Gary Parrish

I'm back home after a quick trip to Kansas , doing some reading and trying to catch up on what happened at some other Midnight Madness festivities. Seems a lot of places had record nights -- among them Michigan State.

The Breslin Center was filled to capacity with 14,759 fans.

That's the first sellout at MSU in Midnight Madness history.

Tom Izzo entered in an Indy car because the 2010 Final Four is in Indianapolis.

"I know what it's like to drive an Indy car," Izzo told the crowd. "I hope I know what it's like to play in Indianapolis."

Meantime, Clemson's Oliver Purnell rapelled from the top of Littlejohn Coliseum, Syracuse's Jim Boeheim drove a police car into the Carrier Dome (Was he looking for Eric Devendorf?), and Kentucky's John Calipari gave a 10-minute speech to 24,000 fans at Rupp Arena, and he delivered the following line: "Our history is rooted in our coaches: Rupp and Hall and Smith."

That's Adolph Rupp, Joe B. Hall and Tubby Smith.

Notably missing: Former UK coach Rick Pitino.

I'm certain it was not an oversight.

Anyway, a scan of the country showed there were many great events. But the neatest of all Madness ceremonies might've been at Memphis, where more than 18,000 fans filled FedExForum to celebrate a 32-year-old head coach and his eight healthy scholarship players who are unranked and enduring a period of NCAA probation. Understand, it is not normal for the Tigers to fill FedExForum for Memphis Madness. Even when Calipari was the coach, Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts were the stars, and the team was ranked No. 1 in CBSSports.com's preseason Top 25 (and one) , the building was not full for this event. But on Friday night the doors had to be closed and people were turned away, and I was enjoying a conversation with former Missouri State coach Barry Hinson -- now the director of external relations at Kansas -- when I got a text about the scene and shared the news.

"I'm so happy for Josh," Hinson said. "The fans were making a statement, weren't they?"

Absolutely, it was a statement.

It was a statement to Calipari and the nation, a statement from a city determined to convince itself (and the prospects in attendance) that it will move along fine despite a rough few months. Since the end of last season, the Tigers have lost their coach, recruiting class and 2008 Final Four banner. They also watched one recruit (Latavious Williams) not enroll to pursue a professional career overseas, and one player (Shawn Taggart) not return to pursue a professional career, well, who knows where?

Additionally, Angel Garcia tore his ACL in an offseason workout.

Memphis is not picked to win C-USA.

And yet more than 18,000 people still made the trip downtown to celebrate the past and the future, and it's worth noting that a five-minute montage shown on the video board featured pictures and clips of every relevant former player and coach ... except Calipari, who was omitted completely.

"It  was a great statement by the city," Pastner said by phone. "I was blown away. It was unreal. And that's what's great about Memphis Basketball, and it's what I've tried to tell people. Memphis Basketball was good way before I was even born, and it's going to be good long after I'm gone. Memphis basketball is not about one individual or two individuals. It has a rich tradition, and the fans are really proud of the program, and they showed it [Friday] night."

Clemson's Oliver Purnell has scheduled a fundraiser for the second consecutive year to benefit Coaches vs. Cancer.

It's called "Oliver and Vicky Purnell's Tigerfest 09."

It'll be Oct. 6 in Clemson.

"Vicky and I are committed to doing everything we can to wipe out cancer in our lifetimes," Purnell said.  "We are thrilled that with the help of the extended Clemson family, we can do our part."

Purnell donated $100,000 to Coaches vs. Cancer last season.

Click this link for more information.

Former USC signee Noel Johnson has committed to Clemson, a source told CBSSports.com on Friday.

Johnson is a 6-foot-6 wing who decommitted from USC last month because of the uncertainty surrounding the future of the program. Once released, Clemson assistant Josh Postorino got to work, and the result had Clemson beating LSU and a host of other schools for a heralded recruit who will help ease the unexpected loss of Terrence Oglesby (left school to play professionally in Europe).

Scout.com rates Johnson as the 56th-best prospect in the Class of 2009. He joins Milton Jennings (rated 23rd overall) and Devin Booker (rated 65th overall) to give the Tigers three incoming Top 100 prospects.

Clemson is ranked 14th in the preseason CBSSports.com Top 25 (and one) .

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Clemson sophomore Terrence Oglesby is leaving school to play professionally in Europe, a source close to Oglesby told CBSSports.com on Tuesday.

A formal announcement is expected Wednesday.

The source told CBSSports.com that Oglesby is headed to either Italy or Spain, and that he's going to make "NBA money." The 6-foot-2 guard averaged 13.2 points last season. He is scheduled to leave Sunday for Europe.

