Davey Johnson, MLB's oldest manager at 69, is generating major headlines with the first-place Washington Nationals overseeing the development of prodigies Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper. It shouldn't be that much of a surprise because Johnson finished first or second 11 times in his first 15 seasons as a big league skipper. But he had to dust off his managerial resume after being away from that role for about a dozen years. The A.L. Manager of the Year in 1997 with the Baltimore Orioles directed the New York Mets to victory over the Orioles in the 1986 World Series. His managerial record in 14 seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, Orioles and Los Angeles Dodgers was 1,148-888 (.564).

Overlooked in any review of Johnson's background is the fact he played college basketball for Texas A&M, averaging 1.7 ppg in his only varsity season (1961-62) with the Aggies before signing a pro baseball contract. The four-time All-Star hit .261 as an infielder in a 13-year career (1965 through 1975, 1977 and 1978) with the Orioles, Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs. He earned three straight A.L. Gold Gloves as a second baseman with the Orioles from 1969 through 1971 and slugged 43 (N.L. runner-up) of his 136 career homers for the Braves in 1973 after appearing in four World Series with the Orioles (1966, 1969, 1970 and 1971). Owns the distinction of being the only player to have hit behind both Hank Aaron and Japan's all-time home-run king, Sadaharu Oh.

Before hitting a home run monitoring Strasburg and Harper, Johnson had previous experience dealing with tumult surrounding the high expectations of some other first-round draft choices. Infielder Gregg Jeffries, a first-round pick in 1985, reached the bigs when Johnson was managing the Mets and went on to lead the N.L. in doubles with 40 in 1990 in Johnson's final year with them.

Moreover, what is little known about Johnson is that he also briefly managed Dan "The Sundown Kid" Thomas on a Miami Amigos team that was in first place when the Inter-American League folded after only three months in 1979 (five other franchises in Caracas, Panama, Puerto Rico, Maracaibo and Santo Domingo). Thomas had been a first-round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers in 1972 (sixth pick overall) ahead of eventual All-Stars Dick Ruthven, Dave Chalk, Scott McGregor and Chet Lemon. Thomas, despite not playing from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday observing the holy day for the religious sect he joined (Worldwide Church of God) to try to cope with depression, was the Brewers' cleanup hitter in 1977 until their frustration with a less-than-fulltime player led them to demote and subsequently release him. Thomas, after winning the triple crown in the Eastern League in 1976, drove in Aaron for his first major-league RBI during a September call-up. Commissioner Bud Selig was Milwaukee's president at the time.

Thomas had high school and college coaches who were former college basketball players like Johnson. Thomas' baseball coach with Southern Illinois, Itchy Jones, the 18th individual in NCAA Division I history to win 1,000 games, averaged 8.9 ppg for the Salukis in 1956-57. Dan Radison, one of Thomas' teammates with SIU's 1971 College World Series squad, was fired as first-base coach by the Nationals when Johnson was hired the middle of last season.

Thomas' high school basketball coach in Dupo, Ill., a small railroad town just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, was Cal Neeman, a seven-year catcher who also played with the Cubs and Phillies among five clubs before ending his MLB career in Washington with the Senators in 1963. Neeman was Illinois Wesleyan's leading scorer in basketball as a freshman in 1947-48 with 12 ppg. The next year, he set a school single-season scoring record in helping the school compile a 19-6 record and capture the College Conference of Illinois championship. Three of the defeats were on the road against perennial powers DePaul, Duquesne and Seton Hall.

Yes, it's a small world after all. Rice center Kendall Rhine Sr., one of Johnson's fellow sophomore basketball opponents in the SWC, was also from Dupo. Rhine, an all-league second-team selection that season en route to leading the Owls in scoring and rebounding all three years before averaging 9 ppg and 11 rpg for the ABA's Houston Mavericks in 1968-69, had a 6-7 son with the same name play basketball for Georgia under Hugh Durham before being selected by the Houston Astros in the first round of the 1992 MLB June amateur draft (37th pick overall).

Additional former Aggie hoopsters pre-Johnson who played at least seven MLB seasons were outfielders Beau Bell and Wally Moon. Bell, a two-year basketball letterman in the early 1930s, hit .297 with the St. Louis Browns, Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians from 1935 through 1941. In 1936, he hit .344 with 123 RBI and 100 runs scored for the Browns. The next season, the All-Star led the A.L. in hits (218) and doubles (51) while hitting .340 with 117 RBI. He coached his alma mater to the 1951 College World Series in his first of eight campaigns from 1951 through 1958.

Moon, who averaged 4.3 ppg with the Aggies in 1948-49 and 1949-50, was a two-time All-Star who hit .289 with the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers in 12 N.L. seasons from 1954 through 1965. The lefthanded swinger homered in his first at-bat en route to earning N.L. Rookie of the Year acclaim over Aaron in 1954 when Moon led the league in plate appearances (716) and ranked among the top six in hits (193), triples (9), runs (106) and stolen bases (18). The Gold Glove left fielder in 1960 between participating in two World Series with the Dodgers (1959 and 1965) finished fourth in the 1959 MVP voting ahead of Willie Mays (6th), Frank Robinson (9th) and Ken Boyer (10th) when he led the league in triples with 11.

Johnson is one of only six living men to have won a World Series ring as a player and manager, joining Alvin Dark, Joe Girardi, Lou Piniella, Mike Scioscia and Red Schoendienst. Dark and Piniella are among the following alphabetical list of former MLB managers who were college basketball players:

JOE ADCOCK, Louisiana State
First baseman hit .277 with 336 home runs and 1,122 RBI in 17 seasons from 1950 through 1966 with the Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Braves, Cleveland Indians and the Los Angeles/California Angels. He hit four homers and a double for the Braves against the Brooklyn Dodgers on July 31, 1954, setting a major league record for most total bases in a game (18). Adcock was the Braves' regular first baseman on 1957 and 1958 National League champions. He failed to get an extra-base hit in nine World Series games against the Yankees, but his sixth-inning single accounted for Game Five's only run in 1957 when Lew Burdette outdueled Whitey Ford. Adcock, who blasted a career-high 38 homers in 1956 between injury-plagued seasons, was an All-Star in 1960 and managed the Indians in 1967.

He played three seasons from 1944-45 through 1946-47 for LSU as a 6-4, 190-pound center. Leading scorer with 18.6 ppg for the 1945-46 Tigers team that compiled an 18-3 record and lost against Kentucky in the Southeastern Conference Tournament final. Set SEC Tournament record with 15 field goals in a game against Tulane in 1946.

WALTER ALSTON, Miami (Ohio)
Member of Baseball Hall of Fame managed the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers for 23 seasons from 1954 through 1976, winning seven National League pennants and three World Series. His managerial record was 2,040-1,613 (.558) with 23 one-year contracts. In eight All-Star Game assignments, Alston was the winning manager a record seven times. He struck out in his only major league at-bat with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1936.

The 6-2, 195-pound Alston, a charter member of his alma mater's Athletic Hall of Fame, lettered in basketball from 1932-33 through 1934-35. He scored 10 of Miami's 15 points in a 32-15 defeat against Indiana in his senior season.

JOHN "JOEY" AMALFITANO, Loyola Marymount
Infielder, primarily a second baseman, hit .244 with the New York/San Francisco Giants, Houston Colt .45's and Chicago Cubs in 10 seasons (1954, 1955 and 1960 through 1967). He posted a career-high .277 bating average with the Giants in 1960. Traded by the Colt .45's back to the Giants for Dick LeMay and Manny Mota on November 30, 1962. Also registered a 66-116 record as manager of the Cubs from 1979 to 1981.

Collected six points and six rebounds in eight basketball games for the Lions in 1952-53.

JOHN "JACK" BARRY, Holy Cross
Infielder, primarily a shortstop, hit .243 with the Philadelphia Athletics and Boston Red Sox in 11 A.L. seasons from 1908 through 1919. Ranked fifth in the league in RBI in 1913 with 85 for the Athletics as a key component of Connie Mack's first dynasty. Participated in five World Series, four with the champion, in a six-year span from 1910 through 1915. Compiled a 90-62 managerial record with the Red Sox in 1917 before winning more than 80 percent of his games coaching his alma mater for 40 years (including capturing the 1952 College World Series).

The 5-9 Barry was a basketball letterman for the Crusaders in 1908.

LOU BOUDREAU, Illinois
Hall of Fame infielder hit .295 in 15 seasons from 1938 through 1952 with the Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox. Managed Indians, Red Sox, Kansas City Athletics and Chicago Cubs, starting his managerial career at the age of 24 in 1942. As player-manager in 1948, the shortstop led Cleveland to the A.L. title and earned MVP honors by hitting .355 with 116 RBI. He hit a modest .273 in the World Series. The seven-time All-Star led the A.L. with 45 doubles on three occasions (1941, 1944 and 1947) and paced the league in batting average in 1944 (.327). Ranked among the A.L. top 10 in batting average five times in a six-year span from 1943 through 1948.

Played two varsity basketball seasons for Illinois (1936-37 and 1937-38) under coach Doug Mills. As a 5-11 sophomore, Boudreau led the Illini in scoring with 8.7 ppg as the team shared the Big Ten Conference title. Compiled an 8.8 average the next year. After helping the Illini upset St. John's in a game at Madison Square Garden, the New York Daily News described him as "positively brilliant" and said he "set up countless plays in breathtaking fashion." Averaged 8.2 ppg for Hammond (Ind.) in the National Basketball League in 1938-39. He was one of three individuals to coach Hammond the next season, compiling a 1-4 record.

ALVIN DARK, Louisiana State/Louisiana-Lafayette
Three-time All-Star infielder hit .289 in 14 years (1946 and 1948 through 1960) with the Boston Braves, New York Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies. He hit a career-high .322 with the Braves in 1948 when he won the Rookie of the Year award. Dark led the N.L. in doubles with the Giants with 41 in 1951 and paced the league's shortstops three times each in putouts and double plays. Ranked among the N.L. top 10 in hits seven times in a 10-year stretch from 1948 through 1957. He hit .323 in three World Series ('48 with Braves; '51 and '54 with Giants). Dark compiled a 994-954 record in 13 years (1961-64, 1966-71, 1974, 1975, 1977) as manager of the Giants, Kansas City/Oakland A's, Cleveland Indians and San Diego Padres. He won the 1962 N.L. pennant with the Giants and 1974 World Series with Oakland.

