ESPN Men's Basketball

1. Ohio State and Marquette are in negotiations to play on a naval ship in Charleston, S.C., on or around Veteran’s Day, according to multiple sources familiar with their scheduling. The game would be organized by Morale Entertainment, the same group that set up the USS Carl Vinson game on 11-11-11 between North Carolina and Michigan State. Ohio State’s other marquee games are at Duke in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, while also hosting Kansas in a return game. Marquette is in the Maui Invitational with North Carolina, Texas, Butler, Illinois, Mississippi State, USC and host Chaminade. The Golden Eagles are waiting to see who they will play in the SEC-Big East Challenge. But they have games against LSU in a return situation, host rival Wisconsin, and are at Green Bay in what overall should be the toughest nonconference slate under Buzz Williams.

2. Kansas had struggled to find a quality home game, so the Jayhawks went to an old friend, former player and league rival. Colorado and Tad Boyle, who played at Kansas and coaches Colorado, are finalizing a deal with the Jayhawks to do a two-year home-and-home series, starting in Lawrence. The Buffaloes reached the NCAA tournament third round last season, losing to Baylor in Albuquerque. Kansas had no ill will toward the Buffaloes when they left the Big 12 for the Pac-12, unlike rival Missouri. Re-starting this series is good for both leagues and programs.

3. The A-10 followed the Big East’s lead by declaring during its meetings Thursday that any school that is ineligible for the NCAA postseason cannot participate in its championships. The A-10 doesn’t have any school facing a penalty, but wanted to do this just in case it occurs. The Big East had to make this rule after UConn was banned from the 2013 postseason due to poor APR scores. The same thing is happening in the CAA with Towson and UNCW. The Big East changed its bylaws, preventing a school that is not allowed to go to the postseason to play in its championships. The CAA has the same rule. That means UConn, Towson and UNCW cannot play in the 2013 Big East or CAA, tournaments, respectively.

1. The Atlantic 10 will discuss and then likely decide Thursday on how it will schedule with 15 teams next season, according to commissioner Bernadette McGlade. The A-10, which will wrap up spring meetings Thursday, will have 15 schools in the league because VCU left the CAA immediately. Temple and Charlotte don’t leave for the Big East and C-USA, respectively, until 2013. The A-10 will add Butler in the fall of 2013. Xavier coach Chris Mack said one format discussed was to have each team have two partners (four games) and then play the other 10 five home/five road. McGlade said the A-10 has been looking at creative alternatives.

2. Baylor picked up a road game with Kentucky, adding again to the Bears' solid schedule. Bears coach Scott Drew said Baylor will also play at Gonzaga in a return game from two years ago in Dallas, and also will host Northwestern and BYU. The Bears are one of the marquee teams in the Charleston Classic with Murray State, Colorado, St. John’s and Dayton. Auburn, Boston College and the College of Charleston are also in the field. Baylor will get plenty of power-rating pop for this schedule, especially with the addition of Kentucky. No one should be surprised that the return game is in a neutral setting at Cowboys Stadium. Duke and North Carolina have done similar scheduling agreements many times.

3. Class move by new Illinois State coach Dan Muller to retain the coach he beat out for the job in Illinois State assistant Rob Judson. Judson didn’t have a job after losing out to Muller since Tim Jankovich left for a coach-in-waiting position at SMU. Judson and Muller made the mature decision that this was the best move for all parties to keep the Redbirds near the top of the Missouri Valley after losing in the tournament title game against Creighton. Muller clearly showed that he is comfortable in his own skin to hire Judson. This kind of move is certainly a rarity, not the norm.

To go along with today's feature story on the return of the dominant shot-blockers, here’s my list of the nation’s best. If your favorite guy is missing from the list, let me know (@MedcalfByESPN or mmedcalf3030@gmail.com). But this is not just based on raw numbers. Efficiency is certainly a factor.

Could Nerlens Noel end up being the best swatter in college next season? Yes. In fact, probably. But it's hard to put him No. 1 five months before Midnight Madness.

