Louisville coach Rick Pitino met with former Wake Forest center Tony Woods last weekend in Louisville. Pitino has spoken with Woods' former AAU coach Norman Parker, his former Wake Forest coach Dino Gaudio and has been in contact with attorney Mike Grace, who says he's representing Woods.
Pitino has also been in contact with Woods' girlfriend, who was the victim in an assault case that led to Woods' arrest and subsequent departure from Wake Forest after he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of assaulting a female.
Parker, along with multiple sources with direct knowledge of the situation, said Pitino is checking on Woods' character to see if he merits a second chance.
"I would suspect other coaches are doing the same thing," Parker said. "But he wants to go to Louisville and he wants to take care of his [legal] obligation. He knows what he did wasn't right."
Woods was arrested in Winston-Salem, N.C., on Labor Day, after he was accused by police of kicking and pushing down his girlfriend, identified by the Winston-Salem Journal as Courtney Lorel Barbour, in front of their 8-month-old child, causing Barbour to fracture her spine. A judge dismissed two of the misdemeanor charges Woods faced -- assault inflicting serious injury and assault inflicting injury in the presence of a child.
As part of a plea agreement, Woods pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault on a female and was given a suspended 60-day sentence. Grace said Woods also must complete 100 hours of community service, as well as anger-management classes.
If Woods fulfills his legal obligations, which could be transferred to the state of Kentucky from North Carolina, he could be enrolled at Louisville for the second semester. However, he would not be eligible for an athletic scholarship for a year because he's not in school this semester.
Even if all that occurs, Pitino still has to feel comfortable about Woods being at Louisville before he accepts him into the program, according to sources close to the program. One of the main reasons Louisville considered taking Woods initially is in large part because of the connection between assistant coach Tim Fuller and the coaching staffs of Gaudio and the late Skip Prosser. Fuller graduated from Wake Forest in 2000 and served as director of basketball operations for the Demon Deacons from 2004-06. Had there not been someone to vouch for Woods, then Pitino may not be willing to even entertain the gamble.
Woods was suspended from the Wake Forest team following his arrest. He was later dismissed from school for the fall semester by the university's student ethics and honor council. According to multiple sources who had knowledge of the WFU hearing, it was revealed that this was not the first incident involving Woods and Barbour, who has since supported Woods.
In the latest incident, according to Winston-Salem police, Woods and Barbour got into an argument in their apartment with their 8-month-old son present. Woods kicked and shoved Barbour, who told authorities she had recently fallen from her dormitory loft and hurt her back and that's what had caused the spinal fracture.
After hearing testimony, the Wake Forest ethics committee determined Woods was no longer welcome at the school for the foreseeable future. Woods could have decided to do his community service and court-appointed classes in North Carolina and returned to Wake Forest, where he would have to appeal for reinstatement. But since he didn't take the minimum six hours in the fall semester, he would have had to sit out the second semester.
Woods chose to seek a release from the school, which athletic director Ron Wellman granted without reservation.
Grace said he became familiar with Woods' situation through his son, Michael, who played AAU basketball with Demon Deacons guard C.J. Harris, a former teammate of Woods.
Grace said he has since written a letter on Woods' behalf, endorsing him to other schools, notably Louisville. Grace said that Woods was a young adult in a pressure-packed situation with another young adult and "reacted poorly."
Parker, Woods' AAU coach, concurred.
"Tony is a fine young man and he has good character, but he understands he made a mistake, even just putting a hand on a woman. He knows that now -- a push or a shove, he knows that it was inappropriate," Parker said. "It's unfortunate and he has paid the consequences. He's got to do what the state has asked him to do and he'll be stronger and a more mature young man."
Three years ago, the 6-foot-11 Woods was a part of a heralded incoming freshman class at Wake Forest, led by Ty Walker and first-round NBA draft pick Al-Farouq Aminu. Woods would have been a starting center this season had Gaudio been retained. He might have started under new coach Jeff Bzdelik if this incident didn't occur, but Bzdelik never had the chance to make that decision. Woods had modest numbers as a sophomore last season, averaging 4.6 points and 3.2 rebounds.
The one-time top-50 recruit out of Rome, Ga., still has potential and that's why there are apparently a number of schools waiting to pounce on him now that he's available, even before he completes his legal responsibilities. Is that right? Shouldn't there be even more of a gap from the time Woods pled guilty to misdemeanor assault to signing on at a new school?
Athletes with misdemeanor charges on their record aren't uncommon, but according to a high-level Demon Deacons source, no one at Wake Forest was comfortable with this misdemeanor crime.
Since Woods isn't enrolled this semester, he would need to sit out two semesters athletically and can't be on athletic aid until the spring semester of 2012, leaving him with two semesters to pay and then three remaining to play and be on scholarship.
"He can do it with student loans if that's the route he chooses," Parker said.
Parker said Woods has family in Kentucky and can take care of his legal responsibilities out of state. Grace said he can register with a probation officer in Kentucky and conduct his community service.
"He plans on attending Louisville if they offer the scholarship," Parker said. "But his first focus is to take care of his responsibilities."
Maybe Louisville and every other school interested in Woods should wait until he does just that. Perhaps they will. A source close to the U of L said the Cardinals are waiting until Woods completes his legal obligations before offering him a scholarship. But even then, is it the right time, enough time, or even the right thing to do to give him a second chance for assaulting a woman?
According to a source, Barbour has called Pitino to endorse Woods. Louisville can't confirm if Woods will be a Cardinal because he's still a recruitable athlete. But if he does end up at Louisville, the U of L administration and Pitino will have to answer as to why they feel he is worth the rehabilitation -- not in society, the law takes care of that, but to have the privilege to play college basketball again.
The Rams have a legitimate shot to make the Mountain West Conference a five-bid league this season. If that occurs, CSU might have a chance to replace BYU as one of the new era's top-four teams in a league that became a two-class society last season: BYU, New Mexico, San Diego State and UNLV in the upper class. Utah, Colorado State, TCU, Wyoming and Air Force in the second class.
Utah was once a regular, and at times dominating, member of the first group, but the Utes are reshuffling their roster and are off to the soon-to-be Pac-12 next season, anyway. Rival BYU will jettison itself off to the West Coast Conference.
So with the addition of Boise State, Fresno State and Nevada into the Mountain West over the next two seasons (TBD if Fresno and Nevada are coming in 2011 or 2012), the window is wide-open for a fourth to join New Mexico, UNLV and San Diego State as regulars atop the league, since those three don't look to be fading anytime soon.
"If we were stock, I'd buy it," said CSU's fourth-year coach Tim Miles. "You'd get really good value. You'd get your money's worth."
This isn't to completely dismiss TCU, Wyoming or Air Force from taking the fourth spot, but Colorado State is clearly a step ahead at this juncture. The Rams did finish in a tie for fifth (with Utah) last season, and this team probably has the highest expectations in Fort Collins since Stew Morrill had Milt Palacio and Jameel Mahmud in 1997 (won 20 games but ended in the NIT) or Boyd Grant's NCAA tourney team led by Mike Mitchell in 1990.
New Mexico coach Steve Alford tossed out the idea last week that the Rams could be a sleeper team, and he's not alone. There is a consensus building. Colorado State has a senior-laden team led by Andy Ogide, Travis Franklin, Adam Nigon and Andre McFarland, who took the leap with Miles because the former North Dakota State coach claimed during their recruitment that they could be the anchors in turning the program around.
"I think only [Tom] Crean had it worse [at Indiana]," Miles said. "There were 13 scholarship players when I took the job [over from the fired Dale Layer], and when we started the season there were two."
The Rams went 0-16 in the Mountain West in Miles' first season, won four in '09 and seven last season.
The return of the sophomore class with Pierce Hornung, Dorian Green, Greg Smith, Iowa State transfer Wes Eikmeier and redshirt guard Jesse Carr, back after a bizarre groin strain turned into a fractured pelvis, means the Rams have a nice balance of classes.
But a lot of this is just talk if the Rams don't change their inability to beat teams above them in the standings. A season ago, CSU was 0-8 against the top four teams in the MWC, 7-1 against the lower four. Losing to UCLA and Oregon in nonconference games didn't help the image either, considering each of those Pac-10 programs had their worst seasons in years.
"We can talk about it until we're blue in the face, but we have to beat those guys [in the top part of the league]," Miles said. "I was hired to raise the bar. We're not where I want to be."
Miles fully understands the opportunity at hand. The MWC is losing two of its most tradition-rich programs and loyal followings in BYU and Utah.
"Now the job for the rest of us is to elevate our program," he said.
Miles, whose witty musings on Twitter put him in a class with Xavier's Chris Mack and Arizona State's Herb Sendek, has the personality to withstand the pressure to produce.
"He's so persistent and resilient," said Miles' former assistant Saul Phillips, who replaced him at North Dakota State and led the Bison to the 2009 NCAA tournament. Phillips and Miles masterfully redshirted a class of recruits so they could all be seniors once NDSU lost its provisional status and became eligible for the tourney.
