ESPN Men's Basketball

College basketball is coming, folks.

Smile.

One of the refreshing indicators of the pending tipoff is the trickle of national preview magazine teasers that have been released in recent days.

Lindy’s 2013-14 preview won’t hit stores until September, but the perennial publication made an early splash when it unveiled its cover on Tuesday and revealed its top 10 teams.

Louisville is ranked seventh. Seventh.

Michigan State is the mag’s No. 1 team. That’s not crazy, considering the talent that will return for the Spartans next season. And the 2014-15 Charlotte Bobcats, also known as Kentucky, registered the No. 2 spot. That’s valid.

Reigning champion Louisville, however, finished seventh.

And you know, that’s … wait. Huh?

The same Cardinals who cut down the nets in Atlanta a few months ago?

The same Cardinals who will feature Luke Hancock (Final Four MOP), Chane Behanan, Russ Smith (all-Big East first team in 2012-13), Montrezl Harrell and Wayne Blackshear?

The same Cardinals who lost point guard Peyton Siva but probably upgraded at the position by adding Chris Jones, the nation’s top junior college player?

Yep, Gorgui Dieng is gone. That matters. But Louisville is still stacked (eighth-ranked recruiting class in 2013, per RecruitingNation).

I could digest a No. 2 preseason slot for Louisville behind Kentucky’s young NBA franchise (six McDonald’s All-Americans in its freshman class).

But let’s be real about this No. 7 situation. It’s nonsense. Ridiculous.

To me, Louisville and Kentucky are No. 1 and No. 2, respectively.

Again, Michigan State has an argument for No. 1.

But the Cardinals have the pieces to win another national title.

Ask Siva, who told ESPN.com's Jeff Goodman on Tuesday that the 2013-14 Cardinals could be "better" than last year's squad:

"People haven't seen Chris and a lot of people don't know who he is, but he can shoot, can really score and is as quick -- if not quicker than Russ," Siva said. "He's got a bulldog mentality and loves to pick guys up full-court. He's shorter than me, but he's so strong and athletic and won't be pushed around. He can go for 30 any night."

Siva said that Blackshear, who came into college with no shortage of hype three years ago, finally looks healthy and should be a major factor.

"He's finally had a full summer of workouts," Siva said. "The last two summers, he couldn't do anything because of his shoulders. He's a lot slimmer now. We can't call him 'Fat Wayne' anymore. He's got his explosiveness back and is much lighter on his feet."

Siva also was raving about Hancock, who averaged 8.1 points in a reserve role.

"He has so much more confidence and is shooting the ball much better," Siva said. "People forget that he was hurt last year coming into the season with the shoulder injury, and that's why he struggled early shooting the ball. He's pulling up on the break now and making 3s."

Louisville at No. 7?

C’mon, man.

1. Memphis is hopeful that in the next two to three weeks it will know if Missouri transfer Michael Dixon is eligible to play for Memphis this season. Dixon was dismissed from Missouri last November before the season started and was not in school in the second semester. He was accused of sexual assault but no charges were filed, the second such instance where no charges were brought against him for a similar offense. Dixon didn't play last season, so he has a strong case to play this season based on the basics of sitting out and playing somewhere new. Technically, Dixon didn't sit out at Memphis for the year in residence, but he didn't play basketball at all last season. The NCAA has been loose with granting waivers and using a number of different scenarios to justify allowing players immediate eligibility. This will be an interesting test case if Dixon isn't allowed to play this season after not playing last season but also not sitting out at his new school. If Dixon is eligible at Memphis, he will enhance one of the deeper and most experienced backcourts in the country. The Tigers would have four high-level senior guards in Dixon, Joe Jackson, Geron Johnson and Chris Crawford. The only thing those four guards haven't done is advanced deep in the NCAA tournament.