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John Sleezer/Kansas City Star/MCT/Getty ImagesKansas' Jeff Withey had 31 blocks in last season's NCAA tournament, a new record.
1. Jeff Withey (Kansas): He finished the year No. 1 on Ken Pomeroy’s block-percentage chart (a rate determined by an opponent’s two-point attempts) and is the top returning shot-blocker entering the 2012-13 season, after a phenomenal Final Four that concluded with a record for blocks in a single NCAA tournament (31). With Withey inside, Kansas should remain on its Big 12 perch next season.
2. Gorgui Dieng (Louisville): Withey and Anthony Davis dominated the headlines in March. But Dieng (3.2 blocks per game), a 6-foot-11 sophomore from Senegal, was a very talented shot-blocker, too. He offered a sneak preview in New Orleans by blocking four shots in the national semifinals against Kentucky. Next season, however, he’ll be a star for a top-5 program.
3. Nerlens Noel (Kentucky): I’ve never seen a high school player dominate his peers the way Noel did during the Peach Jam AAU tournament last year. He’s a special talent. Anthony Davis claims Noel is the better shot-blocker between the two of them, and that’s not a crazy concept. It’s just scary for every team that’s scheduled to face Kentucky next season.
4. C.J. Aiken (St. Joseph’s): In a 10-point victory over No. 22 Temple in February, Aiken scored five points. But his five blocks were vital in that upset. You have to appreciate the fact that Aiken is still raw in many ways. I saw him live in Philly a few years ago and watched a bunch of St. Joe’s games this season. And I think he’s on the cusp of emerging on the national radar with his high-octane defense (3.5 blocks per game). Growing every year.
5. Isaiah Austin (Baylor): Another special talent. He’s so athletic and versatile that he played some point guard on the AAU circuit. Austin, a McDonald’s All-America center, averaged 5.0 blocks per game as a senior in high school. He’ll have a similar impact in the Big 12 next season, probably his only year as a collegiate player. His 7-foot-1 frame hasn’t filled out yet but his length and shot-blocking will be a problem for the rest of the conference.
6. Zeke Marshall (Akron): He’s an under-the-radar defensive force. But the MAC knows all about his shot-blocking skills. Mississippi State’s Arnett Moultrie had one of his worst games of the season against the Zips due to Marshall’s defense. The 7-footer blocked 2.9 shots per game. And he altered even more.
7. Rhamel Brown (Manhattan): Here’s why you have to love advanced statistics: Brown, a sophomore at Manhattan last season, averaged 2.4 blocks per game for the Jaspers. But he finished second behind Withey on Pomeroy’s block percentage rankings. He’s only 6-foot-6, but Brown disrupts offenses at a high level.
8. Steven Adams (Pittsburgh): Yes, another freshman on the list. Another guy who hasn’t competed in a collegiate game yet. But I think Davis’ success last season means these youngsters earn early credit on potential alone. This 7-footer has been a beast on the AAU and prep circuits. The standout from New Zealand also has international experience. So he’ll be a young veteran for a Pitt team that needs his physical presence inside. Adams has the athleticism to be a great shot-blocker at this level.
9. Hunter Mickelson (Arkansas): As a 6-foot-10 freshman on a lackluster Razorbacks squad, Mickelson averaged 2.3 blocks in 17.1 minutes per game. He’s an efficient defender who was fourth in the SEC in blocks per contest. And he finished fifth on Pomeroy’s block percentage chart. He’s still raw but the future seems bright for Mickelson.
10. Damian Eargle (Youngstown State): First, he has the best name on this board. But he’s an equally talented defender who squeezed 3.7 blocks out of his 6-foot-7 frame. Youngstown State struggled in most Horizon League stat categories but the squad led the conference in blocked shots thanks to Eargle, who was a junior last season.

Needless to say, by the time the news was announced Tuesday afternoon, this was not exactly the shock of the century.

Early Tuesday morning, Mike Brey told our own Andy Katz that Notre Dame had agreed to extend its commitment to the Crossroads Classic -- a four-team event featuring Hoosier heavies Indiana, Purdue, Butler and ND -- for another two years, into 2013 and 2014. Even before that, despite the expiration of the current agreement this season, no one really expected the event to go away. It was assumed the four schools would agree to keep the thing going, one way or the other.

The reason for that is the same reason the official news, as announced by the four schools, is so very welcome: The Crossroads Classic is an event too good not to continue.

