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!

#14 – Where Comeback Tuesday Night 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.

Who’s Got Next? is a weekly column by Chad Lykins, the RTC recruiting guru. Once a week he will bring you an overview of what’s going on in the complex world of recruiting, from who is signing where among the seniors to discussing the recruitments of the top uncommitted players in the country. We also encourage you to check out his contributions dedicated solely to Duke Basketball at Duke Hoop Blog. You can also follow Chad at his Twitter account @CLykinsBlog for up-to-date breaking news from the high school and college hoops scene. If you have any suggestions as to areas we are missing or different things you would like to see, please let us know at rushthecourt@yahoo.com.

Scott Drew Hauls in Wainright

After making an official visit to the Baylor campus for their “Midnight Madness” festivities nearly two weeks ago, small forward prospect Ishmail Wainright made it official last Thursday evening by verbally committing to the Bears. Wainright, the No. 26 ranked prospect in the ESPN 100, picked Baylor over Ohio State, St. John’s and Texas.

Scott Drew Continues to Pile Up the Top Recruits at Baylor

A Missouri native, the 6’6″ Wainright was formerly a Missouri commitment back in May 2011. At the conclusion of that summer, he decided to reopen his recruitment after a successful AAU campaign. As Wainright began the recruiting process all over again, over 30 of the top schools in the country reached out to the Missouri small forward. With his recent commitment to Baylor, Wainright will join power forward Jonathan Motley as the only two commitments for the Bears from the class of 2013.

When describing Wainright’s overall game, he is a tremendous athlete and one of the most physically imposing small forwards at the high school level. On the offensive end, Wainright does most of his damage scoring around the rim, either in transition or driving to the basket when creating for himself off the bounce. He is also a great passer with even better court vision. He has a knack for making the right play at the right time when creating opportunities for his teammates to make plays. A glaring weakness of his offensive game, however, has been his shooting. Prior to the summer, Wainright was not a good shooter. Most defenses took note of that fact by playing him loosely, forcing him into taking shots from the outside. As exhibited during the early recruiting period in the summer, though, Wainright showed an ever improving jump shot. To round out his game, Wainright needs to make it a point to continue working on his shooting touch before ending up on the Baylor campus. On the defensive end, Wainright is as good as they come. With great length, strength and athleticism, Wainright is arguably one of the best defenders from the class of 2013. He can guard multiple positions on the floor in part due to his great frame. He is a nightmare for the opposition and will continue to be well into his college career.

