ESPN Men's Basketball

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Christopher Hanewinckel/US PresswireSan Diego State could be the Gonzaga of the Big West under Steve Fisher.

So after another week of changes, the basketball winners and losers can be summed up this way:

Winner
The Big West: Getting San Diego State is a major coup for this league. Steve Fisher's Aztecs are going to be an NCAA tournament team on a regular basis and a national player for getting marquee games. SDSU has a chance to be the Gonzaga of the Big West. The Aztecs won't be as good as the old UNLV teams that won a national title, but being the dominant player that can attract marquee games and attention for the Big West is a great get.

Loser
The Big East: You simply can't make this three-team trade (Out: Pitt, Syracuse, West Virginia; In: Central Florida, Houston, SMU) and not come out looking worse. The pool of teams the Big East had to choose from was small, but it still could have made a few more moves to appease football and basketball. The conference acquired new television markets, but the quality of play will go down and the matchups for the television partners won't be as palatable.

Biggest mess
The 2013 season: If Big East commissioner John Marinatto gets his way, the Big East will have 19 members for one season when the three new schools come aboard and Pitt, Syracuse and West Virginia have to stay. Big East associate commissioner Tom Odjakjian will have a thankless job as he tries to schedule a season that will keep him up at night.

The ongoing fight
West Virginia: The Mountaineers want to play in the Big 12. The Big East says they have to stay. This will likely end up being decided by a judge.

The unknown
Boise State: If coach Leon Rice can continue to improve the program, the Broncos can flourish in the WAC and become a player for a bid quicker there than in the Mountain West.

The potential
Houston, which has a solid recruiting class in 2012, and SMU have had their moments in the past, but the school that gets the tag as the one with the most potential of all the additions could be Central Florida. The Knights have a shot to make more of an impact in the Big East than South Florida has because of UCF's location and facilities. The Knights must stay out of the way of the NCAA's enforcement group after getting caught with violations that cost coach Donnie Jones the first three games of the C-USA season. Still, Jones has taken down Florida and Connecticut on neutral courts in each of the past two seasons.

The biggest question
When the 2014 season begins, will Louisville, Connecticut and Notre Dame be in the Big East? We just don't know.

The atmosphere of the Carrier Classic, with its overwhelming sense of patriotism and the sheer uniqueness of playing a game on the deck of the USS Carl Vinson, along with the historical significance of that vessel, will be hard to top.

The view was magnificent. The Naval presence in all its glory and uniformity was as impressive as one would imagine. And the appreciation from the sailors for the break from the daily routine was genuine.

If you missed that game or any of the matchups on opening weekend, you're in for a treat because you won't be able to turn on the ESPN family of networks from 11:59 p.m. ET on Monday until about 1 a.m. ET on Wednesday without seeing college basketball on the screen.

Here are some questions to ponder as the fourth annual Tip-Off Marathon begins with Washington State at Gonzaga and ends with an NIT Season Tip-Off game the following night from Stanford.

AP Photo/Charles KrupaMike Krzyzewski and Bob Knight are tied atop the all-time wins list, but Krzyzewski could set the new mark against Michigan State at the Champions Classic.

1. Will Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski become the NCAA's all-time winningest coach? The Blue Devils play Michigan State in the first game at the Champions Classic (ESPN, 7 p.m. ET) from Madison Square Garden. Duke struggled against Belmont in its opener and then blasted Presbyterian on Saturday. Neither result should come as a surprise. The Blue Devils are usually the home team in New York, but it will be interesting to see how many Spartans fans are able to make the trip, especially if some of them just went to San Diego. Still, Michigan State has a real shot to upstage Coach K. Despite their loss to North Carolina, the Spartans were the aggressor, outrebounding the Tar Heels convincingly 42-31. The Blue Devils have as much size as North Carolina, so the challenge will be similar. But MSU must shoot better from 3-point range than it did against UNC (2-of-20). Another key to the game is seeing which team converts timely perimeter shots. If Duke wins, we'll have the unique setting of Krzyzewski winning No. 903 and passing his former coach Bob Knight, who will sit courtside calling the game for ESPN.

2. How will the Thomas Robinson-Anthony Davis matchup unfold? This could turn out to be one of the more anticipated frontcourt showdowns during the nonconference schedule, as this individual battle highlights the second game of the Champions Classic between Kentucky and Kansas (ESPN, 9:30 ET). Robinson began the season as the go-to guy for Kansas, finishing with 18 points and 11 rebounds against Towson. Meanwhile, Davis, UK's highly touted freshman, blitzed Marist with 23 points and 10 boards in the Wildcats' 50-point rout. Kentucky has more options than KU and can lean on Doron Lamb or Terrence Jones to get it plenty of points. But the tussle between Robinson and Davis will be good theater throughout the night.