"The folks handling the ACC schedule knew what they were doing, because not only do we get the best two teams in the league against each other this weekend, we also get -- with apologies to Florida State -- the third-best and fourth-best teams in the league squaring-off courtesy of No. 18 Clemson at No. 10 Wake Forest."

That's what I wrote in the Friday Look Ahead .

At best, it's not as clear-cut as I made it.

At worst, it's just wrong.

As Florida State fans have pointed out via email -- and on this message board -- the Seminoles might be ranked behind Clemson in the AP poll, Coaches poll and Top 25 (and one) , but they are tied with Clemson for fourth in the ACC standings, have a better RPI than Clemson and own two victories over ... Clemson.

In fact, if FSU and Clemson both win this weekend, FSU will be the higher seed in the ACC tournament.

So does all that mean FSU is clearly better than Clemson?

No, not clearly .

Remember, Penn State has two wins over Illinois, and I don't hear people arguing that Penn State is clearly better than the Illini. But still, FSU and Clemson are close by most measuring sticks, and FSU does have two victories over Clemson. So I was wrong to definitively label Wake Forest and Clemson as the third-best and fourth-best teams in the ACC ... although I will say that they are absolutely the third-best and fourth-best teams in the ACC who were not placed on probation this week .

CLEMSON, S.C. -- I'm not big on sports betting because I'm convinced there's no way to consistently win, regardless of what you might hear on your local sports talk radio station. But I did find it interesting this morning that No. 1 Pittsburgh and No. 2 Wake Forest are both technically "underdogs" today, according to SportsBook.com.

Louisville is a 1.5-point favorite over Pitt at Freedom Hall.

Clemson is a 2.0-point favorite over Wake Forest at Littlejohn Coliseum.

So if you believe the oddsmakers, Clemson should be the lone undefeated team left in Division I basketball by the end of the night, and if it goes down that way it should be quite a scene here this afternoon, which would make my second consecutive weekend in ACC country (I was at North Carolina-Wake Forest last Sunday) just as wild as the previous.

Here's Friday's Dear Gary ...

Dear Gary: Instead of flying into Atlanta (and driving to Clemson for the Clemson-Wake Forest game), try Charlotte. It will add a few miles but you might save time and headaches. The Charlotte Airport is much easier to get in and out of. Easier Security, better parking and easier drive, in my opinion. Check it out.

-- Cameron

Are you crazy?

I have sworn to never step foot in the Charlotte Airport again unless it's absolutely necessary, because every other time I fly US Airways I end up stuck in Terminal E, drinking expensive beer at the Fox Sports Bar and hating my life. I've written about this extensively; you can read my troubles here, here and here. And beyond all that, Cameron, did you watch TV last night?

There was a plane in a river.

And guess where it was headed?

Yep, Charlotte.

Because it was US Airways.

So while that pilot is clearly a baller, I'm not dealing with those guys again (unless they happen to be advertisers on CBS, in which case I don't mean any of this). On the other hand, I'd rather be stuck in Terminal E than the Hudson River. So there's that. But either way, it doesn't matter, because I'm headed to Atlanta, and I'll see you soon.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Here's Thursday's Dear Gary ...

Dear Gary: Terrence Oglesby, a Tennessee native as you know, sure could help (Tennessee) right now. But we needed more athletes. ... Yeah right.

-- Lee

As I watched the Vols miss 22 of 28 3-point attempts last night in a loss to Gonzaga -- and noted that they are shooting 31 percent from beyond the arc this season, which ranks 265th nationally -- I started wondering, over late drinks with some writers in Knoxville, why we all assumed that losing JaJuan Smith and Chris Lofton wouldn't hurt as much as it's hurting. Say what you want about Smith and Lofton, but those dudes could shoot; both made 38 percent of their 3-point attempts last season, and nobody on this roster comes close to approaching those numbers.

So clearly, Tennessee could use a shooter.

And man, Terrence Oglesby really would be nice.

He's the Clemson sophomore from Cleveland, Tenn. -- about 80 miles from Knoxville -- who is averaging 13.5 points for the 12th-ranked Tigers. More important, he's shooting 42.0 percent from 3-point range. Like Smith and Lofton, that dude can shoot. So I'm with you, Lee. Tennessee would've been wise to pursue the in-state product more seriously. But in fairness, Oglesby was not a highly regarded talent on the national level, and most every high-major program passed on him similarly to how most every high-level program passed on Stephen Curry.

Was it a mistake?

Sure, in hindsight.

But I don't remember anybody criticizing the recruiting decision when it happened, which is why it's difficult to criticize UT for missing on Oglesby just like it's difficult to criticize Duke and North Carolina for missing on Curry. That said, why is it always shooters who get overlooked, whether it's Oglesby, Curry or former Florida Gator Lee Humphrey?

(Humphrey was also from Tennessee, it's worth noting.)

