There is just one five-star player left to make his college decision now, as C.J. Leslie took his name off the board on Wednesday.

The 6-8 forward from Word of God Christian Academy (N.C.) committed to North Carolina State, choosing the Wolfpack over Kentucky and Connecticut, the latter of which he visited this past weekend. The story was first reported by Dave Telep of Scout.com.

“It was a good school. Is that enough? Nah, I’m kidding,” Leslie joked.

“It’s a great school, they have a great coach, and I think we can do some things next season,” Leslie told me shortly after his commitment.

Leslie had originally committed to North Carolina State in June of 2007 but reopened his recruitment last March. He had finalized his list recently, and admitted he enjoyed his visit to Connecticut.

However, that was not enough to dissuade him from heading to the ACC.

“I think I can make a major impact next season,” Leslie said. “Coach [Sidney Lowe] was excited when I told him.”

Leslie was one of the final players left to make a decision, as 6-8 forward Terrence Jones is the lone five-star prospect yet to announce his destination.

“I’m very relieved,” Leslie said. “I can now focus on basketball and getting better over the summer.” 

Source: http://www.collegehoopsnet.com/blog/marchmadness/2010/04/leslie-commits-to-nc-state-again.html

In July, Dana O'Neil surveyed 15 college head coaches at the EYBL Peach Jam on the subject of recruiting -- more specifically, classic tales from the road and memories of the recruiting steals and the ones that got away. While there, she also asked those coaches about the shrines of college basketball: the toughest place they've ever coached and the one arena that's at the top of their bucket list.

The toughest place I’ve ever coached:

Rick Barnes (Texas): Oklahoma State. “Before they raised the roof at Gallagher-Iba, you could not hear yourself talk.’’

Mark Fox (Georgia): Oklahoma State. “The old Gallagher-Iba was just crazy loud.’’

Darrin Horn (South Carolina): Wichita State. “They started coming for our NIT game about an hour and a half before the game began. Not students. Grown-ups. It was loud and obnoxious. Really tough.’’

[+] Enlarge

AP PHOTO/Chris PietschOregon students, seen here greeting former Washington guard Nate Robinson, played a large part in the McArthur Court aura.

Ben Howland (UCLA): Oregon. “At the old Pit there was no room on the baseline and you were all crowded in. Plus the ceiling was so low. It was just deafening.’’

Bob Huggins (West Virginia): Kansas. “They’re right on top of you. They’ve got these old wooden bleachers and they’re usually pretty good.’’

Tom Izzo (Michigan State): Kansas and Duke. “They’re always the toughest places to play.’’

Kerry Keating (Santa Clara): Kansas. “When I was at Tulsa, we went there. Had a pretty good team. Had been to the Elite Eight the year before. We got blasted.’’

Phil Martelli (St. Joseph's): Duke. “During a timeout, freshman Yah Davis said to me, 'Coach, it’s way too loud in here for me to concentrate.'’’

Fran McCaffery (Iowa): Campbell. “The old gym there, the capacity I think was like 857. You’d have to turn your head sideways to get in the locker room.’’

Josh Pastner (Memphis): Oregon. “The old Pit crowd was on top of you and it was just tremendous fun. Coach [Lute] Olson, who never took off his jacket, always took his jacket off there.’’

Rick Pitino (Louisville): Barnhill Arena, Arkansas. “When Nolan Richardson was there, that was a tough, tough place to play. Just crazy.’’

Mark Turgeon (Maryland): Kansas. “The crowd and the players. That’s a pretty good combination.’’

Bruce Weber (Illinois): Murray State. “We played there in the OVC championship game and I think the place was supposed to hold 5,000. There were probably 8,000 in there.’’

Roy Williams (North Carolina): Oklahoma State. “I’ll never forget the first time we played there. They had that Pistol Pete and he fired that gun. I’d about like to die.’’

Jay Wright (Villanova): New Mexico State. “When I was at UNLV, the rivalry was especially heated. Those games were nasty.’’

The one arena I’ve never coached in but would like to:

Barnes: The Palestra, Philadelphia
Fox: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Duke
Horn: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Duke
Howland: Assembly Hall, Indiana
Huggins: Pauley Pavilion, UCLA
Izzo: The Palestra, Philadelphia
Keating: Assembly Hall, Indiana
Martelli: Pauley Pavilion, UCLA
McCaffery: I think I’ve coached in them all
Pastner: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Duke
Pitino: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Duke
Turgeon: Dean E. Smith Center, North Carolina
Weber: Pauley Pavilion, UCLA
Williams: WVU Coliseum, West Virginia
Wright: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Duke

Source: http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/34932/coaches-survey-best-arenas-bucket-lists

When Connecticut got word that mega-recruit Andre Drummond was willing to enroll for this season instead of next, there were a few options for the Huskies in order to open up a scholarship.