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1. ESPN: North Carolina coach Roy Williams has had a fairly quotable week, sounding off on changes in academic standards and his tendency to go “wacko” despite a medical injunction to avoid just that. But yesterday, he had some words on what seems to be a fairly silly situation. The NCAA has a rule about how teams aren’t supposed to travel to an away game more than 48 hours before the game in question. This, unlike some provisions, seems fairly reasonable and well-intentioned: Students shouldn’t miss too much class. However, the realities of flight scheduling are not always cooperative. Apparently, the number of infrequent flights from Raleigh-Durham to the west coast means that without a special waiver, UNC will have to wait until Thursday morning to travel across the country rather than simply flying out after class on Wednesday. In a case where the provision in question is doing nothing to achieve it’s purpose (preventing athletes from missing extra classes), it does seem a little silly to make sure UNC does no traveling before 11 PM on Wednesday.
2. Washington Post: Coach Mark Turgeon is opening the season with a great deal of optimism, despite losing the conference’s most torrid scorer in Terrell Stoglin. Stoglin was suspended from the Maryland Terrapins at the end of the season and subsequently left school to take his chances on the NBA Draft (a move that didn’t pan out so well for the undrafted Stoglin). The cause for Turgeon’s optimism? A wide variety of roster options. Maryland’s primary point guard rotation features guys who are just as comfortable playing shooting guard, opening up the possibility of some guard heavy line-ups with multiple ball-handlers and playmakers. Just as intriguing, Turgeon apparently plans to experiment with freshman swingman Jake Layman at power forward, an interesting option that will give Maryland even more flexibility in cooking up mismatches.
3. Yahoo! Sports: In  other exciting Maryland news, Under Armor has cooked up some cool new uniforms for the Terrapins to wear in their season debut against Kentucky in the newly opened Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Just kidding: I meant ugly and hard-to-explain. Maryland will be donning grey, faux-wool jerseys in order to honor the Brooklyn Dodgers. Who among us can forget the deep connection between the Dodgers and the Terrapins? Aside from the sheer oddity of the tribute, the uniforms serve as an untimely reminder of one of the worst uniform trends of last year: gray uniforms. If I never see a gray uniform again (with obvious exceptions for teams that use gray as one of their main colors), it will be too soon. Already, I’m pretty sure I have seen more than enough games played in these Maryland jerseys.
4. Sports Illustrated: Damarcus Harrison had a rough freshman year playing spot minutes at Brigham Young University. This year, he was supposed to begin serving his mission for the Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS), but, due to some confusion, this didn’t happen and BYU had already allocated all of their scholarships. It’s an unusual situation that had an unusual outcome: Since Harrison couldn’t go on his mission or return to BYU, he transferred to Clemson. BYU has long scheduled and planned for its Mormon athletes to go on their mission in the middle of their collegiate careers, but when complications arise, as in the case of Harrison, things can get complicated very quickly. However, with the LDS changing the minimum age of their standard mission from 19 to 18, this means that many Mormon athletes may put off entering college until after their mission is complete. While this unsurprisingly has enormous implications for BYU, it also may end up being important to Duke University. Jabari Parker, possibly the top recruit in the country is a devout Mormon also considering Duke.
5. Winston-Salem Journal: While most teams typically are weeks away from playing any kind of public exhibition game, Wake Forest will be squaring off twice this weekend with a pair of Canadian foes. The Demon Deacons will face Brock University tonight and Ryerson University on Saturday. Different teams use the international travel provision differently, but Jeff Bzdelik‘s novel tactic of delaying the trip to mid-October means that his mostly young team will get a couple of extra early opportunities to get some live-game practice in as a part of the ramp up to the regular season. Canada isn’t as glamorous a destination as Spain, for example, but it might be just what Wake Forest needs.

Probably to the dismay of many college basketball fans who are more than curious to find out which school he will attend next fall, reports came out yesterday that Jabari Parker has no plan to sign with one of his final five schools in the early signing period this November, instead likely making a decision in December. So now Duke, Michigan State, BYU, Florida and Stanford will most likely have to wait an extra month to find out where the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2013 will take his talents (though he can’t officially sign with a team until April), barring a sudden change of mind.

Top recruit Jabari Parker Will Wait to Make His Decision (AP)

While I’m sure a similar case could be made for every school still remaining on Parker’s list, this news could be especially good for Stanford. While the Cardinal have had some recent success in the last 10 years, the success Duke, Michigan State, Florida and BYU have had is much more immediate and in most cases, longer lasting. Stanford, by comparison, hasn’t made the Big Dance in the last four years; in that span, the other four schools have combined for a 15 of 16 possible NCAA Tournament appearances (only Florida didn’t make it all four years), three Final Fours (Michigan State twice, Duke once) and one national championship (Duke). Duke, Michigan State and Florida are established national powerhouses, while BYU is very much settled in to being one of those non-power conference schools that are regularly in the spotlight.