What's wrong with having shooters, even if they can't necessarily run and dunk?

With 13 scholarships available, I'll never understand why one or two can't be used on a kid who can just flat-out bury an open jumper. There's a place for a guy like that on every team, and yet so many teams often find themselves with zero capable shooters, and Tennessee is among those this season, save the possible exception of Cameron Tatum.

Oliver Purnell will be at Stephen Decatur High in Maryland on Friday, but not to recruit. Instead he'll have his No. 22 jersey retired, the one he wore when he helped the Seahawks to the 1970 state basketball championship.

Since then, Purnell has gone on to be a 1,000-point scorer at Old Dominion and a successful head coach at Radford, Old Dominion, Dayton and Clemson. He was inducted into the ODU Hall of Fame in 1988. So the man has had a storied career, which is why I couldn't help but wonder why it took Stephen Decatur High so long to honor him.

Naturally, I went to Wikipedia to learn more about the school.

I was curious if there were like a ton of famous graduates or something else that might make the criteria to be honored a little tougher at Stephen Decatur High. But when I looked all I found was a writer for The OC and an indoor soccer player. That's what Stephen Decatur High has produced. So I'm thinking Purnell should've been honored like 30 years ago, at least. But whatever. He'll have his jersey retired at halftime of Friday night's game. Better late than never.

In a related note, I still haven't made Wikipedia's list of "Famous Residents" from Horn Lake, Miss.

This is devastating on many levels.

I don't want this to come off the wrong way, but in terms of Horn Lake High graduates I am pretty freaking unbelievable. Still, I've never been honored (even though I've asked the principal to retire my baseball jersey several times) and can't even get recognized by Wikipedia as one of the town's "Famous Residents." Brandon Jackson, back-up running back for the Green Bay Packers, is listed, and I'm OK with that. But the third famous resident is Donnie Newman, who is (according to Wikipedia) "one of the most respected band directors in the country and the director of the Horn Lake High School band, which is among the top 10 bands in the entire state of Mississippi."

Seriously?

I'm getting beat by a high school band director?

And since when does having a top 10 band in the state of Mississippi count for anything?

(Deep breath)

Anyway, Oliver Purnell is being honored by his high school.

Good for him.

We should all be so lucky.

(And by all, I mean me.)

Milton Jennings, the subject of my latest column, didn't play serious organized basketball until eighth grade.

That's what you call a late start in this era of this sport.

But Oliver Purnell still had Jennings pegged early.

"Oliver told me when Milt was in the ninth grade that he didn't care what time of year it was or where it was, from that point forward he'd be wherever Milt was at on the first day of every recruiting period when coaches are allowed gyms," recalled Jennings' AAU coach, Rufus McDonald. "Oliver said he didn't care if it was 2006, 2007 or 2008 or what senior was coming out that particular year, he'd always open the period in whatever gym Milt was at. And guess what? Every recruiting period, Oliver opened in the gym with Milt. He kept his word and did a beautiful job recruiting him."

That's one of the stories I picked up while working on the column that didn't make the actual column. I'm sharing it here because it shows the importance of identifying priorities early and highlights how silly the notion of waiting to recruit kids until their junior or senior years can be. Anybody who waited that long to get on Jennings strarted well behind Clemson, thanks to Purnell and assistant Frank Smith. And because the Tigers worked so hard so early and they now have a commitment from a prospect who will likely become the school's first McDonald's All-American in 18 years.

Billy Donovan completed his Florida staff this weekend by hiring Clemson assistant Shaka Smart, sources have told CBSSports.com. An official announcement is expected later this week.

Smart is considered one of the brightest young assistants in the business and was instrumental in the rise of Clemson basketball the last few years under Oliver Purnell. The 31-year-old with a bachelor's degree in history from Kenyon College and a master's degree in social science from California University of Pennsylvania will fill the void left on Donovan's staff left by Lewis Preston, who resigned from Florida last week to take a similar position at Penn State.

Donovan's staff now consists of Larry Shyatt, Rob Lanier and Smart.

The Gators should be a preseason Top 25 team.

Cliff Hammonds practiced Tuesday with what was described by the Clemson staff as "basically a cast" on his broken wrist and is expected to play Thursday at Georgia Tech.

The news is a nice development for the Tigers -- who have won four of their past five games, including showdowns with likely NCAA Tournament teams Miami and Maryland -- because having to go without Hammonds would mark the third time this season Clemson has played without at least one starter. James Mays missed five games in November and December and Demontez Stitt missed two games last month with injuries. Those two plus Hammonds account for 31.3 points, 12.7 rebounds and 9.0 assists per contest.

Coincidentally, Hammonds is from Georgia, about 230 miles from the Georgia Tech campus.

He had 22 points in an 82-67 victory against the Yellow Jackets last month.