2. Missouri coach Frank Haith was looking for some team-bonding, eye-opening experiences that would propel the Tigers into a new season. So Missouri headed to Camp Crowder, roughly 15 miles south of Joplin, Mo., to be with the Missouri National Guard. The team was split into three groups, led by Jabari Brown, Jordan Clarkson and Earnest Ross. The players and soldiers, in full gear, secured a compound with paint ball ammunition. The team then went on a 4.5-mile endurance hike while carrying 50-pound packs. Throughout the hike, they had to pick up extra gear and move it with them. The post-hike activities included shooting M16s from a foxhole. Haith participated with the players as well. These can be called gimmicks, but they do have a point. Missouri's players got to think of something greater than themselves and engaged with the National Guard, many of whom were Mizzou fans. Seeing Haith participate as well proves a point that he's in this with them and isn't shying away from the physical challenges. Coaches are always looking for motivational tools while also establishing connections with fans. These type of actions with fans who are also in the National Guard can be highly productive.

3. The committee on infractions still hasn't released its Miami report after hearing the largely football case in June. Haith, the former hoops coach at Miami, and two former assistant coaches did have to go in front of the committee as well on basketball matters. But a lawyer who represents coaches in NCAA cases on a regular basis said the NCAA's latest policy is to notify those who are involved in the case no earlier than 24 hours before the release of the report. Another source said that it would only be an hour or so prior to the release. The NCAA is not naive enough to think that the report won't get out once it releases the findings. So holding onto the final piece until the last possible minute makes sense for them. The NCAA is no rush, and while it could still happen later this week, the attorney didn't think it would be finished/released prior to Labor Day.

Aaric Murray is a classic archetype. "Talented but troubled." So named because the alliteration is usually too much for our sportswriting brethren to resist, but also because it deftly sums up the situation. Murray, like so many before him, is a very good basketball player. When he's interested and engaged -- and sometimes even when he's not -- he's an excellent interior scorer and rebounder, an obvious asset.

The only problem is, well, everything else. In 2011, in search of more exposure and in the doghouse of the coaching staff, Murray left La Salle. His departure was greeted with dismay by some, because it seemed to rob a rebuilt La Salle team of its interior anchor just as the Explorers were cresting. But the response also included a few "good riddance" rumblings from around the team. In December 2011, Murray was sitting out his transfer year en route to West Virginia when he was arrested and charged with marijuana possession. When he became eligible, he was supposed to play a large role in Bob Huggins' transfer-heavy Mountaineers reconfiguration. Instead, Huggins suspended him for a violation of team rules in 2012, and when the season rolled around, his minutes, points and rebounds all dropped. WVU limped to a truly ugly 13-19 campaign. In July, Huggins announced he and Murray had arrived at a "mutual decision" -- the polite way to say, "I kicked him off the team" -- and that Murray would finish his final year of eligibility elsewhere.

That elsewhere, we now know, is the Island of Misfit Toys. You may know it better as Texas Southern:

"I am very fortunate to be afforded the opportunity to be mentored by Coach John Lucas, while I attend Texas Southern University. Although, this is not the road I expected to take, this journey will undoubtedly support my goals long term.

"I also feel that being mentored by Coach Lucas and Coach Mike Davis will support my mission to be the best Aaric Murray I can be. Publicly, there are tons of expectations of what I should be. This however is the best opportunity I have in efforts of reaching my full potential. In addition anything that can be done in college basketball can be done at Texas Southern."

And there's this from Texas Southern coach Mike Davis:

"Aaric Murray will be a big addition to our team and he will give us a chance to compete at the highest level of the SWAC."

Which is just ... actually, yeah, I'm not going to touch that.

Anyway, while there is some weirdness afoot here, not least of which is the notion that a player needs to be mentored by John Lucas while he is being coached by another person on a day-to-day basis, ultimately, the "Island of Misfit Toys" is meant out of love. Maybe Murray really does need to get away from things. Maybe he needs to be somewhere where basketball is the sole focus and distractions are at a minimum. Maybe he needs to be coached by someone who knows the insanity of the high-profile college basketball program, and who has refused to recede from coaching but instead been willing to go from Indiana to Texas Southern if it meant he got to keep coaching.