3. How will Ohio State's Aaron Craft and William Buford handle Florida's perimeter? We're not conceding the Jared Sullinger-Patric Young matchup (well, we will for these purposes), but this game may come down to the guards. Florida's set of Kenny Boynton, Mike Rosario, Brad Beal and Erving Walker is off to a sensational start. Rosario scored 19 points off the bench, while Boynton scored 19 and Beal 14 (Walker added 10) in a rout of Jackson State. Craft and Buford will be tested defensively more so than they were a year ago, when Ohio State won easily at UF during this same event. The Buckeyes, who host the Gators at 8 p.m. ET (ESPN2), are the No. 3 team in the nation because of Sullinger. But this will be the first time OSU may feel the loss of defensive specialist David Lighty.

4. Can Belmont emerge from the brutal opening weekend with a split? The Bruins nearly nipped Duke in a comeback that fell one possession short. The next challenge is a visit to in-state Memphis at noon ET on ESPN. Belmont won't have any awe factor in playing the Tigers. The Bruins should come into this game oozing with confidence after their showing versus the Blue Devils. Memphis is still a young team and a work in progress. The Tigers have more talent, but the question is whether they will show patience against a Belmont team that will want to run and run and run. This could be one of the most entertaining games of the day.

5. How will Baylor handle its one and likely only test during Perry Jones III's suspension? Jones must sit for three more games after accepting an extra benefit. The Bears beat Texas Southern on Friday and Jackson State on Sunday. The two games that follow Baylor's home matchup with San Diego State (ESPN, 2 p.m. ET) are South Carolina State and Texas-Arlington. This is not the same Aztecs team from last season after the roster was gutted by graduating seniors and an early-entry NBA departure. Still, they are athletic enough to cause problems. The Bears have options with Quincy Acy, Quincy Miller and Anthony Jones, but this game should at least push Baylor a tad more than the first two did during Jones' suspension.

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James Snook/US PresswireGonzaga's Marquise Carter hopes to find his shooting stroke against Washington State.

6. How will Gonzaga's guards respond after a poor first outing? The Bulldogs showed in a tight win over Eastern Washington that they can rely heavily on Robert Sacre (22 points and 10 boards). But the perimeter shooters went 3-of-13 on 3s, and Marquise Carter was 2-of-11 and Mike Hart, Gary Bell, Kevin Pangos and David Stockton were a combined 6-of-15 from the field. Washington State is a team in transition, and the Zags should win this game. But Gonzaga has plenty of tougher challenges ahead, and so its guard play will need to improve. Still, this will be a good chance to see Sacre and Elias Harris on display against the Cougars, tipping off the Marathon at 11:59 p.m. ET on Monday night (ESPN).

7. As for the two women's games on the Marathon schedule …
How will Tennessee perform after coach Pat Summitt's health diagnosis? If you saw Robin Roberts' piece on "Good Morning America," you know it is clear that the Lady Vols are determined to win a national title for Summitt. The Tennessee coach also seems as driven as ever in her quest to keep coaching while she battles early-onset dementia. This should be an emotional game, as they all may turn out to be, for the No. 3 Lady Vols as they host No. 7 Miami (ESPN2, 6 p.m. ET). And how will Texas A&M handle its status as the reigning champs? The Aggies aren't expected to repeat as national champs, but they have established themselves as an elite program. The primer to the Tennessee game won't involve as much theater, but may be as competitive a game when No. 9 Louisville goes to College Station to play the No. 6 Aggies (ESPNU, 4 p.m. ET).

8. What should we expect from Texas' Myck Kabongo? Kabongo is an impressive young man who handles himself with poise and class. Now he has to translate that onto the court against a talented Rhode Island squad that lost at George Mason by two points in its season opener Friday. The Longhorns will lean heavily on Kabongo to start the season. How he handles this first assignment will be a strong indicator on what to expect, as URI will push Texas from the outset (ESPN, 4 p.m. ET).

9. How will Drexel handle the hype as the CAA's favorite? The Dragons play at Rider (ESPN, 6 a.m. ET) when most people might be waking up to watch the Marathon. Drexel is the early pick to win the Colonial Athletic Association, a conference that's receiving some buzz after placing its second team (VCU) in the Final Four since 2006. Drexel will be minus the injured Chris Fouch, but Samme Givens and Frantz Massenat should be enough to beat Rider. But the Dragons could do themselves a service by looking impressive, too.

10. How productive can the Saint Mary's frontcourt be this season? Randy Bennett anticipates that this frontcourt will be more productive than the one led by Omar Samhan, who led the Gaels to the Sweet 16 two seasons ago. That means Rob Jones will be getting help from Kyle Rowley, Brad Waldow, Mitchell Young and Beau Levesque. Jones dominated Fresno Pacific with 25 points and 12 boards, but Northern Iowa -- coming off an impressive road route of ODU -- will be a much more formidable foe for the Gaels (ESPN, 2 a.m. ET).

