to gauge how strongly a team finished the season, but was not meant to carry more weight than other portions of a team's schedule.

This decision makes sense. Due to imbalanced schedules within most of the power six conferences and the inability of mid-major schools to schedule high-quality games that late in the season, it was difficult to measure and compare the results of a team's final 12 games.

• Cincinnati should know within the next two days if it will land highly touted Brooklyn Lincoln High guard Lance Stephenson, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation. The Bearcats' ability to get a commitment from Stephenson does not hinge on Stephenson's ongoing sexual assault case, according to sources. But any commitment from Stephenson wouldn't be binding since the national letter of intent spring signing period ended in May. Cincinnati does have one scholarship open.

The only difference you'll see at USC as far as the coaching staff is concerned is Kevin O'Neill standing where Tim Floyd used to in front of the bench.

The coaches behind him will all be the same.

Although it's not official, O'Neill did confirm he is retaining assistants Phil Johnson, Gib Arnold and Bob Cantu.

That's a significant move, considering those three are largely responsible for securing a number of the top talents USC has recently had under Floyd.

"I feel comfortable with all of them," said O'Neill.

The USC situation is unique in that the Trojans hired a coach who wasn't coming directly from another program, so the transition from one staff to another should be rather seamless. Johnson and O'Neill have known each other for decades. They both coached under Lute Olson, albeit not at the same time.

Johnson is a contemporary of O'Neill's and should serve him well as a trusted sounding board. Arnold has plenty of recruiting contacts not just in the West but globally, and he may be searching for a point guard since O'Neill has made that the No. 1 priority for the upcoming season now that the Trojans are without Daniel Hackett (who left to play professionally) and Lamont Jones out of Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.).

USC released Jones from his national letter of intent and watched as Jones latched on to Arizona and new coach Sean Miller. Miller has landed three former USC recruits in Jones, Derrick Williams (a power forward from La Mirada High in California), who like Jones got out of his letter of intent, and former USC recruit Solomon Hill (a forward from Fairfax High in Los Angeles).

Evan Smith, a small forward from Calabasas High in California, is the only remaining recruit left from the Trojans' original top-five recruiting class (which also included Renardo Sidney, now off to Mississippi State). O'Neill said Smith is staying put.

According to O'Neill, most of the returnees from last year's squad are expected back. Senior guard Dwight Lewis (14.4 points per game) should be the top scorer, North Carolina transfer Alex Stepheson should be the anchor in the post and Marcus Simmons (1.9 ppg) and Leonard Washington (6.1 ppg, 4.2 rebounds per game) should be the defensive bruisers on the wing.

Keeping Arnold on the staff should mean that forward Nikola Vucevic (2.6 ppg, 2.7 rpg) will return. The same is true with center Mamadou Diarra (0.4 rpg). O'Neill has already recognized that this squad has much more of a tough, defensive-minded approach -- something Floyd had instilled -- and should be a better match for his personality than the more finesse squad he inherited at Arizona, which included Jerryd Bayless, Chase Budinger, Nic Wise and Jordan Hill.

Senior Marcus Johnson (3.1 ppg), who won a waiver earning him a sixth year of eligibility after an injured shoulder limited him to just 16 games last season, declared for the NBA draft, then withdrew, then declared again. But he wasn't selected and now there is a chance he could be back at USC. The staff was noncommittal as to whether or not he will officially be back. They are also still waiting to confirm if backup point guard Percy Miller (0.2 assists per game) is returning, as well.

The staff seems energized by the O'Neill hire (keeping your job certainly helps) and committed to recruiting top-tier talent to USC. USC remains one of the best jobs in the country because of its proximity to elite talent, the resources at a football-rich university, top-level facilities in the Galen Center and SoCal as a recruiting destination.

The only negative right now, and it's a big one, is the ongoing NCAA investigation into the recruiting and one-year tenure of former player O.J. Mayo. No one knows if and when the NCAA will issue a notice of allegations. Until then, the O'Neill regime is going on as status quo, dealing with the departures of a highly touted recruiting class and preparing to still be a thorn in the Pac-10 race.

• Miller's additions of Hill, Williams and Jones to an Arizona recruiting class that also includes former Xavier recruit Kevin Parrom of South Kent (Conn.) and hotly-contested center Kyryl Natyazhko (Pitt and Xavier were recruiting him) of the IMG Academy in Brandenton, Fla., puts Miller's class right behind his good friend John Calipari of Kentucky for best late-signing class in the country. Both schools could easily be in the top five to 10 regardless of when their players were signed.

The Arizona pickups and the play of the Washington State tandem Klay Thompson and DeAngelo Casto at the Under 19 USA Basketball trials in Colorado Springs, Colo., two weeks ago means there should be a shakeup in the Pac-10 preseason predictions. I would still go with Cal and Washington at the top, but there will be an extremely tough chase for third on down among Arizona (remember, Nic Wise is back), Washington State, UCLA, Oregon State and Oregon, with USC still lurking in the mix if it figures out a way to put points on the board.

The Trojans should still be a tough defensive team. It's hard not to push Stanford and Arizona State down to the bottom based on what everyone has coming back. The Sun Devils lost two players selected in the top 31 picks in this year's NBA draft in James Harden and Jeff Pendergraph. The Cardinal, meanwhile, lost key seniors Mitch Johnson, Lawrence Hill and Anthony Goods.

• Sometimes you get a player when you least expect it, when there is almost no recruiting done and it can be a season-changing get. That's what happened when Oklahoma State got John Lucas III after the Baylor tragedy. Villanova landed Scottie Reynolds after Kelvin Sampson left Indiana for Oklahoma. Kansas wasn't expecting to land Brandon Rush after he withdrew from the NBA draft out of high school. Now Memphis has just picked up Duke guard Elliot Williams because of extraordinary circumstances.

Williams' mother is ill and that's why he's leaving a good situation with the Blue Devils. Trust me, no one leaves Mike Krzyzewski for Josh Pastner. That's not a knock on Pastner. He knows that. That's just reality. Williams will now appeal to the NCAA to play immediately instead of sitting out the one-year-in-residence requirement. A year ago there were a number of these cases and the NCAA rejected the majority of them -- Jordan Crawford (Indiana to Xavier), Alex Stepheson (North Carolina to USC), Herb Pope (New Mexico State to Seton Hall) -- with the exception of a select few like Julian Vaughn, who transferred from Florida State to Georgetown.

It's hard to judge how a person should handle this type of situation. No one did it better, though, than Kevin Coble of Northwestern, who truly took the semester off to be with his mother during cancer treatment in her home in Phoenix. When she was done with the treatments, he returned to Northwestern for the second semester. Coble was by his mother's side during her entire ordeal.

Having Williams home in Memphis should do well for his family, as well. Pastner is smart enough to always put Williams' family first. He's not the type of person who would demand Williams be at practice if there was a conflicting appointment for Williams' mother that he felt he should attend. Expect Pastner to do the right thing by Williams and his family. Had Williams transferred to Tennessee, Kentucky or even Vanderbilt, still a decent day's drive, it would have been harder to justify considering a waiver for him to play right away, since he wouldn't be in the city where his parent was ill.

• Lance Stephenson's sexual assault case was adjourned until July 15, according to ZagsBlog.com, a blog based in New York City. The hearing at the Brooklyn Criminal Court that also involves high school teammate Darwin Ellis, is based on an allegation that occurred last fall outside Brooklyn's Lincoln High.

The Sporting News reported over the weekend that Stephenson visited Cincinnati. The Bearcats have a scholarship open. This is the deal: If Stephenson is cleared by everyone involved -- the courts (i.e. a plea deal to a misdemeanor or charges dropped) and the NCAA eligibility center -- then the Bearcats seem to be the most likely destination.

Stephenson's talent isn't in question, but in the past few months Kansas, Memphis, Arizona, Maryland, St. John's, Florida and even Florida International have been linked in some form to his recruitment. As of now, Cincinnati may be the last school standing. With or without Stephenson, the Bearcats are primed to be a sleeper in the Big East. The Bearcats will get former Oklahoma State center Ibrahima Thomas eligible in mid-December and added expected impact players such as shooting guard Sean Kilpatrick and point guard Jaquon Parker to go along with redshirt freshman Cashmere Wright, who was out last season with a torn ACL in his left knee.

Wright is projected to be the starting point guard for the Bearcats. The Bearcats already bring back their top two scorers -- Deonta Vaughn (15.3 ppg, 4.7 apg) and Yancy Gates (10.6 ppg, 6.1 rpg) -- after going 8-10 in the Big East, 18-14 overall. If Stephenson were to go to Cincinnati and he can mesh with the aforementioned players, it wouldn't be unrealistic to consider the Bearcats a Big East title contender.

• This week, Holy Cross is bringing to campus its two finalists to replace departing coach Ralph Willard: Notre Dame assistant Sean Kearney comes in on Monday, and Pitt associate head coach Tom Herrion comes in on Tuesday. Willard left the head coaching gig to be an assistant on Rick Pitino's staff at Louisville. Kearney has never been a Division I head coach, while Herrion had a solid stint at the College of Charleston before he was abruptly forced out. Herrion is from Worcester and has strong New England ties. Kearney has been at Notre Dame under Mike Brey. A move from Notre Dame to Holy Cross, two similar institutions, would make sense. Holy Cross athletic director Dick Regan said last week he wanted a head coach in place by July 1, which is Wednesday. So his timing is on track. Holy Cross is the best job in the Patriot League.

• The U.S. team at the World University Games split its first two exhibition games in Serbia, beating Canada and then losing to host Serbia over the weekend. We'll see if Bo Ryan (Wisconsin) goes with the same starting lineup for the tournament later this week, but the first five against Serbia was an interesting mix. He went with Corey Fisher (Villanova) at the point (one assist, zero turnovers, 12 points) and then went big with Da'Sean Butler (West Virginia), Lazar Hayward (Marquette), Trevor Booker (Clemson) and Deon Thompson (North Carolina). Ohio State's Evan Turner and Oklahoma State's James Anderson, the two shooting guards on the team, came off the bench and provided some scoring pop with 16 and eight points, respectively.

The bench also had point guard Talor Battle (Penn State), Robbie Hummel (Purdue) and Quincy Pondexter (Washington). What was even more intriguing is that two of the players with the most NBA buzz had the least amount of minutes -- Iowa State's Craig Brackins (11 minutes, 1-for-3 shooting, five fouls, two points, two turnovers) and Mississippi State shot blocker Jarvis Varnado (nine minutes, 0-for-2, two rebounds, two fouls, one turnover, one block and one steal). The U.S. shot only 5-for-19 on 3s in the 98-82 loss.

• Two omissions from my 2010 potential draft list were Villanova's Scottie Reynolds and Tulsa's Jerome Jordan. Reynolds declared for the 2009 draft and then went back to school. He wouldn't have been in the first round and it's unclear if he would have been selected in the second. The wealth of point guards in this draft meant Reynolds didn't have a chance in the first round and may have gone undrafted. He'll have a shot, at least in the second round, in 2010. Jordan should be one of the better true centers in the 2010 draft. He still needs to be much more of a dominant presence in the post and could put more meat on his bones. But he'll be in the mix to climb into the first round next year.