Last season's inaugural edition went about as well as anyone could have hoped. The games weren't classics (though Butler's comeback victory over Purdue was certainly exciting), but the event itself was a welcome throwback to the original, organized and hosted by Tony Hinkle at Butler from 1948-51 and from 1957-60. It took the schools 50 years to put a similar event together again, but when they did, they got it right. All four athletics programs teamed together to host the Classic themselves, as opposed to outsourcing it to the Gazelle Group or one of the other patrons, and because they did so they were able to put the games in Conseco Fieldhouse, an actual basketball arena, while splitting the profits evenly among the four.

The end result showcased the collective culture of Indiana basketball. The impulse to gather in Indianapolis and square off on the hardwood -- the same impulse that has made the sport an obsession in the state, even at the high school level, for almost as long as it's been played -- was on full display. Everyone booed IU fans, because that's what other basketball fans from Indiana do. It was just fun, you know?

So, no, it was no shock Tuesday to see the four schools extend their sensible agreement through the 2014 season. But it was excellent to see. In a sport where scheduling too happily tosses aside monumental rivalries for the sake of individual gain (or, if you prefer, "protection" of a "nontraditional program"), the no-nonsense extension of the Crossroads Classic was a small but refreshing change of pace. May it ever be so.

1. The Big East and SEC are expected to finalize the pairings for their challenge sometime in the next two weeks. Any speculation (as I did last week) on the pairings is now moot as the conferences try to figure out arena openings and home/road setup. The Big East coaches were told that the event will happen. Politicking has begun for some. Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin wants a marquee home game. The ACC-Big Ten Challenge has matched teams that are supposed to finish in similar positions; this event hasn’t been handled like that overall. Cincinnati played Georgia last season despite the Bearcats being an upper-division Big East team and Georgia picked for the lower level of the SEC. “I don’t know why we wouldn’t rank our teams, too," Cronin said. “I’m asking the league to get us a like opponent. If we’re being picked high then we want the same thing (from the SEC)."

2. Cronin is attempting to upgrade his schedule and has secured a top-25 home-and-home series, which isn’t easy in this era of schools looking for more neutral-site non-conference games. Cronin and New Mexico coach Steve Alford said they will play a home-and-home series next season, to start in Cincinnati. The Bearcats will visit the Pit the following season.

3. Murray State coach Steve Prohm said he has had discussions with Virginia Commonwealth about a home-and-home series but nothing is finalized. The Rams are searching for multiple games after losing Richmond and George Washington from the schedule now that they’re all in the Atlantic 10. VCU also needs two more games, since the A-10 plays 16 games and the CAA played 18. VCU coach Shaka Smart said many possibilities remain, but one certainty is that the Rams will continue the rivalry with Old Dominion, which will be off to Conference USA in 2013. Smart said the home-and-home series will start at ODU in 2012-13.

Officials from Cincinnati and Xavier are not in an easy position.

The great rivalry between Cincinnati's two basketball powers spun wildly out of control last season, when late-game trash talking by Xavier's Tu Holloway escalated an already ugly blowout into empty benches and Cincy center Yancy Gates' haymakers and a bloody mess of XU center Kenny Frease's face.

The melee became an instant national conversation of the kind usually reserved for LeBron James' fourth-quarter performances, and postgame interviews by Xavier players Holloway and guard Mark Lyons and (at the time, anyway) seemingly incoherent suspensions by both coaches only worsened the hit to each school's respective image. It was really bad.

Things have calmed down since, and both schools went on to have successful seasons and runs in the NCAA tournament. But apparently, at least in Cincinnati, the initial hit lingers. The two schools' brass had to do something different, something to show the matter was being taken seriously. According to a report from The Cincinnati Enquirer, what they devised is a neutral-court compromise. From the report:

Based on the alternating site arrangement that has been in effect for years, the game was to be played this season at UC’s Fifth Third Arena, but in the wake of the brawl that erupted with 9.4 seconds left in XU’s 76-53 victory in last year’s game at Xavier’s Cintas Center, officials from the two schools agreed to move it to a neutral court for two years in an attempt to improve the climate surrounding the game. Financial details have not been finalized.

After the two-year trial period, the behavior of players and fans will be re-evaluated, with no guarantee that the series will continue.