"He knows how to blueprint a program," Phillips said. "His personality will be the catalyst. He's got a magnetic personality. And that's probably the biggest selling point to recruits."
Colorado State will need Miles' charm to stay afloat. It's no secret that Moby Arena pales in comparison to the refurbished Pit in Albuquerque, N.M., the history-filled Thomas & Mack in Las Vegas and even Viejas Arena in San Diego.
My memory of Moby Arena from covering the WAC in the 1990s was the live ram placed behind the visiting bench, leaving quite a stench. And then there's that oversized logo at center court that is way too distracting for television. Look at this way: If the best you can say is that the 1976 Robby Benson movie "One on One" was filmed there -- that's the interesting factoid in the ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia -- you know the arena doesn't have much of a winning history.
Miles is keenly aware of the Rams' lack of national identity, so he's tried to expand the brand by looking for games on other networks outside of the Mtn., Versus or CBS College Sports. The Dec. 11 Kansas game at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo., will be brutally tough, but it'll also be on ESPN2. Miles also wanted to be in the Cancun Governor's Cup because the event is on the ESPN family of networks.
"We have a great network and for those that want to see the MWC, they can seek it out and we get great television coverage," Miles said. "But at the same time, we need to cross-brand and we need to be on ESPN and Fox. That's why we specifically looked for those opportunities."
But Colorado State can't buy more than one game without a return unless they get bought for a high price. Miles said he bought Arkansas-Pine Bluff (without a return) and used the guarantee money the Rams are getting for playing Kansas and bought Sam Houston State.
Cutting these deals isn't something New Mexico or UNLV has to do because they can secure decent home-and-home series. (San Diego State, because it is in a cash-strapped state, is another matter, as the Aztecs open up with five straight games away from home.)
So if CSU is to be taken seriously this season, it must show well in nonconference games and has to split some of the games against the power four in the Mountain West.
Miles said the Rams are a smart team at both ends of the court. He said they have tremendous enthusiasm and attitude, they'll be competitive and have a chance to win each time they take the court. That all sounds swell.
But it won't mean a whole lot if the Rams don't win enough to be in the mix come March.
"I'm excited about the challenge and confident in our guys," Miles said. "But at the end of the day, we're either a contender or a pretender. That's where we're at. It's time to put up."
1. Duke: No reason to move the Blue Devils. Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith had tremendous summers working out with the USA Basketball select team. The buzz around newcomer Kyrie Irving is just as high. The karma is all good in Durham with Mike Krzyzewski winning a gold medal at the FIBA World Championship in Turkey and the Blue Devils getting a commitment from one of the best players in the 2011 class in Austin Rivers.
2. Michigan State: The Spartans did dump Chris Allen, an indication that the differences between Allen and Tom Izzo were too wide to overcome. But Izzo is feeling quite good about the continued recovery of Kalin Lucas from an Achilles injury. Lucas will be treated carefully in practice over the next month as the Spartans see how much he can push himself. But Izzo is confident Delvon Roe is as healthy as he's been at MSU and fully expects Durrell Summers to be a star and Draymond Green to be a vocal leader.
3. Pittsburgh: The Panthers don't have the star power of the aforementioned top three. But this Panthers team is like an old-school Big East team that has experienced players who have been together and found roles. The summer trip to Ireland provided more positive bonding time for Jamie Dixon's crew as it takes on the role of Big East favorite. There were no flaws this summer, making it more palatable to move the Panthers up a few spots.
4. Kansas State: The Wildcats continue to have a positive vibe from their near brush with a Final Four berth. Kansas State returns Jacob Pullen and an expectation that returnees like Curtis Kelly and Jamar Samuels will continue to blossom. Clearly the rest of the Big 12 believes in the Wildcats, as well, since they were picked to win the league for the first time.
5. Ohio State: The Buckeyes have one of the top freshmen in the country in big man Jared Sullinger. Sure, they lost Evan Turner, but the rest of the wings return and the buzz on the Buckeyes remains that this team was more than Turner a year ago. If players like William Buford, David Lighty and Jon Diebler can handle the responsibility, the Bucks should be a national contender.
6. Kansas: Moving the Jayhawks up to No. 7 is clearly predicated on Josh Selby being eligible for the majority of the season. KU is waiting for Selby to get his academic clearance from the Eligibility Center. He can practice while this is pending, but Kansas needs him out on the court during the real stuff. There is still plenty of talent in Lawrence -- led by Marcus Morris, who coach Bill Self is convinced will be a star -- but Selby is the key for the Jayhawks to be top-10 good.
7. Villanova: The Wildcats didn't rely on Scottie Reynolds in his last few games as much and they survived. Reynolds' eligibility expired and Corey Fisher is the next one to pick up the mantel. Jay Wright had another solid offseason, coaching the USA Basketball select team. There is an expectation now that Wright's teams won't dip. Like Pitt, Villanova is considered a regular near the top of the league on a yearly basis.
8. Gonzaga: The Zags had quite a summer with Elias Harris, Kelly Olynyk and Robert Sacre all playing for their respective national teams. Gonzaga put together arguably the toughest nonconference schedule in the country, too. If Demetri Goodson and Steven Gray can elevate their game as lead guards after the departure of Matt Bouldin, the Zags will be deserving of a top-10 ranking.
9. Florida: The Gators return all five starters from last season's No. 10 seed in the NCAA tournament. But the addition of Patric Young is surely going to bolster this squad. Young won gold for the USA junior national team this summer and proved to be an invaluable member of that squad. His tenacity, hustle plays and overall team focus means he could be a difference-maker for Florida this season.
10. Syracuse: The Orange move up six spots from the May poll in large part because coach Jim Boeheim is almost never wrong about evaluating and projecting his team's talent. Most of the time he hits on the major contributors and Boeheim said Kris Joseph is ready to be a star. He also expects big man Fab Melo to have a monster season, notably on the defensive end where he can block shots and grab rebounds. While it's hard to see yet where and how much C.J. Fair and Dion Waiters will play, they have already impressed, meaning the freshman class will make this team even deeper.
11. Kentucky: If Enes Kanter's eligibility was a certainty, the Wildcats would move up into the top 10. His amateurism eligibility decision is still to be determined. But what can be stated is Kentucky showed on a trip to Canada that the returning players are up for the challenge of a new role. Darius Miller and DeAndre Liggins should flourish as John Calipari plays more of his dribble-drive-motion offense. Newcomers like point guard Brandon Knight, Doron Lamb, Terrence Jones and Stacey Poole are all ready to make major contributions.
12. Missouri: The Tigers move up a notch, even without newcomer Tony Mitchell, whose eligibility is in question and in a best-case scenario wouldn't be available until the Big 12 schedule starts. But Mike Anderson can't play the role of being underappreciated anymore. Missouri returns Kim English, a healthy Justin Safford, Marcus Denmon and adds a recruiting class that needs to get more love. Anderson is pushing the significance of point guard Phil Pressey and power forward Ricardo Ratliffe. If both are as impactful as projected, Mizzou may be a league title contender.
13. Illinois: My colleague Doug Gottlieb tabbed the Illini to win the Big Ten. I'm not going that far with Purdue, Michigan State and Ohio State to contend with. But Illinois has no excuse if this is not an NCAA season at the very least. Bruce Weber can't say enough about how much incoming freshman Jereme Richmond will mean to this team. Add him to an already talented roster that includes Mike Davis, Mike Tisdale, D.J. Richardson and returning lead guard Demetri McCamey and the Illini have their best chance since 2005 to challenge for a conference title.
14. North Carolina: Losing the Wear twins and senior Will Graves, the team's top 3-point threat, meant the Tar Heels had to drop a few slots. The talent is in place up front with the return of John Henson and Tyler Zeller and the addition of the top freshman in the country in Harrison Barnes. But the guard play is still a work in progress and an unknown with erratic Larry Drew II and the still-inexperienced Dexter Strickland and Leslie McDonald being joined by newcomers Reggie Bullock and Kendall Marshall.
15. Memphis: The Tigers did get Will Barton eligible after there were questions earlier in the summer once he missed the team's trip to the Bahamas. But all is good now. The Tigers certainly have the talent to be projected higher, but remember they didn't make the NCAAs last season and are leaning heavily on newcomers like Barton, Joe Jackson and Tarik Black. If the Tigers are to be worthy of the top 10, then returnees like Wesley Witherspoon and Will Coleman will have to continue their improvement.
16. Baylor: This is by far the biggest drop in my poll from May to October. The Bears were probably too high in that original poll. Losing Ekpe Udoh and Tweety Carter was significant and maybe I was putting too much emphasis on newcomer Perry Jones. But the reason for this drop is LaceDarius Dunn. He is currently suspended from game competition, but was just reinstated to the team to practice and attend class after allegations that he broke his girlfriend's jaw. But the uncertainty of Dunn's availability casts major doubt on whether the Bears can be a serious contender in the Big 12.