So far, the SEC has been the biggest winner in early-entry withdrawal decisions after Patrick Patterson (Kentucky), Michael Washington (Arkansas), Tasmin Mitchell (LSU) and Jarvis Varnado (Mississippi State) all announced they would come back to school.

The league could be bolstered even more if Jodie Meeks (Kentucky), Tyler Smith (Tennessee), Devan Downey and Dominique Archie (South Carolina) do the same.

But when grading schools that will dramatically benefit from players' decisions to withdraw from the draft, Arizona will be near the top of the list.

Nic Wise's decision to return to Arizona for his senior season gives new coach Sean Miller one of the top point guards in the Pac-10, a scoring threat every time he touches the ball, and the guarantee that the Wildcats won't go through any kind of Indiana-like transition period.

Miller wants to temper the enthusiasm in his new locale, as any first-year coach would. But getting Wise back to go along with role players Kyle Fogg and Jamelle Horne and impact newcomers Solomon Hill, Kevin Parrom and Kyryl Natyazhko means the Cats should be considered for a top-half finish in the Pac-10.

That would have seemed impossible a month ago, when it appeared Wise would leave with Jordan Hill and Chase Budinger and before Miller locked up three key recruits. But after Cal and Washington, the Pac-10 is wide open. Arizona has just as good a shot to finish third among a group of teams that includes UCLA, Oregon State, Oregon and Washington State.

• Memphis coach Josh Pastner found out Sunday that fourth-year junior center Shawn Taggart would stay in the NBA draft. This didn't come as a shock. He will, after all, be 25-years-old by the time the 2010 NBA draft rolls around. Taggart would have been returning for his fifth season and playing for his third college coach. (He transferred from Iowa State.) But let's also not kid ourselves into thinking Taggart is going to be a star -- it's hard to imagine that he'll be any more than a role player. And there's a decent chance he might not be drafted at all.

The Tigers will now lean on 6-9 JC forward Will Coleman for inside scoring, as well as the return of limited offensive big man Pierre Henderson-Niles and 6-11 redshirt Angel Garcia. Highly touted 6-8 newcomer Latavious Williams will also be counted on to score inside, along with a true project, 6-8 Martin Ngaloro of France. Doneal Mack will be Memphis' top returning scorer at 8.7 points a game, followed by guard Roburt Sallie (5.8), who busted out with a 35-point performance in last season's NCAA first-round win over Cal State Northridge.

• Pastner's pickup of Baltimore-area brothers Will and Antonio Barton from the class of 2010 proves that he can recruit as a head coach. Getting Will -- ranked No. 12 in the ESPNU 100 -- away from Kentucky, Louisville and Pitt, among others, is a huge coup for Pastner. He should be an impact player for the Tigers at multiple positions. And Memphis didn't hesitate to take Antonio, who was being recruited by Syracuse and Miami (Fla.), among others. The Tigers anticipate he'll have a role as well.

• Tulsa made the official announcement that Connecticut guard Scottie Haralson transferred and will sit out the 2009-10 season. Haralson saw limited minutes at UConn and clearly will be much more featured with the Golden Hurricane. He's a sturdy guard who has the potential to be a solid shooter. Western Kentucky's D.J. Magley is also transferring to Tulsa and sitting out one year.

• In an attempt to fill his staff, Isiah Thomas went back to Indiana and approached fellow Hoosier alumnus Dan Dakich about being on his staff at Florida International. But the timing wasn't right for Dakich to leave the Indianapolis area. Thomas is hiring Franklin Holloway, who coached locally in South Florida after spending time coaching in Germany. FIU also picked up seldom-used 6-9 Arkansas freshman Brandon Moore. He will sit out next season and be eligible in 2010-11.

Billy Gillispie is back in his hometown of Graford, Texas, looking to buy a home in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, closing a sale on his Lexington abode, dealing with a lawsuit against his former employer Kentucky, mapping out his summer and fall plans and figuring out how to handle idle time that he hasn't had in his adult life.

"I've gone strong for a long time," Gillispie said. "I was a head coach in high school to a Division I coach, to a head Division I coach, and I got lucky, real lucky. It's amazing how quickly things happen. I never took a vacation. I'm not sure what to do with the down time."

Kentucky fired Gillispie on March 27. Kentucky hired John Calipari away from Memphis on April. 1. Since then, the Wildcats' program has gone from being beat down for making the NIT in Gillispie's second and final season in Lexington to being the talk of college basketball with a recruiting haul led by the country's top player in 2009, John Wall, to potentially being ranked the preseason No. 1 by multiple publications.

"I'm the least informed of anyone," Gillispie said of knowing what was happening at Kentucky. "I don't have a computer right now, and basically just live with my cell phone. I don't watch a lot of TV news. If I would, I would have been paying attention."

When reminded of the recruiting success so far, Gillispie said: "I love Lexington. It's a neat place, and Kentucky is a fantastic place to live. I'm happy for those guys. I hope they can get every single person they can, and they will, in my opinion."

Gillispie said Calipari is "the perfect fit. He's a great recruiter and a great coach. I think it's awesome, and I'm pulling for them."

The news hasn't only been about recruiting. The top forward in the SEC returned after a brief romance with the NBA draft, when Patrick Patterson decided to withdraw.

"He'd been saying all along that he's going to come back to school," said Gillispie, who pulled off a recruiting coup when he landed Patterson two years ago away from Florida and Duke. "He loves it there. He's had a great experience, and it's a great place to go to school. Education is important to him. He could graduate in three years. I'm not surprised he did that."

Meanwhile, Gillispie said he sees no issue with Jodie Meeks possibly playing alongside Wall next season if Meeks decides to withdraw from the NBA draft. Meeks was a top scorer for Gillispie, including scoring 54 points at Tennessee.

"Jodie will be great no matter what," Gillispie said. "He had one of the best years in college basketball, and that was coming off an injury-plagued season. He was fantastic. It looks like they'll have great personnel in all the spots, and that will help him."

But within the past week, Gillispie has been embroiled in what could turn out to be a messy lawsuit, with accusations going in both directions. Gillispie fired the first shot in a Dallas court, claiming the school owes him $6 million in lost salary and undisclosed punitive damages, which include attorneys' fees and court costs. The next day, Kentucky fired back with a lawsuit in Franklin Circuit Court in Kentucky, wanting the court to rule that the two-page memorandum of understanding Gillispie signed after his 2007 hiring was not equal to his full contract. Gillispie contends it is and that he should receive his salary of $1.5 million for four of the five years left on the contract.

There were accusations of fraud from Gillispie that stated in his case the university never wanted to sign him long-term, while the school is saying he turned down six different versions of the deal, arguing over the language in the deal over how he could be dismissed without pay.

As Gillispie waits for a resolution, he is remaining mum on the lawsuit. He said at the proper time he will speak on the matter but has been advised, as usual in these cases, to stay silent on the lawsuits.

Gillispie said he wants to be a head coach in 2010-11. He said nothing fit him this spring. He did flirt with the Washington State opening, but the Cougars stayed true to the Northwest by hiring Portland State's Ken Bone.

Gillispie said he's not limited to geography. He'll move wherever the right opportunity exists and reiterated that two of his previous jobs -- UTEP and Texas A&M -- were rebuilding situations.

"We got them good in a hurry," Gillispie said. "I think it will happen."

In the interim, Gillispie is planning a tour of NFL training camps, college football August practices and the opening of NBA practices to watch how other coaches begin their seasons anew. He also plans on doing the same with college basketball, and won't be limited to watching his good friend Bill Self at Kansas, whom he coached with before getting the head coaching job at UTEP.

"Coaches are always willing to learn," Gillispie said. "I want to watch as much practice as I can this year. One thing you don't get an opportunity to do when you're engaged in your season is see other people practice. You see them on TV and compete against them. I want to study how other people do it to continue to get better. I normally wouldn't have that much time to do that."

Gillispie said he has no regrets about anything that happened at Kentucky.

"I'm proud of everything we did on and off the court," he said.

• The comparisons between Jason Gardner and Nic Wise are hard to miss. Gardner desperately wanted to stay in the NBA draft after the 2001 season. Arizona played in the national title game. His good friends Richard Jefferson, Gilbert Arenas and Michael Wright all declared for the NBA draft. Gardner was only a sophomore, but why go back to Arizona when everyone else is gone? But he did and joined fellow sophomore Luke Walton, and the two still had successful college careers. Walton was drafted in the second round by the Lakers and continues to serve a significant role. Gardner never made the NBA.

Wise might have a better shot since he has become a better scorer than Gardner. But it's not hard to see why Wise is taking the early-entry deadline down to the final days. His teammates Chase Budinger and Jordan Hill left after this season. Hill is a lock for the lottery. Budinger will likely go in the first round. Wise won't get a sniff of the first round, and it's highly unlikely that if he stayed in the draft he would be selected.

But there are more issues to digest. Wise would be playing for his fourth coach at Arizona in four years, and seventh overall if you include multiple changes in high school. He signed to play for Lute Olson and did for one season. But then came the interim season with Kevin O'Neill, followed by Olson returning for a few weeks and then another interim situation with Russ Pennell. Former Xavier coach Sean Miller has arrived to give stability. But it's still hard for Wise to make the commitment. He's close to going back, and just has to adjust his mindset here before June 15.

"I'd be the only senior with a lot of young guys," Wise said. "I'd have to be the single-handed leader on the team, instead of last year when we had all three of us together."

But Wise is a realist. He hasn't left the state of Texas for workouts. He has been working out in Houston with former NBA coach John Lucas, did a group workout in Houston and also worked out for San Antonio. But Wise wasn't one of the 52 players invited to the NBA's draft combine last week in Chicago.

"Unless I have something for sure, I wouldn't gamble with it, even overseas," Wise said. "I'd wait. It will always be there."

Wise does believe in Miller's system. He said Miller's experience as a point guard should help his game, something that Miller echoed. Miller has had success in coaching smaller scoring point guards, and recently had Drew Lavender doing well for the Musketeers.

"He's done well with big-name players on the team," Wise said. "I know I can come out there and get the ball."

Miller met with Wise and his family in Houston shortly after he got the gig in April. But he said he's giving Wise his space to make his own decision without pressure.

"It's been a roller-coaster ride up and down for me," Wise said of all the coaching changes and dealing with Olson's illnesses. "I came here to play for one coach for four years. I'm taking it in stride, and now I could have four different coaches. I'm learning more than other college athletes learn during their career."

If Wise returns, there is a chance he would go immediately to the World University Games trials for the team coached by Bo Ryan that will head to Serbia. Having to re-direct his focus could help in the transition for Wise.

Wise's return would give Arizona seven returning scholarship players, along with a highly touted three-person class of forwards Solomon Hill (a one-time USC recruit), Kevin Parrom (a one-time Xavier recruit) and Kyryl Natyazhko, who was targeted by Pitt before Miller got the job.