As a sophomore in 1942, Dark was a 5-11, 160-pound tailback who led LSU in rushing (433 yards in 60 carries) and passing (completed 40 of 106 passes for 556 yards and five touchdowns). Third-round NFL draft choice by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1945 (25th pick overall). Member of LSU's 1942-43 basketball squad before entering military service (Marine Corps V-12 program) during World War II. Dark, known as the "Swamp Fox," was five-sport letterman at Southwestern Louisiana Institute (now Louisiana-Lafayette) during 1943-44 when he led the Bulldogs to an Oil Bowl victory over Arkansas A&M in Houston with a TD run, TD pass, field goal and three PATs.

LARRY DOBY, Virginia Union
Outfielder hit .283 with 253 home runs and 969 RBI in a 13-year career from 1947 through 1959 with the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox. The first black player in the American League twice led the A.L. in homers (32 in 1952 and 1954). He was the first African-American to lead a league in homers (1952 and 1954) and the first to participate in the World Series (1948). Hit 20 or more round-trippers eight consecutive seasons from 1949 through 1956 while finishing among the A.L. top nine in slugging percentage each year. The seven-time All-Star drove in 100 or more runs five times, leading the A.L. with 126 in 1954 when the Indians won 111 games before being swept by the New York Giants in the World Series. Appeared in 1948 and 1954 World Series with the Indians, winning Game 4 in '48 with a homer off Braves star Johnny Sain. Doby managed the White Sox for most of 1978 (37-50 record).

The 6-1, 180-pounder attended LIU on a basketball scholarship but transferred to Virginia Union prior to the start of the season after Uncle Sam summoned him for World War II service. Doby was told Virginia Union had a ROTC program and he could complete his freshman season before being drafted. He became eligible the second semester of the 1942-43 season and was a reserve guard on a team that won the CIAA title.

JIM FANNING, Buena Vista (Iowa)
Catcher hit .170 in 64 games with the Chicago Cubs in four years from 1954 through 1957. Long-time MLB executive managed the Montreal Expos to a 116-103 record in three years the first half of the 1980s. His biggest trades as general manager with the Expos involved Rusty Staub (acquired from Houston Astros and shipped to New York Mets).

He collected 25 points for Buena Vista in 1947-48 and 1948-49.

KERBY FARRELL, Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.)
First baseman hit .262 for the Boston Braves and Chicago White Sox in three seasons from 1943 through 1945. Three-time Minor League Manager of the Year (1954, 1956 and 1961) managed the Cleveland Indians to a 76-77 record in 1957.

Key player for a couple of strong FHC basketball squads in the mid-1930s.

FRANKIE FRISCH, Fordham
Hall of Famer compiled a run of 11 consecutive .300 seasons and set fielding records for chances and assists with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1927. As player-manager with the Cards, he instilled the rollicking all-out style of hardnosed play that prompted a team nickname of "The Gashouse Gang." His season strikeout total topped 20 only twice en route to a .316 average in his 19-year career, which also included a stint with the New York Giants. N.L. MVP in 1931 when he led the league in stolen bases for the third of three times.

According to his bio in Total Baseball, "The Fordham Flash" captained the Rams' basketball squad. In 1925, Frisch officiated the first-ever game played in the Rose Hill Gym (the oldest NCAA Division I facility in the nation).

DALLAS GREEN, Delaware
Compiled a 20-22 pitching record in eight seasons from 1960 through 1967 with the Philadelphia Phillies, Washington Senators and New York Mets. Managed the Phillies to victory over the Kansas City Royals in the 1980 World Series. Assembled a 395-406 managerial record with the Phillies and Mets.

Green played two seasons of varsity basketball for the Blue Hens, averaging 6.5 ppg and 5.3 rpg as a sophomore in 1953-54 and 12.1 ppg as a junior in 1954-55, when the 6-5 center was the school's second-leading scorer and rebounder (10.6 rpg).

MIKE HARGROVE, Northwestern Oklahoma State
First baseman hit .290 with the Texas Rangers, San Diego Padres and Cleveland Indians in 12 years from 1974 through 1985. Rookie of the Year when he posted a career-high .323 batting average (fifth in A.L.). Lefthander earned a spot on the A.L. All-Star team in 1975. Compiled a 1,188-1,173 managerial record for the Indians, Baltimore Orioles and Seattle Mariners in 16 A.L. seasons from 1991 through 2007, guiding Cleveland to five consecutive Central Division titles from 1995 through 1999.

The 6-0, 190-pounder (class of '72) is the school's last athlete to letter in all three major sports (including football).

GIL HODGES, St. Joseph's (Ind.)/Oakland City (Ind.)
Dead-pull hitter had a .273 batting average with 370 home runs and 1,274 RBI in an 18-year playing career with the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets. Became a three-time Gold Glove first baseman after being switched from catcher by manager Leo Durocher because of the emergence of Roy Campanella. Eight-time All-Star swatted four home runs against the Braves on August 31, 1950. The 6-1 1/2, 200-pounder drove in more than 100 runs seven consecutive seasons from 1949 through 1955 and hammered 20 or more homers 11 straight years from 1949 through 1959. Finished among the N.L. top three in homers four times in a five-year span from 1950 through 1954. Hodges, who hit 14 grand slams, achieved career highs in 1954 by hitting .304 with league runner-up totals of 42 homers and 130 RBI. He appeared in seven World Series. After a woeful 0-for-21 performance in a 1952 World Series loss to the Yankees, he led the Dodgers' regulars with a .364 World Series average the next year. Hodges homered in each of his last four World Series with the Dodgers, including blasts that won 1956's Game One vs. the Yanks and 1959's Game Four vs. the White Sox. Hodges hit the first homer in Mets history in 1962 before he was traded to the Senators for OF Jim Piersall the next year. Managed the "Miracle Mets" to the 1969 World Series championship, compiling a 660-753 record (.467) with the Senators and Mets in nine years from 1963 through 1971.

Gil and his brother (Bob), natives of Petersburg, Ind., enrolled at St. Joseph's (Ind.) in the fall of 1941. Gil, a Marine who spent 18 months in the Pacific with 80 of those days in combat on Okinawa, later attended Oakland City, where he played basketball in 1947 and 1948. Morris Klipsch, a Petersburg auto dealer, says Gil may have liked basketball as much as baseball. "I recall him saying one fall after the Dodgers season was over that he would like to join a pro basketball team," Klipsch said.

DON KESSINGER, Mississippi
Shortstop hit .252 in 16 seasons from 1964 through 1979 with the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago White Sox. Managed the White Sox in 1979 before becoming coach at his alma mater. Led N.L. shortstops in putouts three times, assists four times and double plays four times. The 6-1, 170-pound switch-hitter played in six All-Star Games in a seven-year span from 1968 through 1974. His best season was 1969 when he scored 109 runs (fourth in N.L.), had 181 hits (seventh), stroked 38 doubles (runner-up) and earned one of his two Gold Gloves.

Selected to the 10-man All-Southeastern Conference team all three of his varsity seasons from 1961-62 through 1963-64 while finishing among the nation's top 45 scorers each year. In scoring for all games, he ranked third in the SEC as a sophomore (21.4 ppg), second as a junior (21.8 ppg) and second as a senior (23.5 ppg). He scored 49 points on 22-of-28 field-goal shooting against Tulane on February 2, 1963, and exploded for 48 points at Tennessee 10 nights later. Excerpt from school guide: "One of the nation's most gifted athletes, he features every shot in the book but the specifics are one-handed push shots, usually a jumper, and driving layups." One of his sons, Keith, earned two basketball letters at Ole Miss before eventually reaching the major leagues as an infielder with the Cincinnati Reds.

HARVEY KUENN, Wisconsin
Infielder-outfielder hit .303 in 15 years from 1952 through 1966 with the Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Indians, San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies. In his career with the Tigers, he led the A.L. in batting average once (.353 in 1959), hits four times (209 in 1953 when he was rookie of the year, 201 in 1954, 196 in 1956 and 198 in 1959) and doubles on three occasions (38 in 1955, 39 in 1958 and 42 in 1959). Ranked among the A.L. top seven in batting average seven times (1953-54-55-56-58-59-60). He went 1 for 12 (.083) in 1962 World Series with the Giants. Kuenn compiled a 160-118 record as manager of the Milwaukee Brewers in 1982 and 1983, guiding them to the World Series in his first season.

Played in five games for Wisconsin's basketball team in the 1951-52 season. The 6-2, 185-pounder missed all eight of his field-goal attempts and hit three of seven free throws.

DAVEY LOPES, Iowa Wesleyan
Four-time All-Star second baseman hit .263 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland A's, Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros in 16 seasons from 1972 through 1987. Led the N.L. in stolen bases in back-to-back campaigns in 1975 (77) and 1976 (63) after finishing runner-up in 1974 (59). Swiped five bases in a game on August 24, 1974, to tie a 70-year-old N.L. record before establishing a since-broken N.L. mark with 38 consecutive successful thefts the next year. Pilfered 47 bases at age 39. Appeared in four World Series with the Dodgers in an eight-year span from 1974 through 1981, swatting two homers in Game One of the 1978 World Series against the New York Yankees. Posted a .424 batting average in postseason competition with runners in scoring position. Compiled a 144-195 managerial record for the Milwaukee Brewers in three years from 2000 through 2002.

The 5-9 NAIA All-District 15 selection averaged 16.9 ppg and 3.4 rpg as a freshman in 1964-65 and 12.1 ppg as a sophomore in 1965-66 before transferring to Washburn (Kan.).

TED LYONS, Baylor
Member of Baseball Hall of Fame spent his entire 21-year career with the Chicago White Sox (1923 through 1942 and 1946) after never playing in the minors. Managed the White Sox from 1946 through 1948. Three-time 20-game winner compiled a 260-230 record and 3.67 ERA in 594 games, completing almost three-fourths of his 484 starts. Righthander pitched a no-hitter against the Boston Red Sox in 1926. In 1939, the All-Star hurled 42 consecutive innings without issuing a walk. Ranked among the A.L. top six in ERA nine times, including a league-best 2.10 mark in 1942.

Earned four basketball letters with Baylor from 1919-20 through 1922-23. Consensus first-team selection on All-Southwest Conference squad as a sophomore and senior.

