Tennessee isn't messing around when it comes to Emmanuel Negedu's basketball career.

Regardless of what the Vols need on the court – like a promising 6-7 forward – docs must have told coach Bruce Pearl just how serious hypertrophic cardiomyopathy can be. (Read up on it here.)

"I would ask that folks continue to pray for him as he is in no immediate cause for concern right now in the hospital, but obviously decisions are being made about his future," Pearl said in a brief statement Wednesday. "We would just ask that folks please stop speculating about what may or may not happen."

Negedu reportedly did not have a pulse after collapsing Monday and had to be revived by a defibrillator. That'd scare anyone.

Rick Pitino isn't letting life's trials beat him down. Just ask any of the 17,000 people who watched his motivational speech on Tuesday.

Sure, he's had a trying few months. He admitted to having an extramarital affair and is still dealing with an alleged extortion scheme.

George Widman/AP

Rick Pitino

"I could wake up and come up with 10 reasons why I should be unhappy," Pitino told attendees at the Get Motivated! seminar. "That would be very easy in my life. I have the greatest family, the greatest friends … I convince myself every morning how lucky I am, how blessed I am."

Seems the angry Pitino who lambasted the media in late August is gone, replaced by a more serene, accepting man, who admits he "can't fight" being judged. (Good thing, too. Plenty of judging going on here.)

Pitino's been one of the country's most-sought after motivational speakers for some time. And this event was one of the most high-profile engagements he kept after details of the affair surfaced.

But there may not be too many after this.

For one, basketball season is right around the corner, which cuts down on his free time. And two, dropping out of sight would benefit his brand, according to various experts who laid out the plan in this August article.

"In terms of repairing his image, it's going to be a very long haul," said Kathleen Hessert, president and founder of Sports Media Challenge. "Can he do it? Absolutely ... but he's created a huge well of good will and much of that has been drained."

"He needs to focus on coaching and not be seen overexplaining or on a tour or trying to do anything that's outside the realm of a basketball coach right now," said Gene Grabowski, a senior vice president with Washington-based Levick Strategic Communications."He needs to get back to the basics that gave him the foundation that he has."

So if you missed Pitino Tuesday night, don't expect to see him doing any public speaking anytime soon (unless it's a hoops press conference). Not that it's gonna get him down.

It wasn't long ago that talk circulated about Jim Calhoun possibly retiring.

It wasn't just age talking, either. The UConn coach, 67, was miffed about allegations of NCAA violations, which bubbled over after a Final Four loss.

Keith Srakocic/AP

Jim Calhoun's ready for his 24th season at UConn.

"I love the kids, love the game. I don't plan to go anyplace. But I'm going to give a lot of reflection, maybe more reflection than normal, because of that," he said in April. He gave it a few days, and settled on returning for his 24^th season.

And it looks like he's going to stick around a lot longer.

Calhoun is talking to school officials about a new multiyear contract. He's set to make $1.6 million this season, the final year of his current deal. According to ESPN, the extension will be a minimum of four years, but could be as long as six.

That's some confidence in your coach. Calhoun – a two-time cancer survivor – would be 73 at the end of a six-year deal. It would give him 30 years at UConn, and probably put him past 950 career wins.

More importantly, a multiyear deal would help Calhoun in recruiting. Prospects wouldn't wonder about when he'd call it a career.

And with the Huskies in the hunt for guys like Brandon Knight, Cory Joseph and Roscoe Smith, it's a smart step to take. The last thing Calhoun wants is a farewell tour while his program fades because the top players aren't coming in.

The Binghamton basketball, contrary to conventional wisdom and most reasonable assessments, is not a zoo.

So say the folks from the actual Binghamton Zoo.

Not long after Binghamton athletic director Joel Thirer compared the basketball team to a zoo, the zoo's business manager, Amanda J. Padwa, sent an angry letter to the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin on Tuesday. The complete letter follows.

I am tired of hearing that blight on Binghamton University, the men's basketball team, being referred to as a "zoo." The Binghamton Zoo at Ross Park has just received re-accreditation by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the industry's governing authority. We achieved this status by being in the top 10 percent of all the zoos in the country.

Our animal care, safety, employees and educational and service standards are set high and met accordingly. Not one of our tigers has been arrested with cocaine. No otter knocks over old ladies to shoplift condoms. Our bear doesn't have temper tantrums and storm off his exhibit. You won't find any of our lemurs busted for smoking pot. So, please, stop insulting zoos by comparing those criminals to us.

Amanda J. Padwa
Business Manager
Binghamton Zoo

No word if Amanda is going to start writing for Jay Leno's show.

(H/T: Storming the Floor, the Quad)

It seems wrong to borrow a baseball metaphor for college basketball, but it can't be helped: Just read five "where are they now?" stories that knocked it out of the park.

Guess it shouldn't be a surprise since ESPN's Dana O'Neil wrote 'em…

Anyway, there's something for everyone in this batch of former NCAA tournament heroes:

Pete Leabo/AP

U.S. Reed, left, leaves the court with Darrell Walker after Reed's shot.

• After a career in Europe, Georgia Tech's James Forrest – whose turnaround shot stunned USC in the 1992 tourney – now runs a sports academy for kids in Atlanta. He hopes to eventually build a hoops facility.
• U.S. Reed – the Razorback who put up the dribbling, weaving, 49-foot heave that KO'd defending champ Louisville in 1981 – no longer plays basketball, but says people everywhere still ask him about the shot. (Who wouldn't?)
• Do Steve Goodrich and Gabe Lewullis ring a bell? Must not be a UCLA fan. Goodrich made the pass to Lewullis during the 1996 first-round game that capped Princeton's amazing upset of defending champion UCLA. Lewullis is now the chief resident in orthopedic surgery in a Philadelphia hospital. Goodrich works for 1^st Century, a bank he helped start in California.
• Harold "The Show" Arceneaux is still one of my favorites from March. Watching him score 36 for Weber State during a first-round upset of North Carolina in 1999 was sheer joy. He may have sunk my bracket that year, but the show was worth it. Needless t say, the nickname stuck, and Arceneaux took the show on the road.

Bu the best one (personal bias showing) is the last one: Catching up with Wyoming's Fennis Dembo. You know, the "Dazzling Dude," who graced the cover of the 1987-88 Sports Illustrated college hoops preview?

A week before my 10^th birthday, I watched Fennis drop 41 points and lead my home-state Pokes past UCLA in the second-round of the tourney. It was the kind of thing that sticks with a kid his whole life, and even shapes his adult life. That was me and my friends.

Like Marty, who used to have a framed copy hanging on his wall. Or Joe, who uses a signed copy of that SI cover as his Facebook profile photo. Or Eli, who lives all things Cowboys despite working on the East Coast.