"If Nic comes back we have a chance," Miller said of being competitive in the Pac-10. "The trick will be to recruit the right way, stabilize and do the great things that Arizona has done. We can sell it well here and get it running in a big way."

Miller said his style of play -- letting a point guard run -- should help Wise. Wise flourished this past season, scoring 29 in a win over Washington and 26 in a win over UCLA.

Miller said his lineup would likely have Wise (if he returns) at the point, Kyle Fogg at shooting guard, Brendon Lavender at small forward, Jamelle Horne at power forward (with Hill and Parrom in the rotation) and Natyazhko at center.

Miller has always played difficult nonconference games while at Xavier, and plans on doing the same at Arizona. Miller got out of a few games that weren't finalized, but the Wildcats will still play a tough slate with the Maui Invitational, a road game at Oklahoma, a neutral-site matchup with BYU in Phoenix and home games with NC State and BYU.

• Lance Stephenson is still out there for the taking, but Arizona isn't interested. Neither are a number of schools. Maryland isn't touching him while he and a teammate, Darwin Ellis, have a court case pending dealing with a sexual assault. The New York Daily News reported last week that Stephenson's attorney, Alberto Ebanks, claimed his client is innocent. The case won't be heard again until June 29. The pair was charged with groping a female student outside Brooklyn's Lincoln High on Oct. 3. Stephenson's folks made inquiries to Florida, but were cooled by the school. The word among multiple coaches is that no one will touch Stephenson in the near future as the court case unfolds. There is also a fear that whoever gets Stephenson will likely get an NCAA inquiry over questionable amateur issues for the only player in the top 25 in the class of 2009 that hasn't committed anywhere. Stephenson was ranked No. 12 in the ESPNU 100.

• Rick Leddy, spokesperson of the National Association of Basketball Coaches, said Thursday in response to my blog on the NBA's 19-years/one-year-out-of-high school draft rule that the organization sponsors repealing the rule with the NBA. But the NABC is lobbying the NCAA for new legislation: If a player enrolls at a four-year institution, he has to remain there for three years, which is the rule for collegiate baseball. Leddy said the NABC will be working with the NCAA, the NBA and the NBAPA during the next collective bargaining agreement.

• I was reminded of my opinion on Kansas having to possibly vacate its national title after a Dallas school district investigation into whether former Jayhawk Darrell Arthur had his grades changed in high school before enrollment at KU. I said to chill then. Here is the difference between that case and the accusation that Derrick Rose didn't take his standardized test before enrollment at Memphis: The NCAA issued a notice of allegations on Memphis and launched an investigation, while the Arthur case never got out of the Dallas school system. So there was never a possibility that Kansas would have to vacate wins, because it didn't reach the NCAA level. Memphis might have to if the NCAA deems the Tigers knowingly used an ineligible player. I still stand by that statement. If Memphis knew, then it should vacate. If it didn't then it should not, even if it is proven that Rose was ineligible. His test score was invalidated, but Memphis hasn't found any proof that he didn't take it. Rose was cleared, and while the eligibility center said it has the right to change the status of a player, even after a season, it's hard to take away wins if Memphis didn't know he was ineligible.

Memphis' defense to the NCAA's Committee on Infractions is that it didn't find evidence of any fraudulent standardized test for its student-athlete (sources say the player in question was former Tiger Derrick Rose).

The Tigers played Rose after he was cleared by the NCAA's Eligibility Center, and thus, according to Memphis, it didn't knowingly play an ineligible player, so it shouldn't have any wins vacated.

Memphis has confirmed that it first officially learned through an e-mail that the student-athlete (Rose) had his test score invalidated in May 2008, a month after the Tigers played in the national title game and lost in overtime to Kansas.

That argument might stand up, but the Eligibility Center isn't about to take the blame for clearing a potentially ineligible player.

It can happen. It does happen. And the Eligibility Center reserves the right to go back and change the eligibility status of a player, even after he has played, if new and correct information comes to light.

Those are the opinions of Todd Leyden, the head of the NCAA's Eligibility Center, and Kevin Lennon, the NCAA's vice president for academic and membership affairs.

"We rely on the integrity of information that is provided to the Eligibility Center," Lennon said. "It's up to the institution if it questions any of the integrity of the information to turn that information in. The vast majority of this process works extremely well. But the member institution or high school [or testing center] can flag down after the fact, and then it's our responsibility to get the certification right."

Lennon said if the certification was based on information that lacked integrity, they can go back and get the correct answer.

"When those sources of information change the information, it's a whole new process to certify the eligibility, and you can come to a different conclusion," Lennon said.

If the school knew there was inaccurate information, then Lennon said it's an issue for the enforcement staff, and ultimately, the Committee on Infractions (which is what Memphis is going to deal with at Saturday's hearing in Indianapolis). In other words, did the Tigers know of the fraudulent test?

"If the facts change, then it can cause a different decision," Lennon said. "You may end up with a different eligibility decision. The critical point here is that you can't simply say there was bad information in the certification process. You can't close the books and never rectify, even if it occurs after the young person has participated."

Pointing fingers at the NCAA after it has cleared a player was done earlier this year by Connecticut. The school argued that Nate Miles was cleared to play, and that is why there shouldn't be an investigation into his eligibility.

However, Miles' case wasn't about academics. Instead, it was about his amateur status through his relationship with a former agent/booster. In addition, in his case, the facts did change -- or rather came to light -- after he had been cleared to participate for Connecticut in the fall.

"We have an obligation to respond when information comes from different sources," Leyden said.

• Connecticut freshman center Ater Majok, whose ties to the same former agent/booster as Miles (Josh Nochimson) are also being investigated, worked out at the 21-team Golden State Warriors-sponsored event Tuesday in Oakland.

The reviews weren't good, according to a number of NBA personnel on hand.

According to one of the NBA folks, Majok had "no feel for the game. He's all-airport. His skill level is higher, but knowledge much lower."

A number of personnel directors said Majok has to go to school, and needs at least two to three years to develop his game, like former Huskies star Hasheem Thabeet. "He won't get drafted if he stays in the draft," said one assistant general manager. "If he thinks staying in the draft will get him money for his family, he's wrong."

Majok has until June 15 to withdraw.

• The reviews for Gonzaga sophomore forward Austin Daye weren't positive, either.

Daye's skill set has always been his hook to be a first-round pick, and it still might get him guaranteed money if he stays in the draft.

However, multiple personnel people said Daye got pushed around by Georgia Tech's Gani Lawal and Louisville's Terrence Williams, whom many said was the most NBA-ready player at the workout.

"[Daye] looked soft and played like a prima donna," said one assistant GM. "He's not ready to play in the NBA. He could be in the D-League next season."

Yet at least one team said Daye told them in an interview in Chicago during the NBA draft combine that he was going to stay in the draft. The consensus on Daye is he needs to build his core strength. He's not going to put on 20 pounds of muscle, but he needs to be stronger.

• There might be good news for Wake Forest, too. Sophomore guard Jeff Teague hasn't wowed scouts so far. The consensus is that he needs to go back to school, get in better shape and become more consistent.

If Texas' Damion James is listening to NBA personnel, then he should head back to school, too.

According to those in the gym, Pitt's Sam Young dominated James on Monday, and James' reliance on the 3-point shot was a huge negative to those who were scouting him.

• For the second straight draft, UCLA might have a guard go in the top five who played behind Darren Collison. Last season, it was Russell Westbrook (No. 4 to Seattle/Oklahoma City). This season, Jrue Holiday could land as high as No. 3 or 4.

• Memphis guard Tyreke Evans clearly made the right choice in leaving. There is a buzz that he could go as high as No. 2 to the Grizzlies.

• Don't be shocked if Spain's Ricky Rubio lands at No. 4 to Sacramento and Thabeet slides, if that's even fair to say, to No. 6 Minnesota.

• One of the biggest complaints from NBA teams so far is that players aren't working out for teams higher up in the lottery. This is a new one. Usually agents won't let a player work out for a team lower in the first round because they don't think their client will drop that far.

This time, they don't want a player to work out for teams (like Washington at No. 5) because they don't think the team will take their player that high.

But what they fail to realize is that this is a draft in which teams are looking to trade down, and want to see the player (like Stephen Curry) in case they move a few spots.

• Kemba Walker's decision to withdraw from the USA Men's U19 World Championship team trials in two weeks opens up an opportunity at the point for West Virginia's Darryl Bryant, Ole Miss' Terrico White and Duke's Seth Curry.

Walker was expected to make the team and to probably start for Pitt coach Jamie Dixon. Instead, the rising UConn sophomore, as reported by The Hartford Courant, will go to summer school and attend the LeBron James Skills Academy in Akron, Ohio, in early July.

Tryouts for the 12-member U19 team will be June 16-18 in Colorado Springs. Walker was the MVP of the 2008 FIBA Americas Championship that qualified for the world event to be held in New Zealand the first week in July.

• The Vancouver Sun is reporting that Simon Fraser University is vying to become the first Canadian school in NCAA Division II. Simon Fraser was used at times as a school that could be counted on for a foreign exhibition or for a regular-season game for Division I colleges because it was in Canada.

According to the Sun, Division II is the only division allowing Canadian schools to apply for membership. Simon Fraser is seeking to join the Great Northern Athletic Conference.

Investigations and innuendo about potential rules violations or an invalid amateur status hover over places like USC, Connecticut, Memphis and -- because of the attention shifted to John Calipari -- Kentucky.

The reach now possibly includes Mississippi State, as Renardo Sidney's eligibility is under scrutiny.

What is the common thread? The 19-year-old age limit/one-year-out-of-high-school-rule the NBA has in place.

When the collective bargaining agreement is revisited next year between the NBA and the NBA players' association for 2011, the two parties have to admit they were wrong and go back, not forward.

If college coaches (through their lobbying arm at the National Association of Basketball Coaches) have any juice, then they have to voice their opinion. It's not working.

The new ethics commission chaired by Michigan's John Beilein needs to stand up and mount the campaign. College basketball should only welcome those that want to be in the game, not those who are forced to do so.

If the NBA rule wasn't in place, then O.J. Mayo, Derrick Rose, Nate Miles and Sidney would have never played in college.

If they failed, then they failed. That's life. But to attempt to get them eligible makes a mockery of the institutions.

There are investigations looking into Mayo, Rose and Miles, and there is at least a thorough examination underway into Sidney's case once USC and UCLA backed out of the commitment process and the Bulldogs took it on.

It's OK if they never showed up in college. This might not get rid of the problem, but if they weren't going to school, then would there be a charge that a college coach is paying a handler? That a stand-in took a standardized test? That a former manager turned agent gave extra benefits to a recruit? That a player would move from Mississippi to Los Angeles with his family and bounce around to two different high schools with alleged financial help?

College basketball would be fine without the players who are destined to covet the NBA out of high school. Would the game miss out if John Wall doesn't go to Kentucky? No.

