When the Big East broke the trend of hiring experienced sports administrators and brought former CBS executive vice president Mike Aresco on board as its new commissioner, there was little doubt that Aresco’s experience in programming and negotiating large television played a large role. The conference didn’t have to wait very long to see its new hire in action as one of Aresco’s first responsibilities as commissioner was to secure a lucrative, long-term television deal with ESPN.

New Big East Commissioner Mike Aresco Has His Hands Full Trying To Land A Favorable Television Deal With ESPN (Photo credit: John P Filo/AP Photo)

But now, with little more than two weeks left before the two sides’ exclusive negotiating window closes, the deal doesn’t appear to be any closer to being done than it did when Aresco took over. The new commissioner told reporters that the deal between the two sides is ‘not anywhere near done’ and that there has been plenty of interest from rival networks as they sense an opportunity to capitalize.

Now, it should be clear to anyone with even the most minimal business sense that Aresco’s comments could be true, or they could just be a rather transparent negotiating ploy to create the aura of competition between ESPN and its rivals even if there isn’t one. It will be interesting to see whether ESPN eventually decides to get the deal done or whether they believe the price is just too steep for a conference that doesn’t have nationally-relevant football programs and is in the process of losing three of their best basketball programs.

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Chris Johnson is an RTC Columnist. He can be reached @ChrisDJohnsonn. 

For a player with transcendent basketball talent and potential, a No. 1 recruiting ranking, Sports Illustrated coverboy hype, and the enormous expectations of living up to the unfair if burdensome labeling as “The Best High School Basketball Player Since LeBron James,” Jabari Parker’s immediate basketball future isn’t as simple as what meets the eye. In a vacuum, you’d think a player like Parker would go on to a high-major powerhouse, with practically no limits on his range of destinations. He would enjoy a high-profile one-year existence on the college scene, send his draft stock through the roof as he dominates the competition, accumulate numerous accolades and generate widespread debate over the fairness of the NBA’s one-and-done age stipulations and, hopefully, have some fun along the way before joining the professional ranks. But Parker, as you may have heard (and if you haven’t, I heartily recommend visiting the timeless SI vault for Jeff Benedict’s brilliant feature), is not like most No. 1 recruits. For one, Parker – cover story notwithstanding – has deftly insulated himself from the growing high school and grass roots hoops media spotlight, instead funneling pertinent information through his parents and, on occasion, Twitter. Up until this weekend, when Parker cut his lengthy list of suitors down to five schools (Duke, Michigan State, Stanford, BYU and Florida), the Chicago Simeon (IL) product kept his preferences under wraps – Even after narrowing down his list, we still don’t have a great feel for where Parker will eventually end up. Perhaps most puzzling, particularly in light of the Harrison twins recent commitment to Kentucky after a heated six-year courtship with Mark Turgeon at Maryland, is Parker’s elimination of the Wildcats from his list. It’s not often you see a recruit reject John Calipari, nor is it normal for any prospect – no matter his ranking – to turn down Kansas and North Carolina; these days, if you’ve already rebuffed Coach Cal, dropping the Jayhawks and Tar Heels is borderline irrational.

The age adjustment, which presents a roundabout way in which Parker could enter the NBA without playing in college, could affect Parker’s college hoops timeline (Photo credit: Charles Rex/AP Photo)

By conventional blue-chip recruiting standards, Parker’s recruitment is unusual. This much is clear. But it’s his personal background that could alter his college basketball timeframe. Thanks to a newly-imposed age requirement for religious missions in the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-Day Saints, Parker, a practicing Mormon, is rethinking how he schedules his two-year sojourn. Sonny Parker, Jabari’s father and media conduit, told ESPN Chicago’s Scott Powers Monday that Jabari has not decided on when, or if, he will serve his mission, but that the new rule – which lowered the threshold for mission service age to 18 for males and 19 for females – could influence the way his son handles his religious and basketball priorities. The rule change eliminates the divided eligibility timeline whereby Mormon players play one season with their respective programs, leave for two years on religious duty, then finish out their eligibility at a later date. But for Parker, the downshift may not matter. According to Powers, Parker is exploring new ways to fulfill religious obligations without embarking on a conventional two-year mission. This is the same path taken by former BYU guard Jimmer Fredette and quarterback Steve Young, who Parker spoke with to gain a greater perspective on handling service requirements. In the most extreme case, Parker could serve his mission after high school, circumvent college basketball altogether and enter the NBA Draft upon returning. The latter seems remotely improbable. Spending two years away from high-level competition at arguably the most important time of Parker’s basketball career could jeopardize his NBA future. However he chooses to handle his religious obligations, the final stretch (he expects to commit in November) of the Jabari Parker recruiting saga will be fascinating to watch.

