Emmanuel Negedu says he's following his dream by transferring to New Mexico to continue his basketball career.

Good luck, Emmanuel. It could end up being a bad dream.

Negedu suffered sudden cardiac arrest last September after he completed a Tennessee weightlifting session and was racing a teammate on the Vols' indoor football field. He lost consciousness, had no pulse and had to be revived with a defibrillator. He later had surgery to implant a cardiac defibrillator in his chest to monitor his heart's rhythm and deliver energy when an irregularity occurs.

That was enough for Vols coach Bruce Pearl to declare Negedu's playing career over. Not Negedu.

"I've got to do what I've got to do," the 21-year-old said. "I want to chase my dreams to play basketball. I want to do what makes me happy, and that's what makes me so happy."

Pearl's worried Negedu's health could again take a serious turn, which makes sense. Negedu's heart stopped and he now relies on a machine to ensure it works properly. If that's not scary for an elite athlete, I don't know what is.

Good luck, Emmanuel. Be healthy.

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Well, that didn't take long.

Hours after a report surfaced that Kentucky coach John Calipari was interested in the Chicago Bulls coaching vacancy, the school announced that it'll re-do his contract. That's no small deal, either. Calipari's 8-year, $31.65 million deal already makes him college basketball's highest-paid coach.

"I'm extremely proud of what Coach Calipari has done in just one year as the leader of our men's basketball program," Kentucky A.D. Mitch Barnhart said. "Cal has brought Kentucky men's basketball back to its rightful place of national prominence and I'm excited about our future."

Barnhart hopes the new deal will keep Calipari in Lexington for the rest of his career. If Calipari's tweets are to be believed, it could be true.

"Throughout my career I've been mentioned for other jobs," Calipari wrote. "Now that I'm here u won't hear about other colleges because I've got the best job. Every year you will hear my named mentioned for NBA jobs because I coached in the league before. I'm very happy at Kentucky."

I'm sure that's true. He led the Wildcats back to national prominence this season, going 35-3 and reaching the Elite Eight. He's running arguably the place to play. Who wouldn't be happy?

Then again, a cynic might believe the rumors and say Barnhart is just doing the smart thing. A new contract would certainly contain a new buyout clause, which means if Calipari does ever bolt to the NBA, Kentucky will get nice chunk of change.

Everybody wins! Well, everyone except the NBA team…

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Lorenzo Romar took the high road.

During a press conference yesterday, Washington's coach was repeatedly asked various forms the question "Who's at fault in the Terrence Jones drama," but used various forms of no comment or simply saying very little rather than criticize anyone. (Also, recruiting rules prevent him from explicitly commenting on Jones.)

An example:

Q: You didn't recruit Ross until he de-committed from Maryland. Is that typically the way you operate? If a kid is verbally committed somewhere, you won't interfere.

A: "That is correct. If the kid were to for instance, never mind. Next question."

The whole press conference is available in a Seattle Times blog post here, but it's not just about Jones. Romar also answers questions about how his team will play next season, their style, new recruit Terrence Ross and Isaiah Thomas' health, but most of the questions kept circling back to Jones.

Q: Is the practice of luring away verbally committed kids common?

A: (Laughter). Yeah. I'd say so. For a lot of schools. For a lot of situations."

Q: But not always?

A: "Nah. It is interesting. Sometimes a kid will be committed and then something goes on 4-5 months later. The kid commits as a sophomore. Some things happen. There's a coaching change. And he has a different perspective and he wants to open up his commitment at that time. Anyone that begins to recruit him, just like us with Terrence Ross. You make sure that the commitment is over (and) that the kid is opening up his commitment at that point."

The coach on the other end of the Jones saga, Kentucky's John Calipari, took the same stance Monday. He told the Lexington Herald-Leader that he simply tries to stay away.

"If he's made a verbal commitment, we just lay off until the kid publicly de-commits, which has happened before," Calipari said. "If he's committed to a school, then I would not (contact the recruit). There's no rule against it, there's no law against it. I just don't do it."

Three days later, Jones still hasn't signed a letter of intent. It's clear now that he just wasn't ready to decide, which begs the question: Why force him to choose when he's not ready?

Romar, should we just do away with the recruiting news conferences?

