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SMU completed its men's basketball coaching staff under Larry Brown on Tuesday with the hiring of assistant Ulric Maligi.

Maligi, who spent the last two years as an assistant at Houston, joins associate head coach Tim Jankovich and assistant Jerrance Howard on Brown's bench.

“Ulric has a bright future as a coach,” Brown said in a news release. “The level of interest in SMU is apparent in the quality of this coaching staff. They all want to be head coaches and have the ability to do so. I am fortunate to have them working with me.”

Maligi is an Arlington, Texas, native who served as head coach of the Dallas Mustangs AAU program from 2003-06. During that time, Byron Eaton, Wesley Johnson, Anthony Randolph, Sean Williams and Donald Sloan were were among the Mustangs' players.

Maligi also has a year as a UT-Arlington assistant on his resume.

Former Illinois guard Crandall Head said Wednesday he plans to visit SMU next week, but he is also still considering attending DePaul next year.

Head, a sophomore shooting guard, left Illinois after the school’s first semester in December. He did not enroll in junior college in the spring and will have to sit out all of next season wherever he transfers.

Head said his visit to SMU came about because of his relationship with former Illinois assistant Jerrance Howard, who was recently added to Larry Brown’s staff at SMU. Howard recruited Head at Illinois.

“Just talking to Jerrance, he’s telling me great things about the school, and I just want to see it for myself,” Head said. “We’ve been talking since I left school. He’s still like family to me. I’ve known him for a long time. He’s just a good person. I trust him and what he’s telling me about the school.”

Head said in January he planned to transfer to DePaul, but he’s since been contacted by other schools.

“DePaul is still an option,” Head said. “SMU just popped in. I’ve talked to a lot of schools, and I just want to check out my options and see what’s best for me.”

Head averaged 1.0 points, 0.6 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 9.2 minutes in nine games with Illinois last season.

He was a highly touted recruit for the Illini out of Rich South High School in Richton Park, Ill. He was ranked No. 79 in the Class of 2010 by ESPN Recruiting.

Head said he didn’t regret leaving Illinois, but he wishes he had stayed the entire year.

“I’m pretty happy with my decision with leaving,” Head said. “It probably wasn’t the time to leave in the middle of the school year. That’s probably my only regret.”

Head has continued to stay in touch with most of his former Illinois teammates, and he felt for Bruce Weber when he was fired from Illinois.

“I was little disappointed for him,” Head said of Weber. “It’s the way things work. They weren’t winning too many games.”

Scott Powers covers colleges for ESPNChicago.com.

SMU introduced Larry Brown as its new basketball coach Monday. Read more here.

Baylor announced Tuesday that Quincy Miller, the 2012 Big 12 Co-Freshman of the Year, will return to school for his sophomore season.

Miller averaged 10.6 points and 4.9 rebounds in 37 games, with 35 starts.

The announcement comes one day after teammate Perry Jones III declared that he is leaving Baylor to enter the NBA draft.

FORT WORTH, Texas -- As far as buzz goes, TCU's hiring of LSU's Trent Johnson as its basketball coach Monday didn't exactly shake the Big 12 basketball landscape.

But in fairness, probably only the hiring of hometown basketball hero Jamie Dixon could have done that. And TCU tried hard to get him, though it's unclear how close Dixon came to actually leaving his post at Pittsburgh. It wasn't meant to be (the fact that his contract is through 2018 at Pitt was one of the obstacles). They talked to Buzz Williams, one of the biggest names around thanks to his success at Marquette. They called Ben Howland.

In the end, TCU athletic director Chris Del Conte settled on a coach that fit his criteria. He wanted someone with a track record of turning around a program that was struggling (Johnson did that at Nevada) and someone who had taken teams to the NCAA tournament (he did that at Nevada, Stanford and LSU). But he also wanted someone who would run the program with honesty and integrity. Johnson has done that at every stop.

Johnson will make $1.5 million base, but I'm told he's got incentives that could push things toward $2 million. It shows much more of a commitment than TCU has made in the past (the departed Jim Christian made around $600,000).

