I was doing all of this hunting, keeping tabs on who’s going, who’s staying and who’s on the fence … then found Chad Ford. Here’s what makes this list so comical: 48 players. Forty-eight of the 60 draft spots are being attempting to be spoken for by underclassmen. Throw in the helping of seniors who will be drafted and another five-to-eight foreign guys that will be plucked by someone, and you’re going to have a bunch of jokes on your hands. Half of the guys in the waiting-to-sign-with-an-agent pool need to wise up now, get back to school and work on their stock for next year’s draft, which will probably be a little weaker.

Signing with agents:

» Michael Beasley (K-State)
» Derrick Rose (Memphis)
» O.J. Mayo (USC)
» Davon Jefferson (USC)
» D.J. Augustin (Texas)
» Jerryd Bayless (Arizona)
» Chris Douglas-Roberts
» Eric Gordon (Indiana)
» Brook Lopez (Stanford)
» Robin Lopez (Stanford)
» Anthony Randolph (LSU)
» Brandon Rush (Kansas)
» Derrick Caracter (L’ville)
» JaVale McGee (Nevada)
» C.J. Giles (Oregon State)

Not signing with agents yet:

» Darrell Arthur (Kansas)
» Mario Chalmers (Kansas)
» Joe Alexander (WVU)
» A.J. Abrams (Texas)
» Kevin Love (UCLA)
» Josh Shipp (UCLA)
» Russell Westbrook (UCLA)
» Bill Walker (K-State)
» Ronald Steele (Alabama)
» Chase Budinger (Arizona)
» J.J. Hickson (N.C. State)
» Jeremy Pargo (Gonzaga)
» Marreese Speights (Florida)
» Wayne Ellington (UNC)
» Ty Lawson (UNC)
» Danny Green (UNC)
» Ryan Anderson (Cal)
» Kosta Koufos (Ohio St.)
» Richard Hendrix (Alabama)
» Jemel McNeal (Marquette)
» Josh Carter (Texas A&M)
» Donte Green (Syracuse)
» Robert Vaden (UAB)
» DeAndre Jordan (Texas A&M)
» Jamont Gordon (Miss. St.)
» Trent Plaisted (BYU)
» Lee Cummard (BYU)
» Robert Dozier (Memphis)
» Antonio Anderson (Memphis)
» DeMarre Carroll (Missouri)
» Leo Lyons (Missouri)

All that talk of toughness, heart, grit, passion and hard work is going to be crammed down your throat by the likes of Vitale, Bilas, etc… in ‘08-’09 as Tyler Hansbrough has (intelligently) decided to stay for his senior season. The brief statement on Psycho T’s decision was released by the school.

Whether you’re a Hansbrough fan or not, amidst the Beasleys, Durants, Odens and Roses of the world, he helps college basketball to have a face. Plus, he’s become a polarizing figure, and that’s always a good thing for sports. The question now: Will Tyler Hansbrough win back-to-back POTY trophies? Many (including this guy) would argue that he shouldn’t have won this year’s.

Also noted in the article: Ellington and Lawson will “test draft waters.” Both could use another year, and if they come back, UNC will be the preseason No. 1.

Hansbrough to Return to UNC for Senior Year {Charlotte Observer}

(Yes, I thought you’d appreciate such a gritty, hardworking photo like that, too.) 

Its best player — sophomore D.J. Augustin — and its most beautiful pair of eyelashes — junior A.J. Abrams — have both decided to declare for the draft. It’s hard to argue against Augustin’s decision: The kid has the makings of a wealthy man’s Chris Paul.

Augustin’s statement, which was released by the team, may as well have been pressed onto the paper with a huge, ready-made stamp.

“I have had a great experience here at the University of Texas. All I can say is ‘thank you’ to my teammates, coaching staff and fans that have supported us during my two years at Texas. I have matured a lot as a person, both on and off the court. I have dreamed of playing in the NBA since I was a little boy, and I am ready to start living this dream.”

Augustin hasn’t hired an agent yet, but that’s only a matter of time. Abrams is just dipping his foot in the pool for the time being. Hard to see Abrams actually making the leap. Still: Abrams’ decision might be due to the fact that he knows how his stock could drop without a playmaker like Augustin in Austin next year.

Augustin averaged 19.2 points and a 5.8 assist, which is lower than I would’ve guessed. Abrams went for 16.5 and had 118 3s.

Augustin, Abrams Declare for NBA Draft {Austin Statesman}

Allow me to be one of the first to pose the question that will surely become prominently asked as college basketball season perks up in early November. Looking at the crop of freshman that will hit college campuses across the country next season, it definitely looks inferior to what we’ve just seen in ‘07-’08.

Standing six-foot-four and already having carved out some muscle and a name for himself, Evans looks to be a step below Rose (no insult there), but has the ability to be POTY in C-USA. I’ve only seen him in NBA Wannabe Classic also known as the McDonald’s All-American game,  but he and Kid ‘N Play copycat Brandon Jennings looked damn good in that game. (Evans had 21, 10 boards and four assists in 24 minutes.)

Calipari may have missed his chance to get himself a national title, but while we wait on what CD-R will do and look at Memphis next year, Evans could have the potential to “carry” this team in some sort. Feels more like reload than rebuild at this position.

A little late here, but this is the final tally on what the Blogosphere feels about the teams in ‘07-’08. Notice how much The Tournament can skew opinion (Davidson is the seventh-best team in the country? Really?).

