ESPN Men's Basketball

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.

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.”

1. Conference USA’s board will vote in a few weeks on whether to move the conference tournament from Memphis to Tulsa. The consensus among C-USA members is that it will be moved out of Memphis and that includes those at Memphis. The difference between this decision and what the Colonial Athletic Association faces with keeping its tournament in Richmond (if it does) is that C-USA would clearly be rewarding a departing member with an advantage. VCU is out of the CAA immediately and Richmond can still serve as a semi-neutral site for a number of schools.

2. If a player isn’t a lock for the first round, why would he have skipped the New Jersey Nets-organized draft combine this past weekend? It’s a good question that at least one NBA scouting director asked Monday. The hope is that anyone who skipped out on the combine will head to Minnesota next weekend before the Chicago draft camp the following week. Exposure is the most important aspect for players trying to crack the first round or the top of the second.

3. Boise State was represented at Monday’s Big East meetings in Florida. The Broncos clearly have to make a commitment to one conference or another here shortly and appear to have done so by showing up for the Big East meetings. Now the lobbying must begin in full force to get the men’s basketball program and every other sport in the Big West. As Big West commissioner Dennis Farrell said, the ball is in Boise’s court. If the Broncos want in, they have to apply.

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

We have been told for nearly a year now that university presidents and chancellors, conference commissioners and athletic directors are altruistic do-gooders and that their every decision is for the "betterment of the student-athlete."

Asking a cross-country team to, in fact, travel cross country for a meet? Replacing old rivalry games with contrived ones?

Like liver and broccoli, it’s all for the student-athletes’ own good.

Yet here we are, on another day of the conference carousel, with Old Dominion announcing it is leaving the Colonial Athletic Association for Conference USA -- and the welfare of student-athletes is being ignored.

CAA bylaws state that "upon notice of an institution’s intent to withdraw, the institution’s teams become ineligible on a date determined by the remaining members to compete for Association team championships."

Or in elementary school parlance: If you don’t want to play with me, than I don’t want to play with you, either.

The rationale is that a departing team shouldn’t take away a title opportunity from a team committed to the conference for the future.

Look, there is no denying that the CAA is more victim than villain in all of this. The CAA has been picked over like a dead animal on the side of the road, with Conference USA, the Sun Belt and the Atlantic 10 hovering over the carcass taking the meatier parts -- Old Dominion to C-USA, Georgia State to the Sun Belt, and VCU to the A-10.

But should the league enforce its petty bylaw and deny both ODU and Georgia State a chance to compete (a two-thirds vote in favor from remaining members is needed to overturn it), it will manage to trump its pickpocketing brethren in disloyalty.

Forget how foolish, childish and vindictive the league looks and sounds. Concentrate instead on the simple fact that instead of punishing the grownups who’ve made these decisions, the CAA is penalizing the athletes who have about as much say in conference realignment as my golden retriever has in my finances.

This is not their fault. This is not even their fight. They are having all sorts of things done to them for "their own good" and given the voice of Marcel Marceau.

You want to stick it to a school in the wallet and charge an exit fee? Feel free.

You want to require, like the Big East does, a timeframe to withdrawal without penalty? Go for it.

But absolutely nothing is gained by denying athletes a reason to compete and a chance to win a championship.

They have done nothing wrong and they certainly shouldn’t be asked to pay the only real penalty.

It is not just petty and vindictive. It’s mean-spirited and cruel.

ODU coach Blaine Taylor told Andy Katz that he hopes "cooler heads would prevail," but that certainly doesn’t sound likely. CAA commissioner Tom Yeager said overriding it required a "pretty steep standard," and likened the rule to a company parting ways early with an employee who has given notice.

He also pointed out that Old Dominion administrators were in the room when the bylaw was adopted 12 years ago and made their decision to leave fully aware of the possible repercussions.

“They knew the consequences that applied to their student athletes and still made the decision,’’ he said. “I’ve got 4,000 other student-athletes in this thing and their decision was made with full knowledge of what the consequence was and still made the decision.

“One of the hardest things,’’ he said, “was looking those student-athletes in the eyes and telling them because of their institution’s decisions, they were "ineligible."

And while that is technically fair and reasoned thinking, it doesn’t preclude the conference from simply doing the right thing for the sake of doing the right thing.

Yes, that’s an outlandish form of thinking in this day and age, when no one is thinking of anything but themselves but if you’re going to dare to be different why not dare to be different for the betterment of the student-athlete?