MEL McGAHA, Arkansas
Former manager of the Cleveland Indians (1962) and Kansas City Athletics (June 11, 1964-May 14, 1965). Compiled a 123-173 record (.416).

The first player in Arkansas history to earn four letters in basketball (1943-44 through 1946-47). Played for the New York Knickerbockers of the Basketball Association of America in 1948-49.

SAM MELE, New York University
Major league outfielder for 10 years from 1947 through 1956 and manager of the Minnesota Twins for seven years from 1961 through 1967. Hit .267 in 1,046 games with the Boston Red Sox, Washington Senators, Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians. Played for two different teams in a single season four times in a seven-year span from 1949 through 1955. Led the A.L. with 36 doubles for the Senators in 1951 and drove in six runs in one inning in a 1952 game for the White Sox. Compiled a 524-436 managerial record from 1961 through 1967 with the Twins, winning the 1965 A.L. title with a 102-60 mark.

The 6-0, 180-pound guard played two seasons of varsity basketball before entering the military. Named to the first five on the All-Metropolitan New York team as a sophomore in 1942-43 when he was the Violets' leading scorer in the NCAA Tournament (losses against Georgetown and Dartmouth).

LOU PINIELLA, Tampa
Hit .291 with 102 homers and 766 RBI as an outfielder during 18 seasons (1964 and 1968 through 1984) with the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees. Named A.L. Rookie of the Year in 1969 after hitting .282 for the Royals. All-Star in 1972 when he led the A.L. in doubles (33) and was runner-up in batting average (.312). Hit .319 in 22 World Series games with the Yankees in 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1981. Compiled a 1,835-1,713 managerial record in 23 years with the Yankees (1986 through 1988), Cincinnati Reds (1990 through 1992), Seattle Mariners (1993 through 2002), Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2003 through 2005) and Chicago Cubs (2007 to 2010). Led the Reds to a four-game sweep of the Oakland A's in the 1990 World Series.

Accepted a college basketball scholarship in 1961 after establishing a Tampa city single-season high school scoring record that stood until 1984. Less than a year after enrolling at UT, the 6-2 Piniella signed to play baseball with the Indians.

JIM RIGGLEMAN, Frostburg State (Md.)
Compiled a 662-824 managerial record (.445) in 12 years with the San Diego Padres (1992 to 1994), Chicago Cubs (1995 through 1999), Seattle Mariners (2008) and Washington Nationals (2009 to 2011). Resigned as the Nationals skipper in mid-season on the heels of them winning 11 of 12 games when the franchise failed to give him a contract extension.

Two-year basketball letterman averaged 7.2 ppg in early 1970s and was considered an outstanding ball-handling guard.

ROBERT "RED" ROLFE, Dartmouth
Third baseman hit .289 in 10 years with the New York Yankees. The four-time All-Star led the A.L. in triples with 15 in 1936 and paced the league in hits (213), doubles (46) and runs (139) in 1939. Rolfe appeared in six of the seven World Series from 1936 through his final season in 1942, hitting .400 against the New York Giants in '36. He compiled a 278-256 record in four years as manager of the Detroit Tigers from 1949 through 1952.

The 5-11 1/2, 170-pounder appeared in two basketball games for Dartmouth as a freshman in 1927-28 and four contests as a junior in 1929-30. He coached the Toronto Huskies of the Basketball Association of America for the last 44 games of the 1946-47 campaign after coaching Yale to a 48-28 record in four years from 1943-46. Rolfe has the highest winningest percentage (.632) of any individual who coached Yale more than two seasons.

GEORGE "BIRDIE" TEBBETTS, Providence
Four-time All-Star catcher hit .270 with the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians in 14 A.L. seasons from 1936 through 1942 and 1946 through 1952. Hitless in 11 at-bats in 1940 World Series with the Tigers against the Cincinnati Reds. Compiled a 748-705 managerial record (.515) with the Reds, Milwaukee Braves and Indians from 1954 through 1958 and 1961 through 1966.

Scored six points in four games for PC in 1932.

BILL VIRDON, Drury (Mo.)
Outfielder hit .267 with the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates in 12 N.L. seasons from 1955 through 1965 and 1968. N.L. Rookie of the Year with the Cardinals in 1955 after he was acquired from the New York Yankees in a deal involving Enos Slaughter. Lefthanded swinger was runner-up in the N.L. in batting average in 1956 with a .319 mark (.211 for the Cards and .334 for the Pirates). Led the N.L. in triples in 1962 with 10 after ranking among the top five three straight years from 1956 through 1958. Gold Glove center fielder in 1962 two years after helping the Pirates win the World Series over the Yankees with three doubles and five RBI. Compiled a 995-921 managerial record with the Pirates, Yankees, Houston Astros and Montreal Expos in 13 seasons from 1972 through 1984. Boasts the distinction of being named Manager of the Year in both the American League (Yankees in 1974) and National League (Astros in 1980).

The 6-0 Virdon played basketball for Drury in 1949.

BOBBY WINKLES, Illinois Wesleyan
Coached Arizona State to College World Series titles in 1965, 1967 and 1969 before managing the California Angels in 1973 and through the first 74 games of 1974 (170-213 major league record). Reggie Jackson, Rick Monday and Sal Bando were among the more than 20 future major leaguers he coached at ASU.

Led Illinois Wesleyan in scoring as a senior in 1950-51 (12 ppg). The 5-9, 170-pound guard was a first-team selection in the College Conference of Illinois.

A total of 39 current NCAA Division I schools feature all-time winningest coaches boasting in excess of 400 triumphs. The length of tenure necessary to win so many games makes it almost impossible to remember their predecessors. Anyone who can name 1/3 of the mentors they succeeded goes straight to the Trivia Hall of Fame.

Lou Watson's passing away this year triggered a question as to what other individuals are completely overshadowed after being succeeded by a coaching legend such as Indiana's Bob Knight. Knight combined with fellow record holders Phog Allen, Dale Brown, Gale Catlett, Denny Crum, Ed Diddle, Hec Edmundson, Jack Friel, Don Haskins, Lou Henson, Hank Iba, Frank Keaney, Bob McKillop, Ray Meyer, Lute Olson, Alex Severance, Norm Stewart, Bob Thomason, John Thompson Jr., Gary Williams, John Wooden and Ned Wulk for more than 12,000 victories at their respective schools where they established new standards. Who would have thought such achievements were in store after their predecessors collaborated to go more than 300 games below .500 over a cumulative 92 seasons.

One of the predecessor names in particular should surprise you. Incredibly, the only one of Kansas' 10 head coaches with a career losing record is the inventor of the sport (Dr. James Naismith). Naismith is among the following coaches who were succeeded by individuals posting more than 400 wins to become the all-time winningest mentor at the same institution:

School	All-Time Winningest Coach	Predecessor (W-L Record During Tenure)
Arizona	Lute Olson (590 victories)	Ben Lindsey (4-25 in 1983)
Arizona State	Ned Wulk (405)	Bill Kajikawa (88-137 from 1949-57)
Butler	Tony Hinkle (549)	Harlan O. "Pat" Page (94-29 from 1921-26)
California	Clarence "Nibs" Price (449)	Earl Wright (60-20 from 1921-24)
Connecticut	Jim Calhoun (626)	Dom Perno (139-114 from 1978-86)
Davidson	Bob McKillop (426)	Bobby Hussey (107-126 from 1982-89)
Dayton	Don Donoher (437)	Tom Blackburn (352-141 from 1948-64)
DePaul	Ray Meyer (724)	Bill Wendt (23-20 in 1941 & 1942)
Duke	Mike Krzyzewski (854)	Bill E. Foster (113-64 from 1975-80)
Georgetown	John Thompson Jr. (596)	Jack Magee (69-80 from 1967-72)
Houston	Guy Lewis (592)	Alden Pasche (135-116 from 1946-56)
Illinois	Lou Henson (421)	Gene Bartow (8-18 in 1975)
Indiana	Bob Knight (659)	Lou Watson (62-60 from 1966-69 & 1971)
Kansas	Phog Allen (590)	Dr. James Naismith (55-60 from 1899-1907)
Kentucky	Adolph Rupp (875)	John Mauer (40-14 from 1928-30)
Louisiana State	Dale Brown (448)	Press Maravich (76-86 from 1967-72)
Louisville	Denny Crum (675)	Howard Stacey (12-8 in 1971)
Maryland	Gary Williams (461)	Bob Wade (36-50 from 1987-89)
Missouri	Norm Stewart (634)	Bob Vanatta (42-80 from 1963-67)
Niagara	Taps Gallagher (465)	Bill McCarthy (44-35 from 1928-31)
North Carolina	Dean Smith (879)	Frank McGuire (164-58 from 1953-61)
Oklahoma State	Hank Iba (655)	Harold James (13-41 from 1932-34)
Oregon State	Slats Gill (599)	Robert Hager (115-53 from 1923-28)
Pacific	Bob Thomason (414)	Tom O'Neill (51-110 from 1983-88)
Princeton	Pete Carril (514)	Butch van Breda Kolff (103-31 from 1963-67)
Purdue	Gene Keady (512)	Lee Rose (50-18 in 1979 & 1980)
Rhode Island	Frank Keaney (403)	Fred Murray (9-8 in 1921)
St. John's	Lou Carnesecca* (526)	Frank Mulzoff (56-27 from 1971-73)
Syracuse	Jim Boeheim (890)	Roy Danforth (148-71 from 1969-76)
Temple	John Chaney (516)	Don Casey (151-94 from 1974-82)
Texas A&M	Shelby Metcalf (438)	Bobby Rogers (92-52 from 1958-63)
Texas-El Paso	Don Haskins (719)	Harold Davis (18-30 in 1960 & 1961)
UCLA	John Wooden (620)	Wilbur Johns (93-120 from 1940-48)
UNLV	Jerry Tarkanian (509)	John Bayer (44-36 from 1971-73)
Villanova	Alex Severance (413)	Doc Jacobs (62-56 from 1930-36)
Washington	Hec Edmundson (488)	Stub Allison (7-8 in 1920)
Washington State	Jack Friel (495)	Karl Schlademan (18-27 in 1927 & 1928)
West Virginia	Gale Catlett (439)	Joedy Gardner (59-53 from 1975-78)
Western Kentucky	Ed Diddle (759)	L.T. Smith (3-1 in 1922)

*Carnesecca succeeded Joe Lapchick when he served his first stint with St. John's from 1965-66 through 1969-70

Neither Thomas Robinson (Kansas) nor Draymond Green (Michigan State) generated national headlines in their first two seasons before blossoming into NCAA unanimous first-team All-Americans.