The obvious one was someone leaving the team, even if that meant a possible hit to the Academic Performance Rating. UConn did make efforts, according to multiple sources, to see if there was interest in 7-foot-1 center Enosch Wolf. Rhode Island and Towson were called about Wolf and both schools had a scholarship available.

According to sources, both schools were led to believe the sophomore from Germany would be coming to them. But then Wolf, according to sources, decided against leaving the Huskies, even though he will have to battle Drummond, Alex Oriakhi, Tyler Olander and Michael Bradley for playing time.

Once Wolf decided to stay put, that’s when the option of pursuing financial aid from Bradley was discussed. Bradley had to voluntarily decide to go on the aid, which he has, and as a result the Huskies have 10 scholarship players on the roster, 11 who were recruited to be there this season.

Both URI and Towson were looking at Wolf as a positive addition -- a big man who could potentially develop into a much more productive player at their level. But Wolf didn’t want to leave and the Huskies weren’t going to run him off the team unwillingly. That would have likely been a hit on their APR, not to mention horrible PR.

So Wolf stays and will now earn his playing time as best he can on a team that will start the preseason in the top five. Every coach in the country would take Drummond on their roster if they could -- even if there were no available scholarships. If the NCAA doesn't want this to happen, then the Committee on Infractions could get tougher or the APR penalty could be stricter in its language concerning scholarship reductions.

But that's not the case, so UConn was able to pull this off and make it work to its advantage. Not a single coach I’ve talked to on this subject would have done anything different. That's not a defense of Connecticut or a justification of the "creative" juggling that goes on with rosters. It is, however, the current reality.

Source: http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/35036/uconn-sought-other-roster-reducing-fixes

In our look at college basketball arenas, our panel of writers and contributors identified the coolest environment they've ever experienced as well as a bucket list of arenas they're dying to see. A number of coaches weighed in as well. We asked four ESPN contributors who played college hoops to identify the toughest arena they ever played in. Here are their choices:

Stephen Bardo: The McKale Center at Arizona edges out the Dean Dome for me. When I was at Illinois, we traveled to Tucson in late January, leaving behind a foot of snow in Champaign. The warm weather gave the place an almost exotic feel in the middle of winter. I remember practicing in McKale the day before and thought the place was nice, but was not overly impressed. Then game day came and that place transformed into a sea of red- and blue-clad fans ready for war. Their crowd stood the whole game and called us everything but our names. We were up 10 points with 12 minutes remaining in the second half when Sean Elliott went baseline, dunked, got fouled and completed the three-point play. The place went berserk! Zona came back to win by five and I swear I lost some of my hearing that afternoon.

Jay Bilas: To me, the toughest places to play had more to do with the quality of the opposing team than anything else, but Reynolds Coliseum at NC State was the toughest place I played while in college. Reynolds was configured much the same way as Cameron Indoor Stadium, but the end zones were much deeper and the sides were right on top of you. Reynolds was loud, edgy and intense. The Wolfpack under Jim Valvano were a tough out and the games were always fistfights, but the thing I remember most is coming back to a huddle and seeing lips move, but not being able to hear what was said. It was so hot and loud that your head would spin. Of course, having to guard guys like Thurl Bailey, Lorenzo Charles, Cozell McQueen and Chris Washburn probably had something to do with my head spinning.

Hubert Davis: The toughest place I ever played was Reynolds Coliseum, former home of the NC State Wolfpack. Cameron Indoor Stadium and Cole Field House don't even come close. I remember the long walk from the locker room to the floor. You had to enter under the bleachers and then had to sprint to the floor so that the fans wouldn't throw soda on us. The end zone seating went back as far as I've ever seen – the sea of red just never seemed to end. In the four years I played there as a Tar Heel, I never scored on the opposite basket away from our bench in the first half. I eventually calmed down, but was always flustered in those first 20 minutes. It was that intimidating.