17. Washington: Like Jay Wright, there was positive karma with Lorenzo Romar sharing the coaching duties in Las Vegas for the USA Basketball select team. And the guard play is extremely solid with the return of Isaiah Thomas, Venoy Overton and Abdul Gaddy, wings Justin Holiday and newcomers led by Terrence Ross. Losing Quincy Pondexter shouldn't be underplayed, though. We'll know early enough about the Huskies when they go to the Maui Invitational with a possible semifinal matchup against Kentucky.
18. Butler: Shelvin Mack had a sensational summer and the buzz continues to build that he's one of the top guards in the country. Mack played on the USA select team and the more confident he becomes, the better chance Butler has of being back in the mix for a deep March run again. Sure, losing Gordon Hayward early to the NBA is hard to take for this group, but if Ronald Nored is healthy enough to be as much of a scorer as he was a defender and Matt Howard adds even more productivity and stays out of foul trouble, the Bulldogs won't disappoint.
19. Georgetown: The Hoyas return one of the best backcourts in the Big East with Austin Freeman, Chris Wright and Jason Clark. If Julian Vaughn, Hollis Thompson and newcomers Nate Lubick and Moses Abraham can help offset the loss of Greg Monroe, Georgetown will be in the chase in the Big East. The Hoyas put themselves in position early with another tough slate of nonconference games (going to Old Dominion, Temple and Memphis, to Kansas City to play Missouri, and adding a home game against always-tough Utah State) to gauge where this team will be in January.
20. Tennessee: I probably had the Vols slightly too high in May and the NCAA investigation swirling around the program doesn't help, let alone the self-imposed sanctions against the entire coaching staff that have left a cloud over the season. It shouldn't affect the on-court performance of the players, but it will certainly be a distraction for the coaches as they have to deal with questions throughout the fall. Tennessee still has one of the top newcomers in guard Tobias Harris, and if Scotty Hopson can make shots in bunches, the Vols should still finish in the top three in the loaded SEC East.
21. San Diego State: The Aztecs have quietly gone through the summer with their roster intact, led by one of the more underrated forwards in the country in Kawhi Leonard. Malcolm Thomas is another stud for coach Steve Fisher. If the point guard situation gets settled, the Aztecs should be a top-25 squad. San Diego State challenged itself with five straight games away from home to open the season, including going to Gonzaga before heading off to three games in Oxford, Ohio, as part of the CBE Classic. If the Aztecs survive that stretch, they'll be in a solid position to enter the MWC season as the favorite, fending off BYU, New Mexico and UNLV.
22. Minnesota: The Gophers got two players back that would have certainly helped in March. Lead guard Al Nolen, who became academically ineligible in February last season, is good to go, as is forward Trevor Mbakwe, who sat out last season pending an assault case. Mbakwe is back in the good graces at the school, which stood by him during the case. The Gophers went to Canada in August and returned an even more determined lot. Don't sleep on this squad, especially in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Classic. Nolen, Mbakwe, Devoe Joseph, Blake Hoffarber, Ralph Sampson III and Rodney Williams are all capable of leading the Gophers to a tournament win and into the top 25.
23. Purdue: On Friday, I ranked Purdue No. 2 and wrote that "the Boilermakers haven't had a single hiccup during the offseason." Less than 24 hours later, Robbie Hummel retore his right ACL during the team's first full practice. The loss can't be overstated. The Boilers still have a pair of All-Big Ten players in JaJuan Johnson and E'Twaun Moore and are still very much an NCAA tournament team, but it's hard to foresee this being a Final Four contender without Hummel.
24. Temple: The Owls got pushed down a peg by my newfound belief in Minnesota. Temple is still my pick to win the A-10 with the return of Lavoy Allen and guard Juan Fernandez. The Owls once again have a monster schedule that should tell us plenty by January, with an opener against Seton Hall, quality games in the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, playing Maryland in D.C., hosting Georgetown and going to Villanova. The Owls go to Duke, too, but that's not until late February. Oh, and of course, this team has one of the top coaches in the game in Fran Dunphy.
25. Georgia: I was bullish on the Bulldogs in May and I haven't dropped off in October with the return of Trey Thompkins and Travis Leslie, two of the top talents in the SEC. Georgia also adds Tennessee State transfer Gerald Robinson, who should open up some scoring on the perimeter. UGA will certainly be pushed in an SEC East that could produce up to five NCAA tourney teams, but the Bulldogs have some summer buzz and momentum heading into that Old Spice Classic tournament in Orlando, especially with an opener against Notre Dame.
Who got pushed out of the poll?
Virginia Tech: The Hokies were No. 22 in my May poll, but they lost one of their key rotation players in J.T. Thompson to a knee injury. Of course, the return of Malcolm Delaney means they will be in the hunt for a top-two finish in the ACC and an NCAA berth. But the Hokies weren't an NCAA team last season and losing a key player pushed them down a few spots for now.
A dozen more to watch (in alphabetical order): BYU, Florida State, New Mexico, Texas, UNLV, Utah State, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Wichita State, Wisconsin, Xavier
Izzo Ready For 2010-11 Run
Not much has changed near the top. Duke is still No. 1, and will be in the majority of long-standing polls in the mainstream media and fledgling ones across the blogosphere.
But these Blue Devils aren't the 2009 Tar Heels. Duke is unquestionably the national favorite, but it's hardly an intimidating force. The schedule will favor the Devils in every game they play, but if they were to get beat by Kansas State or Gonzaga in Kansas City or by Michigan State at Cameron, or by Butler in New Jersey, no one would stop and consider it a tectonic shift in the season.
As for the rest of the poll, the pair of Big Ten teams at No. 2 (Purdue) and No. 3 (Michigan State) has not moved. But eligibility issues and suspensions over the past five months have forced some changes elsewhere in my top 25. Summer success, injuries and a re-evaluation of some teams has also caused some alterations.
So here is my new poll in advance of the season:
1. Duke: No reason to move the Blue Devils. Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith had tremendous summers working out with the USA Basketball select team. The buzz around newcomer Kyrie Irving is just as high. The karma is all good in Durham with Mike Krzyzewski winning a gold medal at the FIBA World Championship in Turkey and the Blue Devils getting a commitment from one of the best players in the 2011 class in Austin Rivers.
2. Purdue: The Boilermakers haven't had a single hiccup during the offseason. They have been quiet, which is just fine for a team that could be Duke's toughest challenge. Robbie Hummel continues to be on schedule to play this season after suffering an ACL tear in February. JaJuan Johnson and E'Twaun Moore join Hummel and offer Purdue the treat of three seniors who are all-Big Ten players. This team is a prime candidate for a spot in Houston.
3. Michigan State: The Spartans did dump Chris Allen, an indication that the differences between Allen and Tom Izzo were too wide to overcome. But Izzo is feeling quite good about the continued recovery of Kalin Lucas from an Achilles injury. Lucas will be treated carefully in practice over the next month as the Spartans see how much he can push himself. But Izzo is confident Delvon Roe is as healthy as he's been at MSU and fully expects Durrell Summers to be a star and Draymond Green to be a vocal leader.
4. Pittsburgh: The Panthers don't have the star power of the aforementioned top three. But this Panthers team is like an old-school Big East team that has experienced players who have been together and found roles. The summer trip to Ireland provided more positive bonding time for Jamie Dixon's crew as it takes on the role of Big East favorite. There were no flaws this summer, making it more palatable to move the Panthers up a few spots.
5. Kansas State: The Wildcats continue to have a positive vibe from their near brush with a Final Four berth. Kansas State returns Jacob Pullen and an expectation that returnees like Curtis Kelly and Jamar Samuels will continue to blossom. Clearly the rest of the Big 12 believes in the Wildcats, as well, since they were picked to win the league for the first time.
6. Ohio State: The Buckeyes have one of the top freshmen in the country in big man Jared Sullinger. Sure, they lost Evan Turner, but the rest of the wings return and the buzz on the Buckeyes remains that this team was more than Turner a year ago. If players like William Buford, David Lighty and Jon Diebler can handle the responsibility, the Bucks should be a national contender.
7. Kansas: Moving the Jayhawks up to No. 7 is clearly predicated on Josh Selby being eligible for the majority of the season. KU is waiting for Selby to get his academic clearance from the Eligibility Center. He can practice while this is pending, but Kansas needs him out on the court during the real stuff. There is still plenty of talent in Lawrence -- led by Marcus Morris, who coach Bill Self is convinced will be a star -- but Selby is the key for the Jayhawks to be top-10 good.
8. Villanova: The Wildcats didn't rely on Scottie Reynolds in his last few games as much and they survived. Reynolds' eligibility expired and Corey Fisher is the next one to pick up the mantel. Jay Wright had another solid offseason, coaching the USA Basketball select team. There is an expectation now that Wright's teams won't dip. Like Pitt, Villanova is considered a regular near the top of the league on a yearly basis.