At first glance, this seems like the right idea. You can't discontinue the series, or at least neither school wants to. The crosstown rivalry has too much history, means too much to both teams' fan bases, to kill it after one particularly unflattering day. But you also just can't let what happened in December slide, right? Something had to be done.

Which is how we arrive at the Enquirer's report of a move to U.S. Bank Arena, a half-measure that seems to serve little more than to showcase the willingness of both schools to take the incident seriously. As Mike DeCourcy, who is as familiar with the rivalry as any college hoops writer in the country, wrote Tuesday:

Exactly what moving the game off campus will do for the rivalry is hard to imagine. It is possible each school will make less money, because they’ll have to pay rent. It increases the possibility of an incident between fans because there’ll be more from each side in greater proximity to each other. [...] The administrations of each school apparently believed they needed to change something if they wanted to continue playing the game. If the rivalry truly was contaminated, and one could argue it wasn’t in the least, then it needed a cure. What the game didn’t need was botched cosmetic surgery.

DeCourcy begins his story with a discussion of the unique nature of the rivalry at each team's home site: Despite the schools' four-mile proximity, fans from the visiting team rarely found their way into the gym. Each school's fans considered it a point of pride not to sell tickets to the opposition. Now, the game will be crunched into a sterile, neutral arena, attended by fans of both teams, and who knows how that will go?

Odds are it will proceed without incident like most of the fixtures in this series' long and illustrious history. But after last season's chastising mess, that could have been just as true of a game at Cincinnati's home arena or in 2013 at Xavier. And if neither side believed that to be true, something larger needed to be done.

Instead, the two schools nodded toward a problem without doing much to solve it, assuming (perhaps wrongly) that a problem even exists in the first place. Indeed, Cincinnati and Xavier compromised -- in every sense of the term.

Virginia Commonwealth’s pending move to the Atlantic 10 isn’t necessarily remarkable.

Today, realignment is expected. Transition rarely surprising.

But the rise of VCU’s athletic program -- one that’s inseparable from the Rams’ run to the 2011 Final Four -- in recent years has been dramatic.

Rams head coach Shaka Smart said he hopes the change will position VCU for more postseason success.

In 2011, VCU squeezed into the Big Dance. Last year, the Rams were the CAA’s lone representatives in the NCAA tournament after winning their league’s tournament.

Smart, however, said he anticipates fewer challenges in his pursuit for a bid once VCU joins the Atlantic 10.

“Definitely, I think that was one of the pros, major pros of the Atlantic 10. When you look at the at-large number over the past several seasons and you compare it to the CAA, it’s not even close … 7,8,9 times as many,” Smart said. “From that standpoint, it makes more sense. That doesn’t mean it’s easy to get an at-large. It’s still challenging. And there are a lot of good teams that are battling for that at-large bid.”

He calls the Atlantic 10 a “premier” conference but he said he won’t change his recruiting philosophy.

Smart tends to sign blue-collar players, such as the edgy, veteran athletes who anchored his program’s run to the Final Four last March. They’re typically tough and scrappy but rarely Top 50 as preps.

His program’s new home, however, might help VCU grab higher-caliber players who’d previously chosen to compete for bigger schools.

“I think we’ll still recruit the same type of guys. Maybe with the league affiliation we’ll get hurt a little bit less when we’re going up against the big boys in the BCS leagues,” Smart said. “Most of the guys we lose are to those leagues. … I don’t think the type of guys we recruit is really going to change. We recruit guys to try to beat the teams that we beat in the NCAA tournament.”

With VCU leading the way in recent years, the CAA maintained its post as a midmajor power but a series of recent maneuvers has jeopardized that position.

VCU will leave the league this summer. Old Dominion and Georgia State will depart in 2013.

Smart said rumblings about possible realignment commenced after the 2011-12 season. And although he’s cheered his former league, he said the chatter about CAA disruption contributed to his program’s decision to leave the conference.

“You just have to, in these situations, get the best feel you possibly can for the changing landscape of college sports and where it’s going,” he said. “There was definitely the possibility or maybe even the likelihood that there was going to be major movement within the CAA. And so the obvious question is ‘Are you going to be one of the schools that’s moving or one of the schools that still there when the movement occurs?’”