Look at some of the top teams recently. Pitt had players like DeJuan Blair, Sam Young and Levance Fields, all of whom weren't thinking about the NBA out of high school.

UCLA had Darren Collison, Alfred Aboya and Josh Shipp.

OK, so the Bruins might not have had Jrue Holiday or Kevin Love. Would that have been so awful?

Wake Forest still would have had James Johnson and Jeff Teague, but maybe not Al-Farouq Aminu had the door been open to him. Aminu, ironically, stayed after his freshman season and after the other two bolted. That might be an exception.

Even Blake Griffin wasn't thinking NBA out of high school, as his body wasn't as developed two years ago. He would have likely stayed at Oklahoma for the same two seasons.

Michael Beasley might have gone directly and skipped out on Kansas State.

That's OK, too.

Making players stick it out in college for two or three years once they have enrolled isn't going to work, either.

The elite players who have already been contacted by agents or runners for agents are on that path. Forcing them to go to school for one or two or three years isn't going to solve that issue. No one has to go to college. You go so you can become more educated and to better yourself in life, but you don't have to do that. Clearly a culture has been created that is putting programs into even more of the NCAA's negative light.

There was plenty of cheating going on in college sports long before the change in the NBA rule. And there will still be illicit moves made in the game. But a lot of the implicit dealings of convincing these players that they have to be in college will be gone.

• Attorneys have muddled up plenty of these cases, too, lately.

If your son was accused of cheating on an SAT or ACT, what would you do? I know what I would say. I would stand up so everyone could hear that my son was at the testing site on this date, at this location, wearing these clothes, sitting next to a person who looked like X. I would defend the charge. I would make sure everyone knew my son was there and took the exam. Yet no one from Derrick Rose's camp has said anything close to this. Instead, the comment from Rose's attorney to The Associated Press was this: He cooperated in the investigation of the SAT allegations while at Memphis and "that investigation uncovered no wrongdoing on his part." That's not enough. Why not say where you took the test, when you took the test and stand up for yourself?

• Where is Tim Floyd? He has been accused of handing $1,000 in cash on a street corner in Beverly Hills to Rodney Guillory. That's a provocative charge that deserves a response. There is no gag order on Floyd. He is allowed to defend himself and say it isn't true. He's free to say he wasn't on that corner meeting Guillory and providing cash. Floyd's silence, like Rose's, doesn't mean the allegations are true. But not commenting won't make it disappear.

• Where is Nate Miles? Why isn't he explaining exactly how he supported himself and how he didn't accept any benefits from Josh Nochimson? Why won't Miles defend himself?

If any of these coaches, university presidents, or for that matter, the NCAA want the current stain on the sport to be lifted, they need transparency. They need to defend themselves with evidence and not just hide behind the cloak and dagger of an NCAA investigation and committee on infractions.

Investigations at USC, Connecticut and Memphis, at the very least, will hover over these programs for the next few weeks. The committee on infractions will deliberate about the Memphis case after the hearing Saturday, and there will be more in the next few months as info is garnered on USC and Connecticut.

Boy, is it worth it to force these players to go to college? Is it worth having to deal with this mess for weeks and months? Is it worth the time and effort in gathering evidence of phone records, interviews and copying costs?

The NABC needs to start the campaign with the NBAPA and the NBA. If there is a desire to build a common thread, then they need to agree on going back, not forward. And if the NBA wants to fully develop its developmental league for those that take the gamble out of high school, it can work out without the need for an NCAA inquiry.

The NCAA created its own arbitrary withdrawal deadline for underclassmen for the 2010 NBA draft, setting it at May 8, one week after the NBA's early-entry declaration deadline. But how a player communicates this decision is still an unknown.

The problem is that the NBA's current deadline for underclassmen to withdraw is 10 days before the draft in mid-June. The league isn't going to change its dates next season. The only time the dates of the early-entry or withdrawal deadline can be altered is in the NBA's collective bargaining agreement. That won't occur until 2011.

"The NCAA has just made this change, and we will have to consider how it affects our process," said Tim Frank, the NBA's vice president for basketball communications.

NCAA vice president David Berst said on a Thursday conference call, after the board of directors made the legislation official, that the players will have to let the NCAA know officially that they have withdrawn from the draft by the new deadline. But the unanswered question is how they will do so. Will the NBA issue a news release May 9 saying who has withdrawn from the draft like they would on June 16? Will the NCAA need some sort of official certification of the withdrawal letter?

The NCAA would need something official because a problem could arise if a player merely said he had withdrawn, without a corresponding official document, leaving open the possibility that he's still in the draft until the deadline in June. That could allow for him to be worked by agents or to talk to teams during that month. Obviously, if he still participated in workouts during that time, it would be clear he hadn't withdrawn from the draft and he would essentially be ineligible to return to college.

Berst said the NBA and NBA Player's Association would engage in dialogue with the NCAA to gain some sort of uniformity on the early-entry and withdrawal dates.

Berst said the NCAA is also sorting through how players would be able to work out during the week from declaring to withdrawing without missing school. A number of semester and quarter-system schools are still in session in the final days of April and early May.

Berst also indicated that the May 8 deadline would still allow schools to sign players before the May 20 spring signing period deadline. The problem is that if a school is losing an NBA-level player, they've probably signed someone comparable in the fall to replace him. If not, they're not likely to find anyone near that talent level in the final two weeks of the signing period, since it's rare that high-level players are uncommitted this late in the spring. If they could sign such a player, they would probably do it and jettison a scrub to make room for a scholarship. So trying to make this deadline before May 20 may not really matter.

Forcing NBA teams to squeeze in workouts in a week before underclassmen make decisions may also be unrealistic. A lottery team would have time to put its personnel in place. But a playoff team may not want to hold workouts so early just to satisfy a borderline mid- to late-first-round pick's desire to get a quick workout in before making a decision. It also puts pressure on the NBA teams to tell the player within a few days whether he should stay in the draft.

Ultimately, the NCAA has crept closer to the line of simply saying to underclassmen: Either you're in the draft or you're out. The NCAA can do that by passing legislation. Going halfway may create more confusion. The next step might just be to eliminate the faux "testing" process that will occur in 2010.

• The last two headline recruits for 2009 continue to play the drama card. John Wall, the highly touted point out of Word of God Christian Academy in Raleigh, N.C., visited North Carolina Central, according to multiple reports in North Carolina. Depending on whom you talk to, Wall is weighing Kentucky, Florida, Miami and Duke, but this situation continues to be fluid.

Meanwhile, Lance Stephenson, the 6-5 shooting guard out of Brooklyn, is still slow-playing St. John's and Maryland and has placed Arizona into the picture, too. St. John's couldn't be held hostage forever, though, and had to make a move for a point guard. The Red Storm signed Malik Stith out of Bridgton Academy (Maine), the school announced Friday. St. John's will gladly take Stephenson if he ever decides on a school.

Kentucky will be waiting with open arms for Wall. But the Wildcats also have to do something at the point guard position and are in an interesting recruiting tussle with Memphis for point guard Eric Bledsoe of Parker High in Birmingham, Ala. The Memphis Commercial Appeal reported that Josh Pastner was recruiting Bledsoe for John Calipari when he was the head coach of the Tigers and that Glynn Cyprien was recruiting Bledsoe for former Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie when he was the Wildcats' head coach. Now Cyprien is Pastner's assistant. Kentucky's primary recruiting rival will be Kansas, with John Calipari and Bill Self having a similar eye for talent. But a Calipari-Pastner, Kentucky-Memphis friendly recruiting rivalry could occur if Pastner wants to recruit at a similar level.

• According to the Indianapolis Star, the NBA wasn't amused by Ohio State walk-on Mark Titus' attempt at humor in declaring for the draft.

• The Paradise Jam released its bracket for the Nov. 21-23 event in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. Last year's event had an eventual Final Four team in Connecticut, an NCAA team in Wisconsin and a bubble team in Miami. This season's field should be just as good, with three similar teams in Purdue, Boston College and Tennessee. Purdue will open up with South Dakota State and play the winner of Boston College-Saint Joseph's. The top half of the bracket has the winner of Tennessee-East Carolina awaiting the winner of DePaul-Northern Iowa. The Panthers should be in the mix again in the Missouri Valley.

Kansas continued to cement its status as the top team for the 2009-10 season with the addition of Xavier Henry, which will reportedly become official at a Thursday news conference.

The Jayhawks had the spot once the entire starting five returned, including potential lottery pick Cole Aldrich and possible first-round pick Sherron Collins. Kansas, defending its national title, lost to Michigan State in the Sweet 16 after winning the Big 12 title outright.

A source close to Memphis said Xavier's brother, walk-on C.J. Henry, told Memphis coach Josh Pastner on Wednesday that he and his brother were going to attend Kansas next season. Xavier Henry was also considering Kentucky. C.J. Henry, who sat out this past season at Memphis, isn't on scholarship because of a financial package he received from being in the New York Yankees' minor league system.

Xavier Henry, ranked No. 3 in the ESPU100, initially chose Memphis and then-head coach John Calipari over Kansas in the fall. He signed with the Tigers and can't sign two national letters of intent, so technically he's not bound to Kansas either.

Assuming he's sticks with KU, though, the 6-foot-6 shooting guard from Oklahoma City will give the Jayhawks a third scorer to go with Collins and Aldrich, making the team even more productive offensively. C.J. Henry would likely be a backup point guard and doesn't cost the Jayhawks a scholarship.

Henry's decision could have a positive impact on a good friend of Kansas coach Bill Self, former assistant Norm Roberts of St. John's. KU was also recruiting shooting guard Lance Stephenson of Brooklyn's Lincoln High. But Henry's decision could mean Stephenson, No. 12 in our rankings, chooses the hometown Red Storm, a much-needed get for Roberts in his rebuilding process in Queens. Stephenson also has Maryland high on his list.

The other elite player still undecided is program-changing point guard John Wall of Raleigh's Word of God Christian Academy. Wall has a lengthy list that includes Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina State, Miami, Baylor, Florida, Oregon, Memphis and at times North Carolina and Kansas.

• Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim remains optimistic that he has a top-20 team even without point guard Jonny Flynn. Boeheim said Wednesday that incoming freshman point Brandon Triche will do fine in place of Flynn, saying he will be a solid 10-point, five-assist performer for the Orange next season. He won't look for his shot as much as Flynn, but Boeheim said Triche will feed post players Arinze Onuaku and Rick Jackson more than Flynn did last season. He also said Iowa State transfer Wesley Johnson is an upgrade over departing junior Paul Harris and that Andy Rautins will be just as good, if not better, than departing junior Eric Devendorf in the starting lineup.

"We lost three starters but I'll take Wesley Johnson over Paul Harris and Andy Rautins over Eric Devendorf," Boeheim said. "In some ways, Triche will be better for us. He's really good."