The most important week in recent Colonial Athletic Association history started out all right: Five days ago, George Mason announced it would turn down offers from other conferences and remain in its home league. That was good news for the CAA and commissioner Tom Yeager, who was struggling to hold together one of the nation's best emerging mid-major hoops leagues -- one that sent four teams to the NCAA tournament just two years ago -- amid rampant realignment rumors.

The good news basically stopped there: On Tuesday, VCU announced it would leave the CAA to join the Atlantic 10, taking the flagship men's basketball program (a 2011 Final Four participant, no less) to play with Xavier and Butler and the rest. Now, per a report in the Hampton Roads Daily Press, the CAA is also going to lose the Old Dominion Monarchs, this time to Conference USA.

ODU took its time with the move. There was no rush to announce two weeks ago despite C-USA's seeming insistence to that effect. Instead, like any sought-after recruit, the school weighed its options, presented its case to its Board of Visitors and concluded that now was the time to take the next step in its athletics evolution.

An evolution will be required. Unlike VCU's home in the A-10, C-USA requires this little thing called football, so ODU's 3-year-old program will have to make the leap from the Football Championship Subdivision to the Football Bowl Subdivision, and to do so it will have to upgrade its scholarships and athletic facilities, including Foreman Field. The football stadium seats 19,818, making it among the smallest facilities in C-USA.

Hosting a mere 19,000 for your football games isn't necessarily a bad thing: According to this graphic from the Virginian-Pilot, the Monarchs will become one of the few teams in C-USA with the ability to boast full attendance at its football games. That's already a leg up on other recent C-USA additions Charlotte and Texas-San Antonio, both of which will attempt to jump-start relatively nonexistent football programs as they move to what will now be a 14-team league stretching from West Virginia to Texas to Florida.

What will it mean for basketball? It's hard to see many drawbacks. Conference USA is without question consistently deeper and tougher than the CAA (even in the CAA's best years), but without Big East-bound Memphis, there is no clear power in the league, and no reason ODU's success under Blaine Taylor (who has averaged 24.3 wins per season, and gone to four NCAA tournaments, since 2005) couldn't continue.

Surely, there will be adjustments. Taylor might have to tweak his recruiting somewhat. But much like Butler, the Monarchs have consistently proved (via the power of efficiency stats, which are helpfully adjusted across conferences) themselves worthy of playing in C-USA. In fact, without Memphis, the leap from the CAA to C-USA, as quantified by each league's total efficiency strength, is not nearly as wide as the leap Butler will make from the Horizon to the A-10. In 2012, Conference USA ranked No. 10 in the nation; the CAA ranked No. 13. And that's with Memphis. The highest-ranked non-Memphis C-USA team in 2012 was Southern Miss, at No. 75; in the past four seasons, ODU's average KenPom rank is 67.75. This is not an insurmountable challenge. In many ways, ODU is already ready.

That's why this is such an important and ultimately understandable move: The Monarchs get to try out this whole FBS football thing, and all the resources and trinkets it provides, without risking a major downturn on the basketball side, where ODU's mainstream athletics relevance lies. The Monarchs can compete and win and get to NCAA tournaments in C-USA, maybe even easier than they did in the CAA (at-large bids should at least be slightly easier to come by), and they can bring in more cash to do so.

Much as we'll lament the state of the plucky, upstart CAA -- and as bad a week as this was for Yeager -- it's hard to question the Monarchs' motives. Old Dominion took its time, weighed its options and found a new home, one that should pay dividends as early as its first season in 2013-14. No mystery here.

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.

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.

Last year, VCU coach Shaka Smart had what he called at the time a "phenomenal thing" -- the opportunity to meet President Barack Obama at the White House. The VCU Rams didn't finish their magical run to the Final Four with a national title -- Butler is not to be out-Cinderella'd, no sir -- and so the White House visit never materialized. But on Saturday, just a day after the 2012 national champion Kentucky Wildcats take their White House visit, Smart will find himself on the same stage as the leader of the free world.

It won't be the first time -- Smart was Obama's guest at last year's White House Correspondents' Dinner -- but it will be the first of an overtly political nature. From VCU's Thursday night release:

Smart, who will be entering his fourth season, will serve as the host for a rally at the Siegel Center for President Barack Obama. Obama will be on his first re-election campaign trip with the Siegel Center being his second stop after an appearance at Ohio State earlier on Saturday. Smart will welcome not only President Obama, but also the first lady, Michelle Obama, to the Siegel Center.