Oops. The hoops nostalgia's getting a little thick in here…

Here's a little slice of heaven for hoops fans – Gonzaga and Xavier just agreed to a home-and-home series, starting next season. Gary Parrish says the Zags will play host in 2010-11, while the Musketeers get the 2011-12 game.

But the matchup of two of the best non-BCS schools got me thinking: Who would be college hoops non-BCS Final Four? Then I can dream about a four-team tournament during the season that would give someone bragging rights for the season.

Gonzaga and Xavier are easy calls.

Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP

Matt Bouldin and Gonzaga will play Xavier in a home-and-home series starting next season.

The Bulldogs haven't missed the Big Dance since 1998, tied for the 4^th-longest active streak. They've won 264 games during the decade, (behind only Duke and Kansas), claimed nine WCC conference crowns and are essentially the standard for all non-BCS schools.

But the Musketeers are no slouches, either. They've won 240 games this decade, have only missed the NCAAs twice in that span and have been to the Elite Eight twice since 2004. And that's with 3 different coaches since 2001.

So who else? I can make a quick case for a handful of teams.

Butler stumbled a bit during the middle part of the decade (29-29 in two seasons), but won at least 24 games at least five times since 2001 and has a couple of Sweet 16 appearances to its credit. The Bulldogs seem like a natural fit to pair with Xavier and Gonzaga.

BYU's won at least 20 games six of the last seven seasons, and has been to the NCAA tourney six times since 2001, but has yet to win any of those games. That hurts.

Hard not to like Dana Altman's Creighton program, probably the most consistent school from the MVC. The Jays have six NCAA tourney berths since 2000 and five conference tourney titles. But just one win in the Big Dance?

Davidson could've made its case with Stephen Curry (28 wins a year from 2007-2009), but without him, the Wildcats have been more along the lines of VCU – a solid mid-major, nothing more.

Did you know last season was the first time this decade Kent State didn't win at least 20 games? The Golden Flashes reached the 2002 Elite Eight and won the MAC outright three times. But when they played UNLV in the 2008 tourney, they got drilled.

Utah State's won 252 games during the decade and reached the NCAAs six times. Then again, the Aggies didn't dominate the Big West (Pacific was the team du jour during the middle part of the decade) or win any games in the Big Dance.

Memphis doesn't seem like a mid-major, but that Conference USA affiliation slots it in here. And the Tigers have been as good as anyone in the last four years.  A runner-up NCAA tournament finish. 137 victories. Even an NIT title in 2002. They're the fourth team.

Am I wrong? Who do you think are the four best non-BCS programs?

Coaches are the face of college hoops. Whether it's Mike Krzyzewski appearing in seemingly every other commercial during March or John Calipari swooping in as the game's newest rock star, the coaches are the guys everyone knows.

Maybe it's because the players don't stick around for four years anymore (with some exceptions), or because they're the face of the programs, schools simply don't win without a good coach.

Thus, the ever-lasting search for the next great coach. This year, there were 27 of 'em, not counting the recent switch at Army. Here's a rundown of the 10 most notable coaches. For quick hitters on the other 17, click here.

Anthony Grant, Alabama (from VCU)
He replaces Mark Gottfried, who won more than 200 games at Tuscaloosa and even led the Tide to a No. 1 ranking back in 2002-03. Still, Gottfried couldn't do the impossible – give Alabama a hoops identity. Grant knows a little something about that. Once Billy Donovan's top assistant, he helped recruit several of the Gators' national champion players.

"People told him Florida was a football school and it couldn't be done there in basketball," Grant said during his introductory press conference. "There was a commitment all the way through the organization that it could be done. That is proof positive that it could be done."

He's no stranger to success as a head coach, either.  VCU won 3 CAA titles in 3 seasons and reached the NCAA tournament twice. 'Bama hasn't been since 2006. Grant's getting big money to ensure that kind of streak stops soon.

Stephen Dunn/Getty images

Sean Miller takes over at Arizona in 2009-10.

Sean Miller, Arizona (from Xavier)
Taking over a storied program isn't an enviable task. Lute Olson built the Wildcats into one of the nation's premier programs because he molded NBA-caliber players into a consistently excellent team.

Yet, Miller has already caught a few breaks. Olson hasn't coached Arizona since 2007 because of health issues. Two years of interim coaches – and sub-par records by the school's standards – have helped to separate Olson's shadow from the program.

And Miller's no slouch. A tenacious  point guard at Pitt, he brought that same attitude to Xavier, cementing the Musketeers into one of the country's best programs, let alone a standout mid-major. He averaged nearly 26 wins a season the last four years and has been to the NCAA tourney's second weekend back-to-back seasons.

Isiah Thomas, FIU
Has there ever been more attention surrounding a coach without any kind of college coaching experience? His playing career in college(NCAA crown at Indiana) and NBA (2 titles with Pistons) was essentially the opposite from his NBA coaching stints (56-108 with Knicks). What does it mean for Florida International?

Maybe good things.

Thomas has already snagged some impressive recruits. For once, the fan base is interested.  And the team can't be any worse. It's been to one NCAA tournament and usually hits double-digits losses. Perhaps Thomas is exactly the guy to change all that.

Mark Fox, Georgia (from Nevada)
A miracle run in the 2008 SEC tournament seemingly prolonged Dennis Felton's career, which resulted in Georgia treading water again last season. By January, Felton was out and the search for a capable coach was on.

Enter Fox. His terrific Nevada tenure – 123-43 in five seasons, three NCAA tournament berths – impressed the Georgia brass, who gave him $1.2 million a season, about $400,000 more than Dennis Felton made.  It didn't impress Georgia onlookers, though, who wanted a bigger name like Oklahoma's Jeff Capel or Missouri's Mike Anderson. How does Fox recruit in an area he doesn't know, like the South?

He doesn't sound worried. He's just gonna focus on improving the Bulldogs' overall talent and go from there. "There's a terrific recruiting base in the state. You can get an outstanding education. We're very excited to be here. We're ready to go to work," he said.

The work might take a while.

John Calipari, Kentucky (from Memphis)
What hasn't been said thus far about Calipari?

In just a few short months, he put together one of the best recruiting classes in NCAA history, energized the Kentucky faithful more than any coach since Rick Pitino and re-established the 'Cats as a title contender. All without even coaching a game.

Best of all? Calipari knows he has the talent to win a title. He's not about to step on the brakes. Replacing Billy Gillispie isn't just about winning SEC titles or earning No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament. It's about winning it all.

"I want to unleash these guys," Calipari said this spring. "I don't want them looking over at me. ... I want them to turn and go."

We'll be here to watch.

Josh Pastner, Memphis (Memphis assistant)
Stepping into the Memphis job should be stressful. In the last four years, the Tigers dominated their conference, reached the NCAA title game and won more games than any other school in history.

But the alleged major NCAA violations that surfaced this summer can only add to pressure around Pastner, who's never been a head coach before. Oh, and the Tigers are dealing with injury issues. But is he worried? Nah.