But’s it’s not all roses and rainbows for VCU.

Now, the Rams must fill the new holes in their 2012-13 schedule.

They intended to play George Washington and Richmond during the nonconference portion of their slate. But both schools are in the Atlantic 10 so they’ll face them in conference play.

The CAA plays 18 conference games and the Atlantic 10 employs a 16-game league schedule. That’s another two-game gap for the Rams. Overall, Smart said VCU has six matchups to secure.

“The biggest challenge is we have a ton of games to schedule now,” he said. “When this announcement came out, we had seven games to go get. That’s a challenge this time of year. A lot of teams are done [with scheduling].”

But the problems don’t outweigh the benefits, Smart said.

With a tougher conference schedule, VCU could avoid the end-of-year jitters that beset the program as Selection Sunday approached the last two years. And they’re leaving a conference sapped with instability and joining a league that recently regained its footing in the national realignment shift after losing Temple and Charlotte.

“We were in a very good league in the CAA. One thing about me, I’m not a grass is always greener on the other side guy,” Smart said. “But when the athletic director and his staff started researching and looking at pros and cons and just weighing the details, it became more and more clear that it was the right thing to do.”

Incoming freshmen should anticipate major adjustments at the Division I level. The players are bigger, stronger and faster.

But the uptick in competition is only part of the transition from high school to college. The 21st-century college basketball player should understand off-court expectations, too.

They're all about adhering to proper swagger etiquette.

I hope you all have notepads ready. Here’s what you’ll need to get ready for Division I basketball off the floor:

• An Instagram account: Twitter is so 2011. These days, college basketball players send messages through photos via Instagram. It’s a cool tool. You take photos, attach a brief memo and ship the image to the world. Or if you’re Jared Sullinger, you send photos of text-message exchanges with other All-America forwards. You need this. Trust me.
• Friendships with rappers: Blame Notre Dame’s Skylar Diggins. Lil Wayne’s highly publicized crush on the talented guard dramatically increased her street cred and Twitter follower count. Jay-Z sat behind Kentucky’s bench during the Final Four. Romeo Miller (the onetime Lil' Romeo who now just goes by Romeo) didn’t just support USC basketball. He actually joined the team. Find a rapper. Become his friend.
• Fashionable specs: I know. You have 20/20 vision. Doesn’t matter. This is all about style. I learned about this recent development in college basketball fashion from Michigan State’s Adreian Payne. He says his black glasses project sophistication. It’s either that or an affinity for Clark Kent.
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Kelly Kline/Getty ImagesNerlens Noel brings a signature coif to Kentucky ... but does he have the right backpack?
• The Kevin Durant backpack: Throw the gym bag in the trash. That’s old school. You need a backpack. Not a normal backpack. You won’t haul anything in it. You need a backpack that’s also a fashion statement. Durant’s backpack -- one he wears to postgame press conferences -- started this trend.
• Access to a state-of-the-art facility: Florida State’s players get access to their team’s practice facility by placing their hands on some sort of “Star Trek” detection device. Indiana’s facility features underwater treadmills in the training room, his and hers gyms for the men’s and women’s squads and an atrium that doubles as a museum for Indiana basketball. Players’ lounges -- think college kids bonding, not “Shaft” -- are standard, too. And then, there’s Oklahoma State’s basketball facility. Is that legal?
• Trend-setting hair: Nerlens Noel is covered. But what about the rest of the incoming freshmen? Will your hair matter? It definitely did for Wisconsin’s Mike Bruesewitz. Stores in Madison sell wigs of his former curly-afro look. Still waiting for the cornrows version. The hair on top of St. Louis guard Jordair Jett’s head can only be described as majestic. Talk to your barber about this.
• Beats by Dre headphones: Yes, they’re $300 headphones, but a multitude of college players wears them and, somehow, purchases them. They’re a necessity, I guess. You either have a pair of mammoth Beats by Dre headphones or you don’t wear headphones in public as a Division I basketball player. I don’t think the headphones offer a real advantage over their competitors. But, they’re the norm for college basketball players. The obsession with Dr. Dre’s headphones among NBA players has certainly trickled down. Even high school players demand them now. Put it on the shopping list.

Feel free to add on …

Andy Katz on Old Dominion moving to Conference USA and the future of the Colonial Athletic Association.