Smart hasn't hidden his admiration for the president in the past: He voted for Obama in Florida in 2008, where his wife, Maya, spent the year campaigning in the state. Via Decision Virginia, Smart even joked about his wife's impact on the election at the time:

“I remember she had all the staffers and volunteers over to our house, and they’d be calling and preparing, and Maya kept saying that, ‘We’re going to win Florida,’” Smart said. “If you ask her today, she’s still the reason why.”

The state of Florida is always a massive electoral entity in any election, but arguably Virginia is no less important to Obama's chances of reelection in 2012. According to the Washington Post, voters currently favor Obama in the state -- he won Virginia in 2008, the first Democrat in four decades to do so -- but are split on Obama's first-term policies, notably health care reform. Both the Obama and Romney campaigns are already converging on the state, letting loose with a flurry of ads that will surely grow to infuriate nearly every Virginia resident in the months to come. (As someone who grew up in Iowa, let me tell you: After a few months, you just want the TV ads to stop.)

In any case, getting a boost from one of the most popular men in one of the most populous cities in the state surely can't hurt Obama's reelection chances. If Obama retains the state in 2012, Smart can take some small share of the credit -- and even take back the bragging rights from his wife.

Basketball coach and presidential power broker? Popularity has its perks.

The Old Dominion Monarchs are just the latest collegiate athletics program to be swept up in conference realignment, which appears to have officially moved beyond its major-conference stages and into smaller, mid-major leagues like the WAC, the Horizon League, and the CAA. Johnny Cash wasn't talking about football television rights in Folsom Prison, but let's borrow his phrase anyway: The train keeps a'rollin'.

According to the Virginia Pilot, the Monarchs are one of a handful of teams asked to join Conference USA in advance of the league's desired expansion plan announcement Friday. The move could make sense, especially if VCU and George Mason leave for another league (most likely the Atlantic 10) as has been rumored in recent weeks. At the very least, ODU would get out of the decimated CAA while it still can, and that kind of opportunity can't be ignored.

But -- punny segue alert! -- ODU isn't jumping aboard just yet. From the Pilot:

Old Dominion might not be ready to announce a jump to Conference USA by Friday, when the league is expected to unveil expansion plans. That doesn't mean school officials aren't strongly considering the offer, or that the league is no longer interested.

A few days aren't enough time to weigh the pros and cons of a move that would chart the future course of the athletic department, sources familiar with the decision-making process said Wednesday.

Indeed, it appears C-USA has asked Old Dominion to decide on a hugely important move in the matter of a few days, hardly enough time for the school to weigh the various pros and cons and present a case either for or against to the school's board of visitors. That's a hard thing to do in a few days' time.

ODU has other concerns, too, concerns that feel both admirable and quaint at this stage in the realignment process:

The financial implications of a move are the overriding concern -- particularly the possible effect on student fees in a tough economy and a climate of ever-increasing college costs. [...] "We've always been cognizant of the cost of attending the university," he said. "It has to work not only for the athletes at ODU, but for all the students."

Wait a second: You're saying Old Dominion is considering not only its athletics programs and the chase of on-field glory, but the costs and benefits for regular students, too? Awww! You guys! That's adorable!

I kid, but it is refreshing. Many schools in this position would jump at the chance to join a league like C-USA, and ODU may still do so before Friday's announcement. But it is nice to see a school take a step back and a deep breath before plunging into another realm altogether. If only the rest of the college sports landscape approached these things with similar levels of reason. Alas.

1. Mississippi Valley State coach Sean Woods is one of a handful of coaches vying for the Southern Miss job, beginning with an in-person interview Monday. The others reportedly in the mix are Larry Eustachy’s Southern Miss assistant Steve Barnes, Middle Tennessee’s Kermit Davis, former Nebraska coach Doc Sadler, Wichita State assistant Greg Heiar, and UTEP coach Tim Floyd. If USM, which is also hiring an athletic director doesn’t bump up Barnes to replace Eustachy (who left for Colorado State) then Woods should be given a serious look as the choice. Woods did a remarkable job at one of the toughest places to win. He steadily increased his win total from seven to nine to 13 to 21 this past season, going 17-1 in the SWAC. Woods and Sadler are both interviewing Monday.