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We’re just four days away from the official opening to the 2012-13 college basketball season as schools will be able to start officially practicing Friday night. Before then, though, we’re going to take a look at the various pre-conference tournaments that have become synonymous with the first month of college basketball. Nearly every Big 12 school is competing in one of those tournaments this season and we’ll take time each day this week to preview each bracket, from Hawaii to Puerto Rico to New York City. On Tuesday we took a look at Texas and Kansas. Today, it’s Kansas State and new head coach Bruce Weber. 

NIT Season-Tip Off

Dates: November 12-13, November 21, November 23
Location: Campus sites and Madison Square Garden
Major Teams: Michigan, Cleveland State, Pittsburgh, Lehigh, Robert Morris, Kansas State, North Texas, Virginia, Delaware

Bruce Weber is Firmly on the Hot Seat; How Will his Team Respond? (AP Photo/M. Conroy)

There’s no acclimation period for Bruce Weber at Kansas State. No rebuilding project, no waiting game, and, most importantly, no excuses for the Wildcats not to reach Madison Square Garden in the NIT Season Tip-Off this November. Weber, whose Illinois program slowly crumbled and led to his eventual dismissal, found a terrific gig in Manhattan and inherits an experienced roster capable of immediate results. That’s both a blessing and a burden. With an All-Big 12 wing in Rodney McGruder, strong guards, good depth and a defensive mentality already instilled by Frank Martin, it would be a colossal disappointment not to reach at least the semifinals. That’s a tough expectation, though, since Tony Mitchell and North Texas presumably await the Wildcats after an opening round game against Lamar. Kansas State would play this “Midwest Championship” at Bramlage Coliseum, but the Mean Green have the best player on the floor and seem primed for a big year after underachieving a bit with its young talent a year ago.

If Kansas State can slip by North Texas, it’s not necessarily an underdog compared to the rest of the PNIT field. At the top of the bracket, Michigan will play the role of the heavy favorite, thanks to that star-laden backcourt and return of Trey Burke. The top-seeded Wolverines could potentially face Pittsburgh in the semifinals, a program looking to rebound from an unprecedented down season on the shoulders of Tray Woodall and notable transfer Trey Zeigler. At the bottom of the bracket, second-seeded Virginia’s defense should be light years ahead of everybody else, but Tony Bennett’s team may struggle to find its offensive identity in November after losing Mike Scott. That could be one heck of a drag-it-out slugfest between KSU and Virginia in the semifinals at the Garden.

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And away we go, headfirst into another season heralded by our 2012-13 edition of Thirty Reasons We Love College Basketball, our annual compendium of YouTube clips from the previous season 100% guaranteed to make you wish games were starting tonight. We’ve captured here what we believe were the most compelling moments from last season, some of which will bring back the goosebumps and others of which will leave you shaking your head. Enjoy!

#29 – Where Love Him or Hate Him Happens

We also encourage you to re-visit the entire archive of this feature from the 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, and 2011-12 seasons.

