The kid’s name is Michael Avery and according to his current coach Russell White, “He’s got great tools for an eighth-grader.” That’s nice.

It’s against NCAA regulations for Gillispie to offer a kid that can’t cook his own dinner a scholarship, but he saw him play in some sort of tournament last weekend and was impressed. (Really? Was this by coincidence or was he attending an eighth-grade basketball tournament searching for future recruits?)

Avery’s father talked to the Kentucky coach yesterday and told him, “This is all Mike’s decision.” Right.

Thousand Oaks Eighth-Grader Commits to Kentucky {LA Times}

I feel  bad now. I harped on Lofton this past season for his inconsistency and marking him as a little overrated as a playmaker.

Turns out Lofton was recovering from testicular cancer.  Wow … all apologies.

He was diagnosed with cancer only a few days after Tennessee ended its 2006-07 season with a Sweet 16 loss to Ohio State in San Antonio. Miraculously, the cancer was discovered after Lofton was picked randomly following the first-round win over Long Beach State to submit to an NCAA-mandated drug test. The results turned up positive, and Tennessee officials weren’t notified until the day of the Ohio State game.

What nobody knew at the time, at least for certain, was that what actually showed up on that test was a tumor marker.

It’s a test that might have saved Lofton’s life.

The story goes on to say how Lofton had “secretive surgery” a few days after the Ohio State loss and Pearl even showed up at the hospital in a quasi disguise to avoid any sort of attention. Lofton told almost no one of the cancer — not even his family, just his roommate.

Imagine playing with that and not telling anyone? Recovering from cancer, seeing your game decline and not telling anyone why this was happening? Lofton also said that he’d never cried so much in his life than over the past 12 months.

It’s a fantastic read and one that you should take eight minutes out of your day to look at.

Tennessee’s Lofton Quietly Faced and Beat Cancer {ESPN.com}

This was thrown out there to the masses by Deadspin yesterday, now it’s hit The Big Lead and will surely gain a little traction as the early, slow days of May have hit us. No need for an Almost Famous reference to be thrown out there; it’s already staring you right in the face. I just need to know how hard Hansbrough fought to make such an impressive jump into that pool. I’m surprised he’s not going in head first.

Frasor’s Famous moment is on the other side of the jump. (more…)

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.

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}