Robinson, who was anything but one of the country's most dominant players when he scored 2.5 ppg as a freshman in 2009-10, improved as much as anyone during his college career and probably would have become consensus national player of the year except for the emergence of Kentucky freshman phenom Anthony Davis. If not for Davis, Robinson would have posted the lowest average for any national player of the year's first season at the major-college level since the initial award by UPI in 1955.

Admiration for Green's significant impact following a scoring average of 3.3 ppg as a freshman in 2008-09 won't end anytime soon, either. Green is a classic example of why fans shouldn't put too much stock in freshman statistics. Green flourished as a versatile performer although his field-goal shooting dropped nine percent his final two seasons from his first two campaigns.

Robinson, Green, Kris Joseph (3.4 ppg with Syracuse in 2008-09) and NCAA second-teamer Tyler Zeller (3.1 ppg with North Carolina in 2008-09) aren't the only All-Americans who endured growing pains. Robinson, forgoing his senior season after declaring for the NBA draft, joined the following alphabetical list of players who averaged fewer than three points per game as a freshman before eventually earning All-American acclaim:

Eventual All-American	Pos.	School	Freshman Scoring Average
Cole Aldrich	C	Kansas	2.8 ppg in 2007-08
Lorenzo Charles	F	North Carolina State	2.2 ppg in 1981-82
Keith Edmonson	G	Purdue	1.3 ppg in 1978-79
Aaron Gray	C	Pittsburgh	1.7 ppg in 2003-04
Tom Gugliotta	F	North Carolina State	2.7 ppg in 1988-89
Roy Hamilton	G	UCLA	1.2 ppg in 1975-76
Jeff Jonas	G	Utah	2.8 ppg in 1973-74
Ted Kitchel	F	Indiana	1.7 ppg in 1979-80
Bob Kurland	C	Oklahoma A&M	2.5 ppg in 1942-43
Tom LaGarde	C	North Carolina	2.2 ppg in 1973-74
Kenyon Martin	C	Cincinnati	2.8 ppg in 1996-97
John Pilch	G	Wyoming	2.4 ppg in 1946-47
Thomas Robinson	F	Kansas	2.5 ppg in 2009-10
Steve Scheffler	C	Purdue	1.5 ppg in 1986-87
Earl Tatum	G-F	Marquette	1.5 ppg in 1972-73
Kurt Thomas	F-C	Texas Christian	0.8 ppg in 1990-91
Al Thornton	F	Florida State	2.8 ppg in 2003-04
B.J. Tyler*	G	DePaul	2.9 ppg in 1989-90

*Tyler became an All-American at Texas after transferring to his home state

NOTE: Oregon's Wally Borrevik (1.8 ppg in 1940-41), Wisconsin's Gene Englund (2.3 ppg in 1938-39), California's Darrall Imhoff (0.9 ppg in 1957-58), Kansas' Dean Kelley (0.8 in 1950-51), Purdue's Bob Kessler (2.3 ppg in 1933-34), Notre Dame's Leo Klier (2.7 in 1942-43), Oklahoma A&M's Gale McArthur (2.96 ppg in 1948-49), Notre Dame's Bob Rensberger (1.5 ppg in 1940-41) and Stanford's George Yardley (2.9 ppg in 1947-48) averaged fewer than three points per game as sophomores when freshmen weren't eligible to play varsity basketball before becoming All-Americans.

Jim Baron and Tommy Dempsey, coming off a season when they combined to win less than 1/3 of their games, joined the fortunate few coaches who were hired promptly after posting losing records. Baron, 7-24 with Rhode Island, aligned with Canisius after he was axed by the Rams while Dempsey, 13-19 with Rider, was lured to Binghamton.

Baron might have incurred the most defeats ever by a coach and yet immediately hook on with another school. At least Baron had a higher winning percentage than P.J. Carlesimo, who was 4-22 with Wagner in 1981-82 when he was hired by Seton Hall. Dempsey should be national coach of the year next season if he compiles a breakeven mark or better with Binghamton, which might have been the nation's worst team in 2011-12 with a 2-29 ledger.

However, betting on a penny stock can occasionally pay big dividends. Hall of Famers Bob Knight (11-13 mark in 1970-71 before Indiana came calling) and Mike Krzyzewski (9-17 in 1979-80 before Duke) each were coming off losing seasons with Army when they were hired by prestige schools where they eventually won multiple NCAA championships. Baron and Dempsey joined Krzyzewski and Knight's son (Pat) among the following active coaches hired by their current school despite coming off a season when they posted a losing record:

Active Coach	Current School	Losing Mark Previous Year When Hired
Jim Baron	Canisius	7-24 with Rhode Island in 2011-12
Jeff Bzdelik	Wake Forest	15-16 record with Colorado in 2009-10
Tommy Dempsey	Binghamton	13-19 with Rider in 2011-12
Pat Knight	Lamar	13-19 with Texas Tech in 2010-11
Mike Krzyzewski	Duke	9-17 with Army with 1979-80
Greg McDermott	Creighton	15-17 with Iowa State in 2009-10
Lorenzo Romar	Washington	15-16 with Saint Louis in 2001-02
Joe Scott	Denver	11-17 with Princeton in 2006-07
Billy Taylor	Ball State	12-19 with Lehigh in 2006-07
Rex Walters	San Francisco	15-18 with Florida Atlantic in 2007-08

The law of averages was with Brigham Young when it manufactured the greatest comeback in NCAA Tournament history, erasing a 25-point deficit to frustrate Iona, 78-72, in one of the First Four games. The rally prevented the Cougars from compiling their NCAA playoff-record 18th opening-round loss.

North Carolina A&T State has appeared in the NCAA playoffs the most times (nine) without winning a tournament game. Northeast Louisiana, now known as Louisiana-Monroe, is runner-up in this dubious category with an 0-7 record. But these winless universities still have a long way to go to join the ranks of the "quick exit" schools with more than a dozen opening-round defeats.

Connecticut, after absorbing nine opening-round losses in 17 years from 1951 through 1967, had the most opening-round setbacks for years. But the Huskies didn't incur an opening-round reversal for 28 years until suffering two in the last five seasons. St. John's suffered eight opening-round losses in a 20-year stretch from 1973 through 1992.

Maryland was the first school to incur at least 10 NCAA Tournament defeats but never absorb an opening-round setback until the Terrapins lost to Santa Clara in 1996. Missouri, Temple and West Virginia showed this year why they are on the following list of schools most prone to sustaining an opening-round defeat:

Fresh men. As in fresh blood or brand spanking new. Just like an excess of one thousand male teenagers who attempt each season to survive in the dog-eat-dog world of major-college basketball less than one year after being a top dog at the high school level. For many of the yearlings, it is a risk-filled voyage where "rookies" are thrown in the Division I ocean and asked to sink or swim. Some of the can't-miss prospects become studs such as Kentucky center Anthony Davis this year while others turn into duds. And some are somewhere inbetween such as North Carolina's Harrison Barnes, the first freshman ever named a preseason All-American by the AP.

Complicating the high-expectations transition are misguided rush-to-judgment comments from experts such as Dick Vitale who hype recruits beyond reason during their senior season in high school. According to the effervescent ESPN analyst, Delray Brooks (Indiana/Providence) was going to be the next Oscar Robertson, Tito Horford (Louisiana State/Miami, FL) was going to be the next Hakeem Olajuwon, Jeff Lebo (North Carolina) was going to be the next Jerry West, ad nauseam. Brooks, Horford and Lebo went on to become fine college players, but the only thing they had in common with the Big O, the Dream and Mr. Clutch was they played in the same half century.

Freshmen played varsity college basketball in wartime years during the 1940s and early '50s because of manpower shortages, and at earlier times when eligibility requirements were lax. But for the most part prior to the 1972-73 campaign, colleges fielded freshman teams requiring extra scholarships and operating expenses. Consequently, the introduction of freshman eligibility trimmed costs and, of course, gave eager coaches instant access to high school phenoms who are immediately placed under the glare of the spotlight to help keep elite programs on a pedestal or possibly give struggling teams a chance to climb the ladder of success.

Former Marquette coach Al McGuire coined the phrase: "The best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores." But a striking number of sudden impact freshmen combined sufficient physical maturity with quick adjustments to the speed and complexity of the college game. Celebrating the first 40 years of freshman eligibility, following is a ranking of the top 40 freshman seasons nationally including games improved by their school from the previous season:

The stereotypical view depicting educators as know-nothings when it comes to athletics isn't always accurate. Lost amid the hoop hubbub of Larry Brown's hubris bringing Dallas a new soap opera is the fact that R. Gerald Turner, Southern Methodist's President since 1995, is a former college basketball player.

Time will tell if Turner is remembered more for luring Brown to campus, giving A.D. Steve Orsini a pink slip or his efforts to attract the George W. Bush Presidential Center. Turner, co-chair of the Knight Commission, was Chancellor at Mississippi when he hired Rob Evans as Ole Miss' first black head basketball coach in 1992 after being his junior college teammate at Lubbock (TX) Christian.

After junior college, Turner attended Abilene Christian (TX) but didn't play there because of a knee injury (class of '68). He is in a group that could be called "students of the game." Following is an alphabetical list of college presidents/chancellors who made more of an impact than Turner as college basketball players for a four-year school:

BOB BECKEL, Air Force
Achieved the rank of lieutenant general before retiring to be president of New Mexico Military Institute. USAF's career leader in scoring average with a 22.8-point mark led the Falcons in scoring in each of his three seasons from 1956-57 through 1958-59.

PETE BLACKMAN, UCLA
Vice Chancellor of his alma mater. For more than a decade, he oversaw campuswide administration, including facilities management, environmental health and safety, financial services, housing and hospitality services, transportation services, administrative information systems and campus police. Starting forward and team leader in field-goal shooting (50.2%) for 1962 NCAA Tournament team when the John Wooden-coached Bruins finished fourth. The 6-5 Blackman averaged 7.5 points per game in four playoff outings to finish the campaign with averages of 11.5 ppg and 5.6 rpg.