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1. News like that which came out of Bowling Green, Ohio, yesterday is nothing less than extremely disappointing from a societal standpoint. Ignorance, of course, knows no bounds, and it’s clearly alive and well in northwestern Ohio. The Toledo Blade reports that a swastika along with the words “white power” were written in chalk sometime Saturday night outside the home of Bowling Green head coach Louis Orr, an African-American. A former star at Syracuse in the 1970s, Orr has been the head coach at the MAC school for the last five seasons, owning a 76-82 record. A city police representative stated that no direct threats were made against Orr and his family nor where they in danger of “immediate harm,” but that’s more or less like putting fancy lipstick on a pig. Much like the pig, these actions by a coward (or group of them) are disgusting and have no place in modern American society. 
2. How about some better news, like cancer research and treatment? UCLA and Texas yesterday announced the naming of a double-header between its men’s and women’s basketball teams that will be called (get ready for this mouthful) the MD Anderson Proton Therapy Showcase. Even thought it sounds more like a theoretical physics convention than a basketball extravaganza, the Longhorns and Bruins will meet under this moniker on December 8 of this season at Reliant Stadium in Houston, with plans to make this an annual event featuring other prominent programs from around the country. Anderson’s Proton Therapy Center touts itself as one of the leading cancer treatment centers in the world, and attaching its name to this game will no doubt increase awareness to all of the innovative and impressive radiation therapies they’re successfully utilizing there. 
3. While on the subject of UCLA this season, the LA Times‘ Bill Plaschke writes that the black cloud hanging over Ben Howland’s program while waiting on the NCAA to rule on the eligibility of Shabazz Muhammad and Kyle Anderson is pervasive around the joint. As he put it, it’s “never a good sign” when “the team’s media day [is] monitored by the school’s vice chancellor for legal affairs.” In the weeks prior to the big unveiling of a statue of John Wooden and a renovated Pauley Pavilion in anticipation of what many pundits believe will be a renaissance year in Westwood, we’re instead left with a group of fab freshmen who are off limits to reporters and a testy coaching staff habitually checking for any contact from Indianapolis. Unfortunately for every school involved with elite recruits these days, this is the world we live in.
4. A little recruiting news leaked out about Jabari Parker last night, but not the kind anyone wants. After narrowing his list to five schools a couple of weeks ago — BYU, Stanford, Duke, Michigan State, and Florida — there was some hope that the nation’s top prospect in the Class of 2013 (according to some) would be ready to make his choice during the November 14-21 signing period. Alas, no dice, according to his father. Parker is planning on taking all five of his official visits in coming weeks, with his final trip to Provo ending on November 20. With just one day to then narrow his list from five schools to one, the 6’8″ forward has decided to put off his verbal commitment until December at the earliest — meaning, of course, that no pen will touch paper until next April. Also, the recent decision by the Church of Latter-Day Saints to allow its members to begin serving their missions at the age of 18 could also play a role in Parker’s (a practicing Mormon) recruitment. Although we can’t imagine that the talented young player would preclude his manifest destiny into the NBA for an additional one or even two years, it must be considered as a factor in the analysis.
5. The Colonial Athletic Association held its Media Day in Arlington, Virginia, on Tuesday, and it is certainly strange to not see VCU represented among its now-11 members. Without the Rams to get in the way, the league’s coaches and media voted Bruiser Flint’s Drexel Dragons as the top team in the league, with Delaware, George Mason, and Old Dominion following behind. Junior point guard Frantz Massenat, an all-CAA first teamer last season when he averaged 14/3/5 APG while leading the Dragons to a 29-7 overall record (16-2 CAA), was selected as the preseason CAA Player of the Year. Delaware in the second slot in the preseason standings is surprising because the Blue Hens have been so bad for so long since joining the CAA in 2001 (only two winning conference seasons) that it’s hard to believe that they may have finally turned the corner (they probably have). Good for them.

Who’s Got Next? is a weekly column by Chad Lykins, the RTC recruiting guru. Once a week he will bring you an overview of what’s going on in the complex world of recruiting, from who is signing where among the seniors to who the hot prospects are at the lower levels of the sport. We also encourage you to check out his contributions dedicated solely to Duke Basketball at Duke Hoop Blog. You can also follow Chad at his Twitter account @CLykinsBlog for up-to-date breaking news from the high school and college hoops scene. If you have any suggestions as to areas we are missing or different things you would like to see, please let us know at rushthecourt@yahoo.com.

Double Dip for Coach Cal

In what is being referred to as the best package deal in high school recruiting by a number of national recruiting analysts, twin brothers Andrew and Aaron Harrison of Fort Bend Travis High School (Texas) verbally committed to the defending national champion Kentucky Wildcats on Thursday, October 4. Andrew, the top rated point guard and No. 2 overall prospect in the ESPN 100 and Aaron, the top rated shooting guard and No. 4 overall prospect, chose the Wildcats over the Maryland Terrapins and SMU Mustangs. The addition of the Harrisons will automatically vault the Wildcats as the No. 1 overall class in 2013 over SEC rival Florida.