1. Way back on April 11, Shabazz Muhammad signed with UCLA, guaranteeing Ben Howland one of the year’s best recruiting classes and boosting the hopes of Bruins’ fans. While there have been some good moments since then (such as when Tony Parker eventually committed to UCLA as well), now nearly six months later, the Bruins are on a bit of a losing streak even though they have yet to play a game. They learned yesterday that returning starter Tyler Lamb will miss at least a month while recovering from knee surgery. Throw that on top of the NCAA investigations into Muhammad and fellow recruits Parker and Kyle Anderson, along with bad news from Joshua Smith’s scale, and there is some concern as to where this season is going. However, on the bright side, Lamb will likely be back soon after the season begins, and even if UCLA plays without him for a handful of games, sophomore guard Norman Powell should be ready and willing to step in and use the available minutes to make his case for more playing time.
2. As for the other question marks mentioned above, UCLA fans are hoping to get some positive answers. First, on the matter of Joshua Smith’s diet, once again progress is being reported. Though there is still no one that will actually go on record with a three-digit number meant to accurately represent his weight, Smith claims that his body fat percentage is down from 25% when he came to campus two years ago to just 17% today, with a future goal of 10%. Still, at this point, especially given last year’s often lackluster effort, college basketball fans will largely take a wait-and-see approach to Smith’s waistline. Meanwhile, Shabazz Muhammad and Kyle Anderson have begun preliminary workouts with the Bruins despite the fact that the NCAA has yet to rule on their eligibility. This means (correct me if I am wrong) that for the next 45 days, these guys are eligible to practice with the team and play in games. Once those 45 days expire, either they must be cleared or they must stop working out with the team until their investigations are resolved. The scuttlebutt is that Anderson will be cleared by the NCAA (although, until that actually happens, Bruins fans have every right to be nervous), while any guess on Muhammad’s eventual status is just that, a guess.
3. Lamb’s knee surgery isn’t the only big injury news around the conference. California head coach Mike Montgomery announced on Monday that sophomore guard Ricky Kreklow underwent surgery on his right foot and will be out of action for up to two months. Kreklow transferred into Berkeley after spending one season at Missouri, where he shot 28.3% from three in limited minutes as a freshman in 2010-11. After sitting out last season per NCAA rules, the former Mr. Basketball in Missouri in 2010 was expected to jump into the Golden Bear starting lineup this season as a three-point shooting specialist, but instead will have to serve as a midseason reinforcement. Coupled with the transfers of guards Alex Rossi and Emerson Murray this offseason, the Bears now find themselves slightly shorthanded in the backcourt, with returning starters Justin Cobbs and Allen Crabbe being joined by Brandon Smith and freshman Tyrone Wallace. The injury could mean that instead of employing a three-guard starting lineup of Cobbs, Crabbe and Kreklow, Cal could opt to go bigger along the front line. Stay tuned.
4. Last week, the consensus #1 player in the 2013 recruiting class, Jabari Parker, narrowed his list of potential schools down to five. This is important for Pac-12 fans for a couple of different reasons. First, and foremost, Stanford is one of the quintet of schools remaining as possible landing spots for the versatile wing. Johnny Dawkins already has commitments from the Allen twins (Marcus and Malcolm), but adding an elite recruit the level of Parker would bring a whole different level of recruit to The Farm. The other bit of interest about Parker involves Utah head coach Larry Krystkowiak, who apparently was shown on a Salt Lake City television station talking about Parker, a potential NCAA violation. However, Rob Dauster argues that since the Utes no longer stand a chance of landing Parker (the Utes are not among his final five), Krystkowiak can get off on a technicality. Still, the coach should know better.
5. It’s not all bumbles and stumbles along the recruiting trail for Krystkowiak, however, as the Utah head man continues his pursuit of Michael Williams, a 6’2” point guard out of Texas. He just finished an official visit with the program last week and now will decide between the Utes, TCU and Penn. The fact that those are the other schools in on Williams’ recruitment indicates that he’s not likely to be a player who makes a huge impact, but he is a bigger lead guard than anybody currently on the roster with Glen Dean and Brandon Taylor both checking in under six feet. Krystkowiak already has a couple 2013 shooting guard commitments, while also chasing Las Vegas point guard Julian Jacobs and southern California lead guard Brandon Randolph.