A: "(Laughter) I don't know. For those guys, sometimes it's ... If there was a press conference and you're throwing confetti out of the sky and gold glitter everywhere and everybody is dancing, then maybe that would get out of control at that point. Some of those guys those I think it's a pretty special day for them. They're proud of what's going on. It's not always the kid's idea. It's not always the family's idea. Sometimes the school says hey we want to do this for you. They have graduation parties. At events they have at graduation in high school, they'll have everyone that's getting a scholarship - an academic scholarship - stand up and be recognized. So when it's done in good taste, I don't have a problem with it."

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Every conference expansion conversation usually centers around football because the pigskin drives the revenue. As a result, there's not as much basketball speculation with expansion.

Until now.

The fine folks at Rush the Court broke down the expansion scenarios for the Big Ten, Big East, Pac-10, Big 12, SEC, ACC and what might happen to the A-10, Conference USA and Mountain West as a result. Specifically, the basketball scenarios.

Normally I'd excerpt several bits, but there's far too much that went into the post – including graphics on what expansion could look like – for anyone not to click on it. So go read it. Here's the link again.

And now, let's hope none of it happens.

Mike Miller's also on Twitter, usually talkin' hoops. Click here to follow him.

At the rate John Calipari's going, it'll be news when Kentucky doesn't bring in a top-flight recruiting class. And when that happens, it'll probably be because Calipari's no longer coaching in Lexington…

For those not paying attention – or who ignore recruiting news – Calipari's debut season with the Wildcats resulted in a freshman class for the ages: four five-star recruits, including the nation's top two players, John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins. Last week, he secured the top players in the class of 2010, Brandon Knight, and 2011, Michael Gilchrist.

And now, he added to his class of 2011 by convincing point guard Marquis Teague – the No. 2 overall recruit – to come to Lexington. More impressive was that Teague was seen as a lock to attend Louisville, which had recruited him hard the past two years. How many players can say no to Rick Pitino like that?

"I almost committed to Louisville twice, but that just shows what Coach Cal can do," Teague told the Louisville Courier-Journal. "It means Coach Cal is a great coach and a great man to change my mind like that."

That's the No. 1 recruit in 2009, 2010 and 2011 and the Nos. 1 and 2 recruits in two out of three years. (Also, Derrick Rose was the No. 1 overall recruit in 2007. Just sayin'.)

(whistles)

The familiar refrain of "you can't win a national title with freshmen" will keep surfacing, but with this kind of talent and Calipari's recent record – he's 172-17 at Memphis and Kentucky in the last five seasons – the Wildcats are always going to be in the title hunt. (How ridiculous is that record? Moreso than his recruiting hauls?)

And give Teague some credit. With Gilchrist on the wing, he's thinking bigger.

"I think we can do some great things at Kentucky, have a nice dynasty," he told the Lexington Herald-Leader.

It's possible. Kentucky's already three years into the recruiting dynasty.

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John Calipari and Kentucky rule the spring signing period. But is it ever going to translate into a Final Four or an NCAA tournament title?

Another stellar recruiting class is headed to Lexington – and that class still isn't complete – yet some think Kentucky's merely spinning its wheels by being a holding ground for one-and-done players who have their eyes on the NBA. Does that benefit teams like Michigan State and Duke that are merely adding talent and not re-loading entire rosters?

Jim McIsaac / Getty Images

John Calipari has proven he can win no matter who's on the roster.

Can you win a title with new teams every season? Hold that thought.

Kentucky may have a sense of déjà vu next season – talented freshmen, high expectations – but what else is Calipari supposed to do? Pass on the best recruits out there because they might not stay in school? Nonsense.

Let's recap: The 'Cats, headed by freshmen John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and junior Patrick Patterson, finished 35-3 this season, swept the SEC regular-season and conference titles and reached the Elite Eight.

What aspect of that season didn't work? Didn't we all decide Kentucky was one of the nation's best teams?

The 'Cats were one win shy of the Final Four. Last I checked, Kansas, Syracuse, Villanova and Ohio State also fell short and none of those teams relied on freshmen to carry the load. Stuff happens in the tournament and the best teams sometimes falter, regardless of whether they're loaded with freshmen.  