9. Gonzaga: The Zags had quite a summer with Elias Harris, Kelly Olynyk and Robert Sacre all playing for their respective national teams. Gonzaga put together arguably the toughest nonconference schedule in the country, too. If Demetri Goodson and Steven Gray can elevate their game as lead guards after the departure of Matt Bouldin, the Zags will be deserving of a top-10 ranking.
10. Florida: The Gators return all five starters from last season's No. 10 seed in the NCAA tournament. But the addition of Patric Young is surely going to bolster this squad. Young won gold for the USA junior national team this summer and proved to be an invaluable member of that squad. His tenacity, hustle plays and overall team focus means he could be a difference-maker for Florida this season.
11. Syracuse: The Orange move up six spots from the May poll in large part because coach Jim Boeheim is almost never wrong about evaluating and projecting his team's talent. Most of the time he hits on the major contributors and Boeheim said Kris Joseph is ready to be a star. He also expects big man Fab Melo to have a monster season, notably on the defensive end where he can block shots and grab rebounds. While it's hard to see yet where and how much C.J. Fair and Dion Waiters will play, they have already impressed, meaning the freshman class will make this team even deeper.
12. Kentucky: If Enes Kanter's eligibility was a certainty, the Wildcats would move up into the top 10. His amateurism eligibility decision is still to be determined. But what can be stated is Kentucky showed on a trip to Canada that the returning players are up for the challenge of a new role. Darius Miller and DeAndre Liggins should flourish as John Calipari plays more of his dribble-drive-motion offense. Newcomers like point guard Brandon Knight, Doron Lamb, Terrence Jones and Stacey Poole are all ready to make major contributions.
13. Missouri: The Tigers move up a notch, even without newcomer Tony Mitchell, whose eligibility is in question and in a best-case scenario wouldn't be available until the Big 12 schedule starts. But Mike Anderson can't play the role of being underappreciated anymore. Missouri returns Kim English, a healthy Justin Safford, Marcus Denmon and adds a recruiting class that needs to get more love. Anderson is pushing the significance of point guard Phil Pressey and power forward Ricardo Ratliffe. If both are as impactful as projected, Mizzou may be a league title contender.
14. Illinois: My colleague Doug Gottlieb tabbed the Illini to win the Big Ten. I'm not going that far with Purdue, Michigan State and Ohio State to contend with. But Illinois has no excuse if this is not an NCAA season at the very least. Bruce Weber can't say enough about how much incoming freshman Jereme Richmond will mean to this team. Add him to an already talented roster that includes Mike Davis, Mike Tisdale, D.J. Richardson and returning lead guard Demetri McCamey and the Illini have their best chance since 2005 to challenge for a conference title.
15. North Carolina: Losing the Wear twins and senior Will Graves, the team's top 3-point threat, meant the Tar Heels had to drop a few slots. The talent is in place up front with the return of John Henson and Tyler Zeller and the addition of the top freshman in the country in Harrison Barnes. But the guard play is still a work in progress and an unknown with erratic Larry Drew II and the still-inexperienced Dexter Strickland and Leslie McDonald being joined by newcomers Reggie Bullock and Kendall Marshall.
16. Memphis: The Tigers did get Will Barton eligible after there were questions earlier in the summer once he missed the team's trip to the Bahamas. But all is good now. The Tigers certainly have the talent to be projected higher, but remember they didn't make the NCAAs last season and are leaning heavily on newcomers like Barton, Joe Jackson and Tarik Black. If the Tigers are to be worthy of the top 10, then returnees like Wesley Witherspoon and Will Coleman will have to continue their improvement.
17. Baylor: This is by far the biggest drop in my poll from May to October. The Bears were probably too high in that original poll. Losing Ekpe Udoh and Tweety Carter was significant and maybe I was putting too much emphasis on newcomer Perry Jones. But the reason for this drop is LaceDarius Dunn. He is currently suspended from game competition, but was just reinstated to the team to practice and attend class after allegations that he broke his girlfriend's jaw. But the uncertainty of Dunn's availability casts major doubt on whether the Bears can be a serious contender in the Big 12.
18. Washington: Like Jay Wright, there was positive karma with Lorenzo Romar sharing the coaching duties in Las Vegas for the USA Basketball select team. And the guard play is extremely solid with the return of Isaiah Thomas, Venoy Overton and Abdul Gaddy, wings Justin Holiday and newcomers led by Terrence Ross. Losing Quincy Pondexter shouldn't be underplayed, though. We'll know early enough about the Huskies when they go to the Maui Invitational with a possible semifinal matchup against Kentucky.
19. Butler: Shelvin Mack had a sensational summer and the buzz continues to build that he's one of the top guards in the country. Mack played on the USA select team and the more confident he becomes, the better chance Butler has of being back in the mix for a deep March run again. Sure, losing Gordon Hayward early to the NBA is hard to take for this group, but if Ronald Nored is healthy enough to be as much of a scorer as he was a defender and Matt Howard adds even more productivity and stays out of foul trouble, the Bulldogs won't disappoint.
20. Georgetown: The Hoyas return one of the best backcourts in the Big East with Austin Freeman, Chris Wright and Jason Clark. If Julian Vaughn, Hollis Thompson and newcomers Nate Lubick and Moses Abraham can help offset the loss of Greg Monroe, Georgetown will be in the chase in the Big East. The Hoyas put themselves in position early with another tough slate of nonconference games (going to Old Dominion, Temple and Memphis, to Kansas City to play Missouri, and adding a home game against always-tough Utah State) to gauge where this team will be in January.
21. Tennessee: I probably had the Vols slightly too high in May and the NCAA investigation swirling around the program doesn't help, let alone the self-imposed sanctions against the entire coaching staff that have left a cloud over the season. It shouldn't affect the on-court performance of the players, but it will certainly be a distraction for the coaches as they have to deal with questions throughout the fall. Tennessee still has one of the top newcomers in guard Tobias Harris, and if Scotty Hopson can make shots in bunches, the Vols should still finish in the top three in the loaded SEC East.
22. San Diego State: The Aztecs have quietly gone through the summer with their roster intact, led by one of the more underrated forwards in the country in Kawhi Leonard. Malcolm Thomas is another stud for coach Steve Fisher. If the point guard situation gets settled, the Aztecs should be a top-25 squad. San Diego State challenged itself with five straight games away from home to open the season, including going to Gonzaga before heading off to three games in Oxford, Ohio, as part of the CBE Classic. If the Aztecs survive that stretch, they'll be in a solid position to enter the MWC season as the favorite, fending off BYU, New Mexico and UNLV.
23. Minnesota: The Gophers got two players back that would have certainly helped in March. Lead guard Al Nolen, who became academically ineligible in February last season, is good to go, as is forward Trevor Mbakwe, who sat out last season pending an assault case. Mbakwe is back in the good graces at the school, which stood by him during the case. The Gophers went to Canada in August and returned an even more determined lot. Don't sleep on this squad, especially in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Classic. Nolen, Mbakwe, Devoe Joseph, Blake Hoffarber, Ralph Sampson III and Rodney Williams are all capable of leading the Gophers to a tournament win and into the top 25.
24. Temple: The Owls got pushed down a peg by my newfound belief in Minnesota. Temple is still my pick to win the A-10 with the return of Lavoy Allen and guard Juan Fernandez. The Owls once again have a monster schedule that should tell us plenty by January, with an opener against Seton Hall, quality games in the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, playing Maryland in D.C., hosting Georgetown and going to Villanova. The Owls go to Duke, too, but that's not until late February. Oh, and of course, this team has one of the top coaches in the game in Fran Dunphy.
25. Georgia: I was bullish on the Bulldogs in May and I haven't dropped off in October with the return of Trey Thompkins and Travis Leslie, two of the top talents in the SEC. Georgia also adds Tennessee State transfer Gerald Robinson, who should open up some scoring on the perimeter. UGA will certainly be pushed in an SEC East that could produce up to five NCAA tourney teams, but the Bulldogs have some summer buzz and momentum heading into that Old Spice Classic tournament in Orlando, especially with an opener against Notre Dame.
Who got pushed out of the poll?
Virginia Tech: The Hokies were No. 22 in my May poll, but they lost one of their key rotation players in J.T. Thompson to a knee injury. Of course, the return of Malcolm Delaney means they will be in the hunt for a top-two finish in the ACC and an NCAA berth. But the Hokies weren't an NCAA team last season and losing a key player pushed them down a few spots for now.
A dozen more to watch (in alphabetical order): BYU, Florida State, New Mexico, Texas, UNLV, Utah State, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Wichita State, Wisconsin, Xavier
If you directed that question toward UTEP and Houston, it would probably be the Mountain West.
Football decisions drive the direction of conferences, though, and Conference USA isn't exactly a football powerhouse.