Doug Gottlieb: Given the team I played for, I would have to say Oklahoma was the toughest road environment for me. While we won twice there in three tries -- and while OU doesn't traditionally fill up the Lloyd Noble Center for non-rivalry games -- the Kelvin Sampson vs. Eddie Sutton Bedlam days were special. We HATED them. Hated everything from their offense to their matchup zone to all the hugging and perceived fake hustle when they played on television. Norman is about 75 minutes from Stillwater and we always stayed at the Holiday Inn just off I-35. At 1 a.m. the night before we played the Sooners, members of their band played Boomer Sooner outside the hotel to serenade us.

[+] Enlarge

AP Photo/Alonzo AdamsOklahoma isn't known for its rowdy basketball crowds, but when Doug Gottlieb and his OSU teammates came to town, it was a different story.

Walking into the LNC for my first Bedlam was amazing. Our vans always parked at the end of the ramp that leads from the parking lot into the arena and fans were above us, lining the top of the ramp throwing snowballs, confetti and chanting "OSU sucks!" as we walked in. The locker rooms were, as all visiting locker rooms are, small and useless. Walking into the actual gym an hour and a half before the game the entire student section was full and alive. There was a Gottlieb "Bricko-meter," an Eddie Sutton Emery Delivery outfit and even several other inside joke signs to make us feel welcome.

The Rufnecks who usually ride the Sooner Schooner during football games have their paddles and talk trash the entire game while standing on the sideline next to cheerleaders. During the first timeout, the sound system blares "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be..." and the entire crowd yells "Cowboys!" Factor in OU's brutally physical style, our constant foul trouble and the fact they were the only team in the league to use Baden basketballs (which seemed flat to me), and the normally tame LNC was like a completely different building for Bedlam.

Halftime was always contentious as both teams exit through the same vomitorium and then up the same ramp, leading to bumping and trash talk. Though we won there twice -- and that may be the best feeling of my career as we were able to walk proud and tall back in Stillwater -- the noise OU fans made when they blew us out my junior year, and the feeling of dejection riding home, was as painful a memory as any loss I have ever suffered. LNC is not a tough place to play normally, but in the good ol' days of Bedlam, it rocked.

Source: http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/34998/the-toughest-arena-i-ever-played-in

By Kelly Whiteside, USA TODAY

Updated

On the 15th anniversary of the first Big 12 football game, the conference office didn't exactly celebrate the occasion by popping a few bottles of bubbly Wednesday. Instead, it issued firm statements about its future after Texas A&M announced its decision to leave the Big 12 next summer.

• 

  By Thomas Campbell, US Presswire

  Texas A&M mascot Reveille leads the team onto the field before a game in 2010. The Aggies are leaving the Big 12 after this year.

"The presidents and chancellors of the nine remaining member institutions are steadfast in their commitment to the Big 12. The conference will move forward aggressively exploring its membership options," Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe said.

In College Station, Texas A&M athletics director Bill Byrne detailed the reasons behind the school's decision in a blog posted on the Aggies' website Wedneday.

Byrne said that the departures of Nebraska and Colorado and the creation of the Longhorn Network made the Big 12 "considerably different" than it was last summer — although he pledged his allegiance to the league after those departures.

"There have also been other developments during the past several months that have caused a great deal of uncertainty within the Big 12," Byrne wrote. "You all know the landscape of the Big 12 Conference was altered by the creation of the Longhorn Network."

To get the latest sports news from USA TODAY, including game results, columns and features, follow us on Twitter at @USATODAYSports.

He mentions the network's attempts to televise high school games and the "attempt to coerce Big 12 schools to move their football games in Austin" to the network. Byrne also said that Texas A&M was not offered the chance to join the Longhorns in the venture.

Assuming the Aggies head to the Southeastern Conference, what's the future of the Big 12, which will have nine teams after also losing Nebraska (Big Ten) and Colorado (Pac-12)? The Big 12 has formed a committee to examine schools that might be added. There could be as many as three.

"The (remaining) nine schools are going to approach this like it's a coaching search," Iowa State athletics director Jaime Pollard said. "It's kind of like a coaching search in the way you go about things and evaluate things."

TCU would have been an obvious choice, but the Horned Frogs are joining the Big East in 2012. Brigham Young is starting its first season as an independent and confirmed that commitment Wednesday. SMU, formerly in the Southwest Conference and now in Conference USA, has expressed interest. Houston and Boise State, which recently joined the Mountain West, are other possibilities.

The Big 12 could take further hits in coming weeks. If the dominoes continue to fall, four super conferences of 16 teams each might be the eventual end game.

Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott has repeatedly said megaconferences are the next wave of change. Will the league flirt again with Texas and Oklahoma?