Boeheim went on to praise Johnson, saying that he's "the real deal, he's really, really good." Boeheim said the confusion with Harris about him declaring for the draft was a miscommunication. When Boeheim said Harris was going to declare for the draft, Harris interpreted that as meaning Boeheim had actually turned in the paperwork. He said that didn't happen. According to Boeheim, Harris intends to declare for the draft by Sunday's deadline. Devendorf does as well.

Boeheim said he couldn't get Harris on the phone for three weeks after the season. Apparently he was not around for a spell. But Harris told him he would do everything he could to pass six hours this semester. Not sure how that would play out in class, but we shall see if it matters.

• Another day, another dispatch from Davidson that leaves little indication as to what Stephen Curry will do about declaring for the draft. Davidson coach Bob McKillop said Wednesday that he conducted individual workouts with the Wildcats' guards, including Curry, who had "great bounce in his step." The deadline to declare is Sunday.

• The SEC-Big East Invitational has been viewed by the Big East as one of the toughest events to schedule. The league has 16 teams as opposed to 12 for the SEC. And the marquee teams have to be spaced out. Neutral arenas have to be booked and the event has fallen around final exam week. The latest installment does provide at least one marquee game in each site. The Kentucky-Connecticut game takes on a new level with John Calipari and Jim Calhoun matching wits in New York on Dec. 10. These are two coaches who are a favorite in the news conference room for their candor and biting commentary, sometimes directed at the media. And with Calipari at Kentucky, the Wildcats are sure to be a top 15-20 team. The undercard of St. John's-Georgia won't pull in the fans, but at least it may set up a win for the hometown Red Storm.

Meanwhile, the Syracuse-Florida game in Tampa would have been a major showdown had Jonny Flynn and Nick Calathes stayed at Syracuse and Florida, respectively. Flynn is definitely gone after he signed with an agent, while Calathes has left the door open to return -- although that might be unlikely if he receives positive first-round buzz. Mississippi State could be a sleeper team once again in the SEC West if Jarvis Varnado returns, but DePaul may be a bottom-feeder again in the Big East. So the undercard in that event isn't as enticing.

• Boeheim said he was hoping to get a return game out of the SEC-Big East Invitational game. He said the game in Tampa next season will be his one nonconference game outside the state of New York. The Orange are one of the four hosts for the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, along with North Carolina, Cal and Ohio State.

• Getting a rematch of the Michigan State-North Carolina title game on Dec. 1 in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge was a must. This game shouldn't disappoint and is clearly the best matchup of the possible games in the 2009 Challenge. Boston College at Michigan, two NCAA teams from a year ago that should be in again, and Duke at Wisconsin are the two headline games on Dec. 2. The Badgers will have to be at their best to beat the Blue Devils, so at this point, the BC-Michigan game seems more evenly matched.

Wake Forest at Purdue on Dec. 1 has the potential to be a lead game if Jeff Teague returns to the Demon Deacons. But that won't be known until mid-June. The return game of Illinois at Clemson on Dec. 2 should also match two solid NCAA teams. Florida State at Ohio State and Minnesota at Miami on Dec. 2 have the potential to be competitive. The Seminoles believe they're an NCAA team even without Toney Douglas, the Buckeyes and Gophers should be NCAA tourney teams again next season, and if the Hurricanes can get another scoring guard, they have a shot. Still hard to predict what kind of buzz, if any, will be around Penn State at Virginia on Nov. 30 and Maryland at Indiana, Virginia Tech at Iowa and Northwestern at NC State on Dec. 1.

Quick hitters for Friday:

• The classiest move at the Final Four in Detroit went without publicity. Princeton athletic director Gary Walters made sure he got tickets for the family of Lorin Mauer and her boyfriend, Kevin Kuwik, Butler's director of basketball operations. Mauer, who worked in the Princeton athletic department as the Athletics Friends group manager, died in the Buffalo plane crash of Continental Airlines Flight 3407 from Newark to Buffalo on Feb. 13.

Kuwik and Mauer's parents were going to go to the games and visit with friends. The NCAA's Greg Shaheen, a vice president in charge of men's basketball, had also made quite a gesture while Mauer was still alive by pursuing a job opportunity for her in Indianapolis to help her get closer to Kuwik.

Kuwik said he, the family and relatives of other passengers who perished were going to pursue lobbying efforts in Washington on plane safety issues. Kuwik, a former assistant coach at Ohio University who also did two tours in Iraq with the Indiana National Guard, has been warmly received during his one year at Butler. Kuwik was understandably trying to get through a rough transition period as he deals with his grief as well as the lull in his duties for Butler. Kuwik isn't recruiting at this point for Butler. But he has found a home with the Bulldogs and they too have embraced him. Kuwik will be a head coach one day. He is diligent, determined and passionate about the game. Nothing will replace the love of his life, but he is clearly trying to find a cause to channel his grief. He is a good man, who deserves only the best.

• Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun passed on his thoughts through a spokesperson Friday that he doesn't believe junior Stanley Robinson will declare for the draft. If Robinson does turn away from the chatter that he would be in the first round then the Huskies should be a top 25 team, with Kemba Walker and Jerome Dyson, assuming he's OK after knee surgery, in the backcourt.

• Kentucky coach John Calipari said Friday he fully expects sophomore forward Patrick Patterson to follow junior guard Jodie Meeks and declare for the NBA draft. Calipari said he sees no reason why, under the current structure, college players wouldn't declare and get four or five workouts in to see where they stand before going back to school if they don't sign with an agent. Calipari did say the one danger is that a bad workout won't be forgotten. Teams tend to latch onto the bad workouts in their own gyms. NBA teams can pay for the workouts in May and June. There are no five-on-five games for underclassmen this season (a number of fringe seniors are at the Portsmouth Invitational in Virginia this weekend). The Chicago combine in late May will be some light drills in the morning followed by interviews with teams the rest of the day. It will be interesting to see how many personnel are sent from teams that normally would send their whole scouting staff to Orlando for the pre-draft camp. That won't be necessary with the main part of the combine being interviews.

• Calipari said he has two more workouts next week with the returning Kentucky players and should know then who will or won't be back next season. He's still trying to sort out who wants to play for him and under his dribble-drive-motion offense. Calipari said he's also reviewing the schedule. The Wildcats will honor games against Louisville, Indiana and North Carolina but he still needs to sign off on playing Connecticut in the SEC-Big East Challenge in Madison Square Garden and is looking at the exempted tournament options. Former Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie had put Kentucky in an event in Cancun, Mexico. That is also being reviewed.

• Gonzaga coach Mark Few said he would talk to new Memphis coach Josh Pastner about continuing their series that was predicated more on Few and Calipari.

• Davidson coach Bob McKillop said the Wildcats start a new series at Duke and return a BracketBusters game at Butler. But McKillop is on hold about any other scheduling requests until he knows for sure if Stephen Curry is returning for his senior season.

• Calipari said he would put Rod Strickland on the road for Kentucky. He will have a spot open on his staff with Pastner staying at Memphis. Pastner is interviewing candidates, especially experienced, older coaches, for a prime spot on his bench. Florida has a prime assistant gig open now with Shaka Smart left to be the head coach at VCU.

• Xavier athletic director Mike Bobinski said he would likely have a decision on the next head coach sometime in the middle of next week. He also said not to read that a time lag would hurt assistant Chris Mack's chances of replacing Sean Miller.

• Tulsa got great news Friday when Jerome Jordan said he would return for his senior season. The Golden Hurricane will likely be the favorite now ahead of Memphis in Conference USA. Jordan has helped Tulsa to consecutive 25-win seasons, averaging 13.8 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.5 blocks as a junior.

• Friday's way-too-early Top 25 will get crushed over the next few weeks, especially the back end of it. I'm not too worried about being wrong with the top 10 teams being capable of landing in that range next season. From Nos. 11 to 35 you could put a host of teams in there and not be off. This will be a fluid process over the next six months.

Patrick Christopher may have the best assessment of his game of any potential draft pick projected outside the lottery.

He said he's not ready for the NBA yet. And he wants to embrace the college experience for one more season.

That's why the Cal junior guard said Thursday afternoon that he's returning for his senior season and won't declare for the NBA draft, despite reports that had said he would after Cal lost to Maryland in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

"I was asked after we lost the game if I was definitely coming back next year and I said, 'I don't know.' We flew back to Berkeley and woke up the next day and there were a million text messages that I had declared for the draft," Christopher said by phone from Berkeley. "Everyone ran with it from there. It was everywhere that I was testing the waters. It was even on ESPN once. I hadn't officially told anyone. I am coming back for my senior year."

Christopher averaged 14.5 points a game last season, his first year under former Stanford and Golden State Warriors coach Mike Montgomery. The Bears finished tied with Arizona State for third in the Pac-10 at 11-7, and were 22-11 overall. Christopher and Jerome Randle should be the top backcourt in the Pac-10 next season, or at the very least the most experienced.

"It wasn't as consistent a year as I had planned," Christopher said. "I think I'm mature enough to see I played in spurts. I didn't put together the season I wanted to and that affected my decision. I want to come back and build on the individual and work toward the collective things we were working on."

Christopher said getting his degree is important, and his desire to go on a deeper run in the NCAAs was also a major factor in his decision.

"I want to put us more on the map," Christopher said. "I'm embracing the whole college experience. I want to take it all in. It's my last year. I've talked to a couple of guys in the NBA now and they miss that whole aspect in basketball, the environment, and I don't want to run from that."

• Davidson coach Bob McKillop said he doesn't know what Stephen Curry will do. Curry would be a lottery pick if he chooses to declare for the NBA draft by the April 26 deadline. McKillop said graduating from Davidson is important to Curry. Davidson doesn't offer summer school, just two independent study classes, which would certainly make it a longer-term project for Curry to graduate if he left early for the NBA.

• The Southern Conference moved its conference tournament from Chattanooga to Charlotte for next season. It will return to Chattanooga for 2011. It was there in March and the hometown Mocs won. Davidson lost to the College of Charleston, which then lost to Chattanooga in the final. Chattanooga received a No. 16 seed and got blown out by Connecticut. Good move by the SoCon to move the tournament to Charlotte, which will be centrally located for the conference and, selfishly for Davidson, will give the Wildcats a better shot to win.

• McKillop hasn't officially committed to coaching the Championship for Young Men's USA team this summer in New Zealand. He coached the team last summer. The team will consist of rising college sophomores and incoming freshmen. The competition is set for the first week in July and the team will train with the U.S. World University Games team in Colorado Springs, Colo., the last two weeks of June.

• New Memphis coach Josh Pastner is by himself with the Tigers, trying to settle down in the first crazy week as a head coach. Pastner is interviewing assistants to assemble a staff and has met with each returning player. Pastner said Shawn Taggart told him he would declare for the draft, but wouldn't sign with an agent. He said Willie Kemp, Roburt Sallie, Pierre Henderson-Niles, Wesley Witherspoon, Doneal Mack, Matt Simpkins and Angel Garcia all said they would come back for next season. "I told them that 'You guys didn't come to play for me, and I didn't come here to be the head coach, but life throws unexpected curve balls so here we go,'" Pastner said.