"You hate to see anything like this happen in the sport you love to student-athletes, coaches, university officials, that's no fun for anybody," Pastner told FanHouse. "But for us, the current and future of the program, there are so many positives to look forward to. Nothing inhibits us from competing at the highest level and having an opportunity to win at the highest level and compete for the best student-athletes in the country."

Sound like anyone who just coached at Memphis? Maybe the Tigers won't take a tumble.

Kevin O'Neill, USC (NBA assistant)
Call it Pac-10 déjà vu. O'Neill roamed the conference sidelines during the 2007-08 season as Arizona's interim coach. The difference is the USC gig is permanent.

Seriously. Just Trojans A.D. Mike Garrett: "Hopefully, he's here forever," Garrett said at O'Neill's introductory press conference.

And why not? The Tim Floyd fallout begs for some consistency and no off-court issues. Just hoops.

Tony Bennett, Virginia (from Washington State)
If Bennett can turn Washington State into a winner, surely he can do the same at Virginia, right? After all, the Cavs have talent and aren't even that far removed from their last ACC title. Bennett knows this kind of opportunity shouldn't be wasted.

"It was the opportunity to do something special. It's coaching in the ACC," he said last spring. "It would have taken a lot to get me out of Washington State because I really believed in what was going on there. I felt this was an opportunity to compete and to do something special."

Then again, this won't be like playing in the Pac-10. North Carolina and Duke are always title contenders and with schools like Maryland, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Clemson and Boston College, there isn't any room for error.

"Coming to a league like the ACC, which many believe, me included, is the best in college basketball year in and year out, it will be a great challenge to compete against the great teams here and see where we stand."

Ken Bone, Washington State (from Portland)
Bone knows his Pacific Northwest hoops. He spent time at Seattle Pacific, was one of Lorenzo Romar's top assistants, then spent 3 years at Portland State, the last two of which resulted in NCAA tournament berths.

And it was done mostly with 3-pointers. Nearly 40 percent of Portland State's point distribution came from the 3 last season. Only five teams were higher. And with Washington State's largely untested roster (except for Klay Thompson, who's one of the Pac-10's best players) expect more of the same this season.

"We will try to push it in transition and take advantage of 3-point shots," Bone said last spring.

Small wonder that the players have already taken to Bone.

Chris Mack, Xavier (Xavier assistant)
Here's your "local boy makes good" story. Mack, a Cincinnati native, grew up attending Xavier basketball camps, transferred to Xavier to finish his playing career, then got hired in 1999. After a stint at Wake Forest, Mack served on Miller's staff before getting the job in April.

He knows plenty about Xavier's role as the thorn in the side of BCS schools. The only question now is: Can he continue it?

The Musketeers lose three of their best players in wings Derrick Brown, B.J. Raymond and C.J. Anderson, but the cupboard isn't bare. Dante Jackson, Terrell Holloway and newcomer Mark Lyons figure to make Mack's job a little easier than the typical head coach.

Follow me on Twitter and get more college basketball news at NBCSports.com.

Quick hitters on 17 of college hoops' 27 new coaches this season. For more detailed analysis the 10 coaches at big-name schools, click here.

Buzz Peterson, Appalachian State
Peterson's first head coaching job since a two-year stint at Coastal Carolina comes at the place he began. He spent four years with the Moutaineers, running up a 79-39 record. He replaces Houston Fancher, who was fired after nine seasons. Oddly enough, Fancher was Peterson's top assistant.

Patrick Chambers, Boston U
After five years on Jay Wright's staff at Villanova, Chambers takes over with the Terriers, who fired Dennis Wolff. Chambers, 38, could start off well, too. Boston has 9 seniors on the roster.

Joe Callero, Cal Poly
He spent eight years at Seattle University, which culminated in the school's return to D-I hoops. He says he's looking forward to the college-town atmosphere of San Luis Obispo and coaching at a public university.

Matt Matheny, Elon
Matheny spent the last 16 seasons at a Davidson assistant, which means he'll be well-versed with the other schools when Southern Conference schedule begins.

Greg Vetrone, Fairleigh Dickinson
A former FD assistant, Vetrone is the Knights' interim head coach, replacing Tom Green, the winningest coach in school history. Vetrone was coaching high school basketball in 2008.

Ed Joyner Jr., Hampton
Joyner Jr. switches from Hampton assistant to interim head coach in 2009. If he can get the Pirates to score (57 ppg in 2008-09), the job is his.

Scott Cherry, High Point
Taking over from Bart Lundy, who had just two losing seasons in six seasons at High Point but was still fired, shouldn't be too intimidating for Cherry. The former South Carolina assistant once drove a forklift to make ends meet.

Sean Kearney, Holy Cross
Longtime Crusaders coach Ralph Willard joined Rick Pitino at Louisville, which opened a spot for Kearney, a former Notre Dame assistant. He inherits a squad that should claim the Patriot League crown.

Dale Layer, Liberty
Layer doesn't have Seth Curry in the lineup, which hurts. Losing two others starters and trying to build around a young team makes it even tougher on Layer, a former Marquette assistant. 

David Carter, Nevada
The longtime Wolf Pack assistant has seen the highs under Trent Johnson and Mark Fox, earning accolades along the way. His task? Lead Nevada to its 7^th straight 20-win season.

LeVelle Moton, N.C. Central
The Eagles drew some attention this spring when John Wall – yes, that John Wall – visited the campus. But ignore that nonsense and pay attention as Moton, one of the school's all-time leading scorers, helps the school make the transition to D-I.

Tyler Geving, Portland State
The Vikings nabbed back-to-back NCAA tournament berths under Ken Bone. Geving, 36, was the team's recruiting coordinator.

Cameron Dollar, Seattle U
Every school making the D-I transition should be so lucky to have a high-profile assistant and former NCAA champ like Dollar leading the way.

Dickey Nutt, SE Missouri State
Nutt was 189-186 in 13 seasons at Arkansas State. This is somewhat of a lateral move for him and the school.

Jason James, Tennessee-Martin
The guy who recruited Lester Hudson doesn't get to coach him. Sometimes, life ain't fair.

Ryan Marks, Texas Pan-American
Marks thrived at St. Edwards (D-II) and Southern Vermont (D-III). This is a slight upgrade.

Shaka Smart, VCU
If VCU's coaching streak (Jeff Capel, Anthony Grant) continues with Smart, the Rams will have one of the game's best young coaches on board.

A down year for Pac-10 hoops means a couple of things.

1.    The conference may have to endure the catcalls the SEC dealt with in 2008-09. Cal and Washington are going to get most of the hype, but the jury's out on everyone else.

2.    If usual conference powers like UCLA and Arizona are struggling, that opens the door for another team to sneak toward the top.