"We have no current plans to expand the Pac-12," Scott said Wednesday. "However, I have made clear my vision that the health, stability and future of college athletics will likely include further consolidation and re-alignment.

"While I cannot predict if and when this might make sense for us, we will listen to and evaluate any scenario that would benefit our member institutions, our student-athletes and our fans."

Contributing: Andy Gardiner

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Source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/UsatodaycomCollegeMensBasketball-TopStories/~3/Kjxl3MwqMzY/1

Zach Hayes is an editor, contributor and bracketologist for Rush the Court.

Jim Calhoun’s life has taken a dramatic turn in just one year’s time.

Not too long ago, a shocking NIT flameout, a messy Nate Miles investigation, numerous health scares and a dip in recruiting rendered Connecticut’s 2009 Final Four berth a distant memory. Questions began to circulate whether Calhoun was still fit for the grueling task of coaching an elite Division I basketball program. A preseason top-5 UConn outfit that lacked any semblance of cohesion or chemistry finished 18-16 in 2010 and the immediate future for the Hall-of-Fame headman appeared insecure.

Then Kemba Walker decided to embrace the role of team leader and captain, bringing his game to the next level and a unit of mostly inexperienced underclassmen on an unforgettable ride. UConn shockingly dispatched of Michigan State and Kentucky to win in Maui, finished the non-conference slate undefeated, took their lumps in a rigorous Big East, won five games in five nights to take the conference crown in New York, then for the hell of it won six more for Calhoun’s third national title.

It gets better. Calhoun never saw eye to eye with Connecticut athletic director Jeff Hathaway. The longtime A.D. promptly resigned this summer. And just for good measure, local blue-chip prospect Andre Drummond shocked the college basketball world and not only committed to UConn rather than go to prep school and enter in the 2012 NBA Draft, but he re-classified in order to play this upcoming season. The kicker: a recruit that grew up in a Tennessee group home, Michael Bradley, is apparently fine with giving up his scholarship.

This confluence of events has delivered Calhoun more than enough ammunition to give coaching another go-round in 2011-12. Whether this magic can continue into November remains up in the air.

Jeremy Lamb will be on quite a few preseason All-American lists

Team Outlook: The sudden addition of Drummond sends Connecticut from Big East title contender to odds-on favorite. Drummond has a pro frame, possesses tremendous athleticism and is a dynamite scoring compliment to Alex Oriakhi in the low post.  Let’s not skim over the departure of Kemba Walker. Not only was the All-American their floor general/leader, but he took (and made) every big shot. Jeremy Lamb will be expected to fill Walker’s role as dependable shot-maker while Walker understudy Shabazz Napier claims full-time point guard duties. Roscoe Smith rounds out the starting five as a capable role player offensively and a potential weapon defensively because of his length. Ryan Boatright, Napier’s backup at the point, and DeAndre Daniels,  a gifted scorer at the wing, are two freshmen expected to play integral roles in Calhoun’s rotation.

Non-Conference Schedule Rank: 3. The good news for UConn fans is that their schedule, combined with Carolina and Kentucky going head-to-head on December 3, opens up the realistic chance that the Huskies will be the last undefeated team standing heading into the teeth of Big East competition. The bad news is that, when it comes time to put a magnifying glass up to resumes and decipher who deserves #1 or #2 seeds on Selection Sunday, a lacking non-conference schedule won’t do them any favors. It’s not entirely their fault. It was impossible to foresee Bruce Pearl’s complete collapse at Tennessee. Arkansas was an unfortunate draw in the SEC/Big East Challenge. Other than Florida State and Harvard, their tournament in the Bahamas doesn’t contain much meat. It’s plausible Connecticut’s toughest opponent pre-Big East will be the Crimson, a motivated group of returnees looking to avenge last season’s heartbreak.

Cupcake City: Contrary to last year’s loaded Maui bracket, it’ll be a soft landing for Calhoun in 2011. Cupcakes line the schedule in their first four home contests against Columbia, Wagner, Maine and Coppin State before battling UNC-Asheville and likely UCF in the Bahamas. A visit from both Harvard and Fairfield are sneaky difficult, but there’s little doubt Connecticut will be favored in every one of their games outside of the Big East.