To no one's surprise, Pastner expects freshman Tyreke Evans to declare for the draft. He said he was hoping C.J. Henry would stay, but wasn't sure. Henry's blue-chip brother, Xavier, has asked for his release and could go to Kentucky to follow John Calipari or to Kansas, his original second choice.

Pastner said he was doing what he could to keep the other three signed recruits, but understood that they didn't sign to play for him. "I'm OK with it," Pastner said. "I'm just taking it day by day." Pastner said he was glad it was a dead period next week in recruiting so he could concentrate on working the returning players out at school.

• I have to disagree with the premise that Ed Davis was being hidden by Roy Williams. Davis was banged up early, developed during the season and blossomed in the national title game. Williams had plenty of experienced options in front of Davis for most of the season in Tyler Hansbrough and Deon Thompson. Why would Williams ever sacrifice winning the title so he could have a player come back next season? I don't buy that for a second.

• The Arizona Republic reported that Russ Pennell will be the head coach at Grand Canyon University. In a normal season in which there would be a number of openings, Pennell might have landed a Division I gig. But there weren't many openings this season that would have fit Pennell, who handled his interim job with class. He has said many times that he wanted quality of life and balance, and he may find that in a less-intense Grand Canyon.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Forget for a minute the loss to North Carolina.

The Jon Scheyer-Elliot Williams experiment is working so well that Duke is quite pleased with its progress going into the postseason.

"The lineup we've had the last few games is a good look for us," Scheyer said. "Elliot is doing a good job for us as a ball defender."

Duke's Kyle Singler said the Blue Devils "are at a good spot right now." He added that Williams has helped the Blue Devils' ball pressure.

The Blue Devils made the move to use Williams more often and put Scheyer as the lead guard after losing at Boston College on Feb. 15. Duke won five straight before falling at Carolina on Sunday. The wins came at St. John's, Maryland and Virginia Tech and against Wake Forest and Florida State at home.

It's hard to argue with those results. Williams was just a better defender than what Duke had put on the ball. He's also a more productive scorer, with an 11.6 ppg average in those five games. He struggled against the Tar Heels, going 3-of-11 for eight points, but he clearly is an upgrade. With his hand on the ball, Scheyer has found his groove, too. He was 0-of-6 on 3s, 3-of-12 against BC. Since then, save for a struggle against Maryland, he has been solid with 17 3s, 16 assists and five turnovers.

"I just think we are a better basketball team than we were a month ago," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "I'm good with where my team is at."

The Blue Devils might get even deeper on the perimeter if point guard Nolan Smith can return from the lingering effects of a concussion suffered against Maryland on Feb. 25. Krzyzewski said there is no timetable for Smith's return, but that he had finally had a good day during which he felt good without any side effects.

The Blue Devils should feel good about themselves. Duke was three key North Carolina plays away from being in position to beat the Tar Heels. Duke got the No. 3 seed in the ACC tournament by virtue of Wake Forest beating Clemson and winning the tiebreaker with Duke. (Wake beat UNC once and Duke lost to UNC twice, while the Blue Devils and Demon Deacons split their two games).

Duke would play the winner of Boston College-Virginia in the quarterfinals Friday and then possibly Wake Forest, if the Demon Deacons get by Maryland or NC State, in the semifinals in Atlanta.

• Memphis coach John Calipari knows the Tigers can't lose in Conference USA and get a No. 1 seed. He doesn't think it's fair.

"One of the reasons we keep winning in our league is that we're not allowed to lose," Calipari said. "What if we lose? Then we drop a seed. We're not allowed to lose. The other teams can lose in their league. We haven't been allowed to lose for weeks now."

Calipari said impressing that point upon his players will keep them motivated this week in the Conference USA tournament in Memphis. He said he has told his players that the Tigers can't lose and still get a No. 1 but "Oklahoma, Pitt and Connecticut can all lose and still be No. 1 seeds."

Calipari is also banking on the selection committee dissecting their résumé and seeing that the three nonconference losses to Xavier in Puerto Rico, at Georgetown and at home to Syracuse were before Calipari moved freshman Tyreke Evans to the point.

"The committee also looks at who you chose to play, not who you are forced to play [in your conference]," Calipari said. "We chose to play at Tennessee. We chose to play at Gonzaga."

The pressure on Memphis to win is also more palpable than that for any other elite team. "We have to win every game in our league; no one else has to do that," Calipari said.

• Enough with the talk that Calipari could be leaving for Arizona or any other job. Just look at the recruiting class he's putting together. He got one-time UAB recruit 6-foot-9 center DeMarcus Cousins from Alabama to commit Sunday. The Tigers are putting together a monster recruiting haul, with shooting guard Xavier Henry from Oklahoma to go with shooting guard Nolan Dennis from Texas and a pair of JC forwards: Will Coleman and Darnell Dodson. They're still in the mix for the top remaining lead guard, John Wall from North Carolina. Get used to seeing Memphis steamroll through Conference USA and as a high seed. For Calipari to leave Memphis, it's going to take a mega-offer from the NBA or a college that he can't refuse. There probably isn't a deal like that out there.

• The Tigers will load up once again on scheduling in anticipation of this recruiting class. They will play Kansas in St. Louis, host Gonzaga and Tennessee, play at Syracuse, UMass in Boston and are trying to get Louisville interested in a game in Nashville.

• Davidson will sweat out Selection Sunday after losing to the College of Charleston in the Southern Conference semifinals. Not having Stephen Curry in the NCAA tournament is a shame, but this shows that the selection committee isn't sentimental. If the Wildcats don't deserve a bid, they won't get one, regardless of any ratings names for CBS.

• New Hampshire couldn't hold onto a lead against America East leader Binghamton. That's too bad. It would have been quite a scene had the Wildcats held on and then hosted an America East final against UMBC after the Retrievers upset host Albany.

• Santa Clara's John Bryant ended his career Sunday night in a blowout loss to Gonzaga. Bryant went out in style in the first round of the WCC tournament, grabbing a total of 27 rebounds. He was also 12-of-12 at the free-throw line in the win over San Diego. The WCC Player of the Year was held down by the Zags, though, with a pedestrian 13 points, 10 boards and a 3-of-5 mark from the line in the 94-59 loss to Gonzaga in the semifinals in Las Vegas.

Missouri plays Kansas at home Monday. Oklahoma comes to Columbia on March 4.

Why shouldn't Mizzou coach Mike Anderson believe the Tigers can win the Big 12?

Well, he does. Monday night's contest is the first of two games between the heated rivals. Kansas (8-0) is ahead of Missouri (7-2) by two games in the conference loss column. So, too, is Oklahoma (9-0).

"We're in the hunt for a conference championship," Anderson said Sunday by phone from Columbia. (For more of the interview, listen to Monday's ESPNU College Basketball podcast. )

"There's a buzz about this game, more so than in the past," Anderson said. "We're in the hunt for a championship. This is a big game."

The Tigers' turnaround, even just this season, is a credit to Anderson, the leadership of forwards DeMarre Carroll and Leo Lyons and the infusion of ready-to-contribute junior guards Zaire Taylor and J.T. Tiller, among others.

Missouri was impressive early in the season when it beat USC in Puerto Rico (after a four-point loss to Xavier) and blew out Cal at home. But the Tigers were a mystery when they were slammed by Illinois in St. Louis, then started out Big 12 play by losing at Nebraska (which is being seen in a different light after taking down Texas). Their Jan. 28 loss at Kansas State has a different view, too, after the Wildcats beat Texas in Austin and Texas A&M in College Station.

Still, the inconsistency tag could have applied to the Tigers until the past 10 days. Missouri whipped Baylor by 17 points on Jan. 31, won at Texas by four on Wednesday, then made sure it didn't slip on Saturday at Iowa State, when it won by 14.

"Everyone was talking about Big Monday, but I was talking about Big Saturday," Anderson said of the Iowa State game. "We responded well."

The Tigers' defensive intensity has improved, and Anderson said the team is starting to look like the "fastest 40 minutes in basketball," an offensive scheme he'd envisioned when he took the job.

The leadership from Carroll and Lyons, who both had declared for the NBA draft but withdrew, started on a trip to Canada during the Labor Day weekend. Anderson said it was there that the Tigers began to find themselves. They started to have fun playing the game and haven't stopped. Anderson won't say the Tigers are a lock for the NCAA tournament -- yet.

"We'll see," Anderson said. "I just know we're a good basketball team."

Beating Kansas on Monday certainly would do wonders for the Tigers' perception and NCAA profile.

• Speaking of Tigers, Memphis coach John Calipari continued to show he's impressed with his team Sunday after reflecting on its 18-point win over Gonzaga in Spokane on Saturday night.

"We had relentless defensive pressure for 32 minutes," Calipari said. "They had no good looks. They couldn't post it up on us."

The Zags shot 4-of-15 on 3s. Matt Bouldin, Jeremy Pargo and Steven Gray were a combined 4-of-20 from the field, 0-for-6 on 3s.

Meanwhile, Memphis' Robert Dozier had a double-double (18 points and 10 boards), and Tyreke Evans continued to be a scoring leader at the point with 22 points (7-of-8 at the line).

Calipari said Evans vomited three times at halftime and didn't warm up, but it didn't faze him in the second half. He said he would meet with Evans later Sunday to discuss how the Tigers could get another 10 percent out of him the final month of the season. He said he was going to have the same conversation with Dozier.

Calipari also said that if he'd moved Evans to the point earlier in nonconference play, there's "no way we lose all three of those games [to Xavier in Puerto Rico, at Georgetown and to Syracuse]."

The Tigers, ranked No. 15 before they played Gonzaga, likely will be in the top 10 once the latest Top 25 poll is released Monday. The Tigers have finished nonconference games and resume their march toward perfection yet again in Conference USA. (Their streak is at 50 wins.) Which seed does Calipari want his team to garner for the NCAA tournament? "I'm shooting for a one," Calipari said. What else did you think he'd say?

• Creighton won at Northern Iowa to hand the Panthers their second Missouri Valley loss. There is nothing wrong with losing to Creighton -- in any season, in Valley conference play, even at home. But the Panthers, like Siena, which lost to Rider on Saturday in the MAAC, might find it difficult to earn an at-large berth without winning the Valley tournament. This could be a record low for at-large berths outside the big six conferences, especially if Xavier (A-10), Gonzaga (WCC), Davidson (Southern), Utah State (WAC) and Butler (Horizon) win their respective conference tournaments.

• Virginia Tech finally won a close game by beating NC State in overtime Sunday. The Hokies (15-7, 5-3) are walking a fine line for a bid, which is why losing to teams below them in the ACC isn't a recipe for a berth.

• LSU is quietly putting together a dominating SEC West run with a 7-1 mark after beating Alabama on Sunday. It's hard to believe the Tide have lost 17 straight SEC road games.