Perhaps someone like Oregon State? The Beavers return four starters and every other key player from last year's surprise squad. (CBI championship, anyone?) And with nice recruits coming in, Oregon State's snagged some plaudits. Doug Gottleib from ESPN is predicting a third-place finish in the Pac-10.

This is now Craig Robinson's nightmare.

From a lengthy Q&A with the Oregonian, Robinson, the Beavers' second-year coach, doesn't sound ungrateful about the attention, just … worried. And can you blame him? Few things are tougher in sports than living up to unreasonable expectations.

Q: A year ago everyone said you guys were horrible. The pre-season stories this year are night and day different, aren't they?

Robinson: "That's what I've been hearing ... and yes, it does make me nervous .. you know me, I've been trying not to read any of that stuff yet. I've been trying to focus on what we have to do, get our workouts down, all that kind of stuff. ... what I hear is hearsay because I'm not online trying to find out, I'm not reading magazines. Michael (Collins, sports information assistant in charge of hoops) knows better than to send me anything about that kind of stuff. ... but my friends are calling me ... and the guys here (talk about it).''

Q: How does this change things, being picked so high?

Robinson: "We won't be sneaking up on anyone this year, I mean, I heard that ESPN picked us as high as third! ... anywhere from third through sixth ... so that makes me nervous.''

There's a video of the interview, which covers other topics unrelated to basketball (always gotta work in a reference to Robinson's brother-in-law), but it's interesting to see how Robinson deflects expectations, but doesn't back down from them either.

A little hope for Oregon State, a team that finished 0-18 in the Pac-10 in 2007-08? Man, perhaps anything is possible.

Things are back to Defcon 5 in Lawrence. Well, maybe Defcon 4 or 3. Tempers may still be running a little hot from the Tuesday/Wednesday scuffles. A longer recap is here.

Both Bill Self and football coach Mark Mangino made the rounds for apologies, general statements and trying to paint a picture "one big family" on campus. (Some weren't buying it.)

Self, who was out of town on Tuesday and Wednesday, was part annoyed, part pissed off. And hey, why wouldn't he be?

"I'm embarrassed because of the situation. It's a situation that none of us should have gotten into. We embarrassed our campus, our university, both teams, and it's just a situation that shouldn't have happened. Looking back at it, it was just really stupid. I wish I could take it back.

 "We don't act like this. To me, somebody asked me how did Tyshawn dislocate his thumb? My reply was: I don't care. It doesn't make any difference to me. The fact is that it happened. The reason it happened was because a really small group of individuals put selfish motives ahead of what was really important."

So what's the best way to get rid of any extra aggression? Run it off.

Self started his basketball boot camp a little early. Like Thursday. Sure, it still officially starts on Monday, but Self was on hand Thursday for a "semblance of boot camp."

If there are any more fights, Kansas is going to be the best conditioned team in the country…

Who is college basketball's athlete of the decade?

Sporting News asked the question in August, with just two choices: Tyler Hansbrough or Jason Williams. Those were the two most logical selections, but I did think it was odd to only have two. As did some of the commenters in this post. Other names thrown out there: Carmelo Anthony, Juan Dixon, Jameer Nelson, and J.J. Redick, among others. Heck, Mateen Cleaves probably could've received some mention if his career didn't span the '90s and 2000s.

Getty Images file

Jason Willams or Tyler Hansbrough? Who ya got?

ANYWAY, SN revealed its pick today and honor went to … Hansbrough. And it wasn't even close, according to Sporting News' voting. Hansbrough received 66 percent of the vote.

Can't really say it's a surprise. The guy ended his career as the ACC's all-time leading scorer, led the Tar Heels to back-to-back Final Fours and a title in 2009. Perhaps he wasn't always the most talented guy on the court, but he was an effective, great player starting as a freshmen.

Call it giving the edge to a four-year guy instead of someone who just stayed for three. (Or 1, like 'Melo.)

Attention all Bracketologists: Hold off on penciling in Binghamton for back-to-back appearances in the Big Dance.

The Bearcats' senior point guard, Emanuel "Tiki" Mayben, was arrested and found with 3.4 grams of cocaine on Wednesday, according to police. He already was being sought on a two-count indictment for third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, but was charged with two additional felony drug possession counts, the Times Union reported (Albany, N.Y.) reported.

It seems doubtful Mayben will return to the team given the litany of charges, but who knows? Binghamton is the third school at which he's played, so he's used to second chances.

The school – you can hear ESPN's Tony Kornheiser mention his alma mater occasional on PTI – must be tired of its players' shenanigans, too.

As Rush the Court details, Miladin Kovacevic allegedly beat another student into a coma and fled the country after posting bail, while Malik Alvin was arrested in 2007 for trying to steal condoms from a Wal-Mart (is that going too far for safe sex? Two basketball players at my high school once got busted for the same thing).

Hm. Maybe the Kansas' fracas isn't the worst thing that can happen to a school…

UPDATE: The Quad, N.Y. Times' college blog, tracked down Kornheiser for his reaction to the arrest and the school's reputation as UNLV East. I don't think Tony's amused.

"I know there's been scrutiny," he told the Quad. "It's been a program I defended and liked very much. I know the athletic director and the president. It's my school. I wouldn't necessarily say it's a tipping point. It's certainly going to bring more scrutiny. It would have to advance along whatever scrutiny has been there already."

But he's clear on one thing: He's a proud alum, but doesn't want to be seen as the school's spokesperson.

"Whatever you quote me as saying, I'm not a spokesman for the university," he said. "I'm an alum. I have a lot of visibility, holding up the Bearcat. I'm not a spokesman for the university, not their defender or lawyer or anything. I'm a guy who went to Binghamton with visibility."

If you've ever wanted to aggravate a team's fan base with a compliment, click here.

By ranking Maryland's Greivis Vazquez as the second-best shooting guard in the country (pretty good right?) and Scottie Reynolds No. 7, Mike DeCourcy of the Sporting News managed to spur non-stop banter about his basketball acumen. Namely that he didn't have any.

Readers were miffed that Vazquez wasn't listed among the top point guards, and weren't happy to see him among the shooting guards.

How does someone with such a tiny amount of knowledge/insight about the game write for a living about college basketball? Seriously no Vasquez from MD? He is the best point guard in the ACC and at least top 5 in the country.

If that wasn't enough, DeCourcy's graf on Vazquez aggravated the guys at Turtle Soup, who saw it as a backhanded compliment.

For a guy who doesn't make many 3s, he has tried a lot of them — because the Terps have needed somebody to try something. They should be more complete this season, allowing Vasquez to be more judicious.

OK, so DeCourcy didn't laud Vazquez's aggressiveness or his playmaking skills. But it reminds me of Michael Jordan's Hall of Fame induction speech: No praising, just an honest assessment. Did Vazquez shoot too much last season? Probably. But somebody had to carry the Terps.