Toughest Early Season Test: Normally a visit to Tennessee would be the standout candidate, but newly minted head coach Cuonzo Martin has a major rebuilding project staring him in the face with Scotty Hopson, Tobias Harris, Brian Williams and Melvin Goins all moving on. Unless moribund Utah or Massachusetts pulls off a major upset, Connecticut will face either Florida State or Harvard in the final. Both pose their own distinct challenges. Florida State boasts the athletes and length to give UConn fits early enough in the season where on-court chemistry post-Kemba isn’t settled. Harvard returns every significant player from a team that lost one game to a team that didn’t make the NCAA Tournament: Yale by one point.

Easiest Big East Stretch: Since their DePaul and Providence encounters are mixed in with challenging portions of their schedule, Connecticut’s first four Big East games at USF, vs. St. John’s, at Seton Hall and at Rutgers will have to suffice. Normally that many road games would be a disqualifier, but only Rutgers has a prayer’s chance of contending for a tournament bid, while St. John’s roster is completely revamped. Combine those first four games with a easy non-conference slate and a lofty record deep into the New Year is realistic.

Best Individual Matchup: There’s no player that perfects the art of using screens better than Pitt’s Ashton Gibbs. I’m sure Jamie Dixon is spending most of his summer diagramming plays to open up looks for him despite Gibbs moving to point guard duties in 2011-12. Which is why it’ll be fascinating to watch on-ball hound Shabazz Napier chasing Gibbs all over the floor during their season finale meeting on March 3. Napier ranked third in the Big East in steal percentage as a true freshman.

Most Challenging Road Test: This comes down to whether you believe Syracuse is superior to Louisville heading into the season or vice versa. Louisville will be a slightly tougher test at the KFC Yum Center where they’re comfortable imposing their demanding style of play. Siva returns at the point, Kyle Kuric is much more than just a spot-up shooter (although 45% from three isn’t too shabby) and Gorgui Dieng continues to progress.

Most Anticipated Home Date: Although I have my doubts about their frontcourt, Scoop Jardine’s decision-making and whether Kris Joseph will ever make the leap, the Orange just have so many options on any given night. Plus, it’s an intense, hard-fought rivalry game. Napier will shadow Brandon Triche while the length of Lamb, Smith and Daniels hope to fluster the likes of Jardine, Joseph, C.J. Fair, Dion Waiters and potential impact freshman Michael Carter-Williams. Where Connecticut could have the edge is on the low block with Drummond and Oriakhi against a handful of raw Cuse big men.

Upset Watch: Notre Dame won’t even compare to the #2 seed of a season ago. After all, they lost Big East POY candidate Ben Hansbrough, serviceable big man Tyrone Nash, and, in a rather perplexing early entry decision, versatile forward Carleton Scott. Still, the criminally underrated Tim Abromaitis joins Scott Martin, emerging point guard Eric Atkins and hard-nosed freshman wing Pat Connaughton. The Irish always play efficient basketball on their home floor and it’s possible they’ll be welcoming an unblemished Connecticut team to the Joyce Center on January 14.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 7th, 2011 at 10:45 am and is filed under 2011-12 Season Preview, rtc class schedule. Tagged: alex oriakhi, andre drummond, ashton gibbs, connecticut, deandre daniels, jeremy lamb, jim calhoun, louisville, notre dame, pittsburgh, roscoe smith, ryan boatright, shabazz napier, syracuse. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Source: http://rushthecourt.net/2011/09/07/2011-rtc-class-schedule-connecticut-huskies/

When the NCAA announced in August that it was raising the bar with a new Academic Progress Rate requirement for postseason play, it was said that programs would have at least a few years to "ratchet up" their academics before NCAA tournament bans would be put in place.

The announcement had to raise eyebrows for members of the 12 teams from the 2011 NCAA tournament teams that wouldn't have qualified had the current APR requirement been applied.

In Brookings, S.D., the effects are already being felt in recruiting.

South Dakota State coach Scott Nagy announced the signings of Samuel Francis from Bulgaria and Taevaunn Prince from Canada two weeks ago. Francis plans to major in engineering, and Price was an honor roll student at his New Hampshire prep school.

On a Jackrabbits roster filled with recruits from South Dakota and Iowa, the additions of two mystery international recruits, who Nagy had never even seen play in person, came in part because of the NCAA's academic changes, he told the Argus Leader.

"Quite frankly, I think because of the NCAA and the new academic requirements the schools at that higher level are going to start recruiting more of the kind of kids we recruit.

"I think that will make it more difficult for us, and the international options will become more important."

A Summit League school like South Dakota State is already searching far and wide for new recruits in anticipation of an increase in the demand for players with good academic profiles.