The Harrison Twins are the latest dynamic duo to commit to Kentucky (maxpreps)

“Coach Calipari presented a challenge for us. He would push us every day,” Andrew said. “We just want to be better players.” Aaron added: “Also, coach Calipari did not guarantee anything and we liked that.” The announcement comes after an intense summer of recruiting for the twin brothers. Throughout the AAU evaluation period, coaching staffs from the final three schools were spotted at almost every event that the Harrisons participated in with their AAU club, Houston Defenders.

In the end, it was a neck-and-neck race between Kentucky and Maryland with SMU a distant third in the running. Kentucky head coach John Calipari and Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon battled for the services for the Harrisons up until the very last minute. Turgeon even made a visit on Wednesday in an attempt to make one final impression on the Harrison family. A Maryland commitment would have clearly brought the Terrapins back to national relevance.

Speculation ran rampant throughout the week leading up to the announcement that the decision may have been swinging in Maryland’s favor, mainly because the mainstream gear brand Under Armour was playing a huge role in the recruitment. Under Armour outfits both the Terrapins and the Harrison’s AAU club coached by their father, Aaron Harrison Sr.

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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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1. In what seems to be a summer rite of passage involving several of the top recruits entering college basketball, UCLA’s Shabazz Muhammad is the latest and greatest elite prospect whose eligibility the NCAA is investigating. According to the LA Times — and unlike the inquiry into NC State’s Rodney Purvis (the organization is reviewing the credibility of his high school) — the NCAA ” is reportedly investigating financial dealings between Muhammad’s family and friends,” specifically involving Muhammad’s former high school assistant coach, Geoff Lincoln, and his brother, Benjamin Lincoln. Of course, an investigation like this wouldn’t be any fun without an AAU connection, so the NCAA is obliging by also looking into the funding of Muhammad’s summer team by a New York financial planner named Ken Kavanagh. What does all this mean? Probably not much — the financial dealings likely involved trips that Muhammad made to visit North Carolina and Duke during his recruitment (worst case: he repays the cost of the trips), and good luck getting anything concrete out of the financial planner. Still, it means that UCLA has chosen to hold Muhammad out of its upcoming trip to China, costing the Bruins valuable preseason time to get to know each other and build team chemistry. At least one commentator believes that Ben Howland might be cursed.
2. From one piece of great news to another, the UNC academic scandal that not may or may not include former two-sport star Julius Peppers is getting uglier. And given what we’ve seen over and over and over again in this peculiar industry, it’s likely to get downright hideous. As an administrator you know that things are not going well when CBSSports.com’s Gregg Doyel focuses on your program, and his article on Tuesday blows up the entire athletic department with his description of UNC’s negligence as perhaps “the ugliest academic scandal in NCAA history,” and even suggests that the 200o Final Four banner should come down. Like Dana O’Neil before him, he also takes the NCAA to task for dragging its feet on a thorough investigation — perhaps they, like Doyel and most of the media, think that the revered Dean Smith is still running things in Chapel Hill? What we know is this: Public pressure is building on North Carolina to come clean with a comprehensive review of the entire department — basketball included — and as we’ve seen with the Peppers transcript (as bizarre a flub as we’ve ever seen), that means actually removing the veil of secrecy surrounding the program and allowing independent investigators to assess exactly what happened there. Louis Freeh is probably available.
3. One day after announcing its partnership with Bevilacqua Helfant Ventures to handle its upcoming television negotiations, the Big East announced the hiring of CBS Sports executive Mike Aresco as its new commissioner heading into those talks. Conference realignment across the board has fostered an alarmingly shortsighted arms race environment where every actor involved seems to believe that pursuit of the almighty dollar is without question the only thing that matters. The Big East, with its recent loss of West Virginia and the pending exits of Syracuse and Pittsburgh, hopes that by highlighting its numerous large markets and continent-wide footprint, it will enable the league to secure a massive television deal that will rival other major conferences and provide some much-needed stability. Perhaps it will work, but we have to believe that eventually someone is going to figure out that market penetration — how many people are actually watching the games? — is far more important than the total size of it. Right?
4. If you’re an unemployed head coach out there still fretting about the coaching carousel not holding a chair for you last spring, dust off that resume — Eastern Michigan’s position appears to be open as its head coach, Rob Murphy, is reportedly taking an assistant coaching job with the Orlando Magic. The 2012 MAC Coach of the Year led EMU to a 9-7 conference record in his only season, and with a couple of good transfers joining a strong returning core, bigger things were expected next season. No official sources have been cited, but Lehigh’s Brett Reed, Michigan State assistant Dane Fife, and former Utah head coach Jim Boylen were mentioned in the article as possible selections with Michigan ties.
5. Two players who were not expected to play college basketball in 2012-13 appear to be heading back to school after all. BYU sophomore guard Damarcus Harrison was expected to begin his two-year Mormon mission this fall, but instead he has decided to transfer closer to home at Clemson. The 6’5″ guard had a solid freshman campaign in Dave Rose’s lineup, averaging 3/1 in nine minutes per game, but he contributed 14 points and five boards in two NCAA Tournament games and showed considerable promise. American University picked up some great news when former all-Patriot League forward Stephen Lumpkins announced that he was returning to school for a senior season after spending last year playing minor league baseball in the Royals organization. In his sophomore and junior seasons, Lumpkins averaged 13/8 and shot a healthy percentage from the field — the talented big man will be able to slide into a starting lineup that returns three key contributors from a team that contended for the PL title last season.