11. What should we expect from LeBryan Nash? Well, if you believe the hype, Oklahoma State has an all-Big 12 player who can elevate it to the NCAA tournament. The Cowboys will likely have plenty of chances to feature Nash against Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the NIT Season Tip-Off (ESPN3, 8 p.m. ET).

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Richard Mackson/US PresswireIf Syracuse beats Manhattan on Monday, Kris Joseph and the Orange will face either Albany or Brown in the NIT Season Tip-Off.

12. How polished will Syracuse look? If they defeat Manhattan on Monday, the Orange will face either Albany or Brown on Tuesday (ESPN3, 7 p.m. ET) in the NIT Season Tip-Off. The early indication is that this veteran team will be ready to compete for the Final Four. Of course, Syracuse isn't being challenged as much as some other teams, but the Orange smacked Fordham in the opener as Dion Waiters complemented Kris Joseph quite well.

13. A surprisingly close game? I'm going with Austin Peay at Cal (ESPN2, 10 p.m. ET). The Governors should be one of the favorites in the Ohio Valley Conference. Will Triggs and TyShwan Edmondson could play at any level. California is one of the Pac-12 favorites, but the Golden Bears will be tested in this CBE Classic matchup. Guards Allen Crabbe and Jorge Gutierrez will be tested versus Austin Peay.

14. What are the chances of a surprise to end the Marathon? I think Stanford will have a tough time with either SMU or Colorado State at home in the NIT Season Tip-Off. The Mustangs or the Rams are fully capable of being a pest and upsetting the Cardinal (ESPNU, 11 p.m. ET). Stanford first has to get past Fresno State, of course, to be in this matchup. To do that, Aaron Bright, Chasson Randle and Josh Owens will have to really take control.

15. How will Miami score inside? The Hurricanes are sans Reggie Johnson and Julian Gamble due to injuries. The given has been that the Canes have the guard play with Malcolm Grant and Durand Scott. But Rutgers will try and make Miami (ESPN3, 7 p.m. ET) beat the Scarlet Knights on the inside. This could turn out to be one of the closer games in the Marathon.

16. What should we expect from Villanova? This is somewhat of a blank slate. The Coreys -- Mr. Fisher and Mr. Stokes -- are gone. Maalik Wayns will be the dominant presence, but there are plenty of other options as Mouphtaou Yarou, JayVaughn Pinkston, Dominic Cheek and James Bell could all star against La Salle (ESPN3, 7 p.m. ET). The Wildcats are an unknown in the Big East, and this game will at least give us a taste of what we may see.

17. Is Kevin Jones ready to be a star? For two seasons, West Virginia's Bob Huggins has been waiting for Jones to emerge. He scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds in a season-opening seven-point win over Oral Roberts. Kent State will hardly be a walk for the Mountaineers (ESPN, 10 a.m. ET). Darryl Bryant can offset Jones' production, but the offense will likely flow through Jones as he adapts to being the front man for the Mountaineers.

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Douglas C. Pizac/US PresswireGib Arnold's Warriors look to make a good first impression against Cal State-Northridge.

18. How ready is Hawaii to make a run at Utah State? Gib Arnold has gone through a complete roster makeover and coached the Warriors to an impressive 19-13 record in his first season in Honolulu. Utah State beat BYU to open the season while one of the WAC favorites, Nevada, was flat at home in losing to Missouri State. Hawaii has a real shot to make a move in its final season in the WAC before heading to the Big West. Establishing an identity in a new conference is always key and ensuring that Cal State-Northridge (ESPN, 4 a.m. ET) is well aware of what it is in for when it visits the Stan Sheriff Center would do wonders for a first impression.

19. What will Morehead State and College of Charleston look like after losing their stars? This game could be one of the more competitive because of who both teams lost, rather than who they gained. Morehead State no longer has Kenneth Faried, while Charleston is without Andrew Goudelock. The Eagles made the NCAA tournament last season, defeating Louisville and then falling to Richmond. The Cougars reached the NIT quarterfinals before losing to eventual champ Wichita State. Regardless of how these teams look (ESPN, 8 a.m. ET) on Tuesday, you can expect them both to be factors in their respective conferences by February.

20. What are the chances Virginia Tech doesn't end up in New York for the NIT semifinals? We'll find out Tuesday night. The Hokies will likely play George Mason, assuming the Patriots beat Florida International and Virginia Tech knocks off Monmouth on Monday. Mason beat Rhode Island by two in overtime in its opener, and while it is a more depleted roster than expected when Paul Hewitt took the job, this is still a formidable squad. Virginia Tech used balanced scoring to beat East Tennessee State by 11 in its opener, but hitting 5-of-18 on 3s was an indicator that the perimeter shooting may not be the Hokies' strong suit.