JIM BOND, Pasadena (CA)
Received a doctorate in the ministry and served as a minister and president of his San Diego-based alma mater, now known as Point Loma Nazarene College. Later became the top executive for the Nazarene Church worldwide. Texas native was a two-time NAIA All-American (class of '54) who averaged 19.3 ppg.

DR. CALVIN W. BURNETT, St. Louis
President of Coppin State in Baltimore from 1970 to 2003 was listed in Who's Who in America. Three-year letterman averaged 5.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game with the Billikens (1956-57 through 1958-59). The 6-5, 190-pound forward led the team in rebounding with 14.9 per game as a sophomore (19th in the nation in rebound percentage) and retrieved a team-high 18 missed shots in two NCAA Tournament games. Excerpt from sketch in school guide: "Strong, fast and a fine competitor, Cal favors a leaping one-hander from medium range. He is `sure death' on follows."

VERNON CHEADLE, Miami (Ohio)
Chancellor of UC Santa Barbara from 1962 to 1977. Three-year basketball letterman in the early 1930s also participated in track and football.

WILLIAM "RED" DEMAREST, Rutgers
Former president of his alma mater. Earned basketball letters from 1931-32 through 1933-34.

DR. JACK DOLAND, McNeese State
President of his alma mater went on to become a state senator. Played for McNeese State when it was a junior college in the late 1940s.

DR. JAMES FRANK, Lincoln (MO) President of his alma mater for 10 years before serving as SWAC commissioner from 1983 to 1998. Also played baseball and competed in track for Lincoln. Named the 89th most influential student-athlete in 2006 when the NCAA celebrated its centennial anniversary.

DR. FREDERICK L. HOVDE, Minnesota
President of Purdue University (1946-70). Fourth-leading scorer for Gophers in Big Ten basketball competition in 1928-29. Described by Spalding's Official Basketball Guide as "a small, hard driving floor man."

JOSEPH JOHNSON, Grambling
President of his alma mater from 1978 until 1991 and served in a similar capacity at Talledaga College (AL) from 1991 to 1998. In the mid-1950s, he was a teammate of Bob Hopkins, the nation's leading scorer.

REV. EDWARD A. MALLOY, Notre Dame
As Notre Dame's 16th president, he led the university from 1987 to 2005. The 6-4, 190-pound guard-forward, nicknamed "Monk," scored two points in three games as a sophomore in 1960-61, 19 in 11 games as a junior in 1961-62 and six in seven games as a senior in 1962-63. He was a high school teammate of John Thompson Jr., a star center for Providence who played briefly in the NBA before becoming coach at Georgetown, and Tom Hoover, who played for Villanova and became an NBA first-round draft choice.

JAMES E. MARTIN, Auburn
The 14th president of Auburn (from 1984 through 1992) was a scholarship basketball player at the same school. The teammate of Vince Dooley started as a 6-6 sophomore center in 1951-52, when Martin was runner-up in scoring (9.1 points per game) and led in rebounding (8 rpg). He averaged 7.1 points and 6.8 rebounds in his three-year varsity career.

DR. HUNTER R. RAWLINGS III, Haverford (PA)
President of the University of Iowa from 1987 until 1995 before serving in a similar capacity with Cornell from 1995 until 2003. The 6-7 center was a four-year starter in college. As a senior in 1965-66, he averaged 16.2 points and 16.4 rebounds per game and was named MVP in the southern College Division of the Middle Atlantic Conference after leading his team to a 13-3 league record.

JOHN REYNDERS, Allegheny (MA)
President of Morningside College (IA). Three-year letterman (class of '75) became the winningest coach in his alma mater's history.

DR. JAMES M. ROSSER, Southern Illinois
President of Cal State Los Angeles since 1979. Averaged 4.9 ppg in 1959-60 before appearing in four games for the Salukis the next season.

DR. KENNETH A. SHAW, Illinois State
Chancellor of Syracuse University for 13 years from 1991 to 2004 represented the Big East Conference on the NCAA Presidents Commission. He was the first-ever chair for the NCAA Board of Directors. Known as "Buzz" in college, he was a 6-2, 185-pound guard who averaged 12.9 ppg in his varsity career. He led the Redbirds in scoring as a junior with a 15-point average. Shaw set school records (subsequently broken) for most games played (108) and highest career free-throw percentage (.831).

LAWSON SWEARINGEN, Northeast Louisiana
Louisiana District 34 state senator from 1979 until 1991 until he was elected his alma mater's fourth president. Lettered four years from 1962-63 through 1965-66 and played on one conference title team. He averaged 1.7 ppg and 2.7 rpg while shooting 37% from the floor and 49% from the free-throw line

DR. C. PAT TAYLOR, Tennessee-Martin
Southwest Baptist (MO) president since the fall of 1996. The 5-11 guard's best varsity season under coach Floyd Burdette was as a junior in 1966-67 when he averaged 3.4 ppg. He averaged 2.3 ppg during his three-year varsity career after averaging 16.3 ppg for UTM's freshman squad. Sketch in school press guide: "Makes up for his lack of size with speed and hustle. Very capable defensive man with quickness and agility. Offensively, he is a fast thinker and is a valuable playmaker."

CHRIS THOMFORDE, Princeton
Lutheran minister was chaplain at Susquehanna University before serving as President of Bethany (KS), St. Olaf (MN) and Moravian (PA). Two-time All-Ivy League first-team selection averaged 13 ppg and 8.9 rpg from 1966-67 through 1968-69. "The quality of this fellow is just mind-boggling," former Princeton coach Pete Carril said. "He's probably the finest human being I've ever met in my life. No one could ever come close. He gave a sermon at Princeton on why one had to believe in God and it was the best presentation. He must be of God's work." The 6-9, 210-pounder was an All-East Regional selection in the 1967 NCAA Tournament after collecting game highs of 22 points, 15 rebounds and six assists in a 78-58 victory over St. John's in the East Regional third-place game. He grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds when the Tigers were eliminated by St. John's, 72-63, in the first round of the 1969 East Regional.

REV. MAURICE E. VAN ACKEREN, Creighton
Former chancellor of Rockhurst College in Kansas City. First-team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection as a sophomore (second-leading scorer in league) and junior (leading scorer) and second-team choice as a senior (third-leading scorer). Creighton tied for the MVC title his first two years and won the conference crown with an 8-0 record and finished with 17-4 overall mark his senior year in 1932 when he captained the team.

Chicago swingman Jabari Parker, designated on SI's cover as the best high school player since LeBron James, will be the center of the recruiting universe this year. But what separates Jabari from other prep phenoms in similar situations is the presence of a father who has been there and done that. Robert "Sonny" Parker, a two-time All-SWC first-team selection with Texas A&M in the mid-1970s before becoming a first-round draft choice of the NBA's Golden State Warriors, doesn't want coaches emailing or tweeting his son.

If history means anything, employment opportunities, personal relationships and what goes on behind closed doors probably will prove decisive. We probably could maneuver through some of the confusion if it was known whether the Parker family supports Obama (Chicago background) or Romney (Mormon) for POTUS. The Parker periscope will eventually need answers to the following questions posed for all the world to see:

• Will Jabari seek to stay home for a year or two and become a local legend by helping revive DePaul's program via powering the Blue Demons to their first Sweet 16 since 1987 or propelling Northwestern to its first NCAA playoff appearance?

• Will his family's emphasis on their Mormon faith give BYU an edge? LDS founder Joseph Smith was killed in Illinois but a basketball Zion could emanate from there if Jabari "took his talents to Provo" (not South Beach) perhaps via announcing the decision in another contrived ESPN hour-long special. At the very least, Parker could help the Cougars cope with their frustration of an NCAA playoff-record 17 opening-round defeats. Taking them to their first Final Four might assuage his conscience if prodigy Parker can't realistically go on a two-year mission disrupting prime earning years in the NBA.

• How close is Sonny to Washington coach Lorenzo Romar, a two-year teammate with Golden State, or did he have a more favorable firsthand impression of Larry Brown's coaching while opposing the Denver Nuggets in Parker's first three of six NBA seasons from 1976-77 through 1981-82? Romar is a coach unafraid to exhibit his religious faith and has been a guest on "Focus on the Family." For an extended period, he played and coached basketball for Athletes in Action, a Christian sports ministry.

• Could Jabari become Brown's next Danny Manning, who tagged along with his truck driver/assistant coach father from North Carolina to Kansas? In the wildest dreams of SMU fans, they hope former Illinois recruiter Jerrance Howard has maintained an inside connection and that Jabari's father would seek a venerable NBA coach to groom his son for the NBA by playing in a state where the junior college recruit was SWC Most Valuable Player in 1974-75. That would certainly justify the Mustangs reportedly doubling the estimated $180,000 salary Howard was getting from his alma mater. How about the possibility of Parker joining forces with the vaunted in-state Harrison twins?

• To what lengths might Illinois modify its staff under new coach John Groce by adding a well-connected individual from Chicago to jump start a renaissance and get the Champaign flowing? The law of averages is with the Illini. Oddly, Groce's stepbrother Travis Steele was an AAU coach who was hired by Indiana's Kelvin Sampson as a video coordinator. Coincidentally, Eric Gordon, the high school standout who played for Steele's AAU team, reneged on a commitment to Illinois and signed with IU, which also had an assistant at the time by the name of Jeff Meyer (coach of Gordon's father at Liberty). The Illini's pursuit of H.S. teammate Kendrick Nunn could also pay dividends if they choose to continue to play together.

• Is Sonny impressed by coach John Calipari's "one 'n done" philosophy after luring one-year wonders from Chicago and reaching the NCAA Tournament championship game with Derrick Rose (Memphis) and Anthony Davis (Kentucky) to finish with regal 38-2 records? Calipari has a penchant for pushing the envelope. For instance, he hired Tyreke Evans' personal trainer as an "administrative assistant" at Memphis, causing the NCAA to prohibit schools from hiring "associates" of recruits for non-coaching positions.

At any rate, the best-laid plans don't always work out. In a related and sobering item showing life is fragile, Parker isn't the first "can't-miss" player from the same high school. Ben Wilson entered his senior season of high school (1984-85) generally regarded as the premier recruit in the nation because of Magic Johnson-like skills. Just a few days prior to the first game of his senior campaign, Wilson was slain by a gunshot within a block of Simeon High's campus after bumping into two gang members while walking down the street on his school lunch break.