Over the next couple of week’s we’ll be checking in with each of the high mid-major leagues as to their mid-summer offseason status. Up next: the WCC.

Michael Vernetti is the RTC correspondent for the West Coast Conference.

Three Key Storylines

• Ex-champs Fight Back. Gonzaga’s streak of 11 consecutive seasons with at least a share of the WCC crown came to an end last year as Saint Mary’s won both the regular season title and the WCC Tournament. How will the Zags react as a challenger rather than defending champion? Is Saint Mary’s for real or just a pretender? This is the key storyline for the WCC heading into the 2012-13 season. Gonzaga answers with a strong returning lineup boasting conference leaders Elias Harris at strong forward and dual freshmen sensations Kevin Pangos and Gary Bell, Jr. at the guard spots. Rather than miss the graduated Robert Sacre, Zag partisans insist more playing time for Sam Dower will equal more production in the post. Saint Mary’s answers with a possibly even stronger backcourt of Olympics hero Matt Dellavedova and defensive terror Stephen Holt. The Gaels will have a rebuilt front line anchored by redshirt sophomore Brad Waldow and transfer forward Matt Hodgson, and looks forward to proving last year’s title was no fluke.

These WCC Stars Will Determine the Storyline of the 2012-13 Season

• Revamp or Disaster? San Francisco coach Rex Walters was consistently cool when asked about the unsettling defection of six players from his roster following last season’s disappointing season (8-8, fifth place in WCC). For the most part he knew they were leaving, Walters said, and he has replaced them with players of equal or better value. Maybe, but any time a team loses its top four scorers (Angelo Caloiaro, Perris Blackwell, Rashad Green and Michael Williams) and returns only two players with significant game experience – Cody Doolin and Cole Dickerson – it puts tremendous pressure on the newcomers. Of the many new faces on the Hilltop, former UCLA recruit De’End Parker, recently cleared to participate in the upcoming season, looks to be the Dons’ best bet for stardom.
• Broncos Healthy Again. Things could not possibly have gone worse for Santa Clara last year – really, they lost all 16 conference games – so maybe karmic forces are aligned to bring the Broncos salvation. Marc Trasolini, the hard-nosed 6’9″ forward who was looked upon to provide senior leadership, instead tore his ACL in the preseason. Outstanding shooting guard Kevin Foster was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence following a Bronco home loss to Saint Mary’s, and never returned to action. With Trasolini and Foster back this season, Santa Clara coach Kerry Keating should smile more. Keating will also have improving 7-foot center Robert Garrett and slick point guard Evan Roquemore back in the fold, so the Broncos have a solid foundation for success