Note to self: On the safe side, refer to Vaquez as a point guard…

It's funny. Planned to do a post this morning on Kansas guard Xavier Henry and how he's already loving life in Lawrence. He's bonding with his teammates, impressing in practice and raising the level of play.

Sounds like he's not the typical freshman. You know, acting immaturely or getting into fights and stuff. Guess that falls to everyone else.

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Tyshawn Taylor shoots against Nebraska.

The Kansas basketball and football team reportedly scuffled Tuesday night, which resulted in sophomore guard Tyshawn Taylor suffering a dislocated left thumb. He'll miss 3-4 weeks. But it doesn't sound like he regrets it.

From his Facebook page: "I got a dislocated finger ..from throwing a punch ..so don't let the news paper gas yall up aite. … real (racial slur)s do real things .. point plankn."

Now, aside from the wisdom of fighting with football players – you know, big, hulking guys who play a violent sport – it sounds like this kind of thing has been brewing for some time at KU.

According to Lawrence Journal-World sports editor Tom Keegan, this kind of fracas frequently happens  with the basketball and football players. The KU athletic department isn't one big, happy family, but more like the Hatfields and McCoys.

Bar owners and patrons know it. Students know it. Cops know it. The only reason you haven't read more about it is because precise details of said skirmishes have been difficult to nail down.

It'll be tough to deny that premise. Another fight was reported Wednesday morning around 10 a.m. CT. Fights between athletes aren't anything new – hockey and baseball players fight during games, let alone afterward – but this kind of constant tension on campus can't be easy to handle. Especially when athletes start going to the hospital. This isn't to say more players are going to get hurt, or even that more fights will happen.

But the longer that tension sticks around, the chances will rise that something foolish could derail KU in March.

It's funny. Up until now, I always considered Kentucky the biggest obstacle to Kansas' national title hopes this season. If there are many more fights, maybe that's no longer true.

UPDATE: According to the Kansan (the student newspaper), nearly the whole basketball team was present for Wednesday's incident. This quote sums up the whole affair nicely. "Mario Little told me football players had beef with Sherron [Collins]," said Erryn Kindle, a KU student. "He said they were talking trash."

And, for those seeking the lighter side of this mess, there's pointplankn.com. Wow. (H/T: Gary Parrish)

Pundits (thus far) aren't giving the Pac-10 much attention. Conventional wisdom is that the league doesn't have a true national title contender, so it's been slotted 6^th in most conferences rankings I've seen. That's from ESPN, Fox, Lindy's and yours truly.

But it'd be foolish to sleep on the Pac-10.

California is going to be a Final Four contender and UCLA's always tough. But the most entertaining team could be Washington.

Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

This may be the only way to stop Isaiah Thomas and Washington in 2009-10.

A Seattle Times Q&A with Huskies coach Lorenzo Romar had some nice tidbits on his expectations for the season. He's pumped about the freshmen, notably five-star prospect Abdul Gaddy and shooting star C.J. Wilcox. Romar won't cave to pressure surrounding Quincy Pondexter (who won a bronze with the U.S. at the University Games this summer) and play him at power forward. And he won't shy away from using a four-guard, perimeter-oriented line-up.

Which sets up the key to the Huskies for 2009-10: Opponents will be chasing them all over the court.

"We're quick. We're very quick. We got a lot of quickness and our guys get along really well. I think we got pretty good chemistry."

For those who hated math, that's three quicks and two chemistries. Romar must have a huge grin on his face at practice.

I have visions of the Huskies whipping the ball around the court, shooting 3s, driving the lane and running around taller, slower teams. At least, that's what I'm hoping to see. Not enough teams put on that kind of show.

And remember, Romar's done this before. His 2004-05 team that finished 29-6 and nabbed a No. 1 seed in the Big Dance didn't start anyone taller than 6-8 AND brought Brandon Roy off the bench.

If this group is anywhere near that good, the Pac-10 is going to surprise.

This shot's gonna go viral real fast. (It was at about 40,000 PVs on YouTube when I wrote this.)

One of the guys from Dude Perfect – aka, six college students from College Station, Texas, who film themselves making trick shots – chucks a ball from the top deck of Kyle Field and banks it into a hoop set up on the field below.

It's quite a heave, too. If you've never been to Kyle Field, well, how to put it … the thing is as tall as Texas is wide. The press box is 120 feet above the field and when fans do the Aggie War Hymn, the damn thing sways. It's an unnerving feeling.

Anyway, hucking a ball from that height and making the shot is quite the feat. If it's real. Watch the video below (both angles) and see what you think.

Some coaches are all about the Tweet.

John Calipari has more than 770,000 Twitter followers and seemingly Tweets every other hour. (Which assistant coach got stuck with that task, anyway?) UCLA fans aren't following Ben Howland en masse yet, but it didn't stop him from Tweeting after an appendectomy last week – and promoting UCLA's medical center.

(Follow all the college coaches with our fancy widget, which you can get here. And you can follow me on Twitter here.)

Chris Gardner/AP

I've Tweeted this much today!

Gary Williams doesn't have the same Twitter flair as Calipari, but the Maryland coach is a dogged Tweeter, though he rarely toots his own horn. (Tweets his own horn?) I mean, could this Tweet on his 1-year contract extension be any more self effacing?

Due to the success of my players on and off the court and in the classroom I have been rewarded with another contract extension.

Aw, c'mon Gary! Give yourself some credit! You've won 418 games in 20 seasons at Maryland, including a national title. I know something along the lines of "and I deserve it," isn't called for, but what about a "Go Terps!" or "Big year coming!"

Squeeze every last bit out of those 140 characters and throw in a exclamation point or two. That social media's all about enthusisiam!

See? It's a blast! And a little exhausting. I feel like I've been yelling for the last two grafs. Maybe Gary knows what he's doing…

If you haven't yet read Andy Katz's epic story on how agents influence college hoops, don't miss out. It's a comprehensive look (at almost 5,000 words, it better be) at how agents get in touch, advise and influence players and how they're now doing it earlier than ever.

Don't let its Simmons-esque length intimidate you, either. It reads fast and covers all the bases.

Whether it's how everything used to be (coaches dealt with agents, and agents with players after school was done) or the way it's done now (coaches are largely restricted from player contact, which gives agents more access and probably more influence), it's an enlightening story that deals with both sides – though I'm not sure people want to side with agents in this one.

Public opinion no doubt resides with the coaches on this one.

We tend to believe that they have the player's best interests at heart because of guys like Roy Williams and Tom Izzo, among others. They do their best to nurture and develop players into adults, and try to give them good advice when it comes to their professional career. Agents, on the other hand, usually come off as people there to negotiate big contracts for players, and that's it.

But several come off fairly sympathetic here, largely because of how they've presented themselves as no different from the coaches. It's all about the relationships.