2. Illinois State coach Tim Jankovich was recruiting with a host of other coaches in Minnesota over the weekend. He still hadn’t been told if he’s the coach-in-waiting at SMU. It has reached a point where something better happen soon or Jankovich is going to stay put and continue to coach a Redbirds team that has a chance to win the Missouri Valley next season.

3. The Atlantic 10 still may add VCU and George Mason, along with Butler, to get to 16 schools now that Temple is off to the Big East in 2013. But no one from any of the schools or conferences are indicating an imminent departure. VCU athletic director Norwood Teague, fresh off a trip to Europe, said Sunday that there is movement going on and that everyone is simply in evaluation mode. A-10 commissioner Bernadette McGlade and CAA commissioner Tom Yeager both said Friday there was no truth about a done deal for VCU and Mason to leave. Yeager better hope that’s true. The CAA can’t afford to lose these two Final Four programs. The A-10 would have a chance to elevate itself to being considered a power basketball conference if it pulled off this move.

I think we hand out awards too early.

By the time we reach the Final Four, the meaningful ones have already been distributed. Just doesn’t make sense to me.

Wouldn’t a player or coach sway voters if he led his team to the final stages of the NCAA tournament? What if a candidate for a major accolade is clutch in March/April? Yes, the regular season matters, but maintaining that success when it matters -- in March and April -- is significant, too.

That said, I’d like to offer my thoughts on the national coach of the year race, post-Final Four.

National Coach of the Year (in order)