Speculation and more questions about Parker will run rampant as the months unfold. The only thing we do know at this stage is that Jabari won't need to take the junior college route like his father, who attended Mineral Area (MO) before becoming an Aggie.

We also know the ensuing year offers another "once-in-a-lifetime" prospect in Toronto's Andrew Wiggins, the son of former Clemson/Florida State swingman Mitchell Wiggins who is contemplating reclassifying to 2013. Father Wiggins is another former juco player (Truett-McConnell, GA) who also competed six seasons in the NBA after becoming a first-round draft pick. In player rating parlance, some think Andrew Wiggins will be a "10" compared to Jabari Parker, a "9.9", in a close choice for best prospect duplicating the NBA career scoring averages of their dads - Mitchell (10 ppg) compared to Sonny (9.9 ppg).

Shortsighted doesn't begin to describe Kentucky/Indiana and Kansas/Missouri for letting their entertaining rivalries expire. They are simply joining top six conference members DePaul/Illinois, Purdue/Notre Dame, Maryland/Georgetown, Boston College/Connecticut, UCLA/UNLV and Cincinnati/Ohio State as potentially great natural non-league matchups that their fans and players can't enjoy.

If bruised egos heal quickly, perhaps sounder minds will prevail in the near term but don't count on it. IU isn't interested in neutral court-only matchups with UK. Meanwhile, a neutral court might be the only possible venue to keep KU/Mizzou alive; perhaps with the Tigers opposing the Jayhawks in Kansas City much like Mizzou does in St. Louis against Illinois. But Mizzou can't moan and groan if the Jayhawks continue to act like a jilted lover because the self-centered Tigers fail to oppose competent in-state foes such as Missouri State and Saint Louis.

UK's inane quibbling with IU leaves one with the impression that the Wildcats will eventually threaten to leave the SEC unless opposing members play their league home games against them on neutral courts rather than their on-campus arenas (perhaps Alabama and Auburn in Birmingham, Arkansas in Little Rock, Georgia in Atlanta, Mississippi State and Ole Miss in Jackson, Florida in Orlando, Tennessee and Vanderbilt in Memphis, new member Mizzou in St. Louis, etc.).

By almost any measure, KU has a superior program to Mizzou. But Jayhawks coach Bill Self should have reined in his rhetoric as the divorce dialogue intensified or at least take a crash course in college basketball history. When comparing the significance of the Kentucky/Louisville rivalry to the pending termination of KU's home-and-home conference conflicts with the Tigers, Self said: "Well, they've always played every year (out of league). That's all they know." Well, Self needs to "always know" that UK and Louisville went 61 years from 1923 through 1983 without a regular-season matchup before they came to their senses and saw the light.

Speaking of light, UK, IU, KU and Mizzou simply have to shed one lightweight apiece to keep a good thing going for the sport in general and for their fans specifically. By toning down picking on patsies, there is plenty of room on their respective non-league schedules to keep playing each other. For instance, UK feasted on Chattanooga, Loyola (Md.), Marist, Radford, Samford and UALR this season while IU shamelessly dined on Gardner-Webb, Howard University, Maryland-Baltimore County, North Carolina Central, Savannah State, Stetson and Stony Brook. KU had colossal contests with Towson, Florida Atlantic, Howard and North Dakota while Mizzou met mighty Mercer, Niagara, Binghamton, Northwestern State, Navy, Kennesaw State and William & Mary.

UK/IU might have been the nation's premier regular-season game last year. If the century-old KU/Mizzou spectacle remains intact, it could immediately surpass Kentucky/Louisville and go atop the following list of the nation's best 25 nonconference rivalries if only because of longevity:

1. Kentucky/Louisville
2. Illinois/Missouri
3. Cincinnati/Xavier
4. Indiana/Kentucky
5. Indiana/Notre Dame
6. Brigham Young/Utah
7. Iowa/Iowa State
8. Memphis/Tennessee
9. St. Joseph's/Villanova
10. Georgia/Georgia Tech
11. Florida/Florida State
12. Clemson/South Carolina
13. Marquette/Wisconsin
14. New Mexico/New Mexico State
15. Utah/Utah State
16. Temple/Villanova
17. La Salle/Villanova
18. Florida/Miami (FL)
19. Iowa/Northern Iowa
20. Colorado/Colorado State
21. Drake/Iowa
22. Penn/Villanova
23. Providence/Rhode Island
24. Creighton/Nebraska
25. Idaho/Idaho State

An average of five coaches annually since 1994 directed a team to the NCAA Tournament before using it as a springboard to bigger and better things by accepting a similar position with another Division I school. Sean Woods became the sixth coach in this category this year when he left Mississippi Valley State for Morehead State.

Woods also became the sixth coach in history to be hired directly from a historically black college or university by a predominantly white school. The SWAC and MEAC moved up to the major-college level in 1979-80 and 1980-81, respectively.

John Cooper recently became the fifth coach in this HBCU category when Miami (Ohio) lured him away from Tennessee State after he guided the Tigers to their first 20-win season in 33 years. Woods and Cooper joined Jeff Capel Jr. (North Carolina A&T to Old Dominion after 1993-94 campaign), Rob Chavez (Maryland-Eastern Shore to Portland after 1993-94), Steve Merfeld (Hampton to Evansville after 2001-02) and James Green (Mississippi Valley State to Jacksonville State after 2007-08).

No power six conference member ever has gone to a HBCU to hire its head basketball coach. None of the limited progress would have occurred if not for pioneer John McLendon, who was the first African-American mentor hired by a predominantly white university when he coached Cleveland State for three seasons in the late 1960s just prior to the institution moving up to DI. After winning three consecutive NAIA titles with Tennessee State in the late 1950s, McLendon had been the first African-American head coach in professional sports when he was hired in the early 1960s by the George Steinbrenner-owned Cleveland Pipers of the short- lived American Basketball League.

"Has anybody here seen my old friend _ _ _ _ _? Can you tell me where he's gone? I just looked around and he's gone."

Words from that Dion melody ring true amid off-season aimless contemplation of previous seasons; especially Final Four players and teams. But then the tune came to mind with a serious tone as police probed the mysterious disappearance of Gavin Smith, a backup guard for coach John Wooden's final UCLA champion in 1975. Smith, a 57-year-old movie executive for Fox, was driving a black 2000 four-door Mercedes E Class when he vanished at night in early May.

Smith, whose son (Evan) plays for Southern California, didn't participate at either the 1974 or 1975 Final Fours before scoring 14 points at the 1976 Final Four and subsequently transferring from the Bruins' bench to becoming one of the NCAA's top scorers. Most news outlets focus on Smith's connection to UCLA but he actually made a hoop name for himself playing with Hawaii, where he finished 16th in the nation in scoring in 1976-77 by setting a Rainbows' single-season record (23.4 points per game).

Detectives unearthed few solid leads although the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department said it was an adult missing person's case, not a criminal homicide investigation. Smith's family declined to elaborate on why Gavin was staying with a friend rather than at the family residence.

It's criminal to jump to any conclusion, but this odd set of circumstances resembles one stemming from the NCAA's first championship team - Oregon in 1939. All-American center Slim Wintermute disappeared in Lake Washington in 1977, a case that has never been solved. Incredibly, starting guards Bobby Anet and Wally Johansen for that Ducks' squad also died in their 40s.

Whatever the outcome, there is no denying that a striking number of prominent Final Four players died prematurely. Any tribute isn't enough when a man is buried before his time. The following Final Four players passed away early, but the deceased left lasting memories:

• Center Bill Menke, the third-leading scorer for Indiana's 1940 NCAA champion who supplied a team-high 10 points in the Hoosiers' national semifinal victory over Duquesne, later became a Navy pilot and served in World War II. In January 1945, he was declared missing in action (and presumed dead) when he didn't return from a flight in the Caribbean.

• Thomas P. Hunter, a three-year letterman who was a sophomore member of Kansas' 1940 runner-up, was killed in action against the Japanese on Guam, July 21, 1944, while fighting with the Ninth Marines as a first lieutenant. Hunter was elected posthumously as captain of the Jayhawks' 1945-46 squad that compiled a 19-2 record.

• All 11 regulars on Pitt's 1941 Final Four team participated in World War II and one of them, guard Bob Artman, was killed in action.

• Three of the top seven scorers for Kentucky's first NCAA Tournament and Final Four team in 1942 died during World War II - Mel Brewer (Army second lieutenant/25 years old in France), Ken England (Army captain of ski troop/23 in Italy) and Jim King (Army second lieutenant and co-pilot/24 in Germany).

• Curtis Popham, Texas' co-captain in 1943, was one of seven Longhorns lettermen since the mid-1930s to make the supreme sacrifice during WWII.

• All-American Audie Brindley of 1944 runner-up Dartmouth died of cancer in 1957 at the age of 33.

• Jim Krebs, the leading scorer and rebounder for Southern Methodist's 1956 Final Four squad, was killed in 1965 at the age of 30 in a freak accident. While helping a neighbor clear storm damage, a tree limb fell the wrong way and crushed his skull.

• Gary Bradds, a backup to national player of the year Jerry Lucas for Ohio State's 1962 NCAA runner-up before earning the same award himself two years later, died of cancer in July 1983 when he was 40. Bradds was principal of an elementary school in Bowersville, Ohio, at the time of his death.

• Bill Buntin, the leading rebounder and second-leading scorer (behind Cazzie Russell) for Michigan's Final Four teams in 1964 and 1965, collapsed and died during an informal workout one day after his 26th birthday in May 1968.

• Ken Spain and Theodis Lee, starting frontcourters with All-America Elvin Hayes for Houston's team that entered the 1968 Final Four with an undefeated record, died of cancer. Spain, who overcame cancer after he was first diagnosed with it in 1977, died of the disease 13 years later in October 1990 when he was 44. Lee, who played for the Harlem Globetrotters, was 33 when he passed away in March 1979, one week after the illness was diagnosed.

• Danny Knight, the leading scorer and rebounder for Kansas' 1974 Final Four team, was 24 when he died in June 1977, three weeks after sustaining injuries in a fall down the steps at his home. Knight had been suffering headaches for some time and doctors attributed his death to an aneurysm in the brain.