Other notable names to watch: Does Tu Holloway have a monster game for Xavier against IPFW (7 p.m. ET)? Will Cincinnati's Yancy Gates dominate against Jacksonville State (7 p.m. ET)? How will Harvard fare as the hunted team on the road, even against a rebuilding Holy Cross squad (7 p.m. ET)? How will Dayton's Archie Miller fare in his road debut as head coach at Miami-Ohio (7 p.m. ET)? Will Mike Scott be a double-double performer for Virginia against Winthrop (7 p.m. ET)? Will LSU avoid plunging into irrelevance by winning at Coastal Carolina (7 p.m. ET)? Will Butler avoid a shaky 0-2 start by winning at home against Chattanooga (7 p.m. ET)? Will Saint Louis prove to be the team projected as an A-10 contender and win games it should -- even on the road at Southern Illinois (8 p.m. ET)? Will Missouri State continue to win on the road and take down Arkansas State (8 p.m. ET)? How impressive will Royce White be for Iowa State against Drake (9 p.m. ET)? How will Wyoming play for new coach Larry Shyatt against Northern Colorado (9 p.m.)? Will Arizona State start its climb toward respectability by winning a game at home versus Pepperdine (8:30 p.m. ET)? Will Utah State follow up its BYU win by beating rival Weber State (9 p.m.) on the road?

Andy Katz is a senior writer for ESPN.com.

If you directed that question toward UTEP and Houston, it would probably be the Mountain West.

Football decisions drive the direction of conferences, though, and Conference USA isn't exactly a football powerhouse.

"Basketball coaches aren't in control of any of that," said new UTEP coach Tim Floyd. "They were humbled this summer to find out how important college basketball was in the overall scheme."

So the collection of C-USA schools are stuck with each other for the foreseeable future and what that means is that this league has to make its basketball marquee this season, as in a multiple-bid league that advances in the NCAA tournament.

Conference USA needs to become at least as valuable a basketball property as non-Big Six leagues like the Atlantic 10 and Mountain West.

UTEP went 26-6 and 15-1 in the conference last season, but was one of the final at-large teams selected to the NCAA tourney after losing to Houston in the conference finals. The fact that the Miners had to sweat out Selection Sunday is unacceptable.

"We need multiple teams in the tournament, and last year with UTEP going 15-1 and barely getting in is a little bit scary," said Tulsa coach Doug Wojcik, in New York City on Wednesday for a media day event intended to get the league more national attention.

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AP Photo/El Paso Times/Victor CalzadaFloyd, seen here with the widow of Don Haskins, landed at UTEP after his controversial tenure at USC.

What's the identity of this league? It certainly has a host of second-chance coaches who have had plenty of on-court success elsewhere, like Floyd, UAB's Mike Davis, Southern Miss' Larry Eustachy, SMU's Matt Doherty, Rice's Ben Braun, East Carolina's Jeff Lebo and Houston's James Dickey. All of those coaches were considered on the rise at one point in their careers, but losing or off-court issues led to their search for a new home.

Donnie Jones went from Marshall to Central Florida, and former Division I head coach Tom Herrion took over the Thundering Herd. Those are two of the league's six new head coaches -- exactly half the league.

Conference USA's coaches preach the league party line -- as they did Wednesday -- about having more draft picks since 2005 than the Big Ten or Pac-10 (including this past draft). Memphis coach Josh Pastner said the league is played above the rim with plenty of athletes, "which makes watching this league fun for everyone."

Still, there is a perception problem. It's undeniable.

From March 2006 to January 2010, the Tigers played and beat 64 straight opponents from C-USA. It is tied for the longest Division I conference win streak of all time. So whether it was fair or not, the national attitude about Conference USA was that Memphis steamrolled through an inferior conference.

"I grew up around the Pac-10, coached in the SEC and coached in the Big 12 and it's strange to me how underrated this league is," Eustachy said. "My only thinking is that Memphis made such a mockery of it for [64] straight games, but then they made a mockery of Texas [and Michigan State and UCLA] in the NCAA tournament and should have won the national championship [in 2008]. People look at our league and think no one could beat them for [64] straight games.

"Memphis was great, but the league has never been more competitive and has great coaches."

UAB's Davis, who has been on the cusp of getting an at-large bid the past few seasons, said Memphis' dominance under Calipari completely overshadowed the league. Having the conference tournament in Memphis also hindered getting a second bid for the league. But a year ago, the tournament was in Tulsa and the league was nearly left with just one again after Houston upset UTEP in the championship game.

"Does this league have the opportunity to be better than the WCC, when it had three teams in with Gonzaga, Saint Mary's and San Diego? My guess is certainly yes, when you see the history of this league with the coaches and the players," Floyd said. "This league has to do what the Mountain West did last year and get four teams in and win."