There's something to admire there, and maybe something Murray can learn. And if something insane happens next spring, and the Mike Davis-Aaric Murray duo wins a game in the tournament or something, I call dibs on the movie rights. That's legally binding, right?

Devin Booker took home the 3-point contest title and UNC commit Theo Pinson brought the house down in the Under Armour Slam Dunk competition by dunking over his mom.

Every new coach hopes to start strong. But that’s rarely an easy task. The transition is usually difficult. New system, new staff, new players and new rules. Sometimes, however, it works immediately, in the right situation. The following coaches have a chance to orchestrate impressive debuts at their new schools.

1. Craig Neal (New Mexico): The Lobos should be the favorites to retain their Mountain West crowns. Neal, a former assistant for Steve Alford, guaranteed continuity and stability for a squad that brings back conference player of the year Kendall Williams and center Alex Kirk. The Lobos lost Tony Snell, a first-round draft pick by the Chicago Bulls, but they’ve added a recruiting class that includes top-100 prospect Cullen Neal (the coach's son), who should be available at some point next season after a recent health scare during the team’s trip to Australia.
2. Joe Dooley (Florida Gulf Coast): “Dunk City” lost its maestro when Andy Enfield switched coasts to take the USC gig. But Dooley, a former Kansas assistant, inherits a roster that features four of the top five scorers from last season. That returning crew includes point guard Brett Comer (8.0 PPG, 6.6 APG), a star throughout FGCU’s Sweet 16 run in March. Plus, transfers Jamil Jones (Marquette) and Nate Hicks (Georgia Tech) will be available in 2013-14. Dooley’s program is in good shape as it prepares for the upcoming season.
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AP Photo/Damian DovarganesUCLA has enough high-level talent to make Steve Alford's first year in Westwood a success.
3. Steve Alford (UCLA): His messy exit from New Mexico only compounded the surprise surrounding the hire. But he’s the Bruins’ $18.2 million leader now. And even though he seized a roster that features just six scholarship players from last season, Alford commands a UCLA squad that could compete for the Pac-12 title it won in 2012-13. Kyle Anderson, David Wear, Travis Wear, a slimmer Tony Parker (he’s lost 20 pounds this offseason) and top-100 point guard Zach LaVine will anchor Alford’s first UCLA squad. There’s plenty of talent to utilize in his first season.
4. Robert Jones (Norfolk State): Jones was given the interim coaching title hours after Anthony Evans left to fill the opening at Florida International. That “interim” label, however, shouldn’t stick. Norfolk State, the reigning MEAC regular-season champion, is stacked entering next season. Pendarvis Williams, last season’s conference player of the year, is one of four starters from last season returning in 2013-14. Jones’ rise from assistant to interim head coach was unexpected, but he has the pieces to be successful in his first season. Norfolk State didn't lose a game in conference play last season. That streak could continue under Jones.
5. Bobby Hurley (Buffalo): The former Duke star left his brother Danny’s staff at Rhode Island to take his first head-coaching job. Buffalo finished 7-9 in the MAC and 14-20 overall last season. But six of the Bulls’ top seven scorers from last season are back. And with Javon McCrea (18.0 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 2.6 BPG) and Will Regan (11.1 PPG, 4.4 RPG) inside, Hurley’s squad will boast one of the league’s top frontcourts. Last year wasn’t a great one for the program, but Hurley has the building blocks to make immediate improvements.
6. Ron Verlin (Pacific): Verlin, a longtime assistant under Bob Thomason, will guide Pacific as it returns to the West Coast Conference. Three of his top five scorers return, including Sama Taku (8.1 PPG, 38 percent from the 3-point line). Brazilian center Gabriel Aguirre could help, too. Pacific finished second to Long Beach State in the Big West last season, and the Tigers could make noise in the WCC, too. The league’s hierarchy is undefined, with Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s losing key players. So there’s a chance for multiple teams to rise. Pacific could be one of them.
7. Brad Underwood (Stephen F. Austin): The new Lumberjacks coach took a hit when he lost three of his top five scorers and four seniors total. But the reigning Southland champions can build around senior Desmond Haymon (10.6 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 37 percent from beyond the arc) and junior Jacob Parker (7.2 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 41 percent from the 3-point line). Junior college transfers Tanner Clayton and Sharife Sergeant, a pair of 6-foot-9 athletes, will give Underwood some size inside. If the Lumberjacks are tough on defense again (12^th in adjusted defensive efficiency, per Ken Pomeroy, last season), they should be a threat to win the Southland again.
8. G.G. Smith (Loyola-Md.): Tubby Smith’s son took over when former coach Jimmy Patsos accepted the Siena job. In the program’s first season as a member of the Patriot League, the Greyhounds should be players in their new conference. Dylan Cormier (16.4 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 1.8 SPG) is the obvious star for a squad that lost three senior standouts. Plus, Jordan Latham (1.2 BPG) and freshman Nick Gorski should help the Greyhounds fill the gaps. Smith is in a solid place for a first-year head coach.
9. Matthew Graves (South Alabama): Augustine Rubit (All-American honorable mention by The Associated Press last season), Mychal Ammons and Antoine Allen combined to average nearly 40 points per game in 2012-13. Graves, a former Butler assistant, will rely on the trio as the Jaguars make a push in the Sun Belt. In his first news conference, Graves told team supporters that he intends to compete for a league championship in his first season. And with the talent his team returns and Sun Belt powerhouse Middle Tennessee’s move to Conference USA, it’s not a crazy thought.
10. Chris Casey (Niagara): The bad news is that Juan'ya Green and Ameen Tanksley followed former Niagara coach Joe Mihalich to Hofstra, and T.J. Cline transferred to Richmond. The good news is that top scorer Antoine Mason is back. And that’s a big return. Mason averaged 18.7 PPG last season. He’ll face even more pressure to score now that three of the team’s top five scorers from last season are gone. But Marvin Jordan (8.2 PPG) and a number of new faces will have to back Mason in Casey’s first season. He could do worse, however, than coaching a team that’s led by the MAAC’s top returning scorer.