1. Trent Johnson deserves a toast this morning. He won’t coach a game at TCU for another month, but he earned his first major victory as the Horned Frogs’ head coach on Monday by landing a commitment from blue-chip center Karviar Shepherd. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why it’s important Johnson landed an in-state, top-50 prospect — a guy who, by the way, had an offer to play for Bill Self at Kansas — but the most intriguing part of this decision has to do with a quote Shepherd gave to ESPN. “They really do a great job of improving bigs like they did at Stanford with the Lopez twins,” Shepherd said. Johnson may as well plaster that statement all over campus to boost his recruiting efforts. He may not have the most impressive facilities or much basketball tradition to pitch at TCU, but kids in high school apparently still remember his Stanford days with Robin and Brook Lopez. That’s a terrific sign for a coach who needs to increase his talent level as soon as possible.
2. After a year of injuries, transfers and general shenanigans in Stillwater, Travis Ford certainly increased his talent level by adding freshman Marcus Smart to his roster this season. Le’Bryan Nash entered his freshman season a year ago with similar hype, but there’s something different about Smart. Before ever stepping on the court, he’s earned a reputation as a gritty leader, the kind of guy who’ll do whatever it takes to win and contribute on both ends of the floor. This is just the latest article about Smart’s leadership and winning style, and we’ll certainly hear more about this as fall practice drags on. There’s a danger in hyping a freshman too early, but by all accounts, Smart seems like the type of grounded star who can excel immediately and play within himself.
3. Let’s stay in the state of Oklahoma. Sooners’ coach Lon Kruger sat down with an SB Nation contributor to discuss all sorts of topics, including his team’s intense workout with the Navy this offseason and the growth of his returning nucleus. In the interview, Kruger sounds energized by his 2012-13 roster, which includes good size in the frontcourt, a few scoring guards/wings and a very good point guard in Sam Grooms. It’s also interesting to note that Amath M’Baye is the first player Kruger mentions in his interview. That’s not surprising. M’Baye, a Wyoming transfer who teammates called the best player on the team a year ago during his redshirt year, could be a matchup nightmare and might add an extra element to the Sooners’ roster. Keep an eye on that name — it’s not easy to forget — and keep an eye on Oklahoma this season.
4. CBS launched its college basketball preview on Monday, and it opened its pre-season Top 25 with Big 12 newcomer West Virginia. There’s nothing too surprising in Gary Parrish’s analysis. He’s high on the Mountaineers’ three transfers (Aaric Murray, Juwan Staten and Matt Humphrey), but he’s also concerned about Murray’s attitude  and the program’s ability to rebound from a fairly successful but rather difficult 2011-12 season. The Mountaineers’ season boils down mostly to how well they respond to Huggins’ demands. This team did not defend up to his standards a year ago, and they did not look like a typical Bob Huggins team. Still, in addition to the transfers, you’ve got to think Deniz Kilicli will team with a vastly improved sophomore class to play tough-as-nails basketball again after a year of losing that identity.
5. We mentioned on Monday that Kansas State introduced a new, giant practice facility, but ESPN.com‘s Eamonn Brennan expanded on the topic this week. There’s a funny reaction included from coach Bruce Weber, who didn’t think the place could possibly be ready to go by the start of fall practice. Construction crews got down to business, though, and Weber now has a brand-new facility to show off to recruits.

With Midnight Madness mere days away, and college basketball action kicking off next month, today we begin to ramp up our coverage of Big East hoops in 2012-2013. In anticipation of the upcoming season, the Big East Microsite will examine the season outlook for each conference team. Each day, we’ll be posting a synopsis of one Big East squad, in ascending order based our writers’ predicted final conference standings. Today, we’ll begin our preseason coverage with the team we predict will finish last, Rutgers (13-16, 5-13 Big East).

Rutgers Has a Steep Mountain to Climb This Season

Rutgers finds itself in an uncertain and inauspicious position entering the 2012-13 season; the most positive news out of Piscataway this offseason was video footage of coach Mike Rice rappelling down a building in New Jersey to raise money for cancer research. The Scarlet Knights enter our preseason Big East rankings squarely at the bottom. Rice brings some nice pieces to the table this season, but loses the mercurial Gilvydas Biruta. It also remains to be seen whether Rutgers’ young talent has matured enough to win more games away from the RAC.

Schedule

Rutgers eases into the Big East gauntlet with a manageable non-conference schedule. Their most daunting tests will come against Iona in New York City and at Ole Miss (although admittedly they dodge a bullet once again in the Big East/SEC Challenge, after facing LSU last season). Rutgers benefits from a manageable conference slate in what appears, on paper at least, to be a down Big East. The Scarlet Knights trade visits with Cincinnati, Georgetown, Seton Hall and St. John’s, but get both Louisville and Marquette at home this year. Last year Rutgers played its best basketball at the RAC –– putting together wins against Florida, Cincinnati, UConn and Notre Dame –– so the schedule sets up nicely for them to win a couple of games they won’t be favored in. But considering the issues they had playing on the road in 2011-2012, they could easily head into Big East play with several bad losses.