• Jerome Whitehead, the second-leading rebounder and third-leading scorer for Marquette's 1977 NCAA titlist, died in mid-December 2012 at the age of 56 because of chronic alcohol abuse.

• Guard Chad Kinch, the third-leading scorer for UNC Charlotte's 1977 Final Four team as a freshman, died at his parents' home in Cartaret, N.J., from complications caused by AIDS. He passed away on April 3, 1994, the day between the Final Four semifinals and final in Charlotte. The host school happened to be UNC Charlotte. It was the second time Kinch's parents lost a son. Sixteen years earlier, Ray Kinch, a Rutgers football player, was killed in a house fire.

• Forward Glen Gondrezick, the leading rebounder and third-leading scorer for UNLV's 1977 third-place club, died in late April 2009 at the age of 53 due to complications stemming from a heart transplant he received the previous September.

• Center Lewis Brown, the third-leading rebounder and sixth-leading scorer for UNLV's 1977 national third-place team, spent more than 10 years homeless on the streets of Santa Monica, Calif., before passing away in mid-September 2011 at the age of 56. According to the New York Times, family members said he used cocaine with the Rebels. "drugs were his downfall," said his sister.

• Murray State transfer Larry Moffett, the second-leading rebounder for UNLV's 1977 national third-place team, passed away in early May 2011 in Shreveport, La., at the age of 56.

• Point guard John Harrell, a point guard for Duke's 1978 runner-up after transferring from North Carolina Central, died of an aortal aneurysm at age 50 in the summer of 2008.

• Orlando Woolridge, a backup freshman in 1978 when Notre Dame made its lone Final Four appearance before he became a scoring specialist in 13 NBA seasons, died at the end of May 2012 at the age of 52 because of a chronic heart condition.

• Derek Smith, the leading rebounder and second-leading scorer as a sophomore forward for Louisville's 1980 NCAA champion, died of a heart ailment at age 34 on August 9, 1996, while on a cruise with his family. He was the leading scorer and second-leading rebounder for the Cardinals' 1982 Final Four team before averaging 12.8 ppg and 3.2 rpg in the NBA with five different franchises. His son, Nolan, became a starting guard for Duke's 2010 NCAA titlist.

• Lorenzo Charles, the second-leading rebounder for N.C. State's 1983 champion, provided one of the tourney's most memorable moments with a game-winning dunk against heavily-favored Houston in the final. Working for a limousine and bus company based in Apex, N.C., he was killed in June 2011 when the charter bus the 47-year-old was driving with no passengers aboard crashed along Interstate 40 in Raleigh.

• Melvin Turpin, the leading scorer and second-leading rebounder as a senior for Kentucky's 1984 Final Four team (29-5 record), was 49 and battling diabetes in July 2010 when he committed suicide with a self-inflicted gunshot to the chest.

• Baskerville Holmes, a starting forward who averaged 9.6 points and 5.9 rebounds per game for Memphis State's 1985 Final Four team, and his girlfriend were found shot to death on March 18, 1997 in an apparent murder-suicide in Memphis. He was 32.

• Swingman Don Redden, who averaged 13 points and 4.8 rebounds per game for Louisiana State's 1986 Final Four squad, was 24 when he died in March 1988 of heart disease.

• Armen Gilliam, the leading scorer and rebounder for UNLV's 1987 Final Four team, died on July 5, 2011, while playing basketball in a Pittsburgh area gym. He was 47.

• Larry Marks, a backup forward for Arkansas' 1990 Final Four squad after being a starter the previous season, died of an apparent heart attack in mid-June 2000 after playing some recreational basketball. He was 33.

• Sean Tunstall, a reserve guard for Kansas' 1991 NCAA Tournament runner-up was shot and killed in the parking lot of a recreation center in his native St. Louis on October 16, 1997. Tunstall, recruited to KU when Larry Brown was the Jayhawks' coach, had received a prison sentence after pleading guilty to one count of selling cocaine in 1993.

Mid-major colleges aren't exempt from problems but occasionally a fondness for mid-level schools escalates to fascination because you're simply fed up with the seemingly endless quibbling and pettiness engulfing major universities. Isn't it about time for the NCAA to implement meaningful academic requirements and drug-testing policies?

There is no cure-all, but the best way to drain the swamp is to place more emphasis on authentic student-athletes and steer clear of many of the AAU wonders with their posses. Wouldn't you like to know the average ACT and/or SAT score for the exhaustive list of troublemakers cited by CollegeHoopedia.com as the "Bad Boys of Basketball"?

Regrettably, this is an era of phony majors and the soft bigotry of low expectations. In a pimp-with-a-limp era, premium players only take the classes the athletic department wants them to take for GPA purposes.

And when a legitimate class is taken, even the Ivy League isn't exempt from the sense of entitlement. Kyle Casey, the leading scorer for Harvard's first NCAA playoff team in 62 years and first-ever Ivy League titlist, plus fellow co-captain Brandyn Curry, an all-conference second-team selection, were expected to miss this season amid an academic cheating scandal involving nearly half of the 279 students enrolled in a government course.

As far as we know, it's not the fault of a low-budget film one of Harvard's most famous alums is fond of focusing on. Even leaving the stench of AAU abnormalities out of the equation, it's almost as if no one showers when you take in totality the following distasteful episodes among so-called elite institutions:

• Venue-obsessed Kentucky, perhaps dismayed that none of its vital players would be around long enough to perform in both on-campus facilities, took its ball and went home and won't continue a stimulating series with Indiana because the Hoosiers have the unmitigated gall to seek to continue playing the game in their own arena every other year. IU won't be on the docket, but UK raised ticket prices and required donations for some priority seating despite an unattractive powderpuff nonconference slate featuring Eastern Michigan, Lafayette, Lipscomb, Long Island, Morehead State, Portland and Samford. The Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics, boasting faculty members from 59 schools, condemned UK's refusal to compete on IU's campus, requesting potential opponents refuse to play the Wildcats at neutral sites. But Baylor didn't get the memo from the watchdog group. Meanwhile, former UK guards Richie Farmer and Michael Porter were immersed in salacious controversies.

• Kansas' freshman class was littered with marginal academic credentials but the Jayhawks' program was bright enough to get immersed in a spitting contest with natural rival Missouri, ending its longstanding series with the Tigers. In mid-summer, a federal prosecutor accused a member of an alleged massive drug ring based in Olathe, Kan., of recently selling marijuana to members of KU's team. It's difficult to digest, but the pot dealer's iPhone was seized with text messages to his clients and he reportedly was seen at Kansas City's Sprint Center sitting behind the Jayhawks' bench with a number of their Self-centered players. The nonsense almost makes KU long for its recent ticket scandal.

• Missouri's new mentor Frank Haith became national coach of the year in the aftermath of a suspect association with a Ponzi scheme booster at his previous outpost - Miami (FL). Haith then inherited a local stereo shop owner hanger-on indicted among more than a dozen people from central Missouri facing federal drug conspiracy charges for cocaine distribution. The booster, who received complimentary tickets from Mizzou players and regularly traveled with the squad to NCAA playoff games (including under Haith predecessor Mike Anderson), was arrested at the Tigers' team hotel in Omaha hours before they were upset by Norfolk State. Parcing "is is" words like Bill Clinton, Mizzou officials took pains to point out the too-close-for-comfort supporter "is not a donor or season ticket holder" and wouldn't describe his contact with players as "close." It was also a "close call" for Mizzou to keep quiet a late-summer sexual assault charge against Big 12 Conference Sixth Man of the Year Michael Dixon before hiding behind a "violation of team rules" suspension prior to him announcing a transfer.

• No one was murdered this time around, but Baylor was killing its recruits with kindness displaying an addiction to social media. And what a surprise when an AAU-affiliated coach who worked for the Bears' coaching staff wound up becoming the agent for one of their players declaring early for the NBA draft. Meanwhile, a former player was arrested and subsequently sentenced to 18 months in prison for attempting to extort $1 million from QB/Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III (RG3). Baylor and Kentucky ranked 1-2 in balloting conducted by CBS Sports, combining for 70% of the vote by DI coaches, as the perceived biggest cheaters in the sport.

• Texas Tech was engulfed in a player mutiny stemming from coach Billy Gillispie's alleged mistreatment of them including violations of NCAA practice-length guidelines. Based on the Red Raiders' paltry 8-23 record in Gillispie's initial season with them last year, they needed to practice 24/7. But by the time we absorb more facts as Gillispie departed for medical reasons, we'll all probably need to take some sick days or tour of the Mayo Clinic. Tech A.D. Kirby Hocutt served in a similar capacity at Miami (FL) when a felon (booster Nevin Shapiro) seemed to run the athletic department while immersed in all sorts of shenanigans.

• UConn's conniving while attempting to circumvent the APR (Academic Progress Rate) stunk like a skunk. The Huskies' conference looked like the Big Least with its petty machinations involving ACC defectors Pittsburgh and Syracuse in connection with scheduling for the Big East-SEC Challenge.

• Cincinnati couldn't even wait for a one-year anniversary to celebrate its nasty fisticuffs with Xavier. Wouldn't you know that an end-of-the-bench player, not a regular, was axed from UC's roster stemming from an investigation regarding a downtown nightclub melee with a bouncer when UC players reportedly wouldn't leave a (Cat)woman's VIP section? Bearcats coach Mick Cronin was reprimanded by the NCAA during the summer because of his poor language after a playoff loss against Ohio State. The distractions apparently prevented Cronin from assembling a respectable non-league schedule, fostering salty remarks from season-ticketholders who will be forced to watch Campbell, UMES, MVSU, North Carolina A&T, UTM and UALR.

• Many forgiving fans and pundits looking the other way resembling JoePa were annoyed about Louisville's coach not becoming a HOF nominee while seemingly forgetting it wasn't all that long ago he couldn't control his dessert craving at a local diner. Restaurant & Food Service Inspection personnel in Louisville should be placed on alert if the Cardinals put the municipality in a sensuous mood by living up to their preseason billing as the nation's premier program.

• Marquette dismissed an assistant coach and head coach Buzz Williams was slated to serve a one-game suspension as part of the school's self-imposed sanctions stemming from recruiting rules violations it reported to the NCAA. There was no word whether Williams will be forced to take dance lessons for his late-season victory waltz to John Denver's "Country Roads" at West Virginia. Six Golden Eagle players had been ticketed in mid-season for being underage in a downtown Milwaukee nightclub. The previous year, the U.S. Department of Education reviewed how Marquette handled two cases of alleged sexual assault involving athletes amid reports a district attorney couldn't have law enforcement adequately probe the cases because the school's public safety department didn't tell authorities about the allegations.