So we're writing off any future Calipari teams because his first year at Kentucky didn't result in a title or a Final Four? Crazy talk. Perhaps Kentucky won't win 35 games next season with Brandon Knight, Enes Kanter and Stacey Poole new to the roster, but that's a group still capable of reaching the Final Four. 

Calipari entered the season with several goals and nearly met them all. Rule the SEC? Check. Advance in the tournament? Check. Re-establish Kentucky as one of the premier programs? Check.

Re-read that last one again. Kentucky's the place nearly everyone wants to play. And as long as that talent keeps flowing into Lexington, we'd be foolish to write off the Wildcats as contenders.

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It took a month, but Rick Stansbury paid for speaking his mind after Mississippi State's loss to Kentucky in the SEC tournament title game.

The Bulldogs coach was miffed when Kentucky guard John Wall appeared to make a lane violation during a free throw by teammate DeMarcus Cousins Eric Bledsoe. He tried to keep cool afterward, but couldn't do it. The Dispatch (Starkville, Miss.) has the details.

Once during the media session, Stansbury said "I'm not talking about officiating, I'm talking about the play," but comments made before and after that disclaimer were clearly aimed at a call he thought should have been made.

"It's a very obvious lane violation," Stansbury said. "Both guys in that lane line up outside that three point line. Well the ball's six, eight feet from the rim and you got two guys in the top of the paint, Wall and (Darius) Miller. It's a very obvious lane violation. Obvious. It was not called."

Stansbury continued: "If it's the right call, you make the call. It's a game-changing call. It wasn't something that's even close."  

That was enough for the SEC to fine Stansbury $30,000.

It's part of the conference's new rule (Bylaw 10.5.4) that prohibits coaches, players and support personnel from publicly criticizing officials. (Florida football coach Urban Meyer paid a $30 K fine last year.)

Seems doubtful Stansbury will do it again, either. That's the kind of fine NBA coaches usually receive, not college coaches.

Mike Miller's also on Twitter, usually talkin' hoops. Click here for more.  

John Calipari's initial recruiting class at Kentucky was an all-timer.

This year's may not be far behind.

If Gatorade player of the year Brandon Knight signs joins the Wildcats as expected – he'll make his announcement Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET – it'll give UK the nation's No. 1 recruit in back-to-back years. If that's not enough, Kentucky already has big man Enes Kanter and wing Stacey Poole Jr., two instant impact players.

Even if the class doesn't have four first-round picks like it did in 2009, it'll be awfully close.

"It's hard to hit the lottery like that every single year," Scout.com analyst Dave Telep told the Lexington Herald-Leader. "But it doesn't really matter anyway. Because here's the deal: If Kanter and Knight are who Kentucky signs, you did the best you possibly could given the talent pool and what's out there. You achieved your goal. You lost two guys. You replaced them with two of the best guys you possibly could.

"Comparing them is for people sitting around offices who have too much time on their hands."

After Knight, Kentucky could still grab guys like Portland, Ore., forward Terrence Jones, Raleigh, N.C. swingman C.J. Leslie (who played with John Wall in high school) or Atlanta swingman Marcus Thornton, who withdrew his commitment to Clemson when Oliver Purnell took the DePaul job.

Adding one of those three to a class with Knight, Kanter and Poole would probably go down as the biggest two-year recruiting haul in hoops history.

Next year, Calipari will probably make it three in a row.

Mike Miller's also on Twitter, usually talkin' hoops. Click here for more.

Editor's note: March Madness is too much for any one person to handle, so I'm adding help. The guys behind Ballin' Is a Habit, Rob Dauster and Troy Machir, will be contributing throughout March and into the Final Four, both with content from their Web site and original articles for us. This post originally appeared at BIAH.

By Rob Dauster

We knew that John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, and Patrick Patterson were going to be leaving school after this season. Wall and Cousins are the reason the types of players for whom the one-and-done rule was created. Patterson will graduate at the end of this semester. What does he have left to come back for?

Eric Bledsoe has been considered near a lock to enter the draft for some time now -- he said it's "a good possibility" while Kentucky was in Syracuse for the tournament. Bledsoe is likely going to be projected as a lottery pick as well, meaning that it makes sense for him to leave.