1. SMU grabbed headlines in college basketball in late August. Stop and digest that for a moment. The commitment of Arlington (Texas) Prime Prep Academy point guard Emmanuel Mudiay to SMU was a significant development for the program and the fledgling American Athletic Conference. But it's not unique. This is exactly how a program becomes relevant when it has been dormant for so long. Programs that don't have a national following have to get local recruits when applicable. The Mustangs have now done this twice, landing Dallas' Keith Frazier for this season. Not all programs have a fertile recruiting area (such as Pitt). But those that do have to show they can take care of their own first before suddenly being reasonable for players outside the footprint. Schools such as Arizona and UConn didn't have the in-state talents to build a program (although Arizona changed its future by getting in-state prospect Sean Elliott early in Lute Olson's tenure). But schools where there is talent (Florida and Miami and countless other examples) had to land local talent at some point. SMU coach Larry Brown said last week the Mustangs were going to be a good, very good. The onus now will be on making sure the news of a commitment doesn't fade. The Mustangs have to win to bring a following to Moody Coliseum. Texas has historically been a poorly attended college basketball state. That won't change by local players staying home, but rather by winning games against higher-level competition.

2. The American has a high-level television deal with ESPN and now CBS. But the long-term success of this league has to come from the depth of talent. Louisville is gone after this season (as is Rutgers). Tulane, East Carolina and Tulsa enter in 2014-15. None of those programs would move the ratings meter or change the depth of NCAA bids at this juncture. That's why programs perceived to be below UConn, Memphis, Cincinnati and Temple must step up and be in play for bids. If SMU can be a fifth team in this group, that will be critical to the long-term solvency of the league. The league is never going to be conference of record in Florida (home to South Florida and Central Florida) or Louisiana (Tulane) or Oklahoma (Tulsa). The Big 12 is always going to dominate the state of Texas. But the American desperately needs SMU and Houston to be competing in the upper half so that in those two major cities where the Big 12 doesn't have a home team (TCU is in Fort Worth), the league has a chance to make a dent in the sporting coverage from mid-January to March (post-college football and after the NFL in February).