1. The Colonial Athletic Association will meet June 1-2 in Hilton Head, S.C., and the site of the 2013 tournament is expected to be a hot topic. Drexel coach Bruiser Flint said he could see the tournament moving to Baltimore, out of Virginia Commonwealth's home base in Richmond. The problem is that a school like Towson would have to support the event. The CAA is going to have an odd year in 2013 now that VCU is gone to the Atlantic 10, Georgia State is ineligible to play in the tourney since it’s leaving for the Sun Belt and Towson and UNC-Wilmington aren’t eligible due to poor APR scores. That leaves eight schools available for the tourney. The elite of Drexel, Old Dominion and George Mason (as well as possibly Northeastern) should all be near the top of the league.

2. The A-10 will find out that a school like VCU has the size and strength to bump the league up a perceived level immediately. The Rams will be an instant competitor for the A-10 title in year one. Don’t be surprised to see VCU and Butler in the thick of the race for the championship in 2014, too. One of the big winners is the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The A-10 made the prudent move to Brooklyn instead of Atlantic City. Having a tournament with Xavier, VCU and Butler as the headline teams will be a draw. If Saint Joseph’s, UMass, Dayton and others in the area can be factors, the buzz for the event will only increase.

3. Murray State coach Steve Prohm is deciding about which tournament the coveted Racers will play in next season. He’s going back and forth on whether to be in the NIT Season Tip-Off pod at Kansas State (the other three hosts are Virginia, Pitt and Michigan) or become the eighth team at the Charleston (S.C.) Classic. The seven teams signed up for the Nov. 15-18 event are: Baylor, Boston College, Charleston, Colorado, Dayton, St. John’s and Southern Illinois. It’s a tough call for Prohm. He could gamble and go to Manhattan, Kan., to try to get to New York or go to Charleston, where he’s likely to get at least two games against possible NCAA teams.

ESPN's Andy Katz and Michele Steele discuss VCU's decision to move to the Atlantic 10 immediately.

1. Conference USA coaches and athletic directors met in Destin, Fla., Monday and, according to multiple sources, there is a strong movement to move the 2013 conference tournament from Memphis to Tulsa. Memphis is leaving for the Big East after next season and while it would make more economic sense to keep the event where it is, there isn't a lot of goodwill toward the Tigers to give them an added advantage in their final season in the conference. A decision on the tournament will be made next month.

2. Old Dominion is taking its time on deciding whether to upgrade football. The A-10 is apparently not an option anymore. If the Monarchs are deciding between the CAA and upgrading football to go into C-USA, then from a basketball standpoint, staying put makes more sense. If it’s a football decision then the Monarchs have to move. If it’s about hoops then ODU staying with George Mason and in a familiar basketball-first conference would be more beneficial to the continued success of this program.

3. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski made his intentions clear that he won’t coach the US National team beyond this summer. An NBA coach could be the next choice (and on Twitter a good suggestion came in the form of Doug Collins). If a college coach has another shot then Michigan State's Tom Izzo or Kansas' Bill Self, who have strong USA Basketball ties, could be in the pecking order. But it’s still unclear what direction the team/program will take after Coach K departs from the top job.

The Colonial Athletic Association, like so many other mid-major college hoops conferences, suddenly finds itself at a crossroads. Conference realignment on both coasts has moved on from the football-driven musical chairs game played by BCS big boys and has now begun to trickle down to places where football isn't even on the radar. The Big East takes teams from the Atlantic-10 and Conference USA, so the A-10 and C-USA turn around and take teams from leagues smaller than itself.

That's the idea, anyway. Turns out, George Mason has other plans. The CAA stalwart was among three teams being considered -- and considering -- a move to the Atlantic-10, along with Virginia Commonwealth and Old Dominion. Both of those schools have yet to announce their intentions, but Mason ended the speculation this afternoon, announcing in a statement that it would turn down other leagues' advances and remain in the Colonial:

Athletic director Tom O'Connor says a committee of senior officials assessed the goals and priorities of the Virginia school and decided that the CAA best met George Mason's interests.

He says the panel felt George Mason's status as a founding member of the league was important. It also concluded that the geography and competitiveness of the league provides stability and that the future of the conference is "exciting." [...]