"Basketball coaches aren't in control of any of that," said new UTEP coach Tim Floyd. "They were humbled this summer to find out how important college basketball was in the overall scheme."
So the collection of C-USA schools are stuck with each other for the foreseeable future and what that means is that this league has to make its basketball marquee this season, as in a multiple-bid league that advances in the NCAA tournament.
Conference USA needs to become at least as valuable a basketball property as non-Big Six leagues like the Atlantic 10 and Mountain West.
UTEP went 26-6 and 15-1 in the conference last season, but was one of the final at-large teams selected to the NCAA tourney after losing to Houston in the conference finals. The fact that the Miners had to sweat out Selection Sunday is unacceptable.
"We need multiple teams in the tournament, and last year with UTEP going 15-1 and barely getting in is a little bit scary," said Tulsa coach Doug Wojcik, in New York City on Wednesday for a media day event intended to get the league more national attention.
What's the identity of this league? It certainly has a host of second-chance coaches who have had plenty of on-court success elsewhere, like Floyd, UAB's Mike Davis, Southern Miss' Larry Eustachy, SMU's Matt Doherty, Rice's Ben Braun, East Carolina's Jeff Lebo and Houston's James Dickey. All of those coaches were considered on the rise at one point in their careers, but losing or off-court issues led to their search for a new home.
Donnie Jones went from Marshall to Central Florida, and former Division I head coach Tom Herrion took over the Thundering Herd. Those are two of the league's six new head coaches -- exactly half the league.
Conference USA's coaches preach the league party line -- as they did Wednesday -- about having more draft picks since 2005 than the Big Ten or Pac-10 (including this past draft). Memphis coach Josh Pastner said the league is played above the rim with plenty of athletes, "which makes watching this league fun for everyone."
Still, there is a perception problem. It's undeniable.
From March 2006 to January 2010, the Tigers played and beat 64 straight opponents from C-USA. It is tied for the longest Division I conference win streak of all time. So whether it was fair or not, the national attitude about Conference USA was that Memphis steamrolled through an inferior conference.
"I grew up around the Pac-10, coached in the SEC and coached in the Big 12 and it's strange to me how underrated this league is," Eustachy said. "My only thinking is that Memphis made such a mockery of it for [64] straight games, but then they made a mockery of Texas [and Michigan State and UCLA] in the NCAA tournament and should have won the national championship [in 2008]. People look at our league and think no one could beat them for [64] straight games.
"Memphis was great, but the league has never been more competitive and has great coaches."
UAB's Davis, who has been on the cusp of getting an at-large bid the past few seasons, said Memphis' dominance under Calipari completely overshadowed the league. Having the conference tournament in Memphis also hindered getting a second bid for the league. But a year ago, the tournament was in Tulsa and the league was nearly left with just one again after Houston upset UTEP in the championship game.
"Does this league have the opportunity to be better than the WCC, when it had three teams in with Gonzaga, Saint Mary's and San Diego? My guess is certainly yes, when you see the history of this league with the coaches and the players," Floyd said. "This league has to do what the Mountain West did last year and get four teams in and win."
The coaches know who has to be good for this league to ultimately survive in a changing, challenging college landscape. Memphis, UTEP, Tulsa, UAB and Houston have the most national name recognition with a national title in the group (Texas Western) and a few national championship game appearances (Memphis and Houston).
Eustachy says Southern Miss, with Angelo Johnson and Gary Flowers, are ready to challenge for the conference title. Their continued improvement would certainly help the league, but the Golden Eagles still don't resonate much nationally.
The pressure to be at the top still resides in Memphis.
"We need to be good; there's no doubt about that. We need to be good," Pastner said. "We've recruited well. We now have to perform well on the floor. That's the bottom line."
Eustachy disputes that Memphis has come back to the pack, despite missing the NCAAs this past season after four straight trips that included a title-game appearance, three Elite Eights and a Sweet 16.
"Memphis may have as good a players as Cal's better teams," Eustachy said.
Tulsa has had a rich history of NCAA tournament success under a plethora of name coaches like Tubby Smith, Nolan Richardson and Bill Self. Buzz Peterson won an NIT. Wojcik won a College Basketball Invitational. The Golden Hurricane had a great shot to be an NCAA tourney team last season, but weren't able to stand up and win the key games down the stretch when they had an elite center in Jerome Jordan, a second-round NBA draft pick.
"I think from a fan enthusiasm standpoint, they need us to be successful," Wojcik said. "What we need is multiple teams in the tournament."
To do that, though, the league's teams will need to start playing tough nonconference schedules in November and December -- and win some of those games, too.
That's not an issue for Memphis, which did that under John Calipari and still does so with Pastner. The Tigers play Miami and Georgetown at home, Tennessee and Gonzaga on the road and face Kansas at Madison Square Garden.
UAB has generally the same philosophy, and beat Butler and Cincinnati last season. The Blazers play Duke, Arizona State, Arkansas and Georgia this season. Floyd said he wants UTEP to have the scheduling attitude he had at USC, where he scheduled just about anyone to upgrade the team's power rating.
Tulsa has had solid shots to upgrade and does play in the Big 12 footprint, allowing it to get games with the Oklahoma schools. Southern Miss could use some success in Cancun this season, along with road wins at Ole Miss, South Florida and Cal that would greatly improve its national perception. Road wins always help.
"This is a process, but you've got to win those nonconference games and you've got to have 23 or 24 wins going into the conference tournament," Davis said. "It's difficult not to take a team that has closer to 30 wins than one that has 23 or 24. So if you can get to 25 or 26 or 27, you've got a better chance to get in."
A new identity for a host of schools that would probably like to be somewhere else would come if it could get multiple bids in the NCAA tournament and advance. Sounds easy enough, right?
"There are a lot of coaches in this league that have won a lot of games, a lot more than I have," Pastner said. "The league has gotten better. Memphis' dominance made everyone raise the level of recruiting and now the league has better players and is as athletic as ever before."
Five more observations from Conference USA media day:
1. So much talk was about the Memphis freshmen -- and it is a top-five class that deserves plenty of attention. But the consensus is that if the Tigers are going to be one of the nation's elite, then Wesley Witherspoon has to be a major presence. Memphis coach Josh Pastner is convinced that Witherspoon will be, or rather has to be, the star of this team.
2. C-USA put out its all-conference team, and one player was missing that could end up being a stud. UAB coach Mike Davis said Jamarr Sanders, a onetime guard at Alabama State, could be one of the best players he has ever coached. Sanders averaged 10.4 points and 4.9 rebounds a game for the Blazers last season, but Davis said he was just figuring out how to play the game after sitting out a year.
3. UTEP's Randy Culpepper was tabbed as the preseason player of the year, but the question Davis had was whether Culpepper was going to be set free to go up and down or if he would be in more of a half-court set. If it's the latter, that could change Culpepper's effectiveness. UTEP coach Tim Floyd has been known to change to his personnel, and that's why without a real serious post threat (no Derrick Caracter or Arnett Moultrie), it's hard to see this team slowing down too much.
4. The best news for the teams that might be struggling in the bottom half of the league is that at least three have a star. Rice coach Ben Braun said Iranian Arsalan Kazemi, who played for the national team at the world championships in Turkey, had a sensational summer and should be ready for a major season. East Carolina's Brock Young and SMU's Papa Dia, who made the preseason first- and second-teams respectively, will at least provide a reason to watch the Pirates and Mustangs this season.
5. When you sit at lunch and see the collection of coaches in this league, it really is amazing. When you look around the table and see Larry Eustachy, Tim Floyd, Matt Doherty, Jeff Lebo, Ben Braun, James Dickey and Mike Davis and know that they were all in high-major conferences and are now in this league, it says a lot about the coaching business. It is a fickle one at best. Fame is fleeting in this profession, but there is almost always a second chance. Conference USA is the epitome of that.
The chain of events for Lansing to be in the position at Indiana State is hard to fathom. The dominoes that led to the opportunity stretched across the country.
Oregon pursued Mark Few of Gonzaga, Tubby Smith of Minnesota, Billy Donovan of Florida, Mike Anderson of Missouri and Tom Izzo of Michigan State -- all to no avail. The Ducks' job was finally accepted by Creighton's Dana Altman.
"Look at how many people had to turn down the job before Dana accepted it," Lansing said.
Lansing was at an Indiana high school basketball coaches clinic when Altman decided to take the Oregon job in late April. Lansing was there with his Indiana State boss, head coach Kevin McKenna, and Steve Alford, who fired Lansing when the two were at Iowa.
"When we heard about Dana, Kevin wanted the job bad, it was his alma mater and you can't blame him for that," said Lansing of McKenna's desire to go to Creighton after three seasons at ISU.
Creighton is one of the elite Valley programs, having one of the top arenas and one of the largest metropolitan cities in the league, as compared to the more remote Terre Haute, Ind.
If McKenna got the Creighton job, Lansing assumed he would get the Indiana State job. He had been an assistant twice at ISU, hired both times by Royce Waltman with a seven-year stint at Iowa in between.