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1. The preseason accolades continue to flow in for the Indiana Hoosiers. Sophomore forward Cody Zeller was selected to the pre-season All-American team by CBSSports.com and was also selected as their player of the year. Zeller’s selection should come as no surprise but he is accompanied by a few other talented teammates who are just as important if Indiana hopes to make a run at the title — freshman Kevin (Yogi) Ferrell, senior guard Christian Watford and junior wing Victor Oladipo. Ferrell will need to share point guard duties with senior guard Jordan Hulls and Oladipo needs to assert himself as the defensive stopper for the Hoosiers. The Hoosiers gave up 1.06 points per possession last season and need to be more consistent on defense against teams that have similar offensive talent.
2. Wisconsin’s big men have always been unique in their style but also very efficient. Bo Ryan’s former players such as Jon Leuer and Mike Wilkinson had amazing shooting range but also improved their inside game as they progressed through their college careers. Senior forward Jared Berggren hopes to have a similar impact during his final upcoming season for the Badgers. ESPN interviewed the big man about the upcoming season and his experience in playing for Bo Ryan. Berggren improved his game tremendously during last offseason by increasing his average from 2.5 PPG during his sophomore campaign to 10.5 PPG during his junior season. By Ryan will need Berggren to contribute heavily on the offensive end to pick up the slack after Jordan Taylor’s departure, especially during the non-conference season until stud freshman Sam Dekker gets acquainted with the offensive schemes.
3. The Jared Uthoff saga at Wisconsin has been well documented over the last few months. He wanted to transfer out of Wisconsin but there were certain restrictions in place with respect to his final destination. But after an intense offseason, Uthoff will finally begin practicing with Iowa this week. Uthoff is very excited to be at Iowa and believes that he can add depth to Fran McCaffery’s frontcourt. The 6’8″ wing should fit in well with an up-tempo Hawkeyes offense that averaged 65.8 possessions per game last season and ranked first in the Big Ten. He was also named Iowa’s Mr. Basketball in 2011 but will be not be able to play this season due to NCAA transfer rules. Uthoff will learn a fair amount during practice from such key returning players as Roy Devyn Marble who averaged 11.5 PPG and 3.6 APG and is hoped to lead Iowa back to the NCAA Tournament over the next two seasons.
4. Speaking of new faces on campus in the Big Ten, the Michigan freshmen class is considered as one of the best in the country. Featuring two top 75 players – forward Mitch McGary and wing Glenn Robinson III – the class is supposed to aid an already star-studded roster for the Wolverines. MGoBlue.com has compiled a video that introduces the five freshman to Big Ten fans. McGary will add some size to the frontcourt in addition to junior forward Jordan Morgan who averaged 5.6 RPG game last season. The Wolverines ranked tenth in offensive rebounding (25.8%) in conference play last season and will need a more consistent presence in the paint if they hope to make a run at the Final Four. Robinson will add depth to the scoring attack in addition to Tim Hardaway, Jr., who averaged 14.6 PPG last year.
5. In addition to compiling videos to introduce the freshmen to the fan base, schools also host events as part of  Midnight Madness celebrations to let the fans get their first peek of the team in live action. And when it comes to this annual event, Michigan State’s Tom Izzo never ceases to surprise Spartan fans with his antics. What will Izzo’s grand entrance be this year? Nobody knows. In the past, Izzo has shown up to the event on a motorcycle, on a horse and in the old-school Volkswagen van. Izzo’s demeanor on the sidelines can be very intimidating during the games but he has always shown his lighter side during these opening practice events. MSU will host their latest event this upcoming weekend which is also Homecoming weekend in East Lansing.