• Maryland looked somewhat undignified seeking a waiver from the NCAA for transfer Dez Wells to be immediately eligible after he was expelled from Xavier. Did UM already have or start a "Truth or Dare" major in order to attract Wells?

• Is it too much to ask athletes to get out of bed and attend the same courses as the remainder of the student body rather than bogus no-show classes? North Carolina's preferred path to a higher education included a peculiar emphasis on African & Afro-American Studies and intermediate Swahili to satisfy foreign language requirement. According to academic support, the "guys are in this class for a reason." The preseason #1-ranked Tar Heels must have been studying too hard for that rigorous coursework when they were humiliated at Florida State by 33 points. Carolina has had a penchant for clustering players in a mischievous major - seven scholars from UNC's 2005 NCAA titlist graduated with degrees in African & Afro-American Studies (whatever that demanding curriculum might be). The good news thus far is that "The Carolina Way" apparently doesn't include having players exposed to the school's lurid physics professor. More naughty news surfaced when the mother of four-time All-American Tyler Hansbrough was placed on leave and subsequently resigned from her $95,000/year UNC fundraising job as part of a travel discrepancies probe. Three Rivers Community College in their hometown of Poplar Bluff, Mo., apparently didn't have the resources to capitalize on her assets. Ditto for Mississippi State and Notre Dame, where her other All-American son (Ben) played and who she made special arrangements to go see. Rather than work directly for Carolina, couldn't she at least have placed applications with nearby Duke boosters who previously hired the parents of Blue Devil standouts such as Carlos Boozer and Chris Duhon to see if they would have offered her a similar hefty salary? There's no word yet as to whether Tyler needed to take Afro Studies and/or Swahili to help the Tar Heels keep their grade-point-average up. He did, however, endure a suspect Naval Weapons Systems class; perhaps as a precaution in case UNC opposed the Midshipmen in a non-league game.

• Why in the world did Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski permit mystery man William Wesley (a/k/a "World Wide" Wes) to hang around the U.S. Olympic team? With the stench of AAU payments to 1999 Final Four standout Corey Maggette lingering, it appears as if Coach K should be concerned with supplying some of his championship team players with world-class accounting lessons. Forward Lance Thomas, a starter on Duke's 2010 NCAA titlist, was sued by a deluxe New York-based jeweler for not paying the balance ($67,800) of what he owed after purchasing nearly $100,000 in custom merchandise midway through that season. What percentage of college seniors can make a $30,000 down payment on such bling? Surely, Coach K has the clout to simply sit Thomas down and ask integrity-preserving questions discerning what in the world went on. Shouldn't Duke be more concerned about restoring the integrity of its 2010 NCAA championship banner rather than banning Chick-fil-A? But Thomas, who should have meandered down the highway and asked Hansbrough's mom for a loan, isn't the only former Blue Devil title team member facing debt collectors. His predicament pales in comparison to Christian Laettner and Brian Davis, teammates on Duke's back-to-back titlists in 1991 and 1992, who are immersed in huge financial and legal hurdles stemming from a loan their real estate company failed to repay of nearly $700,000 to former Duke captain/assistant coach and current Stanford head coach Johnny Dawkins. A $170 million project in Durham ran into difficulty as Laettner and Davis owed millions to creditors although an investment firm recently threw a lifeline to the financially-strapped developers by making a $5 million capital investment in the second phase of West Village. Court documents obtained by the Wall Street Journal indicated that Laettner and Davis were defendants in several civil lawsuits seeking repayment of about $30 million.

• Desperate for some semblance of success, South Carolina frankly believes staring and bulging veins will propel it to an NCAA playoff victory for the first time since 1973. The Gamecocks apparently didn't notice how much of a flop highly-ranked Kansas State was just a couple of years ago under coach Frank Martin.

• Mississippi State, in the aftermath of the departure of embattled Renardo Sidney, dismissed guard Shaun Smith and forward Kristers Zeidaks for "repeated violations of team rules."

• Tennessee's former "Bruce-on-the-loose" coach exhibited a pearl of wisdom by forgetting what his residence looked like inside. This was the same self-promoter who, while a recruiter for Big Ten Conference rival Iowa in the late 1980s, was so detail-oriented he recorded a telephone conversation with celebrated Chicago prep prospect Deon Thomas that triggered putting Illinois on NCAA probation although Thomas went on to become the Illini's all-time scoring leader.

• Memphis, although the Tigers' program with young gun Josh Pastner at the helm is a far cry from the Final Four-caliber exhibited under coaching predecessor John Calipari, is "crying" about scheduling nonconference games against SEC regional rivals Arkansas, Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Tennessee.

• The FBI poked around Auburn investigating potential point shaving. Investigators should also check to see if Charles Barkley ever took a golf instruction, gambling statistics or women's apparel class.

• Jim Boeheim, earning about $2 million annually after receiving a 33 1/3 percent salary increase in a depressed economy, finally can afford a cleaning agent to scrub his glasses. He claimed a former ball boy wasn't in his longtime assistant's hotel room on the road and also seemed as if he either didn't read or just ignored Syracuse's drug-testing policies. With such lenient drug enforcement, the Orange should be joining the SEC rather than the ACC. Meanwhile, a salacious story will go on interminably after the wife of his former long-time assistant sued ESPN for libel. Her attorney, resembling George Stephanopoulos defending Bill Clinton against Gennifer Flowers' answering machine tapes, said a recording of his client was doctored. He also said the audio was selectively edited, reported out of context and did not definitely contain her voice. The legal beagle might need to request a donation from Boeheim for ear treatment. Meanwhile, the former ball boy's lawyer said a recent report by a special committee into the university's 2005 probe of her client's claim is "a complete whitewash." She called on New York's state attorney general to investigate whether Syracuse was in compliance with the Clery Act, a federal law requiring colleges participating in federal financial aid programs to disclose information about crime on campus.

• UCLA's me-generation roster devoid of any tradition traits honored John Wooden's passing by almost leaving the Bruins in ruins via a series of unsavory incidents and classless demeanor. Dismissed forward Reeves Nelson, taking to wallet Wooden's word about "failure to act is often the biggest failure of all," sued SI for $10 million, citing defamation, false light and intentional infliction of emotional distress over an article depicting him as a "psychotic bully" and central figure regarding turmoil in the Bruins' program. A Los Angeles judge subsequently dismissed the suit, finding that the SI reporter had numerous sources to back up the facts in his story. UCLA was supposed to turn a corner with its regal recruiting class but NCAA investigators were still poking around at the start of school.

• O.J. Mayo apparently wasn't the lone USC player dealing under the table in 2007-08. A central figure in a corruption scandal at the Los Angeles County assessor's office said he gave more than $3,700 cash to Mayo's fellow one-and-done teammate Davon Jefferson.

• Michigan State's leadership is suspect after its lone senior returnee was fined and ordered to perform community service for an impaired driving case. A marijuana possession charge was dropped.

• Minnesota's Trevor Mbakwe, the Big Ten Conference's leading rebounder in 2010-11, was arrested for driving while intoxicated and was sentenced to one year of probation and community service. The incident re-opened a felony assault case in Florida but he avoided jail time. Assistant Saul Smith, a son of head coach Tubby Smith and former player for him with Kentucky, was placed on unpaid administrative leave following an arrest at 2:20 a.m. for suspicion of DUI after being stopped for speeding and driving on the shoulder of the highway.

• Northwestern's chances of reaching the NCAA playoffs for the first time suffered a blow when guard JerShon Cobb was suspended for the entire season because of a violation of undisclosed team rules. Cobb averaged 16 during the Wildcats' final four games last year.

• Indiana, while pursuing an eighth-grader for future glory, overbooked on scholarships as if Hoosiers can't count to 13. Did Branch McCracken or Bob Knight grovel before junior highers?

• More than 70 different active head coaches had at least three years remaining on their contracts when they departed for greener pastures but Wisconsin and other schools lectured peons from the top of Mount Ignorant about how transfer players should be treated (like indentured servants).

When it appears that snooty schools are about to implode like a North Korean rocket, it almost makes an observer want to take a vow to always root for mid-majors in matchups with the big boys if the elite schools have the cojones to oppose them in the first place. For instance, West Virginia is paving the way to get out of its entertaining Capital Classic matchup with Marshall.

If Colgate could finally defeat Syracuse, it might set the stage for giving the Orange and its arrogant brethren a generous dose of humility. It's an off-season fantasy, but we can hope for the following "David" successes until the Goliaths come to their senses and restore some dignity:

• South Alabama and UAB over Alabama and Auburn
• Arkansas State over Arkansas
• Harvard, Holy Cross and UMass over Boston College
• Butler and Evansville over Indiana, Notre Dame and Purdue
• Coastal Carolina and College Of Charleston over Clemson and South Carolina
• Colorado State over Colorado
• Creighton over Nebraska
• Georgia State and Mercer over Georgia and Georgia Tech
• Rhode Island over Providence
• Davidson over Big Four schools in North Carolina
• Dayton, Ohio University and Xavier over Cincinnati and Ohio State
• Detroit, Oakland and MAC members over Michigan and Michigan State
• Drexel and Lehigh over Villanova
• Bradley, Illinois State and Southern Illinois over DePaul and Illinois
• Fordham, Long Island and Manhattan over St. John's
• Marshall over West Virginia
• Green Bay and Milwaukee over Marquette and Wisconsin
• American, George Mason and George Washington over Georgetown and Maryland
• Southern Mississippi over Ole Miss and Mississippi State
• Belmont and Middle Tennessee State over Memphis, Tennessee and Vanderbilt
• Lehigh over Penn State
• Missouri State and Saint Louis over Missouri
• Murray State and Western Kentucky over Kentucky and Louisville
• Oral Roberts and Tulsa over Oklahoma and Oklahoma State
• Old Dominion, Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth over Virginia and Virginia Tech
• Saint Mary's over California and Stanford
• Long Beach State and Loyola Marymount over UCLA and Southern California
• Gonzaga over Washington and Washington State
• Wichita State over Kansas and Kansas State