"All of a sudden, Kevin doesn't get the [Creighton] job and he was crushed," said Lansing of McKenna losing out to Iowa State's Greg McDermott. "I got my hopes up, not to see Kevin leave but to get the head coaching job."
But then, just like that, McKenna did leave -- to work for Altman at Oregon.
"And then a few weeks later, he's going to Oregon to run the offense for Dana," Lansing said. "The chain of events that happened -- I'd hate to guess the odds."
Go back even further, and the likelihood that someone like Lansing would be a Division I head coach seems more remote. Head coaches can rebound much easier than assistants who have been fired, even if the terms of the firing weren't controversial. There was still a stigma for Lansing.
He had befriended Sam Alford, Steve's father, when the two Valley assistants were recruiting on the road for Indiana State and Southwest Missouri State. That allowed Lansing to get close to Steve Alford, who then eventually hired him to go to Iowa.
The staff dynamic changed when Alford hired former NBA assistant Craig Neal, who has since followed Alford to New Mexico as the associate head coach. Neal meant an overhaul at Iowa and Alford told Lansing and Rich Walker that he needed to change the staff.
"Things had gotten stagnant," Alford said. "For whatever reason, things weren't moving forward. We needed a freshness, and I had to let him and Rich Walker go. I brought in Tim Buckley and Billy Garrett. I needed freshness more than anything else in regards to recruiting. There was nothing there with Greg. We were on good terms, and we still talk a lot."
Still, getting fired is never a resume builder in a profession that loves to win a news conference.
Lansing said he received plenty of calls from fellow Big Ten coaches offering support, but there weren't any job offers.
"My reputation was good," Lansing said. "I wasn't worried about it."
Waltman eventually hired Lansing because he had a comfort level with Lansing earlier in his tenure at Indiana State.
"Royce Waltman saved me twice," Lansing said. "Five years after being let go, I'm a head coach. In today's climate, the odds are slim and none. This doesn't happen. I'm just really lucky."
Lansing said being the son of a coach and coming up as a Division 2 player and working hard for everything has made him even more palatable as a head coaching candidate. He worked his way up as a high school coach and as a restricted-earnings assistant, when that title was still viable.
"That's what's carried me, my ability to work with others and persevering," Lansing said. "I don't operate with the fear of failure."
As an assistant, Lansing was instrumental in making the Sycamores somewhat relevant again in the Valley. Indiana State finished 9-9 last season, tied with Bradley and three games ahead of Southern Illinois. The Sycamores were 17-15 overall and played in the CBI, losing to Saint Louis in the first round.
They did it without Iowa transfer Jake Kelly, who suffered an ACL injury in the conference opener against Southern Illinois. (He's expected to be 100 percent this season.)
The Sycamores did have some modest success under Waltman, reaching the NCAAs in consecutive seasons in 2000 and 2001, including winning a first-round game.
Make no mistake about it, the aura of Larry Bird still resonates. Lansing is well aware that if the Sycamores can take their rotational turn atop the Valley in the near future, the specter of Bird will only increase the value of the program.
"We can sell not just one of the greatest players ever in college but in the NBA," Lansing said. "We can sell that to recruits that this community has the passion for basketball. People here like to talk about those times, but it's only 10 years ago that Waltman took those teams to the NCAA. Our plan is to be right up there and be like Northern Iowa was in March."
But there is a disparity in the Valley. There are schools that have the first-rate facilities like Creighton, Wichita State and Southern Illinois and pay their coaches around $1 million, and there are those in the Valley who are making the most out of a limited budget.
Lansing fully understands the financial challenges at Indiana State because his wife, Angie, who was former cross country runner and an academic all-American at ISU, is the current Senior Women Administrator and business manager. Her brother, Michael, was the starting point guard on the Sycamores' team that won the NCAA game in 2001 over Oklahoma.
"We have our battles to fight that a lot of schools that don't have football don't worry about," Lansing said. "It doesn't hurt to have my wife as the business manager. I hope that means there is job security. But she makes sure I understand about the spending and what we have versus the other schools. We can still sell things and we have the history of the program here, and to do it here at Indiana State would mean a lot."
One major difference is the Sycamores can't afford to buy home games. That's why they have a brutal nonconference schedule with only three home contests before the league-opener against Bradley on Dec. 29.
Lansing will have plenty of challenges with the Sycamores, but based on the way he got the job, he isn't about to complain.
"It's a tremendous opportunity for him since he's been a longtime assistant under Royce, McKenna and myself," Alford said. "He's got good Midwest ties, and it's good to see assistants get jobs instead of recycling others."
Marquette was relegated to a fourth tier in Big East scheduling for the upcoming season. That would indicate the Golden Eagles are hardly an NCAA team.
The grouping that Marquette was placed in, based on how the league's coaches voted last spring, includes Cincinnati and Seton Hall, two other programs that have their sights set on the NCAAs -- despite lower expectations.
Tier 4 was just ahead of four programs not expected to be in contention for postseason play by their fellow coaches. The Tier 5 teams are South Florida, Providence, Rutgers and DePaul.
As official practice begins Friday, the one certainty for Marquette is that the grouping means nothing.
More so than most programs in the Big East, the Golden Eagles continue to overachieve. They did when Tom Crean was the head coach, and they certainly do now as Buzz Williams enters his third year.
Two seasons ago, in his first season, Williams had Crean's trio of stars -- Wesley Matthews, Dominic James and Jerel McNeal -- and a little-known role player, Lazar Hayward. The Golden Eagles still made the NCAA tournament despite losing James to an injury. Matthews turned out to be a starter in his rookie season for the Utah Jazz.
Last season, Marquette was surely going to head south without James, McNeal and Matthews, right? Not quite.
The Eagles, who were led by Hayward, played in 17 games decided by five points or fewer. Along with Pitt, which finished 13-5 in a three-way tie for second in the league, Marquette was a surprise team in the Big East. The Golden Eagles finished tied with Louisville for fifth with an 11-7 record, and that was good enough to get an NCAA tournament berth. Marquette knocked off St. John's and Villanova in the Big East tournament before losing to Georgetown. It then fell to eventual Sweet 16 team Washington in the first round.
Hayward, the role player, ended up being a first-round NBA draft pick.
So, of course, with Hayward gone, wouldn't you expect Marquette to be in a fourth tier?Well, it's hard to project the Golden Eagles any higher than that based on what other teams have returning, but it would probably be foolish to doubt this team's ability to make another run to the NCAAs.
"Before the season started [last year], the question was whether Zar could play or not in the NBA, and then when it was over he was a first-round pick,'' Williams said. "Now all of a sudden we lost Zar, and we're not going to be good again. In basketball, you get what you earn. We haven't earned anything.''
Williams runs his players hard. Crean did the same. Williams is a disciple of former UTEP, Texas A&M; and Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie. The mantra is to work up players, especially those that aren't as highly recruited. Marquette has had boot camp in the early-morning hours this past week. Williams credits the Golden Eagles' work ethic for knowing how to win those late-possession games.
"We had 14 games where eight or nine were decided by one possession or less, and it started out bad where we didn't win them [against Villanova twice and West Virginia], and then we won nine of 11 of them,'' Williams said. "When you operate like this day after day, it is habit-forming. That's why it isn't a shock to us to be on those games. We're used to having fans hollering at us on the road. I think we've been locked in at the end because we're locked in at the start. We knew that we would have to play from behind as the year progressed. It's how we work. We don't give away a minute.''
Marquette did a good job describing Williams' work ethic on the road in this online piece about his travel schedule, dubbed Episode 6: On the Road with Buzz. Williams even gets emotional at the end of the piece as he discusses being away from his wife and children.
"I hope that we're viewed in the end as hard workers,'' Williams said. "That trends toward great character and superior work ethic. I think that will help them carry success forward.''
Williams hasn't been as successful as Kansas State's Frank Martin, but he's not that far behind. Martin, like Williams, was a surprise choice to succeed Bob Huggins when the job abruptly opened. Martin, like Williams, is intense and doesn't seem to have an off switch, either.
"I wish I would have done as good as Frank,'' Williams said. "We're close, and I like what he's about as a person.''
But let's not dismiss Marquette's talent, either. This isn't a collection of just hardworking overachieving players.
Seniors Jimmy Butler and Dwight Buycks, as well as junior Darius Johnson-Odom and sophomore Junior Cadougan, are all veteran Big East players who can hang with anyone in the league. Highly touted freshman guard Vander Blue and freshman small forward Jamail Jones lead a five-player newcomer class that will give the Golden Eagles the depth to move up in the conference.
Playing in the CBE Classic in Kansas City, Mo., against Duke on Nov. 22 and either Kansas State or Gonzaga on Nov. 23, as well as games against Wisconsin (Dec. 11) and at Vanderbilt (Dec. 29), will give the Eagles a sense of where they should be slotted in the Big East.