1. We all know Patric Young is a star, but you might not know that his stardom isn’t just confined to the basketball court. Young recently appeared in a commercial for the Providence School, the private high school he attended in Jacksonville, Florida. But don’t worry about NCAA sanctions for his involvement. The University of Florida compliance office has cleared him to participate under an exception allowing student-athletes to promote educational services as long as any payments for his services are donated to a non-profit agency. Young passed up entering the NBA Draft (and likely an opportunity to endorse products for money… that he can keep AND spend) for another chance to lead in his junior year with the Gators.
2. Frank Martin struck again with another big commitment for the class of 2013. Justin McKie, the son of former South Carolina guard BJ McKie, committed to Martin on Monday after a visit to watch the Gamecock football team beat up on Georgia on Saturday. “The visit went real well, just the atmosphere, just watching the football game and seeing those fans so excited about football, I feel like it can be that way for basketball,” McKie said. “I know coach Martin is a winner and is going to come in and get that winning tradition going. I have a lot of pride at South Carolina I want to be part of that.” McKie’s father, BJ, averaged 17.2 points per game over his career with USC, and is the Gamecocks’ leading scorer with 2,119 points.
3. McKie was not Martin’s only commitment over the last couple of days. First, 6’9″ forward Desmond Ringer chose Martin’s Gamecocks over a host of other SEC and Big East schools. Then, Sindarius Thornwell, one of the top guards in the country, chose South Carolina over North Carolina State last week. “I feel comfortable with Coach Frank and I believe in him,” Thornwell said. “I feel closer to them than I do to North Carolina State.” If Martin continues to recruit like this, he’ll have South Carolina back in the hunt in the SEC far quicker than expected.
4. Kentucky fans are seeking the second coming of last year’s super-human freshman center Anthony Davis, and many expect rookie Nerlens Noel to step into that role immediately. But don’t mention the comparisons to coach John Calipari. “He shouldn’t be compared,” said coach Cal. “They’re totally different. They’re not even the same. Nerlens is going to give us a different type of game. Anthony understood how to compete on possessions. Nerlens is still learning. Like, he’ll take possessions off. Well, you can’t do that. What he is, is a normal freshman.” Didn’t Calipari assure us that his Wildcats were not very good last year? We aren’t falling for your mind games again, John.
5. Kentucky has its fair share of celebrity followers, and Calipari knows how to treat a star. Drake snagged a national championship ring after pledging his allegiances to the Cats a couple of years ago. Ashley Judd can be found in Rupp Arena during big home games throughout the year. And she sure doesn’t sit in the nosebleed section. Now rapper Henry Ogirri recorded a song just about the Big Blue’s trek for a ninth championship. Somebody get this guy a gig at Big Blue Madness. A spot on the bench as a celebrity coach? Or at least some front row seats. What does a guy have to do to be the “Y” at halftime around here? Come on.

Brian Joyce is a writer for the SEC microsite and regular contributor for Rush The Court. Follow him on Twitter for more about SEC basketball at bjoyce_hoops.

1. Raleigh News & Observer: Rodney Purvis had to fight for his eligibility. As part of the first graduating class at Upper Room Christian Academy, the NCAA took an extra long look at Purvis’ academic record before clearing him to play in mid-September. Teammate Lorenzo Brown tried to keep Purvis optimistic — throwing a barb at North Carolina while he was at it: “Plus, with the whole UNC thing, if they got off, how could he not [be eligible]?”
2. Charlotte Observer: Speaking of Purvis and the Wolfpack, NC State and Mark Gottfried want to keep their momentum going from the end of last season. With all of the hype surrounding the team, it’s hard to remember that many thought NC State should be left out of the NCAA Tournament thanks to a schedule lacking in quality wins. We know NC State has the talent and experience, but can it make the leap to become a top-10 team?
3. The Seventh Floor: Miami blogger Jerry Steinberg took the time to rank the position players around the conference. His rankings are detailed and interesting, though I like NC State’s front line better than Miami’s (they’re miles better at running the floor and don’t have as many no-shows) and Duke and North Carolina should be ahead of Maryland (Mason Plumlee gets a bad rap, and McAdoo has the chance to be a bona fide star). Still definitely worth a read.
4. RoundballChat.com: Some optimism for the Eagles! That’s right, Scott Shirley thinks Boston College will be one of the top 100 teams in college basketball. This would obviously be a huge improvement over last season, which is to be expected with almost everyone returning. The players to really watch are Patrick Heckmann and Ryan Anderson.
5. Keeping It Heel: Dexter Strickland will be back on the hardwood, which means good things for North Carolina’s defense. What remains to be seen is how much he trusts that rehabilitated knee. Recovering from knee injuries generally takes close to a year with nearly as much time going into getting confidence back as letting it physically heal. This could be tough on Strickland, whose greatest strength lies in his quickness and agility.