Josh Pastner’s hopes in bringing Memphis back to national prominence in the 2010-11 season took a major hit with the reported news on Wednesday evening that  one of his first five-star recruits, 6’6 wing Will Barton from Baltimore, Maryland, is unlikely to be academically eligible this year.  According to several sources, the issue befalling Barton relates to the fact that he attended four high schools in four years (an automatic red-flag for the NCAA eligibility center) and may not have completed the NCAA-mandated eight semesters of coursework.  He plans to appeal the decision, but he’s going to have trouble meeting the criteria required by the NCAA as his transcript has been referred to as a “total mess” by Gary Parrish (based in Memphis).  Barton must see the writing on the wall, as he has already tweeted out his feelings on the matter:

The obvious answers to his question about where to go from here are threefold: the NBDL, Europe, or stick around Memphis in the Renardo Sidney mold and try to play in 2011-12.  Although few draft sites have Barton as a potential first or second-rounder in next year’s NBA Draft, there has been talk of him becoming a one-and-done player; but as Sidney well knows, scouts don’t like it much when they can’t see players in live-game conditions for a year.  The NBDL and Europe are fraught with their own specific risks.  We certainly wish him well, but it doesn’t appear that he will be playing college basketball at Memphis next year, or possibly ever.

As for the Tigers, the loss of Barton, expected to fill in at the shooting guard position for the departed Elliot Williams, is a significant blow to a team that returns only a handful of regulars from last year’s 24-10 NIT team.  Among last year’s starters, only forwards Wesley Witherspoon and Will Coleman return, so much was expected from a star-studded recruiting class (#2 behind Kentucky) that included Barton and other guards Jelan Kendrick, Chris Crawford and Joe Jackson.  Obviously the remaining freshmen will need to step up, but Pastner has a difficult job ahead of him putting the pieces together if he hopes to have his team dancing next March.  There is plenty of talent available to him, but will there be enough lace-em-up talent with the loss of Barton to get the Tigers past UTEP and Southern Miss in Conference USA?

Zach Hayes is a regular RTC writer and resident bracketologist.

Last week on ESPN.com, esteemed analyst Doug Gottlieb highlighted ten (ended up being 11) freshmen for the 2010-11 season that will make a definable impact on college basketball. These players have been hyped on the AAU circuit, involved in serious recruiting battles and now finally have the opportunity to make their mark on the college game starting in November. Gottlieb broke down the skills of Harrison Barnes (North Carolina), Cameron Clark (Oklahoma), Allen Crabbe (California), Tobias Harris (Tennessee), Kyrie Irving (Duke), Perry Jones (Baylor), Brandon Knight (Kentucky), Renardo Sidney (Mississippi State), Jared Sullinger (Ohio State), Tristan Thompson (Texas) and Dion Waiters (Syracuse). Still, there are plenty of other talented incoming rookies that will drastically alter the course of the upcoming campaign. Here’s ten more highly touted freshmen to look out for next season:

Enes Kanter/ KK Cedevita

Enes Kanter (Kentucky)- Kanter won’t be as productive a player per 40 minutes as his post predecessor DeMarcus Cousins, but he does have the skill level to develop into a formidable replacement. Should Kanter be deemed eligible to play immediately, the 6’9 Turkish center will start immediately alongside Terrence Jones on John Calipari’s frontline. Kanter has a tremendous feel for the game and an array of advanced post moves. Kanter can also face up and opposing defenders must respect his capable mid-range jumper to about 17-19 feet. While no Kentucky center will be matching the rebounding production of Cousins any time soon, Kanter can absolutely hold his own on the glass.

Josh Selby (Kansas)- Selby and Kentucky commit Brandon Knight will distribute to an array of talented teammates next season, but the two phenoms are also gifted scorers who can post 30 points on any given night. Selby is a physical guard that invites contact and often beats defenders with a variety of advanced moves for his age. Expect to see Selby penetrate often with the idea of kicking to an open Tyrell Reed or Brady Morningstar on more than one occasion in 2010-11. Selby has outstanding shooting range himself and loves to pull up in transition. You won’t find a tougher guard in this year’s class.

C.J. Leslie (NC State)- There are few players in this year’s freshman class that have the ceiling of C.J. Leslie. NC State head coach Sidney Lowe capped off a wildly impressive recruiting campaign when the ultra-athletic Leslie opted to stay home rather than play in the bluegrass of Kentucky. Leslie reminds scouts of Amare Stoudemire because of his ability to face up and hit a mid-range jumper, yet also possesses the capability to overpower defenders for a finish at the rim. His rebounding and shot-blocking skills are off the charts, but the consistent effort in those areas have come into question.

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At least as far as recruiting prowess is concerned, new Memphis coach Josh Pastner is following in the footsteps of his predecessor.

A program that may have been temporarily crippled by John Calipari’s departure, Latavious Williams bolting for Europe, the Derrick Rose/ACT scandal and the loss of prized recruit Xavier Henry is quickly turning around. Jeff Goodman first reported today that Joe Jackson, the fourth ranked point guard in the nation according to Scout.com, will commit to his hometown Tigers in a press conference later tonight. Tennessee and Kansas were also involved, but most inside recruiting circles felt Jackson vowing to stay home was inevitable.

Joe Jackson/Memphis Commercial-Appeal

Pastner has been able to quickly rejuvinate a Memphis program suffering from major personnel losses- namely Tyreke Evans, Antonio Anderson, Robert Dozier and Shawn Taggart- by having Duke point guard Elliot Williams fall into his lap this summer and also securing the commitment of Will Barton, a 6’6 shooting guard ranked by Scout.com as the #1 overall player at his position. Williams, Barton and Jackson in the fray means three McDonalds All-American guards in the backcourt for Pastner in 2010-11.

As a college basketball fan, color me pleased that Memphis seems to be on the upswing yet again. Rather than be left in the dust by Calipari, a young, vibrant coach like Pastner should be able to re-invent the image of a scarred program. While his coaching skills have yet to be evaluated, Pastner appears to be heading on the right track towards another dominant decade-long run in Conference USA by landing such elite recruits against more established coaching mainstays. Their loyal and passionate fan base deserves it.