The coaches know who has to be good for this league to ultimately survive in a changing, challenging college landscape. Memphis, UTEP, Tulsa, UAB and Houston have the most national name recognition with a national title in the group (Texas Western) and a few national championship game appearances (Memphis and Houston).

Eustachy says Southern Miss, with Angelo Johnson and Gary Flowers, are ready to challenge for the conference title. Their continued improvement would certainly help the league, but the Golden Eagles still don't resonate much nationally.

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Scott Rovak/US PresswireExpectations weren't high for Josh Pastner's first season at Memphis. They certainly are for his second.

The pressure to be at the top still resides in Memphis.

"We need to be good; there's no doubt about that. We need to be good," Pastner said. "We've recruited well. We now have to perform well on the floor. That's the bottom line."

Eustachy disputes that Memphis has come back to the pack, despite missing the NCAAs this past season after four straight trips that included a title-game appearance, three Elite Eights and a Sweet 16.

"Memphis may have as good a players as Cal's better teams," Eustachy said.

Tulsa has had a rich history of NCAA tournament success under a plethora of name coaches like Tubby Smith, Nolan Richardson and Bill Self. Buzz Peterson won an NIT. Wojcik won a College Basketball Invitational. The Golden Hurricane had a great shot to be an NCAA tourney team last season, but weren't able to stand up and win the key games down the stretch when they had an elite center in Jerome Jordan, a second-round NBA draft pick.

"I think from a fan enthusiasm standpoint, they need us to be successful," Wojcik said. "What we need is multiple teams in the tournament."

To do that, though, the league's teams will need to start playing tough nonconference schedules in November and December -- and win some of those games, too.

That's not an issue for Memphis, which did that under John Calipari and still does so with Pastner. The Tigers play Miami and Georgetown at home, Tennessee and Gonzaga on the road and face Kansas at Madison Square Garden.

UAB has generally the same philosophy, and beat Butler and Cincinnati last season. The Blazers play Duke, Arizona State, Arkansas and Georgia this season. Floyd said he wants UTEP to have the scheduling attitude he had at USC, where he scheduled just about anyone to upgrade the team's power rating.

Tulsa has had solid shots to upgrade and does play in the Big 12 footprint, allowing it to get games with the Oklahoma schools. Southern Miss could use some success in Cancun this season, along with road wins at Ole Miss, South Florida and Cal that would greatly improve its national perception. Road wins always help.

"This is a process, but you've got to win those nonconference games and you've got to have 23 or 24 wins going into the conference tournament," Davis said. "It's difficult not to take a team that has closer to 30 wins than one that has 23 or 24. So if you can get to 25 or 26 or 27, you've got a better chance to get in."

A new identity for a host of schools that would probably like to be somewhere else would come if it could get multiple bids in the NCAA tournament and advance. Sounds easy enough, right?

"There are a lot of coaches in this league that have won a lot of games, a lot more than I have," Pastner said. "The league has gotten better. Memphis' dominance made everyone raise the level of recruiting and now the league has better players and is as athletic as ever before."

Five more observations from Conference USA media day:

1. So much talk was about the Memphis freshmen -- and it is a top-five class that deserves plenty of attention. But the consensus is that if the Tigers are going to be one of the nation's elite, then Wesley Witherspoon has to be a major presence. Memphis coach Josh Pastner is convinced that Witherspoon will be, or rather has to be, the star of this team.

2. C-USA put out its all-conference team, and one player was missing that could end up being a stud. UAB coach Mike Davis said Jamarr Sanders, a onetime guard at Alabama State, could be one of the best players he has ever coached. Sanders averaged 10.4 points and 4.9 rebounds a game for the Blazers last season, but Davis said he was just figuring out how to play the game after sitting out a year.

3. UTEP's Randy Culpepper was tabbed as the preseason player of the year, but the question Davis had was whether Culpepper was going to be set free to go up and down or if he would be in more of a half-court set. If it's the latter, that could change Culpepper's effectiveness. UTEP coach Tim Floyd has been known to change to his personnel, and that's why without a real serious post threat (no Derrick Caracter or Arnett Moultrie), it's hard to see this team slowing down too much.

4. The best news for the teams that might be struggling in the bottom half of the league is that at least three have a star. Rice coach Ben Braun said Iranian Arsalan Kazemi, who played for the national team at the world championships in Turkey, had a sensational summer and should be ready for a major season. East Carolina's Brock Young and SMU's Papa Dia, who made the preseason first- and second-teams respectively, will at least provide a reason to watch the Pirates and Mustangs this season.