"Baseball players can have advisors, golf players can have advisors, yet football and basketball players are off-limits?" asks Bill Duffy.

Contrast that with this quote from rick Stansbury: "[Agents] don't have time to watch a guy and build a relationship when he gets in college. They've got to get started at an earlier age since they may only be in college for one year. They have unlimited phone calls and unlimited contacts. They have a much better advantage than we do in building relationships."

Seems everyone approaches players as though they just need time to work on them and convince them that they can do the most for them. But while the NCAA dictates how much contact the coaches can have, the agents are largely unchecked. They can talk to players, but can't sign anything. That's it.

"The reality is that agents are around a lot of kids," Florida coach Billy Donovan told Katz. "But I've always believed in recruiting that you've got to keep good relationships with people, anybody. I don't want an agent saying don't go to Florida.

"The thing that is difficult is that agents aren't living under any of the rules as it relates to contacts. We have rules for contacting a player, but an agent can do it as much as he wants and can go over to his house. We can't do those things."

That's a good thing, though. Coaches can maintain an NCAA-approved appearance (read: one that won't defy public opinion) and let the agents continue to get bashed.

After all, people trust coaches. Unfettered access to players might change all of that.

Does anyone really need a reason to watch college hoops? I suppose there could be conflicting interest occasionally, but I'm here to correct that: Non-conference games you can't miss.

Essentially, there's a game to watch starting mid-November. So just print this page and cross 'em off as they come along. I'm user-friendly that way.

Pay special attention to Nov. 27, Dec. 6 and Dec. 22. You won't be able to get up from the couch those days.

Nov. 9: Florida International at North Carolina (Coaches vs. Cancer). Sure, the defending champs may turn Isiah Thomas' college coaching debut into a laugher, but why miss one of the season's earliest game? FIU made noise about this matchup last month, but that didn't last.

Eric Gay/AP

UNC's Deon Thompson and Michigan State's Draymond Green battle for a rebound in the 2009 NCAA Championship. They'll do it again in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

Nov. 13: Bradley at BYU. The MVC-MWC Challenge Series kicks off with a dandy. The Braves could be the Mo Valley's top team, while the Cougars are tough to beat at home. (Few teams get more friendly home calls.)

Nov. 17: Hall of Fame Showcase. Courtside seats for this doubleheader were going for more than $200. Makes sense when you can watch Arkansas vs. Louisville and Memphis vs. Kansas in one evening.

Nov. 19: Cal vs. Syracuse, UNC vs. Ohio State (Coaches vs. Cancer semifinals). The Bears are the Pac-10's best team, while the Buckeyes feature one of the game's elite players in Evan Turner. Catch the next day's title game, too.

Nov. 19: Puerto-Rico Tip-Off. Dayton vs. Georgia opens the tourney and is possibly the best game. And the winner playing Villanova the next night also is nice.

Nov. 21: Philly Hoops Classic. Siena at Temple. Saints could the mid-major du jour this season, and the Owls gets an up-close look.

Nov. 23: Paradise Jam Championship. Keeping my fingers crossed to see Tennessee play Purdue.

Nov. 24: CBE Classic title game: I think it'll be Pitt vs. Texas, which might be jumping the gun a bit with Pitt losing Jermaine Dixon for two months, but the Panthers rarely lose in Nov. and Dec.

Nov. 26: Old Spice Classic opening games. Michigan vs. Creighton and Marquette vs. Xavier just screams mid-majors pulling off the upsets.

Nov. 27: NIT Season Tip-Off title game. Probably Duke vs. UConn. 'Nuff said.

Nov. 27: Legends Classic semifinal. Michigan State vs. Florida. Sometimes I hate it when tournaments specify semifinals. This isn't one of them.

Nov. 27 & 28: Las Vegas Invite. Four quality teams. Illinois vs. Utah and Bradley vs. Oklahoma State. Watch the semis, and don't miss Friday's games.

Nov. 29: 76 Classic title game. With Texas A&M, Clemson, West Virginia, UCLA, Butler and Minnesota involved, it'll be worth watching who emerges.

Dec. 1: Big Ten/ACC Challenge: Michigan State at UNC, Wake Forest at Purdue. If the Big Ten is ever gonna win one of these things, it has to win the marquee games.

Dec. 2: Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Duke at Wisconsin, Florida State at Ohio State. Same story, different day.

Dec. 5: North Carolina at Kentucky. The defending champs travel to Rupp to face John Calipari's fab freshmen. Frankly, it should and could be the best game of the non-conference slate.

Dec. 6: Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series. Kansas at UCLA, Arizona at Oklahoma. The two best games of the series on the same day.

Dec. 6: BB&T Classic. Maryland vs. Villanova in Washington D.C. Because I want to see Greivis Vasquez against the Wildcats' array of guards.

Dec. 8: Jimmy V Classic. Butler vs. Georgetown, Indiana vs. Pittsburgh. I'll be interested to see how far Tom Crean's come in his Hoosier rebuilding project, but Bulldogs vs. Hoyas is the better game.

Dec. 9: SEC/Big East Invitational (in NYC): UConn vs. Kentucky. Jim Calhoun and John Calipari aren't friends, to say the least. Their teams can fight it out.

Dec. 10: SEC/Big East Invitational (in Tampa, Fla.). Florida vs. Syracuse. The Orange lost a heap from last year's squad, but don't sleep on Jim Boeheim's team.

Dec. 11: Sun Belt Classic. Vandy vs. Western Kentucky. Can the Hilltoppers pull off their usual March Madness in December?

Dec. 12: Ohio State at Butler. Gordon Hayward shows Thad Matta's team just how good a mid-major can be. Wait, Siena did that last March…

Dec. 12: Siena vs. Northern Iowa. Speaking of the Saints, they face one of the MVC's best teams in Cedar Rapids.

Dec. 13: Cincinnati at Xavier. Never miss the crosstown throwdown. It should be a law.

Dec. 19: Creighton at New Mexico. The Pit ain't an easy place to play. But that won't deter the Blue Jays.

Dec. 19: North Carolina vs. Texas (At Cowboys Stadium). Two Final Four contenders playing in what could eventually be a Final Four venue. Love it.

Dec. 19: Duke vs. Gonzaga (at MSG). This could be the Devils' first loss of the season.

Dec. 19: Xavier at Butler. The winner wins unofficial title of best mid-major. (Not that either wants to be called that.)

Dec. 22: Michigan State at Texas. Spartans and 'Horns have killed non-conference skeds. It's just another treat for us fans.

Dec. 22: Cal at Kansas. The Pac-10's best travels to the Big 12's best. Don't blink or you'll miss Jerome Randle.

Dec. 22: Las Vegas Classic. Nebraska vs. Tulsa, BYU vs. Nevada. The 'Cane should give the Huskers fits, while the Cougars and Wolf Pack should go down to wire.