• Dayton could have held sole possession of first place in the A-10 with a home win over Xavier (8-1) later this week. But it fell prey to the bottom of the league by losing on Sunday to Charlotte, which previously had only one conference win. Dayton is now 7-2 and has one conference loss more than Xavier and Saint Joseph's. The Hawks (7-1) have been up to their usual act of late. After mediocre nonconference play (7-7), they've found their groove playing against conference opponents.

• It's amazing how one loss can change the complexion of the standings in a day. Boston College entered Sunday in third place at 6-3 in the ACC. Losing to Wake Forest sent the Eagles down to seventh at 6-4.

• A week or so ago it appeared Wisconsin was toast for an NCAA berth. But the Badgers beat Illinois and then Penn State on the road Sunday to move to 5-6 in the Big Ten after a very un-Bo Ryan-like six-game losing streak. Wisconsin plays a favorable schedule down the stretch with two games against last-place Indiana, one against 10th-place Iowa and home games against Ohio State and Michigan, two beatable teams. Beating the Buckeyes and Wolverines would look good on the résumé. The Badgers' two other road games will be at Michigan State and at Minnesota -- both difficult contests, but certainly opportunities to impress the selection committee. Wisconsin, at 14-9, has a pulse.

• Washington (17-6, 8-3) beat Stanford on Sunday to earn a split against Bay Area teams. The Huskies will earn an NCAA bid because they don't lose two games in a row. The Huskies do a good job of finding their offensive rhythm quickly. Quincy Pondexter's 20 points were a welcome sign that he could be another scoring option.

• Robbie Hummel's back injury is a shame for Purdue (17-6, 6-4). The Boilermakers aren't the same team without him, and they scored only 48 points against Illinois. Purdue lost its second straight game with Hummel nursing the stress fracture in his back. Meanwhile, Illinois (19-5, 7-4) suddenly is tied with Ohio State for second in the Big Ten, just two games behind Michigan State.

• Michigan coach John Beilein said he still believes the Wolverines will make the NCAA tournament. But he said the Wolverines have to win "the right games" the rest of the season. That means winning games such as the ones against Michigan State at home Tuesday, Purdue at home Feb. 26 and, likely, Minnesota at home on Feb. 19. The Wolverines will play at Northwestern, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota, too. Michigan (15-8, 5-6) still has bankable wins against UCLA and Duke.

• Beilein called Connecticut senior forward Jeff Adrien, "Jason Maxiell with a jump shot." Not a bad description for the Huskies' indispensable power forward.

• The championship ring Boston Celtics All-Star Ray Allen gave Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun on Saturday might as well have been a doorstop. This replica ring clearly couldn't be worn. Calhoun's former players still show him intense loyalty, especially those who are in the NBA.

• Forgot to mention in the Weekly Watch that Boston University hosts Vermont on Wednesday in an America East showdown. The Terriers (14-9, 9-2) matched their win total from last season with seven games remaining. Vermont (8-3) and Binghamton (8-3) trail the Terriers. The homestand continues against Binghamton on Saturday. During an eight-game winning streak, John Holland and Corey Lowe are averaging a combined 42.4 points a game, making 45 percent of their shots and 43 percent of their 3s. Holland and Lowe are averaging 40.6 and 40.4 minutes a game during America East play. The Terriers have played extra periods against Stony Brook and UMBC.

Craig Robinson and his wife, Kelly, stayed in the Lincoln bedroom Tuesday night at the White House, getting a chance to admire the original Gettysburg Address encased in glass.

For Robinson, it was hard not to get emotional or at least be in awe of his surroundings.

But he had no idea what was about to occur Thursday night in Berkeley, Calif.

When Robinson walked out onto the Haas Pavilion court for warm-ups, the Cal student section started clapping, standing and giving him a rousing ovation. The ovation spread to the rest of the fans.

"It was the most moving thing I've seen, other than Tuesday," Robinson said Friday morning, comparing the ovation to the emotion he felt watching his brother-in-law, Barack Obama, become the 44th president of the United States and his sister, Michelle, the first lady.

"It was the classiest thing I've ever seen," Robinson said. "It's by far the most emotional thing that has happened to me since Tuesday."

Robinson said he hadn't been introduced yet. He had just come out for warm-ups when the ovation started. He said Cal coach Mike Montgomery hadn't even come out from his team's locker room.

Oh, by the way, Oregon State beat Cal, 69-65, coming back from 11 points down. It was by far the best game Roeland Schaftenaar played for Robinson. Schaftenaar, a big man who can step out and shoot 3-pointers, scored 22 points going 4-of-4 from beyond the arc. "He was aggressive," Robinson said of Schaftenaar. Robinson said the Beavers' 1-3-1 zone started to frustrate the Bears in the second half. Cal still made 11 3-pointers but didn't make them at the right time.

Oregon State outscored Cal 33-22 in the second half after trailing by seven at halftime.

"We never stopped playing," Robinson said.

It's hard to underscore how surprising it is that Oregon State has two Pac-10 wins, against USC at home and at Cal no less. Oregon State didn't win a game last season in the Pac-10 under former coach Jay John, now a Cal assistant, and Kevin Mouton, who replaced John once he was fired.

Oregon State was predicted to finish last in the Pac-10 this season. Yet the Beavers are tied with Arizona at 2-5 in the league. Rival Oregon, which plays at Oregon State on Jan. 31, is winless in the first seven games.

"USC was the most surprising of the wins since I didn't think it would come so soon in the Pac-10 season and it was right after UCLA," Robinson said of the 23-point loss to the Bruins. "But to get this one was a surprise too. We were coming off our worst game against Washington [85-59 loss] and then had all these distractions. This team easily could have not played well."

Robinson coached practice Sunday, gave the team off Monday, and then the assistants ran practice Tuesday. Robinson met the team Wednesday in Berkeley for an 8-10:30 p.m. practice. So clearly, the Beavers had plenty of reasons to fail against a Cal team that's in position to challenge for the Pac-10 title.

"I'm so proud of these guys," Robinson said.

• Washington continues to look like a legitimate challenger to the Pac-10 title. The Huskies held off USC late Thursday night and this time got more scoring pop from guard Justin Dentmon. He got to the line 11 times, made all of them, then finished with 22 points. The Huskies (14-4, 5-1) host UCLA on Saturday in Seattle and have a chance to be alone in first place in the Pac-10 with a win.

• Utah State moved to 18-1 with a four-point win over San Jose State. There's no question the Aggies are the quietest 18-1 team in recent memory.

• Gonzaga and Saint Mary's are the only two ranked teams in the same conference, not from a BCS conference. That's great for the WCC, but the bottom of the league needs to catch up sooner than later so there isn't so much of a disparity.

• Boston University beat UMBC 80-77 in double overtime Thursday. John Holland scored 18 points and played 44 out of a possible 50 minutes. He played all 60 minutes, scored 29 points, in a quadruple overtime win over Stony Brook three days earlier.

• LSU coach Trent Johnson wouldn't say Saturday's game against Xavier is a must-win since the Tigers didn't win nonconference games at Utah or against Texas A&M in Houston. But he does recognize that Xavier is one of the best teams in the country and will certainly be a great win for the Tigers. LSU is on a roll offensively since scoring 59 points in an SEC-opening loss at Alabama. The Tigers have since scored 85, 83 and 81 in consecutive wins over South Carolina, at Ole Miss and Mississippi State. The big reason for the change is taking care of the ball, shot selection and overall offensive execution, especially in the first half, Johnson said.

• Alabama coach Mark Gottfried said the Tide has adjusted to life without point guard Ronald Steele, who has stopped playing basketball after suffering another injury (this time plantar fasciitis after knee injuries last season). Mikhail Torrance scored 24 in Steele's absence in a win over Ole Miss. The first two games without Steele were losses at Mississippi State and Auburn.

• Memphis coach John Calipari said he's glad he has two more nonconference games left on the schedule, beginning Saturday at Tennessee (the other is at Gonzaga Feb. 7). He said he wants to see Tyreke Evans at the point against competition outside of Conference USA after making the move last month. Calipari is fairly confident that the Tigers will get a high seed with their strength of schedule increasing with these two nonconference games.

• Was at Vermont's win over Hartford on Thursday and two things jumped out to me: one was that former Michigan State guard Maurice Joseph comes off the bench for the Catamounts and the other was how much Vermont coach Mike Lonergan discussed the NIT. Joseph is averaging 8.9 points and can be a scoring pop off the bench. But defensively he needs to tighten up to be a starter. Meanwhile, Lonergan said another huge incentive for the Catamounts to win the America East regular-season title is to get the NIT bid that goes to the regular-season champ if it doesn't win the conference tournament. He wants this team in the postseason in some form. He said the NIT rule of awarding the regular-season champs from every conference that doesn't get an NCAA bid was one of the best rules put in by the postseason event.

Memphis is 10-3. A year ago at this time, there was chatter the Tigers could go 40-0.

The latest ESPN/USA Today coaches poll came out Monday, and the Tigers weren't in it for the second straight week. Before that, Memphis had been ranked for 67 straight weeks, tied with UCLA for the most in the country.

So the roster has been reshuffled and the quality wins simply aren't there … yet. But that's fine. This is exactly the motivation Memphis coach John Calipari needs.

"We're a top-20 team," Calipari said. "If we're not rated, that's fine. Our defense is very good. Our offense is catching up. We're definitely a top-20 team, whether we're rated there or not.

"It doesn't bother me. I know what a top-20 team looks like. We lost three games, and we could have won all three. It's not like we got buried."

The losses were to Xavier by five in Puerto Rico, at Georgetown by nine in overtime and to Syracuse by seven at home. Memphis still has nonconference games left at Tennessee (Jan. 24) and at Gonzaga (Feb. 7).

"If we can get our act together offensively, you don't want to play this team," Calipari said. "We just have to get more physical and tougher."

The difference for Memphis now, Calipari said, is the move of freshman Tyreke Evans to the point. Over the past three games, Evans had eight assists and seven turnovers in a win over Cincinnati, four assists and five turnovers in a win over Northeastern and five assists and just one turnover in a win over Lamar.

And his scoring hasn't dipped, with 27 points against Northeastern and 25 against Lamar. Evans also made a high percentage of his shots in those two games, going 9-of-13 against NU and 11-of-16 against Lamar. He was a combined 6-of-7 at the free-throw line and 6-of-10 on 3-pointers. He also had 11 steals.

"I should have done this from day one," Calipari said of moving Evans to the point after experimenting with Antonio Anderson and Wesley Witherspoon in place of Derrick Rose, last season's freshman phenom and the 2008 No. 1 draft pick.

"I tried to put him in Chris Douglas-Roberts' hole [as a slashing wing], but he didn't fit there. He's better with the ball. This is better for Antonio and [senior forward Robert] Dozier. They're more comfortable with him at the point."

Calipari said a big difference with Evans is getting him to jump stop in the lane and not "run over people" when he's driving to the basket.

• Calipari said sophomore Jeff Robinson received his release and will transfer. According to Calipari, Robinson has mentioned Seton Hall and Saint Joseph's as possible destinations. Robinson is from Trenton, N.J.