5. When you sit at lunch and see the collection of coaches in this league, it really is amazing. When you look around the table and see Larry Eustachy, Tim Floyd, Matt Doherty, Jeff Lebo, Ben Braun, James Dickey and Mike Davis and know that they were all in high-major conferences and are now in this league, it says a lot about the coaching business. It is a fickle one at best. Fame is fleeting in this profession, but there is almost always a second chance. Conference USA is the epitome of that.

The seemingly always scratchy voice made you concentrate on his every word.

And when you did, what you heard from Jimmy Tubbs was his passion for basketball, and through his devotion to the game, his passion for life.

This man loved hoops and didn't hesitate to spend a few minutes on the phone, or in person, discussing his devotion.

A former head coach at SMU and assistant at Oklahoma and at SMU, who won a state championship at Dallas' Kimball High, Tubbs couldn't stand idle if he was in a gym.

"Every time Coach would come by Kimball and watch us practice, he would end up in a full sweat,'' said current Kimball coach Royce Johnson, who played for Tubbs at Kimball from 1986-90 and whose father Goree replaced Tubbs at Kimball before him.

"He would always end up talking to the team and take our practice in a better and different direction."

On Saturday, lost amid the death of NBA Hall of Fame and Dream Team gold-medal winning coach Chuck Daly, Tubbs died in Dallas. He was 60 years old.

A cause of death hadn't been determined as of Sunday night. But his best friend, Georgia State assistant coach Paul Graham, said Tubbs suffered from high blood pressure.

Tubbs leaves behind a young adult son, Andrew.

"I just talked to him Thursday and on Friday he went to the hospital,'' Graham said. "He woke up sweating, but he wasn't hot. He was cold. He told his girlfriend that he didn't feel well and then Friday night they said he was doing better. On Saturday, he passed away."

Tubbs was nowhere near the legend of Daly.

But he was just as beloved within his peer group in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro high school basketball community and within college basketball, notably in the Black Coaches Association.

Tubbs' coaching colleagues, nearly all of whom called him a good friend, were crushed.

Tubbs was Graham's best man in his wedding. The two coached together at Kimball in the 1970s when Graham was the head coach. They were inseparable.

Graham said he credits Tubbs for calming him down because he had a tendency to go off at times. Graham, a former head coach at Washington State and longtime college assistant at Oklahoma State, SMU, New Mexico, Colorado and now Georgia State, said the best years of his coaching life were with Tubbs. He said the two would spend Sundays in the 1970s (when they were on the Kimball staff in their 20s) playing ball. They were always together in the backcourt.

"He worked his ass off,'' said Graham, who will be a pallbearer and speaker at the Thursday funeral in Dallas. "He'd be in the office at 7 a.m., and then when I'd call him, wherever he was [at Oklahoma or SMU], he would be there late at night. When I was out of a job [after being fired at Washington State], he would call me every day. We lost a good man, a guy that cared about kids, a wonderful honest human being."

"This is tough, real tough for me,'' said Tony Benford, an assistant at Marquette and former assistant at Nebraska, Arizona State and New Mexico and a former player at Texas Tech. "I spoke to him at least once a week. I've known him for over 25 years. He was a special guy, so genuine. He had no enemies. He was a mentor to me and one of the first guys who I talked to about coaching.''

Johnson said Tubbs was the reason he chose coaching. "I didn't know anybody who disliked him,'' Johnson said. "He would do anything to help you.''

Tubbs' dream was to coach SMU. Johnson said while he was playing for Tubbs, he always mentioned two jobs: SMU and North Texas. That showed just how much he believed in the Dallas-area basketball community. These weren't national jobs. He just wanted to continue to give back to the community in which he developed his pride in the game.

Graham had followed then-SMU coach Dave Bliss to New Mexico as an assistant. The next SMU coach, John Shumate, plucked Tubbs from Kimball just as Graham had done when Bliss hired him. "We were two of a kind, PG and JT, but Jimmy never thought he'd get the SMU head coaching job,'' Graham said.

Tubbs spent 12 seasons as an assistant at SMU working under Mike Dement and Shumate. He was an assistant on the 1992-93 Southwest Conference team that reached the NCAAs. He went to work for Kelvin Sampson at Oklahoma and got a shot at being the head coach at SMU after Dement was forced out in 2004. Tubbs wasn't the first choice, but there was a groundswell of support for him in the Dallas basketball community.

"When he got that job, he called me and he was crying on the phone,'' Graham said. "He worked his whole life to get to that point. That was his home. He busted his ass to get that job. There was no BS to Jimmy. He loved the game. I would always tell him to slow down, he was talking so fast and to relax on the sideline. Every play, and every step he took, he did it 100 percent."

Tubbs spent two seasons with the Mustangs, compiling a 27-30 record. He had a 232-42 record in eight seasons at Kimball.