"Through this process we've engaged in open communication with senior executives at George Mason University," CAA commissioner Tom Yeager said in a statement. "We respected the process George Mason University went through and are pleased it decided that continued membership in the CAA is in the best interest of the university and its athletic programs."

Pretty straightforward stuff, sure, but it does give CAA fans reason to rejoice. The loss of a founding member is a sure sign your league is in trouble (just ask John Marinatto), and if Mason had decided to leave, would VCU and ODU have been far behind?

Those schools still have to make their own decisions, but if Old Dominion's poised and altogether reasonable stance remains at the fore, there's a good chance all three schools could return to the comfy confines of the Colonial. If that happens, one of the nation's best mid-major hoops leagues -- one that sent four teams to the NCAA tournament as recently as 2011 -- could continue its rise to national relevance without making a major realignment move of its own. In any case, the goal for smaller, less protected leagues like this is simple: survival. The CAA may yet come out of this realignment mess intact.

Let me start by saying this is not a definitive list. There are hundreds of talented assistant coaches around the country.

The following, however, is a list of coaches 40 years old and under who have put themselves in a position to earn a head-coaching job in the future.

1. Orlando Antigua (Kentucky): The former Pitt standout helped John Calipari sign another top-ranked recruiting class. He’s also assisted Calipari in developing the young prodigies who have come to Lexington. After Kentucky won the national title in April, Antigua was a candidate for multiple jobs, including Duquesne. It’s just a matter of time before he’s leading his own show. He turns 40 next year.
2. Travis Steele (Xavier): Xavier has produced some of the top coaches in the country (Skip Prosser, Sean Miller, Thad Matta, John Groce). Current coach Chris Mack says assistant Steele, 27, is next in line. The Butler graduate has been on Mack’s staff for the past three seasons. Mack says Steele, who has helped develop and recruit the players who have led Xavier to four Sweet 16 appearances in five seasons, is “3-4 years” away from a head-coaching gig.
3. Tim Fuller (Missouri): When opposing coaches say you’re on the rise, that means something. Fuller has amassed a solid reputation in coaching circles. After just a season with the Tigers, Frank Haith promoted Fuller to associate head coach. Fuller, who played at Wake Forest from 1997-2000, is just 34. But his stock is rising fast.
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Cal Sport Media/AP Images Duke's Steve Wojciechowski is a hot coaching commodity after having won two national titles as an assistant to Mike Krzyzewski.
4. Steve Wojciechowski (Duke): The 35-year-old might be Coach K’s heir after a lengthy stint as one of his top assistants. He started out as an assistant in 1999 but was promoted to associate head coach in 2008. “Wojo” was known for slapping the floor on defense during his playing career and he’s equally passionate on the sidelines for the Blue Devils, who have won two national titles during his tenure.
5. Adrian Autry (Syracuse): The former Orange standout joined the staff prior to last season. And during a tumultuous year that included the firing of Bernie Fine over sexual abuse allegations and the dismissal of Fab Melo, the 39-year-old helped the program remain focused. He’s a reputable recruiter with strong ties to the D.C. area, connections that helped the Orange lock up the No. 15 recruiting class in 2012, according to ESPN.com.
6. Mike Rhoades (VCU): In a short span, Rhoades has gone from a Division III assistant at Randolph-Macon (Ashland, Va.) to a top assistant under Shaka Smart. VCU has been defined by its gritty defense, better-than-they’re-ranked prospects and passion. Rhoades has helped the Rams embrace every tenet of Smart’s philosophy, one that helped VCU reach the Final Four last season. “He’s great,” Smart says.
7. Jeff Boals (Ohio State): The former Ohio forward joined Matta’s staff in 2009. The Buckeyes have enjoyed success in all areas during his time with the program. He’s helped Matta develop top players such as Jared Sullinger and Evan Turner. And he’s an energetic and effective recruiter. Boals, 39, won’t be an assistant for long.
8. Kevin Ollie (UConn): The program went south last season. But the year that preceded it ended with a national title. And Ollie was credited with equipping Kemba Walker & Co. for that run with his coaching on and off the floor. Ollie might take over the Huskies' program if Jim Calhoun retires. But even if he doesn’t, he’ll be an attractive candidate for multiple openings in the near future.
9. Matthew Graves (Butler): Last year, Brad Stevens promoted Graves, who’s in his late 30s, to an associate head-coaching position, a credit to his role in the program’s success. You don’t reach back-to-back national title games as a mid-major program by accident. Stevens and his staff put the program on the national map. With a move to the Atlantic 10, the Bulldogs will attain even more national exposure. And Graves, who’s been vital to the program’s efforts in recent years, will end up on a multitude of lists once jobs open up again after next season.
10. James Whitford (Arizona): Sean Miller’s longtime assistant was pursued by Miami (Ohio) in the offseason but decided to stay in Tucson, where he helped the Wildcats sign one of the top recruiting classes in the country. The Wildcats struggled during the 2011-12 campaign. But with Mark Lyons and some talented recruits headed to Arizona, the Wildcats could win the Pac-12 next season. It’s easy to see why Whitford, 40, stayed put.