• An Oklahoma spokesperson said coach Jeff Capel might have to spend another day in the hospital as he battles a stomach virus.

• Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl said his team is risking becoming a .500 team if it doesn't shake out of this slump. The Vols are 4-3 since starting out the season 5-0. The losses for the most part are understandable, in that they came to Gonzaga in Orlando, Temple on the road and at Kansas. Still, Pearl said he has to find a way to make some tweaks, notably getting Renaldo Wooldridge some more minutes and shots.

• Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said he's not surprised there have been so many "upsets" to start conference play. But he said that to him, North Carolina still is the best team in the country. He also said he doesn't think there is a player who is more valuable to his team than Davidson's Stephen Curry.

• Usually, a U.S. president calls a college basketball coach only after a national title. Well, never has there been a president with a direct link to a coach like there is now. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Craig Robinson's brother-in-law, President-elect Barack Obama, telephoned him Monday morning to congratulate him after Oregon State upset USC 62-58 Sunday night in Corvallis. Robinson said Obama always has called him after big wins.

• Lost amid the Pitt love is how well Notre Dame's Luke Harangody is playing. He's making a strong case for Big East player of the year after tossing up 31 in a win over Georgetown.

• Northeastern had erratic nonconference results against a difficult schedule, but the Huskies have resumed their place as a CAA favorite with a 3-0 start after a 23-point win over Hofstra on Monday. George Mason also is off to a 3-0 start after beating Georgia State.

• Mississippi State tied a school record with 14 3-pointers in a quality 95-67 win over Western Kentucky on Monday in Starkville.

• SMU got picked on here for losing at home to Arkansas-Pine Bluff. So Matt Doherty's Mustangs deserve credit for knocking off Colorado 70-67 on Monday at home.

• Niagara continued a strong start in the MAAC by beating Loyola, Md., by 12 to go to 3-0 in the conference, 12-3 overall.

• I've been remiss in not mentioning the recent exploits of Marquette's Jerel McNeal. He scored 24 points in a win over Villanova on Thursday and 26 in a win over Cincinnati on Sunday. He was a combined 16-of-24 from the field, made 7-of-15 3s and dished out 13 assists with just four turnovers.

• From my colleague Dana O'Neil, who was at the Kent State-Temple game Monday in Philadelphia:

Juan Fernandez made his much-anticipated debut for Temple on Monday night.

The Argentinean point guard that Davidson coach Bob McKillop called, "Pepe Sanchez with a jump shot," was anything but a disappointment. Dribbling as if the ball was on a string, Fernandez kept his eyes up and searching for an open man the entire 21 minutes he played, finishing with eight points and four assists in the Owls' win over Kent State.

Inserted in the first half, Fernandez was greeted with a student section chanting his name. He rewarded them with some dazzling plays, including one where he zinged a fastball from the top of the key to a wide-open Craig Williams underneath and another where he left a Kent State defender practically falling the wrong way, using a killer crossover to drive the lane.

Fernandez said he barely slept the night before his debut because of nerves and admits to being wide-eyed at the spectacle that is American basketball.

"We don't have the kind of show like this," he said. "I'm used to the presentation of the five starters and that's it. There's no cheerleaders or anything like that."

Asked what it was like to hear people calling his name, Fernandez smiled. "It was weird," he said. "But I started to enjoy it."

Fernandez arrived in Philadelphia just before Christmas, but coach Fran Dunphy wanted to give him time to acclimate himself to the game and his players before putting him in the lineup.

Now that he's in, it's hard to imagine Fernandez coming out anytime soon. Though he committed three turnovers, Fernandez fills the biggest void for Temple. The Owls have a great scorer in Dionte Christmas and solid forwards in Lavoy Allen and Sergio Olmos, but are in desperate need of a savvy point guard to direct them.

What was Derek Kellogg's day like after his UMass team pulled off the school's biggest upset in years by beating Kansas?

Let's just say he lost his anonymity for a day, and loved it.

Kellogg said he had 77 text messages and 17 voice mails after the 61-60 win over KU at the Sprint Center in Kansas City on Saturday.

Kellogg then got up at 4:15 a.m. to head to the airport in order to recruit in Baltimore on Sunday. He said when he checked in, the gate agents immediately recognized him and congratulated him. That continued throughout the day, even though he wasn't wearing prominent UMass gear. He went to watch three high school games and the attention didn't subside.

"I would say about 75 people came up to me during the course of the day," Kellogg said. "I think what everyone saw was that we played with the passion and intensity and enthusiasm that UMass fans want to see."

Some of the messages came from the UMass president, the school's athletic director and the mayor of Springfield.

One of the most meaningful he received, though, was from his former coach when Kellogg played for UMass from 1991-95, John Calipari, who said Monday that he was walking out of the locker room after the overtime loss to Georgetown when he was told Kellogg's Minutemen beat Kansas. So he went back and got his cell phone and called him while walking down the hall.

"It made that walk much easier," Calipari said of going to the press room.

Kellogg was quick to point out that Kansas ran the same plays to get a 3-point shot that it did to tie Memphis in the national championship game last April.

"It made it a strange and unique situation," Kellogg said. "To go against the team that beat us for the national championship and have a same kind of ending, it was really strange. When [Sherron] Collins hit the 3 [to bring Kansas to within one], I was having bad memories go through my head."

Kellogg said during the timeout he told the team to look for it again and said if someone was going to beat them it wasn't going to be Collins. Big man Tony Gaffney helped alter the Collins' last shot in the final seconds.

Massachusetts got off to a 1-6 start and Kellogg kept telling the team that it was the best 1-6 team in the country. He said the same thing after a win over Holy Cross made them "the best 2-6 team in the country," and he echoed that same refrain after the Kansas win, saying they were the best 3-6 team in the country.

To get the UMass players to fit better into his Calipari-style dribble-drive-motion offense, Kellogg said he's running more set plays to get them into the offense, putting them in position to run the DDM.

"Obviously against Kansas, we had to control the game more -- I was trying to win," Kellogg said.

The Minutemen host Hofstra on Saturday and Kellogg is hoping for a crazed atmosphere. The team will get senior forward Luke Bonner back from a knee injury that has kept him out since the first half of a loss to Southern Illinois on Nov. 12.

• Calipari said if the Tigers had beaten Xavier in the title game of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Classic last month, or even won at Georgetown last Saturday, he would have classified his team as a fraud. Calipari said he's still trying to figure out this particular group, but also theorized there are 30 similar teams that he believes will find a way to make a run in March. Freshman Tyreke Evans is leading the Tigers in scoring at 16.7 points a game and Calipari said the Tigers are asking him to do things he can't do yet -- make a mid-range shot and take over a game. Had Evans not played against the Hoyas, Memphis would've lost by 25, Calipari said. Evans did score 20 and the Hoyas did win by nine, so I guess that does make mathematical sense. Calipari said Evans has never had to defend for this long in a game and he still needs to figure it out.

He also said he's fine with Wesley Witherspoon at the point. So far, the freshman has 14 assists and 12 turnovers at that position through seven games.

If there is one issue that irks Calipari, it's that seniors Robert Dozier and Antonio Anderson, along with transfer Roburt Sallie, haven't played up to their potential. Sallie has been a disappointment so far. The one-time Nebraska signee didn't play against the Hoyas and played just two minutes against Xavier. He was supposed to be a shooting answer, but he's making just 36 percent of his shots. "If he's committed, then I'll start playing him," Calipari said.

• Mississippi State fully expects coach Rick Stansbury, hospitalized Sunday night with ongoing migraines, back on the bench for Thursday's game against Cincinnati. The Bulldogs are coming off a 19-point win over South Alabama after a home loss to Charlotte where the Bulldogs were "out-toughed," according to assistant coach Robert Kirby. He said MSU went to a smaller lineup around shot-blocker Jarvis Varnado, but the team is still looking for more on-court leadership moving forward. Mississippi State is also still looking for that high-major win after losing to Washington State and Texas Tech at the Legends Classic in Newark last month. The Bulldogs won't get a break from tough competition over the next few weeks, as they play solid teams in San Diego, Houston and Western Kentucky at home before starting SEC play at Arkansas.

• Ben Woodside is no circus sideshow, according to North Dakota State coach Saul Phillips.

"He's legit," Phillips said as he waited out a snow storm in Minneapolis Monday morning. The Bison were stranded en route back from Des Moines from a weekend tournament in Iowa as a frigid snow storm closed roads to Fargo, N.D.

"He's getting attention from people that know what they're talking about," Phillips said. "He can play a lot of different levels."

Woodside, a 5-foot-11 senior guard from Albert Lea, Minn., had the game of his life Friday against Stephen F. Austin, scoring 60 points in a 112-111 triple-overtime loss to the Lumberjacks. He followed that up with 31 points in a consolation game win over Georgia Southern. Woodside is averaging 26.9 points and 7.6 assists a game.

Phillips said what separates Woodside from others is his burst of speed and his ability to go from a stand-still position to getting by someone. Phillips said his 3-point range is 25 feet and that he's also a distributor, as evidenced by the eight assists he had in the SFA game and the 10 he had against Georgia Southern.

The amazing statistic in the 60-point effort is that he had only 11 points he scored with nine minutes left in regulation. Woodside would go on to score 49 points in the last nine minutes and three overtimes. The senior also ended up shooting 35 free throws (making 30) but had only two at the half.

"What was also weird that got lost is that we fought back from 18 down on two separate occasions," Phillips pointed out.

Phillips said NBA scouts are becoming more prevalent at Bison games and he's convinced Woodside will play professionally somewhere.

That's pretty good considering he was only recruited by North Dakota State and South Dakota State. Woodside was part of a class five years ago that wanted to redshirt under then-coach Tim Miles (now at Colorado State), so they could have a chance to compete in the postseason as fifth-year seniors.

Phillips said North Dakota State was originally looking at a 13-year moratorium to get its provisional status removed, but when Woodside's class arrived, it was dropped to five years. The Bison staff had also promised a league -- and it got one when the Summit League called. Traveling in that league is a chore, with the conference covering eight states: North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Michigan, Missouri, Oklahoma, Indiana and Louisiana.

The Bison, who play at USC Saturday, are off to a 2-0 start in the Summit League, 5-3 overall. Phillips is convinced his team will be in the mix for the league title along with Oral Roberts, Southern Utah, Oakland and IUPUI.

• Glendale, Ariz., will host a doubleheader Saturday with Louisville-Minnesota and BYU-Arizona State. But the Cardinals' NFL stadium didn't get a Final Four in the next rotation. An NCAA official confirmed that one of the strikes against Arizona's candidacy was how spread out the hotels were from the stadium. Houston got a Final Four despite waiting its turn to host its first one at Reliant Stadium in 2011. Houston got another one in 2016. The selection committee thought that group was extremely well-organized and was impressed by the facility and the transit system. One of the things that apparently hurt San Antonio from getting back in the mix was how little the Alamodome is used during the year without a permanent tenant.