But his SMU coaching career ended with a thud. He was fired in April 2006 after reports of NCAA violations. The allegations were that Tubbs practiced the Mustangs more than the NCAA maximum 20 hours a week and that he had accrued outside money for meals for freshmen Bamba Fall and Brian Morris when they were recruits. SMU had an unofficial no-tolerance policy after its history of violations in football that led to the infamous NCAA "death penalty" in the 1980s, which shut the program down.

A year after Tubbs' firing, in September 2007, SMU announced that the NCAA had completed its review of the men's basketball program and wouldn't take any action. The NCAA ruled SMU's response to its self-reported violations during the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons were fine. The investigation of Tubbs in April 2006 resulted in his firing. Tubbs was still paid the final two years of his original four-year contract, estimated at $600,000.

The damage was done. Tubbs was devastated by the way his career ended.

Graham said Tubbs got shafted at SMU.

Rob Evans, the former Arizona State head coach and longtime assistant at Oklahoma State, New Mexico State, Texas Tech and now at Arkansas, was a close friend of Tubbs, too. He said he didn't know all the details of the SMU ousting, but said that Tubbs was sorely disappointed. "He had gone home, gotten a shot and was so excited,'' Evans said. "He was just one of a kind. No one ever had a bad word to say about him -- no one. And in this profession that is rare.''

Miami head coach Frank Haith, a former Texas assistant, knew the man he had to meet when he came from Wake Forest to the Lone Star State. "[Tubbs] was one of those guys that lifted everybody around him,'' Haith said. "He could talk to anybody. He was a great man, one of the all-time nice guys in the profession.''

Graham and his wife, Vanessa, are heading out Tuesday morning to drive to Dallas for the funeral. Their hearts are heavy with mourning for the man they have cherished for decades.

"He told me on Thursday that he had just paid off his house,'' Graham said. "He talked about coaching again and finding the right situation. We always envisioned one of us getting a job again and getting back together as a staff. We had so much fun coaching together. Man, I'm going to miss him."

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Stanley Robinson hit a midrange jumper late in a blowout win over Stony Brook.

The score didn't matter. Only Robinson did Monday night.

Robinson was not in top condition because he'd practiced for just one day after his return from working a real job during the fall semester. He managed seven points and five rebounds in 16 minutes in Connecticut's 91-57 win. The Huskies' next game is a showdown against Gonzaga in Seattle on Saturday.

But what Robinson brought Monday, and will continue to deliver in the coming weeks and months, is energy, rebounding and a defensive presence at small forward. That presence will be much needed in games such as Saturday's, when someone such as 6-foot-10 forward Austin Daye could be a matchup nightmare for the Huskies' smaller guards.

Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun took issue to any question about potential rust on Robinson. The forward said he had practiced only one day, so what did the media want him to do exactly?

The answer is, he didn't have to do much to be seen as a huge plus for a national title contender.

"He gives us that big wing player that we didn't have with so many three-guard lineups," UConn senior guard A.J. Price said of Robinson's eating up some minutes with the lineup of Price, Jerome Dyson and Kemba Walker. "Stanley will help us with rebounds and defensively."

Senior forward Jeff Adrien, who will get some breaks, said Robinson's athleticism and ability to finish at the rim -- dunking everything -- will give the Huskies "another element to our game."

Robinson said he was excited just to be out on the court. He added that he'll do whatever he is asked in whatever role possible.

"It's been a long time, like five months," Robinson said. "I'm so relieved to be out there and provide energy and be a role player for us."

• Calhoun doesn't want to close the national player of the year race to just Blake Griffin (Oklahoma), Tyler Hansbrough (North Carolina) or Stephen Curry (Davidson). He firmly believes that UConn's Hasheem Thabeet should remain in contention with his potential to become a dominant player.

• Freshman Ater Majok has arrived in the United States from his native Australia, but he isn't eligible yet. There is an NCAA Eligibility Center hang-up, and the Huskies are hopeful he will be in uniform soon. The 6-10 Majok could have played against Stony Brook had he been cleared. He just has to be enrolled in spring semester classes.

• There is some concern among the staff that you won't see the full explosion of speed from Price until February, which would be nearly a year since his ACL surgery last March. That makes sense. Price still seems to lack total confidence in his knee.

• Calhoun opened up his postgame news conference Monday by joking there should be a shoe check. He was poking fun at one of this week's most-watched YouTube videos, that of an Iraqi journalist throwing his shoes at President George W. Bush at a news conference in Iraq.

• Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim reiterated Monday that he believes Eric Devendorf and the three players who were with him, who all say Devendorf didn't hit a female student in the face. Boeheim said that if he'd believed Devendorf hit the woman, he would have suspended him and not waited for a judicial panel on campus.

"I have players on my team that told me what happened, and I'm not suspending him for that," Boeheim said.