1. Kansas
2. Memphis
3. UCLA
4. North Carolina
   
5. Texas
6. Louisville
7. Davidson
8. Xavier
9. Tennessee
10. Stanford
11. Wisconsin
12. Georgetown
13. Washington State
14. Butler
15. West Virginia
    
16. Duke
17. Michigan State
18. Marquette
19. Western Kentucky
    
20. Purdue
21. Notre Dame  
22. Connecticut
23. Drake
24. Kansas State  
25. Mississippi State

You knew it was happening with Love. I thought Westbrook would be a little more intelligent about it all. The news they want everyone to know up front: They’re not signing with agents!

Here’s my little retrospective on Love:

In my humble opinion, this beast of a kid had a chance to be a Top 10 all-time college player (in a dream world where he stayed all four years). I specifically chose the picture above because Love was mauled in Shaq-like ways during games this year; he was that good, yet I still think not nearly appreciated.

So Love’s doing the one-and-done thing and making a faint impression upon UCLA’s history and the game of college basketball. He was fun to watch because it almost made you uncomfortable while sitting on your couch: Love looked like he bruised people, and he scored in very ugly ways at times. If you rooted against UCLA at times this year (not hard to do) it was frustrating to see Love get his 18 and 14 in such a workman like way, you couldn’t help but respect his raw ability to get things done the dirty way.

It was astounding how a player with such limited agility and hops was able to get so many rebounds, avoid from being blocked or blocked out (thank the parents for the posterior) and probably account for at least four of UCLA’s wins this year.

Great player with a great name that’s probably leaving one year too early (in terms of long-term benefits). If he Westbrook and Collison (still awaiting word there) were to come back, UCLA would be the preseason No. 1 or No. 2, undoubtedly.

UCLA’s Love, Westbrook Intend to Enter NBA Draft {Los Angeles Times}

Jayhawks junior Brandon Rush and sophomore Darrell Arthur are trying themselves that ever-present verb at this time of year — foregoing — and making The Leap. So no aspirations of back-to-back titles a la Noah and Co. in ‘06 and ‘07.

Chalmers still hasn’t made up his mind … boy, it’d be nice to see him back, and he’d be the BMOC for the entire year. That’d be nice.

Just so you know, I don’t think either of these guys are ready. Arthur averaged 12.8 points, 6.3 boards and 1.3 blocks/game. Eh … I think he needs another year. In his heart, Rush might feel like his stock can only go down, so I can see why he’s doing it.

It should also be noted that Arthur doesn’t immediately plan on signing with an agent, so he could still return. Rush, however, is declaring for the second time, nullifying any shot of him returning to college.

Rush, Arthur Declare for Draft {Lawrence Journal World}

First he was rumored to take the LSU job, but now it’s official: Travis Ford will be coaching in the Big XII next year at Oklahoma State. The press conference will be going down around 2 p.m. today.

Funny, when you learn that last August Ford signed that coveted multiyear extension to coach UMass. Such is the way of the coaching world in college basketball.

Ford had been the coach at UMass for three years (and coached at Eastern Kentucky prior to that). He played college ball at Missouri and Kentucky, in case you were curious.

This isn’t exactly thrilling news (and we’re all waiting for the inevitable news on Kevin Love), but I’m still workin’ for ya in the offseason.

Travis Ford accepts job as OSU men’s basketball coach {NewsOK.com}

(Updated: April 18) I know this list can get ridiculous, so here’s your list of early entrees. The draft declaration deadline is April 27, so I’ll update this over the course of the next 11 days. I really hope a bunch of the 50-50 guys come back next year so we can try and keep some of the identity of the game in tact. (Ha. Yeah, right.)

Signing with agents:

» Michael Beasley (K-State)
» Derrick Rose (Memphis)
» O.J. Mayo (USC)
» Jerryd Bayless (Arizona)
» Eric Gordon (Indiana)
» Brook Lopez (Stanford)
» Robin Lopez (Stanford)
» Anthony Randolph (LSU)
» Brandon Rush (Kansas)
» Derrick Caracter (L’ville)
» JaVale McGee (Nevada)

Not signing with agents yet:

» Darrell Arthur
» Joe Alexander (WVU)
» Kevin Love (UCLA)
» Russell Westbrook (UCLA)
» Bill Walker (K-State)
» Ronald Steele (Alabama)
» Chase Budinger (Arizona)
» J.J. Hickson (N.C. State)
» Jeremy Pargo (Gonzaga)
» Marreese Speights (Florida)
» Ryan Anderson (Cal)
» Richard Hendrix (Alabama)
» Donte Green (Syracuse)
» Robert Vaden (UAB)
» DeAndre Jordan (Texas A&M)
» Trent Plaisted (BYU)

No word yet: D.J. Augustin, Douglas-Roberts, Hansbrough, Thabeeet, Wayne Ellington, Josh Heytvelt, Kosta Koufos, Ty Lawson, Tyler Smith, Mario Chalmers, Sherron Collins Collison.

Staying (refreshing) : Blake Griffin, Stephen Curry, Terrence Williams, Daniell Hackett, Davon Jefferson, Earl Clark and James Harden.

After Drake’s utterly unpredictable season, in which they went 28-5 and received a 5-seed in The Tournament, Providence has scooped up the 36-year-old Coach of the Year winner.

“That’s all I can ask — is our players’ best effort,” Davis told reporters after a news conference introducing him as coach. “How many wins that means, I don’t know. I’m not going to put a number out there that we have to live up to or live down to depending on how successful we are.”

Translation: “I know this team isn’t that good right now, so if you think I’m going to get them to a 5-seed, like I did with Drake, then you’re going to have to wait awhile. Plus, the money’s a lot better here.”

Davis is a great choice, but let’s remember that his Drake team had some pretty savvy players, they played in an inferior conference and Davis will be coaching in just his second year of his career when he patrols the sidelines at Provy next season.

Providence Names Davis as Welsh’s Replacement {ESPN.com}