3. Lost amid the Mudiay commitment this week was the one Gonzaga landed in getting 2014 point guard Josh Perkins. Guard U, as the Zags have been called, got their future floor leader. He is being billed as one of the most physically gifted guards the Zags have recruited in Mark Few's tenure. And yet what the Perkins and Mudiay commitments show is that the discussion of marginalizing schools outside the power five is such foolish talk. Players want to go where they have a chance to be successful, play for established coaches, get on national television, be in the NCAA tournament, get to the NBA and at times play close to home. That can mean going to a host of Division I schools that are not in one of the power-five conferences. The Zags continue to be a program of record in the West and are as tough to beat for players they want as any other school west of the Mississippi.

Emmanuel Mudiay, the No. 5 overall player in the ESPN 100, committed Saturday to SMU. Mudiay is the nation's No. 2 point guard and is ranked as top player in Texas.

Aaron Gordon earned MVP honors for the national U19 team that won a gold medal at the FIBA world championships in July. The No. 4 recruit in the 2013 class (per RecruitingNation) anchors Sean Miller’s incoming recruiting class.

The accolades that Gordon has earned before his first college basketball game, including an appearance in the McDonald’s All-American game, have magnified the buzz.

His powerful dunks and intensity have even fueled comparisons to NBA all-star Blake Griffin.

But Sean Miller says those comparisons are “unfair.”

“I think it’s unfair to put that on Aaron,” he told ESPN.com this week. “I don’t know if he’s as much of a post player as Blake Griffin is. Aaron might not even be as big physically as Blake Griffin. ... But he does some other things that are much different. He’s much more fluid away from the basket entering his freshman year, I think if you would make that comparison at equal time, than Blake Griffin [was]. The one thing they share is athleticism in and around the basket or in transition.”

I’m as guilty as anyone. I’ve called him Blake Griffin Lite a few times.

Few athletes play with the level of force that Griffin and Gordon employ when they’re on the floor.

But I agree with Miller that Griffin might not be the best comparison. At the next level, Gordon could be more of a hybrid than a true post guy.

When asked about the comparisons during a recent interview with Sporting News, Gordon said they’re inaccurate because he’s more versatile.

From Mike DeCourcy:

When asked what he thinks of the common comparisons of his game to that of NBA star Blake Griffin -- both are big, strong and phenomenally athletic -- Gordon answers, “I think, I can play point guard and he can’t.”

Indeed.

“He’s an incredible player; he’s the No. 1 pick,” Gordon said. “I can’t be too mad if people are comparing me to a No. 1 pick. But I can play point guard.”

Well, OK.

The bottom line is that Gordon is one of most talented prospects in his class. And he’s also its most intriguing player.

Gordon, Brandon Ashley and Kaleb Tarczewski will comprise one of the nation’s most talented frontcourts.

The freshman will have time to validate the hype in what could be a brief stay at the collegiate level. But first, he has to be a great teammate as that trio balances touches and space on the floor.

But Miller doesn’t think that will be a problem for Gordon.

“[His U19 team MVP] was more about his unselfishness and his talent,” Miller said. “They combine to make him a very unique player. What he does, he does a little bit of everything. And he can really handle the ball. He’s an unselfish passer, he’s great in transition. He can rebound at both ends. From a defensive perspective, it’s like he’s an upperclassman. He can guard a variety of players. And he takes that part of his game seriously. ... I’m almost describing an older player and yet Aaron just turned 18 years old.”