Dec. 23: Illinois vs. Missouri (in St. Louis).This matchup has been one of the best the last few years.

Dec. 31: Oklahoma vs. Gonzaga (in Seattle). Trying to decide if this is how I'll ring in the New Year.

Jan. 1: West Virginia at Purdue. Forget the college football games. Both Boilermakers and Mountaineers have Final Four aspirations.

Jan. 2: Louisville at Kentucky. This game lost some luster the last few years, but John Calipari's arrival ends that. It's time for this rivalry to resume its place alongside Duke-UNC and Cincinnait-Xavier in terms of sheer entertainment.

Jan. 10: Kansas at Tennessee. The Jayhawks dismantled the Vols last season in Lawrence. Will a road test be any different?

Jan. 23: Texas at UConn. Neither team really needs a test like this in this middle of conference play, but hey, I'm all for it.

Feb. 6: Gonzaga at Memphis. New rosters, no Calipari, but still a classic non-conference set-up.

Follow me on Twitter and get more college basketball news at NBCSports.com.

Self-promotion/programming alert!

The plan to roll out a new preview for the 2009-10 season began Sunday with the Top 10 conferences. Coming this week: Games you can't miss.

I know, I know, you can hardly wait. Perhaps these links will help tide you over.

The Big Monday slate for ESPN was announced last week, and it's no slouch. Villanova at Louisville. Kansas at Texas. West Virginia at UConn. Love it. Rush the Court points to Feb. 8 as the best day ('Nova at West Virginia, followed by KU at Texas), and they may not be wrong. Regardless, it gives you a reason to finally like Monday. (Me, I work Sunday through Thursday so that's actually my Tuesday, but I digress.)

Most of the holiday tournament kerfuffle was covered last month, but in case you were on vacation, here are some pertinent links. A breakdown of the six biggies and some bemoaning. (And here's the definition of kerfuffle.)

Links for conference schedules follow: ACC; A-10; Big East; Big 12; Big Ten; C-USA; MWC; Pac-10; SEC, among others.

But the best link is probably this breakdown from Luke Winn. He details the five toughest non-conferences schedules (actually the Top 10), two of the weakest and some other intriguing matchups. Good stuff.

Myles Brand's death on Wednesday prompted an outpouring of stories and columns reflecting on his time as the NCAA president, his impact in that position and the move that vaulted Brand into the public eye, how he handled and eventually fired Bob Knight at Indiana.

Here's a roundup from the best I read on the web.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty images

Myles Brand

Mike DeCourcy, Sporting News: Brand's lasting legacy includes a greater focus on athletes' welfare, more accountability toward academics and an embracing of basketball that was essential to the game's development.

Andy Katz, ESPN: Brand was always willing to listen. You may not have agreed with him, but he was a good listener and a good soul.

Alexander Wolff, Sports Illustrated: The man who made his reputation by firing Knight cemented it forever as NCAA president when he ended the practice of paying lip service to academic performance.

Dennis Dodd, CBS Sportsline: Brand's legacy much more than simply firing Knight, though he was right to put Knight in his place.

(It's interesting to think about the relationship between Brand and Knight. Both valued academics above nearly everything else (the graduation rate of Knight's players at Indiana was reportedly 98 percent), yet they'll forever be viewed as polar opposites. Just sayin'.)

Kevin Blackistone, Fanhouse: If anyone epitomized the "speak softly and carry a big stick" mantra, it was Brand.

Christine Brennan, USA Today: The NCAA lost one of its finest leaders and a pragmatic reformer.

Mark Alesia, Indianapolis Star: Brand didn't have the power of a czar, but he made great use of the bully pulpit.

The college hoops godsend returns for another season. And it's even better.

ESPN announced the Nov. 17 schedule for its hoops marathon to open the 2009-10 season. It added a few timeslots, bringing the total to 19 total games – 17 on the men's side and 2 from the women.

And, unlike last season when ESPN used a kickoff show to fill some of the time, it's truly a round-the-clock day. Monmouth and St. Peter's, two New Jersey schools, play each other at 6 a.m. ET. It's followed by Drexel at Niagara at 8 a.m. That's some dedication.

The network has broadcast about 8,200 college hoops games, but it's never had any in those time slots. I bet. Getting up at 6 a.m. is hard enough, let alone playing hoops. Or not.

Mary Ann Chastain/AP

Will Trevor Booker and Clemson escape the 24-hoops marathon unscathed?

ESPN programmer Nick Dawson told USA Today that "There were definitely schools who weren't interested. But to my surprise, lots of people were interested."

Anyway, there's a complete schedule of all the action below. Quite a few games are must-sees, including Michigan State-Gonzaga, Memphis-Kansas, Arkansas-Louisville and Clemson-Liberty (seriously, the Tigers are playing at Liberty at 10 a.m.; sounds like upset material), which is what you'd expect in a field with 14 NCAA tournament teams from 2009.

Andy Katz has a complete breakdown of the games here. He tries to make compelling reasons to watch each game, not an easy task given Northern Colorado plays at Hawaii at 4 a.m. ET. (Hint: That's when even die-hard viewers catch up on the zzzzs.)

For readers who don't want to sift through the bull, try Rush the Court's preview instead. Not quite as much text and it also gives a link to their "coma-inducing live blog" from last year. My favorite section follows:

5:46pm – Fatigue sets in.  I can't deny it at this point.  I just went outside to get something out of the car and when I came back in, as I realized 20 minutes later, I left the back door wide open.  Sure, come on in, everyone.  Come on in and kill me.
5:50pm – Energy drink.
5:57pm — Energy drink.
5:59pm — It's over.  90-55, Baylor.
6:01pm — Coffee.
6:07pm – Atrial fibrillation.

That's called taking one for the team. Remember to stock up on Red Bull.

Schedule (all times Eastern)

Midnight -- Cal State Fullerton at UCLA, ESPN/ESPN360.com
2 a.m. -- San Diego State at St. Mary's, ESPN/ESPN360.com 

4 a.m. -- Northern Colorado at Hawaii, ESPN/ESPN360.com 

6 a.m. -- Monmouth at St. Peter's, ESPN/ESPN360.com

8 a.m. -- Drexel at Niagara, ESPN/ESPN360.com  

10 a.m. -- Clemson at Liberty, ESPN/ESPN360.com

Noon -- Northeastern at Siena, ESPN/ESPN360.com 
2 p.m. -- Arkansas Little-Rock at Tulsa, ESPN/ESPN360.com

4 p.m. -- Temple at Georgetown, ESPN/ESPN360.com  
5:30 p.m. -- O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic: Binghamton at Pittsburgh, ESPN2/ESPN360.com

6 p.m. -- Dick's Sporting Goods NIT: TBD at Duke*, ESPN/ESPN360.com  
7 p.m. -- ESPNU Road to the Championship: Tennessee vs. Texas Tech (women's game from San Antonio), ESPNU

7:30 p.m. -- Hall of Fame Showcase: Arkansas vs. Louisville (from St. Louis), ESPN2/ESPN360.com

8 p.m. -- Gonzaga at Michigan State, ESPN/ESPN360.com 
8 p.m. -- Northern Illinois at Illinois, ESPN360.com

9 p.m. -- ESPNU O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic: Duquesne at Iowa, ESPNU 
9:30 p.m. -- ESPNU Road to the Championship: Connecticut vs. Texas (women's game from San Antonio), ESPN2/ESPN360.com

10 p.m. -- Hall of Fame Showcase: Memphis vs. Kansas (from St. Louis), ESPN/ESPN360.com
11:30 p.m. -- Dick's Sporting Goods NIT: TBD at Arizona State*, ESPN2/ESPN360.com

Wednesday officially marks the end of an era: Tamir Goodman is retiring from pro basketball.