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Jamie Squire/Getty ImagesWhen it mattered most, Rick Pitino got the most out of the Cardinals.
1. Rick Pitino, Louisville. Yes, that glorious run to the Big East tourney title and Final Four represented only a slice of the entire 2011-12 campaign for Pitino’s squad. But when it counted, he led an undersized, oft-injured squad to New Orleans. The Cardinals finally showcased their potential. The program endured multiple injuries throughout the season and, based on Selection Sunday projections, weren’t supposed to make it to the Superdome. But Pitino pulled off one of his greatest coaching performances in the final weeks of the season and deserved national coach of the year honors.
2. John Calipari, Kentucky. I know, he had a multitude of great players. But that’s not a guarantee for success. Give Calipari credit for the development of his young crew. Anthony Davis was a much better player in April than he was in November. Ditto for Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Marquis Teague. He had to find a way to help Terrence Jones mesh with a new rotation of NBA-bound freshmen. Not easy. And the Wildcats won the crown. After they acquired the No. 1 slot, the Wildcats lived up to the hype and won the national title -- the first one-and-done crew to achieve that feat since the NBA instituted its age limit. Plus, they were dominant on their run to New Orleans and survived every attack from Louisville and Kansas to win it all.
3. Bill Self, Kansas. He didn’t have his usual roster of All-America players this season and he still managed to win another Big 12 title and reach the national title game. I think Self deserved strong consideration for national coach of year based on the development of the Jayhawks. Thomas Robinson possessed vast potential, but he only showcased a sliver of it in 2010-11. This season, he was a versatile athlete who could score in a variety of ways and defend multiple positions. Tyshawn Taylor was reckless at times, but he was also one of the most explosive players in America. And Jeff Withey left New Orleans as an NBA prospect following a strong NCAA tournament. Self and his staff helped Withey go from questionable transfer to a premier big man at the collegiate level.
4. Frank Haith, Missouri. I still think Missouri’s head coach deserves strong consideration for national coach of the year. Few knew what to expect when he took over the program. And the Tigers certainly overachieved in his first season. They made a run at the Big 12 regular-season title and won the conference’s tournament championship. He did it with just seven players, no true center and a completely undersized squad. Kudos. But the first-round exit in the NCAA tournament really left a bad aftertaste. The loss to No. 15-seed Norfolk State diminished what the Tigers accomplished during the regular season. I thought they were the most capable squad in that region -- many did -- and they didn’t win a game.
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AP Photo/Nati HarnikTom Crean took a team that went 12-20 in 2010-11 and led them to the Sweet 16.
5. Tom Crean, Indiana. Crean could lead the Hoosiers to the Final Four next season. But this past season, he earned props for his program’s turnaround. The Hoosiers won three Big Ten games during the 2010-11 season. And this year, they finished in the top tier of the conference and reached the Sweet 16. I think the Hoosiers would have defeated 95 percent of the teams in the field with their performance that night against Kentucky. They scored 90 points and still lost by 12. But that margin said more about the eventual champs than it did about the Hoosiers. Crean could win the award next season but he was in the running for national coach of the year honors during the 2011-12 campaign, too.
6. Mick Cronin, Cincinnati. Cronin didn’t get the praise he deserved during the regular season. But he certainly deserved national coach of the year consideration. The brawl with Xavier in December could have ruined far more than a season. It could have a ruined a program. But Cronin made the right moves with suspensions and other reprimands of players involved. And then, he helped his team re-focus on its season. The Bearcats finished 12-6 in the Big East, lost to Louisville in the Big East tournament final and reached the Sweet 16, where they lost to Ohio State. That’s a remarkable rally.
7. Jim Boeheim, Syracuse. Syracuse played through two stretches without defensive standout and potential first-round pick Fab Melo. But the second Melo-less stint was certainly the most impressive one. The Orange reached the Elite Eight without their most significant defender. With Melo available, the Orange might have stopped Jared Sullinger from dominating inside (19 points) during their loss to the Buckeyes. Still, Boeheim’s coaching prowess was critical throughout the year. Many predicted an early exit for Syracuse when the team lost Melo prior to the NCAA tournament. Didn’t happen. This is the same team that had to overcome the loss of an assistant coach following sexual assault allegations.
8. Tom Izzo, Michigan State. Izzo had Draymond Green and a supporting cast with potential. But the Spartans didn’t have the overall talent that past Spartans teams had enjoyed. And still, Izzo took a squad that relied on one player as much as any team in the country and earned a No. 1 seed and a share of the Big Ten title. They also won the conference tournament. I think Izzo had one of the most balanced supporting casts in the tournament. The Spartans had a unique chemistry that really carried them all season. And it started with Green. But you have to credit Izzo for allowing Green to lead. He really gave his senior star the freedom to be a coach on the floor and help mold the team. That says a lot about Izzo and his coaching philosophy. The Spartans didn’t fulfill their potential. That loss to Louisville in the Sweet 16 was nasty. Overall, however, the Spartans’ season warranted national coach of the year consideration for Izzo.
9. Shaka Smart, VCU. After leading the Rams to the 2011 Final Four, Shaka Smart lost most of his starters. This season’s squad had one senior in Brad Burgess. But the Rams still competed for the CAA title, won the CAA conference tournament and beat Wichita State in the second round. Plus, they nearly upset the Hoosiers in the third round of the Big Dance. That’s why Illinois tried to lure him to Champaign. The Rams were the only CAA rep in the NCAA tournament. But the league was very competitive, especially at the top. So VCU’s road to the postseason wasn’t an easy one, especially without a veteran team. But Smart pulled it off. Again.
10. Thad Matta, Ohio State. Yes, the Buckeyes blew a late lead against the Jayhawks in the Final Four. It shouldn’t have happened, but it did. Still, this team didn’t look like a national title team a month or so prior to the NCAA tournament. The Buckeyes struggled in February. They didn’t seem to be focused enough or mature enough to reach the Big Easy. But Matta did a commendable job of steering the program in tough games down the stretch. The Buckeyes were obviously talented. Matta, however, had to really become the catalyst to help them develop the chemistry necessary to go after the title. It started when he kicked his team out of practice before a crucial matchup against Wisconsin. And from there, he kept the Buckeyes balanced and centered on the same goal.

1. Colonial Athletic Association commissioner Tom Yeager said he was well aware that signing a new agreement with NBC Sports would likely mean the end of the CAA’s involvement in the ESPN-sponsored BracketBusters, beginning in 2013. “We are disappointed but we understand the business,’’ Yeager said. He said that the benefits of signing with NBC outweighed the risks of losing a spot in BracketBusters. VCU coach Shaka Smart agreed that no longer participating in BracketBusters wasn’t good. The CAA has had some of the best wins in the event, notably by George Mason, VCU and Drexel.

2. Third parties representing TCU and SMU showed interest in Memphis coach Josh Pastner, according to sources, but there was no interest on his part. And there shouldn’t be at this point. Pastner is at the best job in Conference USA. When Memphis goes to the Big East in 2013, he’ll be at one of the best in that league, too. Pastner should only leave if he has to or for a comparable job, not a lesser one.

3. SMU also made overtures toward Harvard coach Tommy Amaker. Amaker wasn’t interested, either. A year ago, Miami made a strong push to get him. But Amaker knows he is in a special place at Harvard and will coach another Ivy League title contender. His NCAA tournament berth last month was historic for the Crimson. And now the most recognized school in higher education cares about hoops. That in itself is quite an accomplishment.