In early July, when second-hand reports said Florida prospect Chris Walker would be academically ineligible for the 2013-14 season, the record was corrected rather quickly: ESPN's Jeff Goodman reported that Walker hadn't heard one way or the other on his academic status, but was hoping to be enrolled in fall semester classes by the end of August. Likewise, compliance and eligibility expert John Infante noted at the time that Walker still had opportunities to get eligible by Aug. 21, and that if he didn't, he could always circle the wagons and target a January enrollment date instead.

It appears that Plan B is now the likely one. From the Gainesville Sun:

Donovan said he could not speak specifically about the 6-foot-10 Walker due to NCAA rules. His letter of intent is now null and void because he was not in school in the first day of UF classes on Wednesday.

“All I can say is that he’s not enrolled,” Donovan said before a Capital Area Gator Club gathering on Thursday. “What allows me to talk and communicate about these guys is when they are signed.”

Technically, Walker has four more days to enroll at Florida; the school's add/drop date is Aug. 27, when course enrollments are essentially finalized. That doesn't look likely. (After all, if you can't get eligible by Aug. 21, it's unlikely you'll be able to do so with an extra six days. Possible, I guess ... but unlikely.) That means Walker is technically released from his letter of intent, classified instead as a Florida commitment, and could theoretically re-open his recruitment or sign at another school. Given Walker's rather steadfast public commitment to the Gators, that also doesn't look very likely. He doesn't seem to be going anywhere.

The next logical step, then, is for Walker to pour all the academic intensity he can muster into getting eligible in time to enroll for the January semester. This isn't ideal, of course; Walker and Billy Donovan would surely prefer to have the freshman forward working in as early as possible. But a January eligibility is still better than the alternative, giving Donovan his talented freshman for a significant chunk of the season and giving Walker enough time on the court to prove himself in case he's considering a quick move to the NBA. That's the best possible scenario, of course, but it's still very much in play. And as Infante wrote back in July:

[Targeting a January enrollment] actually gives him more options, since in addition to continuing to take postgraduate courses, he could also register for one of the three SATs or three ACTs offered during the fall. Assuming that Walker’s issue is just a GPA/test score sliding-scale shortfall, this could theoretically go on indefinitely, as long as he does not enroll in a collegiate institution.

It's not ideal, obviously. When you hear that a player has essentially been downgraded from a signee to a commitment in late August, it's easy to think he'll never make his way to campus. Walker's status remains an issue at UF, but the dream isn't over just yet.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Janet Neal's instincts from her nursing school classes, nearly two decades earlier, made her look closely at her son's discharge papers and medication after a simple diagnosis of gastroenteritis by a Sydney hospital doctor.

She knew something didn't seem right. The blood count results were not at a normal level, and her son Cullen's face told her things weren't well. The look was one only a mother or father knows. Cullen was scared. He was in pain. He didn't want to leave the hospital. He was convinced this was serious, much more so than any physician was noticing.

"I told [my mother] that I wasn't OK," Cullen said. "I couldn't get up."

So Janet grabbed the nearest nurse, a man standing nearby. She demanded someone take a closer look at the results. An ER doctor came to their aid and administered what should have probably been done a lot sooner -- an ultrasound.

No one wasted any time once the picture popped up on the screen. Cullen Neal's appendix had ruptured. An infection was spreading throughout his abdomen. His spleen and liver were being compromised.

"That's when they rushed," said Janet of the staff at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.

To read the rest of Andy Katz's story, click here.

As students flood back to campuses across America, it is a giddy time in college sports. At 6 p.m. ET Thursday, North Carolina-South Carolina and Liberty-Kent State share the distinctive honor of kicking off the college football season.

Meanwhile, conferences and schools are starting to roll out their college basketball schedules, making for the annual Sharpie dash to circle key dates.

When does Kentucky head to Knoxville for revenge after its Black Saturday date against Tennessee last season, when the Wildcats lost by 30?

When can NC State fans welcome Duke, upset by the Wolfpack a year ago, back to Raleigh?

Can Purdue fans, with a highly regarded recruiting class, get a sweep of hated Indiana by winning not only in West Lafayette but also in Bloomington?