Johnson inherited some good teams at Stanford and LSU, and in Baton Rouge, after going to the NCAA tournament his first season, Johnson's teams struggled the next two seasons before going to the NIT last year with the same number of wins as TCU had under Christian.

What does it all mean? We'll see. The bottom line: The only buzz that matters is on the recruiting trail and, consequently, on the court. TCU loses its three top players next season and the roster has players from all over the place, though not that many from the Dallas-Fort Worth area (or Houston, for that matter). Those are two fertile recruiting areas and Johnson recruited some there while at LSU. It's critical that his staff establish relationships with those coaches. Maybe the move to the Big 12 will get more players interested.

"It's extremely important that some of the best players in the area and in the state attend the university for attendance purposes, for family purposes and you look at the good programs and the good players stay home," Johnson said. "It's about relationships."

Johnson mentioned Robert Hughes at Fort Worth Dunbar and said he's going to go about establishing those relationships. Good. He needs to do that to create a solid foundation.

Johnson said all the right things at his news conference on Monday. Then again, what new coach doesn't win the introductory presser? But I thought Johnson was more impressive once he wasn't standing behind the podium. He's a bit feisty, and I like that. He's confident and I think that's important for his team to see. It sounds like practices will be closed to the media, because he feels like that's his private time with his players. Normally, that might make me suspicious. But I like Johnson's reasoning on it. He's going to run a tight ship and reports from his previous stops say his teams play very hard and with energy.

Is all of that enough to win? How is that different from Christian? We'll just have to wait and see.

The second part of the winning equation is up to Del Conte and the administration. And they're already working on it. The plan is to renovate Daniel-Meyer Coliseum in terms of locker rooms, concourses and the exterior. It's long overdue.

If Johnson can turn things around, he could be here for a long time. Or success could propel him to another job. But if he doesn't succeed, the university has at least sent a signal with the financial commitment that it is starting to get serious about basketball. That can't hurt if and when it has to make another hire.

Johnson knows it takes time but admits he's not patient.

"I'm just a grinder," Johnson said. "I'm a morning, noon and night guy. I wish I golfed. I wish I had some social life. My life is in the gym and sports and my life is based off of making sure kids get a good education and play good basketball and my family."

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Texas A&M junior Khris Middleton has declared for the NBA draft.

Middleton missed 12 games last season with a knee injury. He averaged 13.2 points and five rebounds in a disappointing 14-18 season for the Aggies which broke a streak of six straight NCAA tournament appearances.

The 6-foot-7, 210-pound Middleton started 72 games in three seasons at Texas A&M. His best year came as a sophomore when he averaged 14.4 points and 5.2 rebounds.

TCU formally introduced Trent Johnson as the Horned Frogs' new men's basketball coach Monday.

"I can't express to you how excited I am about the challenge that's in front of us," the former LSU coach said. "The challenge is one we're all going to have to do together."

Read more about Johnson's arrival in Fort Worth here.

What do you think about the hire?

An NCAA investigation of the Baylor men's and women's basketball teams has uncovered more than 1,200 impermissible phone calls and text messages that could result in sanctions against the Bears.

Read more here.

TCU basketball coach Jim Christian won't be back with the Horned Frogs next season. Here is the statement from TCU director of intercollegiate athletics Chris Del Conte.

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"Jim Christian will not be returning as TCU's head men's basketball coach. We appreciate Jim's contributions to TCU and wish him the best. A national search for a new head coach will begin immediately. With our entrance into the Big 12, the momentum on the TCU campus and the great city of Fort Worth, we are very excited about the future of our men's basketball program."

Christian is rumored to be taking over the head coaching job at Ohio. Christian is coming off an 18-15 season at TCU but was just 56-73 in four seasons with the school.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Here's a look at the evening action at New Mexico's famed Pit:

No. 3 Baylor (27-7) vs. No. 14 South Dakota State (27-7), 6:27 p.m. CT

There were games this season when Baylor looked like it could win the national title. And then there were times when the Bears had the look of an over-hyped team that was long on athleticism and short on patience and production.

But the Bears recaptured their early-season success by knocking off Kansas in the Big 12 semifinals before losing to Missouri.