Then we have Daniel Orton. Over the last week or so, it has become clear that Orton intends to enter the draft. Orton, in a refreshingly candid and honest moment, said "You know, if I'm a lottery pick, it's something I have to think about. ... More than anything, it's money. In this world, there's only one color that matters, and that's green. If that's an option, then that's real important. I've got to (explore) that option." His father has said he is going pro, and Kentucky Sports Radio believes he may even be leaving Lexington this weekend to move to L.A. to train.

But there's more. During the McDonald's All-American game, Draft Express tweeted "DeMarcus Cousins here in Columbus. Apparently saying Darnell Dodson is declaring for draft & that Cal told him only 4 UK players returning." KSR didn't exactly confirm this, but they did say "I would be surprised to see Darnell Dodson on the team next season. ... I do not believe the actual reason is due to a decision to declare for the NBA Draft, regardless of what is said. I think it is more likely an internal team issue and if Dodson is not on the team next season (and at this point it is still an "if"), that is the reason why."

Factor in the three seniors -- Perry Stevenson, Mark Krebs, and Ramon Harris -- and UK will be losing nine players next season, including essentially the entire group that some considered the best recruiting class of all time.

So where does that leave Kentucky?

With just four players left on the roster, John Calipari will have his work cut out for him just to get 13 scholarships filled. Those four are Jon Hood (who was considering transferring himself earlier in the season), Darius Miller, DeAndre Liggins, and Josh Harrellson. Calipari has also already gotten commitments from Stacey Poole and Enes Kanter (a five-star recruit who may very well be facing a suspension next season for playing with professionals in his native Turkey), which gives him six players.

All hope is not loss for Kentucky. They do have John Calipari and they are still in the mix for kids like Brandon Knight, Josh Selby, Terrence Ross, CJ Leslie, and Luke Cothron.

But it raises the question - is it really worth it? Do you really want to bring in five kids that are going to stay for just one season before going pro? Even at Memphis, when Calipari had quite a bit of roster turnover, he was still bringing back a lot of key pieces each season.

I'm not one of those people who is going to rail against early entry to the NBA Draft. I don't necessarily like the one-and-done rule, but it isn't because I don't think these kids should be allowed to go pro. In fact, I think that the four freshmen and Patterson should go to the NBA. If you are going to be a top 15-20 pick, and you want the guaranteed money, leave. You can always go back and get an education. Why cut another year out of your earning potential when you can start making a life-changing amount of money right now?

I'm sure many are going to end up question Calipari for bringing in this many one-and-dones. And while I agree that it is not the best way to build a program, think about this -- who else is he supposed to bring in? Cal is known as one of the great recruiters in the country. If he is going to be going after the best players in the country, then he -- and the fans -- needs to realize that he is going after guys that don't have a college basketball national title as a goal.

He's bringing in guys that want to make the league. And if one moderately successful season in college is enough to get them a guaranteed contract, who are we to complain?

Calipari's doing his job. He's bringing the best players he can into the Kentucky program, and he's doing the best job he can to get them prepared for the career they want to pursue.

Now think about this. Cal now has a proven track record of success in getting his players drafted, particularly the one-and-dones.

Doesn't that make him more appealing as a coach if you are a recruit that does, in fact, want to be a one-and-done player?

Almost a year ago to the day, Calipari was hired at Kentucky. He rebuilt the entire roster for last season.

Who's to say he can't do it again?

You can find more of Rob's writing at Ballin' is a Habit and follow him on Twitter @ballinishabit.

Mike Segar / Reuters Will DeMarcus Cousins, Daniel Orton, and John Wall be back in Lexington?

Kentucky's marvelous season came to an end Saturday against West Virginia, in a game where – for once – its marvelous freshmen couldn't deliver.

John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and the rest left the court three wins shy of their goal, winning a national title. Conventional thinking has been that this would be their only chance to win a title with this group of fab freshmen, and it doesn't sound like that's changed.

"It hurts. And the part that hurts the most is that we'll never get a chance to play with each other again," Cousins said afterward. "That's the part that's killing me the most. I'll never be able to play with my teammates, my brothers, again."

Wall was mum on his future.

"I'm not worried about the talk of what I'm doing next," he said.  "I'm going to sit back and enjoy the rest of my college year with my teammates and finish the rest of the school year out."