Nothing yet?

Don't worry. It's not your eyesight. The games aren't there.

Welcome to the world of superconferences, where the money is terrific but things like rivalries are largely an afterthought.

Basketball, long the ugly stepchild in realignment, is once again being victimized by pigskin power, forced to pick and choose home-and-home series thanks to the girth of the leagues.

To read more of Dana O'Neil's piece about how rivalries are taking a hit due to conference realignment, click here.

1. Maryland coach Mark Turgeon isn't going to say that the Terps got shafted by the ACC in their final season before moving to the Big Ten for the 2014-15 season. Good. Why? Well, the Terps got a fair deal in terms of balance. "We are road-heavy early but we finish with a lot at home," said Turgeon. The Terps play four of their first six on the road in the ACC, which includes a December game at Boston College. There is a brutal stretch in the middle of the ACC with four of five on the road (at Virginia Tech, at North Carolina, Florida State, at Virginia and at Duke). But if the Terps can get through that then they finish with five games, four of which are at home. That schedule could put the Terps in position to earn a bid if they are worthy. Look at the last five games: Wake Forest, Syracuse, at Clemson, Virginia Tech and Virginia. The Terps get the Orange at home, which could be a bid-type earning game. Ending with a Virginia team that should be in the NCAA mix as well is a plus. The one road game is against a lower-level Clemson team. Sure, the Terps don't get Duke and North Carolina at home. But they don't have to go to Syracuse or Notre Dame. Conspiracy theories can abound but this schedule is fair for the Terps in their final ACC sendoff.

2. The ACC has an unbalanced schedule with 15 teams. But it may want to tweak the final weekend a bit. The last Saturday has the highlight game of North Carolina at Duke, but the other three games do not appear to be too enticing in Pitt-Clemson, Wake-Miami and Virginia Tech-Georgia Tech. The Sunday finale has a marquee Virginia-Maryland for one last time with BC-NC State and Syracuse-Florida State. Notre Dame's ACC season ends the previous Monday at North Carolina. One team needs to be off that final weekend, but it's too bad its a a possible contending team in the Irish. Going forward, the ACC should try to create more rivalries to end the regular season to join UNC-Duke. Putting a Syracuse-Louisville game on that final weekend would make sense. So, too, would a Notre Dame-Pitt game. Putting other rivalry games that potentially have ACC title/NCAA seed ramifications would strengthen the league even more.

3. Bryant coach Tim O'Shea may have an opening on his staff, and if he does, he will likely hire former Boston College coach Al Skinner. It would be a home run hire. Skinner still tops the list of BC's all-time winningest coaches and a former ACC and Big East coach of the year. Skinner has been out of basketball for the last three years but has interviewed for a number of jobs, including Northwestern and UMass-Lowell. Skinner has been to a number of Bryant games the past few seasons, watching his former assistant coach at BC. O'Shea would be showing tremendous friendship and loyalty by bringing Skinner back to Division I. Adding him to a staff with Happy Dobbs would give the NEC upstarts the most experienced staff in the league. Bryant made the CBI last season in first year of Division I eligibility.

On Thursday, a dream died when Syracuse officials nixed the idea of moving Syracuse's basketball court to the center of the Carrier Dome for its inaugural ACC matchup against Duke.

Syracuse, which already owns the attendance record for an on-campus game, could have shattered the previous mark with the switch.

Both programs could be ranked in the top 10 when the season begins in late October. Standouts Jabari Parker, Rasheed Sulaimon, Jerami Grant and C.J. Fair will all be on the same floor for that game. Coach K vs. Jim Boeheim. The first ACC meeting for the two powerhouses.

Moving the floor to the center of the facility could have created enough space to fit 50,000 college basketball fans into the Carrier Dome for the highly anticipated matchup.

But school officials, after researching the possibility, vetoed the concept.

The good news is that Syracuse vs. Duke could still break the record.

From the Post-Standard (Syracuse.com):

The Carrier Dome court will remain in its usual location.