"We've got a lot of that momentum from the tournament for the fact that we all trust each other," said Baylor's Perry Jones III. "We've all got confidence in each other and we're all looking for each other for support. We're being aggressive and playing together."

The Bears have the length to seriously fluster the Jackrabbits. If Jones III, Quincy Acy and Quincy Miller use their size and reach to their advantage, then the game should be over. But South Dakota State can shoot as well as any team in this bracket, and if the game is more up-tempo then it could negate the Bears' ability to control the post.

"Everyone has talked about their length, but quite honestly, it's the smallest guy who concerns me the most," said South Dakota State coach Scott Nagy of Baylor lead guard Pierre Jackson, who has arguably been the difference for this team. "I know having coached junior college players that it takes a little while for them to adjust. They're almost like freshmen and then by the end of the senior year, they're tremendous."

Nagy said the Jackrabbits will have to contain Jackson if they want a shot to win. He knows the length of Baylor's bigs is a concern -- as well as the potential for Jackson to dictate everything.

"My biggest concern is how are we going to stop them? When we do stop them, how are we going to rebound the basketball?" Nagy said. "And with these guys, it's going to be the best team we've ever played at South Dakota State. Let's just put it that way. We know it. In order to stay in the game, we'll have to play the game of our lives."

Baylor coach Scott Drew said that South Dakota State reminds him of Missouri with its ability to shoot the 3-pointer. Nate Wolters has some Bryce Drew in his game, too, according to Drew.

Baylor should win. The Bears have the athleticism, the quickness, the length, the talent. But the Jackrabbits do have the ability to negate that with the 3.

"It's had to be for us since we're not a huge team," Nagy said of the 3-pointer being a difference for the Jackrabbits. "When we do shoot the ball well it really opens up the floor for Nate."

Wolters will have to have a dominating performance to pull off this upset.

Three players to watch

Perry Jones III, 6-11, So., Baylor: Jones is more than capable of a 30-plus-point, 15-rebound performance. When he's focused and into the game, he can be as dominant a player as there is in the country.

Pierre Jackson, 5-10, Jr., Baylor: Jackson was the missing piece to ensuring the Bears were an NCAA team this season. He has been the most consistent player on the team, ensuring this group never lost its way for more than a few games. He is the ultimate playmaker for a fast-paced, long team like Baylor that can run the break and finish on dump-down passes in the lane.

Nate Wolters, 6-3, Jr., South Dakota State: Wolters averages 21.3 points and 5.2 rebounds a game. He has the ball in his hands quite a bit and that's a good thing for SDSU. He makes plays and isn't afraid to take any shot.

SEATTLE -- Terrence Ross scored 23 points and top-seeded Washington beat Texas-Arlington 82-72 on Tuesday night in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament.

C.J. Wilcox added 14 points off the bench and Darnell Gant had 13 for the Huskies (22-10), regular-season champions of the Pac-12.

Washington is the first team to win a regular-season title in a power conference and get left out of the NCAA tournament, and it took the Huskies some time to shake off the disappointment.

"I thought we were ready to play, but I thought we were able to turn it up," coach Lorenzo Romar said. "Once we got that feeling, that hit, I think we adjusted."

LaMarcus Reed III scored 20 points for Texas Arlington (24-9), the regular-season champion in the Southland Conference.

Washington will host fourth-seeded Northwestern in the second round Friday night. The fourth-seeded Wildcats beat No. 5 seed Akron 76-74 earlier Tuesday night.

You can read the rest of the story here.

Doug Gottlieb and Jonathan Coachman discuss the Baylor Bears' shot at moving on, if they can get past South Dakota State.

Doug Gottlieb and Jonathan Coachman discuss the Longhorns' chances of survival in the Big Dance.

Rece Davis, Jay Bilas, Hubert Davis and Digger Phelps break down Baylor's outlook in the NCAA Tournament and what it will take to get by South Dakota State.

Pat Knight discusses his comments toward his Lamar squad, a team that responded by sending Knight to the NCAA tournament for the first time as a head coach.