Don't give me that look. Surely you remember the "Jewish Jordan," the guy who received acclaim as a high school player in the late '90s when he was tearing it up for Talmudical Academy of Baltimore?

Goodman, an Orthodox Jew, averaged 35.4 points a game and was at one point ranked the 25^th-best high school player in the country. 60 Minutes, ESPN and SI did profiles on him. Maryland offered him a scholarship. Ring any bells?

Yep, that Tamir Goodman.

He never did play for the Terps. Concerns about not being available on Friday nights and Saturdays caused a significant amount of backlash. He ended up at Towson for one season, averaged 6 points, 4 assists and 2.5 boards a game and left after one season. Check out this video for some Goodman highlights.

Anyway, he's been playing hoops in Israel the last few years, most recently for Maccabi Haifa. He'll now work with the team the director of the Haifa Hoops for Kids program. That means organizing benefit basketball games and getting underprivileged and special needs kids tickets for games, among other things.

Sounds like he's ready for it, too. Goodman's career didn't include the NBA, but he hasn't been wasting time, either. He says he's held clinics and camps for about 24,000 children. 24K!

Anyone who brings basketball to the masses like that deserves a Jordan moniker.

What do Thad Matta, Rick Barnes, John Beilein and Bruce Pearl have in common? Is it:

A)   They all won at least 20 games last season.

B)   They all make more than $1.3 million per year.

C)   They all work at football schools.

D)   All of the above.

The observant reader and college hoops fan undoubtedly chose D. Yet oddly enough, C plays a big reason why the answer is all of the above.

Ah, college football. The monster revenue machine in college sports. Check out this list of D-I school listed by athletic revenue. It's loaded with football schools from BCS conferences. And it's that BCS revenue that helps hoops coaches build their programs.

Some coaches may find it difficult to play second fiddle at a football school, but Dana O'Neil informs us it depends on that coach's attitude.

Take a guy like Rick Barnes. He's been at Texas since 1998, hasn't missed an NCAA tournament since '99, went to a Final Four in 2003 and had the national player of the year in 2007. Yet no one would argue that regardless of his program's success, football always takes precedence in Austin. Always.

But it's not a bad thing.

"Football is a major help," he told O'Neil. "You bring kids in for visits on home weekends, the exposure your school gets, you can't match that."

Billy Donovan says it wasn't easy building Florida into a contender, but all it took was a few good recruiting classes and some NCAA tourney success. Because until you convince basketball players that people will care about them at a hoops school, it's hard to get them to come.

Still, being one of the haves is better than being one of the have-nots. Even if coaches like Oklahoma's Jeff Capel complain about recruiters "sending negative mailouts or will just tell kids, 'You don't want to go there. That's a football school,'" surely it's better to be at a high-profile spot than struggling somewhere that doesn't have the football factor.

After all, these guys all came from mid-major schools, eager to leave that challenge for more money and possibly a run in the Big Dance.

Who wouldn't play second fiddle for that?  

Any school stuck with the "mid-major" label hates the label, and rightly so. It's the defacto way to refer to any non-BCS school – yes, a football term applies to basketball references – and becomes a catchall term for people in the media and the blogosphere.

Is it nice? Probably not. (Ask Lefty Driesell if he ever coached at a mid-major.) Is it here to stay? Yeah.

(Note: Not everyone agrees on which conferences apply as mid-majors. The Mid-Majority categorizes them like this, which includes the MWC and C-USA. I'll stick with the casual definition for the purposes of this post.)

Jim Mone/AP

Dayton's Charles Little goes up for a shot against West Virginia last March.

But the bigger problem isn't the term mid-major. It's the money those schools don't receive because of the BCS. Gary Parrish wrote a story on the gap between BCS schools and mid-majors last month that spelled out a lot of the problems, but The Blackburn Review (a Dayton hoops blog), did an in-depth Q&A with Parrish that covers the same ground and is more frank – and depressing if you're a mid-major fan – about the situation.

Some excerpts:

-- The gap for exposure, resources, finances etc is wide now, but in 5-10 years, it'll only get worse. Some schools (Gonzaga, Xavier) will always be able to compete, but most would finish dead last in BCS conferences.

-- Crappy basketball programs have the dough to hire good coaches. VCU's had its last two coaches (Jeff Capel and Anthony Grant) hired by Oklahoma and Alabama, two football schools. The money and the facilities that money pays for stems from the BCS.

For proof, consider that Memphis and Xavier (perhaps the two best non-BCS programs) both lost their coaches this season, and they replaced them with assistants. Memphis -- coming off four Sweet 16s and with a  $250 million arena that is sold out every game -- couldn't get Baylor's coach, Tennessee's coach, USC's coach or Florida State's coach to leave the BCS. That should tell you something.

-- Stability at a mid-major is nice (For example, Mark Few's been at Gonzaga since '99), but it doesn't matter when talking about talent. Experience will result in wins, but not NCAA tournament wins.

You show me a senior-laden team, and I'll show you a team that's not very talented, a team that'll get run off the court by John Calipari's freshmen. The Butlers and Sienas and George Masons can have good records, upset some people and maybe -- once every 20 years -- get to a Final Four. But it's rare. And I can't imagine one of them ever winning a national title again. Sadly, that's the truth. I don't like it. But that's the truth.

It's not that any of this is new or different. It's just striking to read the sheer disappointment/hopelessness for the mid-majors in Parrish's voice.

In short, the message is: Enjoy those mid-major conference titles, 'cause a national title ain't happening. Ever.

To Blackburn Review's credit, it disagrees with some of Parrish's points, notably the quality of basketball at most football schools (Georgia and Nebraska, among others, stink), which raises the possibility of fewer BCS schools dominating the hoops landscape.

But even BR acknowledges that sometimes life ain't fair. And when you're talking about mid-majors, that's probably true.

(H/T: A Sea of Blue)