The panel recommended Devendorf be suspended for the rest of the year. The case is under appeal and will be heard by two faculty members and a student, according to Boeheim. The appeal will take place within 10 business days from Wednesday, he said.

"I would have no problem suspending him if he had hit somebody, but I don't believe he did," Boeheim said.

Devendorf has started the past two games since the recommendation came down -- a win over Long Beach State and a loss to Cleveland State. Both games were at the Carrier Dome.

"Knowing the facts in this case, it was an argument between two students with no physical punch," Boeheim said. "Even if the appeal doesn't hold up, the punishment doesn't fit what happened. Under any appeal, you're eligible to play."

Boeheim said Devendorf's punishment could be anywhere from community service to a suspension for a few days, a semester or the current recommendation of a year.

"I've read the testimonials, and I don't agree with the judicial [panel's] decision," Boeheim said.

• Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl said Tuesday morning that junior guard J.P. Prince is out for Tuesday night's game against Marquette in Nashville in the SEC/Big East Invitational. Prince missed Saturday's loss at Temple with a left ankle sprain. He sprained the ankle while going for a loose ball off the court at practice the day before. Pearl said he has seen too many times when a court bleeds into a carpeted area with the same color (red, in this case), and that it's difficult to pick up the difference in surface. "It's a safety issue," he said.

Pearl also said the Vols will have a difficult time defending the "most experienced backcourt in the country," in Marquette's three senior guards -- Jerel McNeal, Wesley Matthews and Dominic James. "There's nothing wrong with our talent -- Bobby Maze, Scotty Hopson and Cameron Tatum -- but it's two freshmen and a JC transfer. They're still learning the system, and they're not playing as hard as my teams play yet."

Give Tennessee credit for its past few weeks and its difficult upcoming schedule: playing in the Old Spice Classic against Georgetown and Gonzaga in the final two rounds, playing at Temple, facing Marquette at a neutral site, going to Kansas on Jan. 3 and hosting Gonzaga in a previously scheduled game Jan. 7. The Vols also battle in-state rival Memphis on Jan. 24.

• Marquette aims to keep Wayne Chism and Brian Williams off the glass in the Tennessee game. Lazar Hayward, coming off an 18-rebound game, will need help against Tennessee's Chism and Williams. The Golden Eagles have a home win over Wisconsin in their pocket but lost to Dayton on a neutral court. The only true road game the Eagles will play before the Big East conference games begin is at NC State on Monday.

• Scheduling the SEC/Big East Invitational has proven to be one of the most difficult things for the Big East. It comes after the ACC-Big Ten Challenge and the Jimmy V Classic Week (which usually features at least one Big East team) and after, sometimes during, final exams. The Big East and SEC have had a hard time finding schools whose schedules fit into this small window 10 days before Christmas. The other problem is the rotation of teams. The Big East has 16, the SEC has 12. So that means that four SEC teams will double up in the fourth year of the event. The Big East and SEC also didn't want to load up the event with all elite teams in the first two years, choosing to spread out the perceived heavyweights.

Florida, Kentucky, Arkansas and Georgia are the four SEC teams that haven't yet participated. The four teams that will represent the SEC twice this year are yet to be determined.

Pitt, Connecticut, Syracuse, Notre Dame, Rutgers, St. John's, Seton Hall and DePaul are the eight Big East teams that haven't participated yet. The problem with this group is that there are four New York or New Jersey teams left to fill out the field, almost forcing one of the neutral sites to be in either New York City or New Jersey. Scheduling with those pro arenas becomes a problem in trying to secure dates, too.

The past two years, the Big East has created its schedule through a process of elimination of who can play, rather than by choosing the best matchups. The freedom of making the best matchups, such as in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, doesn't exist because of all these boxed-in conditions. So the two conferences figure out who can play, then try to find a neutral site that makes sense. Neither league can commit to who will be in for sure in 2009 or where the games will be played.

• Former Sacramento Kings coach Reggie Theus said Monday that he wants to coach again next season, but only in the right situation in either the NBA or college. That means he wants to coach where he can win. Doesn't everybody? Theus said he was stunned that he was fired because of the injuries the Kings have dealt with the past two seasons and because of their recent win over the L.A. Lakers. But this is the NBA, where everything is about instant gratification. Theus was a huge hit at New Mexico State. He could find another home for next season where his actor personality could do well.

• Cleveland State pulled off the stunning victory over Syracuse on Monday night on a three-quarter heave by Cedric Jackson. But what's amazing is that the Vikings were beaten earlier this season by Butler on a 3-point buzzer-beater at home. How often do you think a team loses that way, then wins that way within a month?

• SMU lost at home to Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Monday night. SMU coach Matt Doherty is a good coach who had North Carolina doing well before all went awry. It's too bad that he's at a place that has so much apathy for the sport, because he has passion for it and otherwise could do well in the business world, thanks to his background.