"I just want to give our guys the best opportunity for success and win a few games,'' Williams said. "If there were doubts about me as a coach, that's not important. What we'll have to do is be better, all of us -- Jimmy, DJ, the coaches, we'll all have to be better now that we'll be on an even bigger stage.''
Whether or not there is a player who can squawk back and be just as vocal with his teammates remains to be seen.
For the past four seasons, Williams had his alter ego in Greivis Vasquez, who was as close to a Williams player as he has ever had at Maryland. The Venezuela native showed his emotions, and early in his career they were a detriment at times as he failed to keep them in check. But he didn't disappoint, helping lead the Terrapins to last season's co-ACC title with eventual national champion Duke.
Maryland's share of the league championship was one of the least-appreciated accomplishments nationally last season. The Terps weren't supposed to be the team that shared the title.
But Vasquez turned himself into a first-round NBA draft pick after entering the early-entry process as a junior and returning to school to show his teammates that he had to work his tail off to become a realistic first-round pick. The Vasquez legacy is still fresh enough for this current crop of Terps to build off in what could be an unpredictable season.
Maryland could end up being a contender for second in the ACC behind overwhelming conference and national favorite Duke, or could slide considerably lower in the conference because of the lack of proven star power on the perimeter.
"It's one of those things where realistically a lot of teams have a chance," Williams said. "Duke has established itself off what they did. They might be the best team in the country. After that, I wouldn't say there's one team that is definitely better than the other 10 teams. We'll know in a couple of weeks."
The Terrapins will be one of the first teams in the country to play, hosting Seattle on Nov. 8 in the first round of the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer. Always pesky College of Charleston is next on Nov. 10 and after a game against Maine on Nov. 14, the Terps go to New York for the semifinals against Big East favorite Pitt on Nov. 18. Then it's either Illinois or Texas the next night.
Maryland also plays one of the A-10 favorites in Temple at the Verizon Center in D.C. on Dec. 5. The other tough nonconference game -- at Villanova -- isn't until Jan. 15 amid the ACC schedule. By then it will be obvious if the Terps are a pretender or a contender.
A lot of that will depend on Wooden preseason All-America candidate Jordan Williams. The big sophomore is the anchor this season after his surprising near-double-double performance as a frosh.
What Williams had last season was a collection of players who came in together -- Vasquez, Eric Hayes and Landon Milbourne -- who played well together and blossomed as seniors in leading the Terps to a second-round NCAA tournament appearance that ended two points short of eventual Final Four participant Michigan State.
"We can still put five guys on the court that played a lot from last year in Sean Mosley, Jordan Williams, Cliff Tucker, Adrian Bowie and Dino Gregory," Williams said. "If we had to play tonight, those five guys would be on the floor. But to have three four-year players together was invaluable to us."
Williams has had snapshots with this team, notably the two-hour weekly sessions. What he saw was that Mosley has potential to be a Vasquez-like leader. He won't be exactly the same, since they don't share the same sort of personality, but Williams does see Mosley's ability to lead.
"He's not someone who leads by being vocal, he's not as demonstrative," Williams said. "But his work ethic is no different."
Mosley, a junior who averaged 10.1 points and 5.1 rebounds last year, can share the leadership with seniors like Bowie, Tucker and Gregory. And Williams, a sophomore, has enough game experience to be considered a veteran in this day and age.
The Terps will have five freshmen to integrate and Williams expects guard Pe'Shon Howard, an athletic, physical guard who shouldn't have an issue adapting to the strength of the ACC, to have a major impact. He'll know more when he sees how much of what was introduced in workouts translates to the full-scale practice.
"We have to be able to score from the perimeter," Williams said. "Milbourne could shoot jump shots. We have to get the ball to Jordan. The outside guys [this season] aren't as proven. They had to guard us on the perimeter last year so Williams had room inside. You couldn't lay off [the guards]."
Vasquez's interior passing was underrated as well. He could pass exceptionally well off the dribble and often found Williams and Milbourne for scores.
"The guards have to do that this year," Williams said. "I'm looking forward to seeing Friday where they are. The two hours a week is nice, but that's not the same as a three-hour practice and going after it."
A year ago, Williams expected the Terps to get on the break off loose balls. He wanted to press but the team became more half court.
"Do we need to break through for more loose balls with full-court pressure this season or are we a better shooting team? Can we shoot the ball well? Guys have worked hard like Bowie, Tucker and Mosley and they've put up a lot more shots than last summer," Williams said. "We'll see what happens when people start guarding us."
Williams, who arrived at Maryland in 1989, has now gone to the NCAAs three of the last four seasons after a two-year hiatus. His previous athletic director -- Debbie Yow -- who he at times had conflicts with, is now off to ACC rival NC State. His new AD, former Army athletic director Kevin Anderson, has been welcomed by Williams, who likened Anderson to his former AD at Boston College, the late Bill Flynn.
"He was a great AD, an old FBI guy who came in with a white shirt and dark tie and jacket every day," Williams said. "You could walk in there and say can we do this Mr. Flynn? He would say yes or no. It is valuable in coaching to know where we are and that's what [Anderson] brings to the table."
The expectations don't change at Maryland, even if the predictions are tempered outside of College Park. Based on the returnees, the Terps don't appear to be a lock for the NCAAs. But why should that matter? Maryland certainly wasn't predicted to win a share of the ACC at this time last year.
"We were an example last year in college basketball of having three pretty good players come together and stay together for three years," Williams said. "It's not just having the talent. The players have to play off each other and that takes time.
"We're going to be more athletic than last year, [but] that doesn't mean we're going to be better. I don't know how good we'll be. I should in a few weeks."
The only special circumstance Negedu's presence caused for the coaching staff and those who are around the basketball program was a mandatory CPR training earlier this summer.
"And it's something that every coaching staff should probably do anyway," said New Mexico coach Steve Alford. "You never know what issues kids have out there."
Negedu appreciated that the staff was made to take part in emergency training on how to handle someone who might be in cardiac arrest. But if there were a fear among UNM that the victim would be Negedu, he probably wouldn't have been cleared to play basketball again, let alone with the Lobos this season.
Negedu collapsed during a workout at Tennessee a little more than a year ago, on Sept. 28, 2009. UT trainer Chad Newman and director of sports medicine Jason McVeigh brought Negedu back to life with CPR and an automatic external defibrillator.
Negedu had an internal cardiac defibrillator implanted in his chest soon after. But Tennessee wouldn't clear Negedu, a top-25 recruit who had played 33 games as a freshman in 2008-09. Negedu thought he was going to go to Indiana, but he wasn't cleared there, either.
New Mexico gave him the go-ahead after Negedu sought multiple opinions and found an endorsement from noted Los Angeles cardiologist Dr. David S. Cannom, who had previously cleared former Pepperdine forward Will Kimble to play at UTEP after having a similar device put into his chest.
Alford had recruited Negedu out of high school while Alford was at Iowa. Negedu did consider UNM once Alford moved to the Lobos but didn't think the program was at as high a level as Tennessee, which he chose after withdrawing from his national letter of intent at Arizona amid former coach Lute Olson's health problems.
Now, two years later, after a flat-line experience, Negedu has found his comfort zone.
"I feel at home here," Negedu said. "I love it here."
When Negedu first arrived in Albuquerque, he wasn't cleared to play. He had to be thoroughly checked, especially given that he would be playing at a higher altitude. He said he was kept off the court for two weeks.
"They wanted to check my lungs and make sure they were clear," Negedu said. "I was jogging and then running -- all to get back in shape. Everything has been great since then."
The timing for Negedu has been perfect. Had he been cleared to play at Tennessee, he said he would have stayed, then been with the Volunteers during their current NCAA crisis as the program self-reported recruiting violations by coach Bruce Pearl and his staff.
"This is the best place for me," Negedu said. "When I heard that [news of the NCAA violations at Tennessee], I was like, wow. That's crazy. The teammates used to always talk about how they said Coach Pearl snitched on somebody years back, and now it happened to him. It was like what goes around comes around. I was like, 'Wow, that was crazy.' I talked to the guys on the team; Scotty [Hopson] … tells me about the crazy stuff. He said other coaches do stuff, but people that get caught pay the consequences."
Pearl admitted that he misled NCAA investigators, and the charges reportedly will be that he hosted high school junior recruits who were on unofficial visits at his house, which is a violation. He also reportedly didn't answer a question truthfully about whether a photo of a recruit at his house was taken in his home.
Negedu said he wasn't recruited the same way others were to Tennessee because he decided on the Vols late once he withdrew his commitment to Arizona. He also couldn't recall whether he was on hand the exact date in question when the photo was taken. But Negedu said he remembered going to Pearl's house whenever recruits were in town.
"I probably was there because the whole team goes to his house," Negedu said.
"Tennessee is a big-time program, but to me, this here is a big-time program," Negedu said. "They make you understand the game more, and we stay as a family. That didn't happen at Tennessee. They're here for you like a dad. I feel at home here. I love it out here."