Reader’s Take

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1. It’s been an exceptionally quiet news week in college basketball, but some legal-related information has come out this week that doesn’t involve health care hype and hysteria. In response to the Bernie Fine scandal at Syracuse that broke last November, a Board of Trustees report released on Thursday found that Syracuse officials acted promptly when allegations against Fine were first reported to them in 2005, but they did not go far enough in reporting the information to law enforcement officials. This inaction, which included the possibility that if the allegations “turned out to be true, then the failure to have approached law enforcement at best exposed the university to harsh criticism, and at worst allowed a child molester to remain in place in the community without being called to account.” There’s a lot more detail in the story linked above, but the one thing we can all agree on is that we’re not alone in hoping the truth comes out on this story soon.
2. Moving to a story that we hope is finally over for good, the US Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit in Cincinnati ruled on Thursday that attorneys for convicted Rick Pitino extortionist Karen Sypher “advanced no arguments of merit on appeal” in her latest attempt to have her prison sentence overturned. Her arguments centered on whether she received a fair trial given the significant amount of publicity that the case engendered, but according to the three-judge panel, she failed to provide evidence that she had in fact received an unfair trial. Sypher will no doubt continue appealing the various federal courts on the basis of any number of frivolous constitutional claims, but her sentence goes through 2017 so she has plenty of time to figure out next steps. Who knows — maybe America’s least favorite justice, John Roberts, will have a chance to rule on Ms. Sypher somewhere down the line.
3. It’s not a ruling from the legal world, but the NCAA fashions itself as judge, jury, and executioner anyway, so we’ll continue this theme. Just prior to the start of the July recruiting evaluation period next week, the NCAA barred four AAU ‘travel teams’ from involvement in its sanctioned events because of a “prohibited association” between three administrators and a coach with an agent named Andy Miller. Miller apparently sent an e-mail to the four men pushing and cajoling them to live up to their obligations in getting players to the NBA, and the NCAA somehow caught wind of it. The players on these four teams — the New England Playaz, Worldwide Renegades, Florida Rams, and SEBL Elite — are not prohibited from jumping to other teams in order to play in the events, but they’ll have to hustle to find openings over the weekend. Our stance on summer AAU basketball is well-established, but this is just another example of why it needs a major NCAA-led overhaul.
4. One of the unique quirks of BYU basketball is that most of us sometimes forget that they have good players stashed away on missions overseas while the rest of college basketball is constantly trying to reload its talent base — it’s almost like a basketball safety valve of sorts. BYU rising sophomore Tyler Haws is one such example, having spent the last two years in the Philippines after a promising freshman season where he averaged 11/4 and shot 50% from the field. One of the peculiarities of Haws returning to NCAA basketball is that he is an exceptional free throw shooter, hitting 91.5% of his attempts in 2009-10. He is also the current owner of a streak of 48 makes in a row, putting him a little more than halfway to the NCAA Division I record held by Butler’s Darnell Archey from 2000-03. With a lot of downtime on his mission in basketball-crazy Philippines, maybe Haws used some of it to perfect his stroke to make a run at the record.
5. From a player returning to college hoops after a two-year layoff to a head coach doing so after 24 years, Larry Brown is getting his legs under him at SMU this summer. In a recent interview with the Topeka Capital-Journal, the only coach to have ever won both a national title (Kansas) and an NBA title (Detroit Pistons) explained that: a) he wouldn’t have been offered the SMU job had Maryland’s Mark Turgeon not initially floated his name out there; b) top assistant Tim Jankovich approached Brown about leaving potentially his best team at Illinois State; and c) he doesn’t care much for the games themselves, rather preferring the teaching aspect of practices. This experiment at SMU is certainly going to make for an interesting storyline the next couple of seasons — we’d hate to suggest that a head coach with an all-time record of 177-61 (.744) in college might struggle, but his previous stops at UCLA and Kansas are much different animals than what they have down in the north side of Dallas.