The Afternoon Links are back, and they are exactly what they say they are. Some days will bring more links than others. This is the offseason, after all. If you have a link you'd like included, your best bet is to hit me on Twitter. You can also e-mail your link to collegebasketballnation at gmail.com, or use the submission form here.

• James Johnson's first item of business was winning the news conference, and that seemed to go pretty well, at least according to Hampton Roads Daily Press' David Teel: "James Johnson didn't act like the ACC's youngest, least-experienced and probably lowest-paid head basketball coach Tuesday. Conversely, Virginia Tech's new boss appeared comfortable during his introductory news conference. Comfortable in the spotlight, confident in himself. Don't misunderstand. There wasn't a whisper of brashness. He wasn't glib, emotional or long-winded. Some may interpret that as anxiety. But I saw comfort mixed with humility." Even better? As planned, Johnson's hiring prompted recruit Marshall Wood, who had asked for his release after former coach Seth Greenberg's departure, to remain in the fold.
• Western Kentucky freshman Derrick Gordon announced his transfer to UMass, where he will sit out a year before becoming eligible in 2013-14, via Twitter. Judging by the COPIOUS USE OF CAPS LOCK, Gordon is excited about the news.
• Over the weekend, Team USA added Oklahoma City's James Harden and (more relevant to our interests) likely No. 1 overall pick Anthony Davis to the pool of players eligible for selection to this summer's Olympic team. Davis would still have to make a final cut, but given the dearth of true big men available to Mike Krzyzewski this summer -- Dwight Howard is out, and without him the only true center in the player pool is NBA defensive player of the year Tyson Chandler -- Davis might have an outside shot at making the squad. I'll be honest: I would love to see Davis play in the international system. (And also: I can not wait until the 2012 Summer Olympics. You're going down, Spain! Who's with me?)
• We missed this late last week, but Connecticut got a commitment from Phil Nolan, a 6-foot-10 forward ranked No. 23 at his position in the class of 2012. Nolan might not make an immediate impact, but in the wake of Andre Drummond's draft departure, Alex Oriakhi's transfer to Missouri, and Roscoe Smith's defection, Nolan's sheer size makes him an important get.
• The Washington Post recognized the 10th anniversary of Maryland's 2002 national championship with a photo slideshow. When done poorly, photo slideshows are one of the worst things about the Internet. When done well, they're totally awesome. This is an example of the latter, complete with "Where are they now?" updates on each of the beloved title-winning Terrapins. For example: Did you know Juan Dixon is in Turkey? True! And that Steve Blake plays for the ... ha, just kidding.
• Obligatory in-house links: Today, Myron Medcalf breaks down how Kentucky's 2012 freshmen raised the expectations bar forever. In case you missed it, be sure to see Myron's story on Trent Lockett, who transferred from Arizona State to Marquette be closer to his mother, who is fighting her second diagnosis of a "crazy" and "rare" brand of lymphoma cancer. And don't miss last week's feature on a renewed Bruce Weber, who looked refreshed and ready for a new challenge at Kansas State when he spoke with our Jason King.
• Daily basketball break: "Any faceted solid, he showed, no matter how complex or irregular, could be folded from a single uncut sheet of paper. Start with a piece of paper big enough, and you could model Notre Dame down to the last gargoyle." You may want to read this story.