Negedu likely was going to get his waiver to play immediately because of his unique situation. He was inactive last season but was a student at Tennessee, which meant he was subject to the same transfer rules of sitting out a year in residence at the new school.
It was clear in the pickup game earlier this week that Negedu will fit in quite nicely on a team that has more size and strength than last season's Mountain West champ. Negedu joins a frontcourt of UCLA transfer Drew Gordon (who likely will be eligible in time for the Las Vegas Classic on Dec. 17), starting forward A.J. Hardeman, Australian freshman Cameron Bairstow, ESPNU 100 recruit Alex Kirk from Los Alamos and lanky freshman forward Tony Snell, who has more of a face-up, 3-man game.
The Lobos, who are replacing key players in Darington Hobson, who left early for the NBA, and Roman Martinez, who graduated, still have one of the top guards in the West in Dairese Gary, with his Vinnie Johnson-like body driving in the lane. Gary's wing mate, guard Phillip McDonald, doesn't miss much in practice and has a smooth stroke that is reminiscent of former Lobo Charles Smith.
But the key to this team might be how Gordon adapts once he's eligible and how much impact Negedu has when he is comfortable on the court.
"I'm back to being in the best shape I've been in," said Gordon, who was bothered by knee issues in his brief stint at UCLA. "I've probably fallen off a bit, but I'm expecting this season to go really well."
Gordon said that he originally looked at transferring to Cal because he's from the Bay Area but that he didn't want to spend two seasons out of basketball because of a Pac-10 transfer rule. UNM's success in dealing with four-year transfers (see: Danny Granger under former coach Ritchie McKay and Hobson under Alford) and the lure of playing for Alford and top assistant Craig Neal was a drawing card. Gordon said he's a better fit with the Lobos than he was with the Bruins.
"This is a special team," Gordon said.
A lot of that has to do with Negedu, whose infectious personality seems to lighten up the players before working out.
"He's got to be one of the best athletes in the league," Alford said. "He's a big-time rebounder, and while his skill development is a work in progress, athletically he's much further ahead."
The Lobos, who finished 30-5 and won the MWC (14-2) by a game over BYU, have a much more challenging schedule than a year ago, when a number of the high-profile games were at home. This time, UNM has to go to California and Southern Illinois, play the usual home-and-home with New Mexico State, face an upstart Colorado on a neutral court in Las Vegas and then either Indiana or Northern Iowa in the same event at the Orleans Arena, then play consecutive road games at Texas Tech and Dayton.
The Lobos will go from Dec. 19 to Jan. 5 without playing at The Pit. The one marquee, nonconference home game is against Herb Sendek and Arizona State on Nov. 16.
Alford said he is hoping that by the time Gordon joins the Lobos, the team "hasn't been beaten up by the schedule."
The mindset of at least one player -- Negedu -- shouldn't be a question. He's thrilled to be playing any game, no matter the place or time. He hasn't played since the Volunteers lost to Oklahoma State in the NCAA tournament first round on March 20, 2009. Negedu scored six points in six minutes and grabbed three rebounds in the 77-75 loss.
"I'm really anxious for my first game," Negedu said. "I can help a lot in the paint and outside. I can be a combo 3 and 4. I can help a lot with rebounds. I will bring a lot of energy out there with how hard I play. I know I can help a lot."
No one will doubt him. He has a second chance -- in college basketball and in life.
On Tuesday, just three days prior to the start of practice, Texas A&M; will get a stark reminder about the tragic loss the program suffered in May.
The parents of Tobi Oyedeji will be on campus to visit College Station and see the memorial locker, a 12th-man plaque that will always be on the honor wall that the Aggies created for Oyedeji. And they will visit with the coaching staff, led by Mark Turgeon, and the teammates Oyedeji was supposed to have. They include his scheduled roommate, Daniel Alexander, and good friend, sophomore Ray Turner, who was with Oyedeji at the Houston-area Bellaire High prom on May 16 (he was dating a girl at the school).
The 17-year-old Oyedeji was on his way home from the prom when he was involved in a fatal early-morning car accident that also claimed the life of a 52-year-old oncology nurse, Gertha Augustin, after Oyedeji's car hit Augustin's.
"The family is doing the best they can,'' said Turgeon, who has stayed in contact. "Like with any death, the first year is probably the toughest since there is the first time they're going through things.''
Turgeon and the Aggies started to endow a scholarship in Oyedeji's name soon after the accident. Turgeon said the money is up to $40,000.
Turgeon said Alexander, who is from Dripping Springs, Texas, and Oyedeji had become close over Facebook and through the recruiting process.
"They were a week away from being roommates [in summer school],'' Turgeon said. "It hurt the younger guys [in the recruiting class] and even the guys we have committed for 2011. They were all close to him. It really shook the younger kids up.''
Turner told Turgeon he wanted to honor Oyedeji by wearing the No. 35 that Oyedeji wore in high school and was scheduled to wear for the Aggies. Turgeon said the NCAA also approved the Aggies' wearing a patch on their uniforms in honor of Oyedeji.
"The reason I wanted to wear Tobi's number was me and Tobi were like brothers,'' Turner said. "We played each other like it was a friendship, and we both were having fun with the game of basketball. It was always entertaining. He was like my little brother. I also feel like he should been blessed to play Division I, and he wasn't able to accomplish that.
"By me wearing his number, I can share his spirit with everyone."
Turner was with Oyedeji at the prom and said Oyedeji kept saying how he couldn't wait to get to College Station.
At 2 a.m., Turner left Oyedeji, who dropped his prom date off at her house. Turner said he didn't go with him and was with his prom date eating. Then, in the early-morning hours, he was told there had been an accident and rushed to the hospital.
Turgeon said he was asked Thursday about the basketball-related effect of not having Oyedeji in the program. While the query sounds insensitive and trivial, there will be a lasting void for the Aggies.
"It's not just that he would have played this year, it's the type of kid that he was and what he was going to do for Texas A&M;,'' Turgeon said. "He would have helped us recruit because he was off the charts. There will be a long-term effect for years here.''
Turner added, "Tobi would have brought a lot of chemistry to the team. He was very outgoing, social, funny. He was a character and he has that personality. He's laidback and cool. When it comes to basketball, he was ready to go all the time. He played hard nonstop and practiced hard and was motivated all the time. That's what I'm trying to do all the time now that he couldn't be here. I'm trying to push myself like he did so that I can fulfill my dream -- and his as well. I want to contribute for his parents as well so that they know he's never forgotten. I'm going to be wearing his jersey so they can see that I'm contributing to the team for him.''
Turgeon's actions since Oyedeji's death have been commendable. But that shouldn't be a surprise. He has run an honorable program since he arrived in College Station from Wichita State.
The Aggies, who are consistently one of the more underappreciated programs, are once again a likely NCAA-bid contender. They lost all-everything guard Donald Sloan, an injured Derrick Roland (he suffered a freak broken leg in late December) and forward Bryan Davis off last season's team, which fell in overtime by two to Purdue in the NCAA tournament's second round.
The Aggies return guard B.J. Holmes, who certainly benefited from having to play off Sloan and Davis. He is quick enough to find the openings and get off his shot. The committee of Holmes, Dash Harris , Naji Hibbert and Khris Middleton certainly gives the Ags a shot to compete with any other backcourt in the Big 12.
The frontcourt of Turner, Nathan Walkup, David Loubeau, Alexander and Keith Davis should offer enough depth for Aggies to be in the mix for an NCAA bid. Texas A&M; figures to be in the middle of the Big 12 pack, behind Kansas State, Kansas, Missouri, Texas and Baylor, and possibly fending off Colorado, which has two Wooden preseason All-Americans in Cory Higgins and Alec Burks.
The Aggies will play with heavy hearts, but they should be a scrappy bunch again with a collection of players who aren't household names yet. And playing in College Station is always a tough out.
Turgeon has handled the Oyedeji tragedy as best as anyone possibly could in his position. He recruited him for a few years, but never got a chance to coach him. But he's making sure that everyone around the program doesn't forget Oyedeji and what he could have meant to the program. Gestures like Turner's help. It has humbled this bunch to realize that they are privileged and should cherish the opportunity they have been given to play.
"I think they're handling everything so well,'' Turner said. "I like that they're actually doing something for him, and he's never going to be forgotten. The scholarship means that he'll always be remembered. I think the coaches have done a great job in all of this.''
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Andy Katz
Andy Katz is a senior college basketball writer for ESPN.com. He started working for ESPN.com in 1998, eventually leaving a 10-year newspaper career in 1999 to join ESPN.com full-time. In addition to covering breaking news for the site and college basketball on a daily basis through his Daily Word, Katz is a reporter for studio and remote coverage of college basketball and the NBA draft on ESPN's family of networks. Katz is a regular on ESPNU's "The Bracket" show throughout the college basketball season.