OK, that means I'll have to speculate. (Well, me and the rest of the 'Net.)

Wall, Cousins and fellow freshmen Daniel Orton and Eric Bledsoe, along with junior Patrick Patterson (who's set to graduate this year) all fielded questions earlier this month on their draft thoughts.

All five could very well bolt. But will they? They have until April 25 to declare.

Wall is seen as the likely No. 1 overall selection in June's NBA draft. He's as fast with the ball as he is without, explosive off the dribble, a solid defender and an excellent passer. He's the easy equivalent of Derrick Rose. If you're the top pick, you go. Does he love Kentucky that much to stay?

Cousins is essentially in the same situation. He's probably a Top 5 pick (according to this and this), which means his stock can't go much higher if he stays another season. Plus, he's ready for the NBA. But I've read that if Wall returns, Cousins would. Call it the dream scenario.

If Wall and Cousins return, Patterson could do the same, but the guy will have his degree and three stellar years to his credit. Hard to see him back.

Orton and Bledsoe are the wild cards.

Both are seen as first-round selections in 2011, but if either gets serious consideration as lottery picks this season they've already said they'd think about it.

Orton's a good bet to return. He didn't get much exposure during the tournament and scouts would be taking a leap of faith.

Bledsoe's the hardest to predict. He's flashed lottery-type potential, yet would undoubtedly benefit from another season in Lexington. If John Calipari lands star recruit Brandon Knight, will Bledsoe want to play second fiddle to yet another No. 1 overall recruit?

My feeling is Bledsoe and Orton stay and help keep Kentucky among the 2011 contenders.

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Tony Barbee decided to go the Lane Kiffin route. With Big Blue Nation focused on Kentucky's game against Cornell, maybe that's not a bad idea.

Auburn's new coach opened his introductory press conference with this statement: "We're going right after Kentucky," Barbee said Thursday, "and we're going right after coach [John] Calipari."

Sounds a lot like Kiffin when he took over at Tennessee, eh? Barbee, who led UTEP to the Conference USA title and an NCAA tournament berth this season, went just as bold, but his follow-up wasn't quite as brash as Kiffin's..    

"There's one way you get to the top: You go after the people that are at the top, and right now that's where Kentucky sits," said Barbee, who received a six-year contract worth $1.5 million annually. "That was our challenge in Conference USA. And we didn't hesitate to go and get some players that I thought could have played at Memphis, could have played anywhere in any league in the country. That's why we had the success that we had this year, and finally overtook Memphis in Conference USA."

Of course, some would say UTEP overtook Memphis this season because Calipari went to Kentucky. The chances of Auburn becoming the SEC's best team probably hinges more on Kentucky stumbling.

And I can't see that happening anytime soon.  

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Kentucky's freshmen are talented and smart. Here's proof.

It's widely assumed that John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins are bound for the NBA after the NCAA tournament ends. Both are projected to be among the first five picks chosen – maybe even the first three – which would mean anywhere from $17 to $10 million in guaranteed money. For that kind of dough, you don't think you go.

Fellow freshmen Eric Bledsoe and Daniel Orton haven't received the same acclaim as Cousins and Wall, but say that if they were going to be lottery picks, they'd also go.

From a story by Jerry Tipton of the Lexington Herald-Leader:

When asked how likely he was to enter this year's NBA Draft, Orton said, "Hmm. You know, if I'm a lottery pick, it's something I have to think about. That's for sure."

Bledsoe was even more direct. "I mean, it's a good possibility," he said before adding that his immediate priority would be to advance Kentucky far in this NCAA Tournament.

And the thing is, both would probably have the blessing of Kentucky coach John Calipari. He understands players are after the NBA. It's all part of the game.

"You kind of look and try to plan a little bit, as much as you can plan — you can't plan much," he said last week. "But midway through that year, you have a pretty good idea and you just go from there. I don't know that you can do it any other way. If you are trying to recruit the best players, kids are going to leave."

No coach wants a player to leave – Wake Forest was ecstatic Al-Farouq Aminu stayed for his sophomore season – but this year's Kentucky squad will be an interesting case. It's loaded with NBA-caliber talent. How long that talent sticks around is another story.

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