SDSU recruiting internationally might be an unintended result of the NCAA's new APR cutline, but it shows there soon will be an expectation for other programs to recruit accordingly based on academics or else get left behind.

Source: http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/35011/new-apr-cutline-changes-recruiting-game

It was reported yesterday that UTEP sophomore Arnett Moultrie would be entering the NBA Draft. However, Moultrie will not hire an agent and it seems as if he is leaning towards returning to the Miners for his junior campaign.

In an interview with an NBC affiliate in El Paso, Moultrie made his intentions clear.

“Yeah, yeah, I am coming back, I am going back,” he said. “I am just going to test the waters to get feedback to raise my stock . . . I will be back at school though.”

Moultrie, an athletic 6-11 forward, averaged 9.8 points and 6.7 rebounds last season.

Silas heading back to Northern Illinois

Northern Illinois junior guard Xavier Silas announced Thursday that he plans on withdrawing his name from the NBA Draft and returning to the Huskies.

"We talked to a couple friends who are affiliated with the league, and they said if I went back and had a good year in all aspects of the game, I could be a first-rounder," Silas told Scott Powers of ESPN Chicago. "That's better than chancing it this year."

Silas is a 6-5 scoring guard who averaged 19.7 points and 5.3 rebounds last season.

Louisiana-Monroe hires Richard

According to Jeff Goodman of FOXSports.com, Louisiana-Monroe will hire LSU assistant coach Keith Richard as its next head coach.

Richard was an assistant for the Warhawks from 1989-1994, and then went 150-117 in nine seasons as the head coach at Louisiana Tech.

He will replace Orlando Early, who resigned to become an assistant at South Carolina.

Fortson staying in draft

As first reported by Hoops Hype via Twitter, Arkansas guard Courtney Fortson has hired an agent and will keep his name in the NBA Draft.

Fortson, a 5-11 sophomore was suspended for the first 14 games of last season, but averaged 17.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 5.7 assists during the final 18 contests.

He has signed with BP Sports Management.

Source: http://www.collegehoopsnet.com/blog/marchmadness/2010/04/full-court-press-april-22-moultrie.html

The Big 12 confirmed Tuesday it has not received official word on whether Texas A&M is leaving, but the conference is actively considering what to do next.

A special committee has been formed to look at the future of the league and consider the expansion consider whether Texas A&M stays or leaves, according to Mary Jo Banken, executive director of media relations for Missouri.

Missouri chancellor Brady Deaton chairs the Big 12 board of directors. Banken said he would not be available Tuesday for interviews.

Texas A&M has, however, said it is exploring the possibility of leaving confirmed it has had discussions with the 12-team SEC. The Big 12 could add one or three teams as a response to A&M's departure.

"The Big 12 is looking at expansion possibilities in the broadest context – meaning that at the appropriate time the committee will make a recommendation to the Board as to whether there is a benefit to all members to expand the conference by one or more members," Banken said in an e-mail.

Banken confirmed that as of Tuesday morning Texas A&M President R. Bowen Loftin had not sent a letter to Deaton stating his intention to leave as was reported by The New York Times.

The SEC two weeks ago said it was not ready to entertain expansion. The first step, however, is that A&M must break away from the Big 12. It's still not clear if the SEC would accept the Aggies for participation as early as the 2012-13 school year or if the league would add a 14th team.

Contributing: Andy Gardiner

Source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/UsatodaycomCollegeMensBasketball-TopStories/~3/v85Jci8ra1I/1

Ricky Ledo was always a Providence guy. He just needed to make it official. Again.

The Providence native committed to the Friars back in December, but that was when Keno Davis was still the coach. That meant new coach Ed Cooley needed to convince the 6-6 wing, a top 30 talent according to most recruiting sites, that staying home would be the best idea. Done and done.

“I grew up in Providence and it feels like the perfect fit,” Ledo told Andy Katz. “I trust coach Cooley. He’s one of the reasons that Providence can get back on top.”

With Ledo and fellow 2012 recruit Kris Dunn on board, it could be sooner rather than later.

Dunn, a point guard, is also a top 30 talent and ensures Cooley will have a talented backcourt starting in 2012. Provided both stay in the program for a few years – leaning on freshman guards during Big East play is rarely a good idea – it’s a solid foundation for a hoops-proud program.

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You also can follow me on Twitter @MikeMillerNBC.

Source: http://beyondthearc.nbcsports.com/2011/09/05/ricky-ledo-yet-another-providence-recruiting-prize/related