Syracuse University officials have decided to keep the basketball court in the end zone of the Carrier Dome when the Orange hosts new Atlantic Coast Conference rival Duke on Saturday, Feb. 1.

Joe Giansante, Syracuse's executive senior associate athletic director, confirmed the school's decision Thursday.

The idea of moving the court to the middle of the Dome's football field has been discussed among Syracuse fans for years. The topic gained traction over the past month when SU officials would neither confirm nor deny the plan for moving the court for the Duke game.

But Giansante said SU officials nixed the idea after studying all the factors involved in moving the court.

"It was considered and studied intensely," Giansante said. "We considered it very seriously. A lot of things pointed us in the direction of being able to do it, but several pointed in the other direction."

Giansante listed factors such as moving season-ticket holders, sight-lines for temporary seats and the logistics of moving the court for the Saturday game against Duke and then hosting a women's game at the Dome on Sunday and a men's game against Notre Dame on Monday.

"It wasn't just one factor," Giansante said. "There were many factors that we took into consideration."

Moving the court would have meant breaking the NCAA's all-time attendance record for an on-campus game. The current record of 35,012 was set on Feb. 23, 2013 when Syracuse hosted Georgetown for the final time as Big East foes. It was the first announced sellout in the Carrier Dome's history.

A Syracuse-Duke game with the court in the middle of the Carrier Dome would likely draw a crowd of 50,000 or more.

But Giansante noted the SU-Duke game could still surpass the record of 35,012.

"We already have the best college basketball environment in the country," Giansante said. "That game is still going to be special."

I don’t question their reasoning. I’m sure they took a serious look at the possibility.

But I am disappointed.

It seems feasible.

Google has a car that drives itself.

Elon Musk thinks we can send humans through a tube at 800 mph.

Nik Wallenda walked across the Grand Canyon on a tightrope without a net.

And this guy jumped ... from space.

But we can’t move a basketball court to the center of the Carrier Dome?

C’mon.

Kitschy group dances can go in a handful of directions. There's the Chicken Dance, which should never, ever happen, even if you're trying to win a free pizza on an arena Jumbotron. (I like pizza, too, but have some self-respect.) There's the Electric Slide, a favorite at weddings the world over and which is inoffensive and mostly fun. There's the Macarena, which I remember my traveling soccer team's parents dancing to in the mid-1990s; the memories haunt me to this day. And then there's (what I would propose is) the granddaddy of them all: The Cha-Cha Slide.

The Cha-Cha Slide has everything: Simple moves, an emcee providing helpful, simple directions, a chance to actually do a bit of dancing, and, of course, the oft-sampled "Everybody clap your hands," at which point everybody claps their hands. Who doesn't like clapping their hands really fast with a bunch of other people? The Cha-Cha Slide is pretty awesome.

Illinois-Chicago coach Howard Moore knows what I'm talking about. Via the Flames athletics staff comes this video of Moore getting his Cha-Cha Slide on at the school's Freshmen Welcome Dinner on Wednesday night:

I love this video. Usually, getting a college basketball coach to dance publicly requires some sort of zany Midnight Madness costumed affair. Moore just looks like a guy who couldn't pass up a chance to do a little cha-cha-ing.

He acquits himself quite well, too. I might even have to take some pointers and put them to use at a wedding I'm attending this weekend. I won't be submitting any video footage, though. Better for everyone that way.

ESPN’s 2013-14 ACC regular-season schedule will feature 130 conference games across the company’s family of networks.

The schedule is highlighted by top ACC matchups in the early game of ESPN’s weekly Big Monday doubleheader with the Big 12. ESPN will also continue to showcase the conference as part of the weekly ACC Sunday Night Basketball franchise on ESPNU and across networks on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays throughout the season. As part of the schedule, ESPN or ESPN2 will televise both matchups between Duke and North Carolina and all three games Syracuse will play against Duke and North Carolina.

An extensive schedule of nonconference action will be announced at a later date.