Gary Parrish

Josh Pastner added a fourth top 35 prospect Monday when Tarik Black committed to Memphis.

MaxPreps.com ranks Black No. 35 in the Class of 2010.

The 6-7 forward joins Will Barton (ranked No. 3 at MaxPreps.com), Joe Jackson (ranked No. 11 at MaxPreps.com) and Jelan Kendrick (ranked No. 16 at MaxPreps.com) as high school stars who have pledged their allegiance to Memphis. Combined with fellow signees Chris Crawford, Antonio Barton and Hippolyte Tsafack, they comprise what is almost certainly now the nation's No. 1 recruiting class and perhaps the best recruiting class for a first-year coach in the history college basketball.

Pastner is in his first year at Memphis.

He's 1-0 heading into Tuesday night's game against Kansas.

Worth noting is that Jackson, Kendrick, Black and Crawford played together with the Memphis Magic this summer. They won the prestigious Adidas Super 64 tournament in Las Vegas. The other notable player from that team is Adonis Thomas, a top 10 prospect in the Class of 2011 who plays at Melrose High in Memphis. He's also considering Memphis (along with Florida, Ohio State, North Carolina and a host of other schools).

Jelan Kendrick committed to Memphis on Saturday, giving first-year coach Josh Pastner his third top 20 national recruit and by extension a class that is arguably the country's best.

Kendrick is a 6-foot-6 wing from just outside of Atlanta. He had previously stated he would wait until May to sign, but those plans changed during a weekend visit to Memphis. Kendrick is the third prospect ranked in MaxPreps.com's top 20 to commit to the Tigers. The others are Will Barton (No. 3 at MaxPreps.com) and Joe Jackson (No. 11 at MaxPreps.com). Memphis also has commitments from Chris Crawford, Antonio Barton and Hippolyte Tsafack.

North Carolina is the only other school with three top 20 recruits. The trio of elite prospects committed to the Tar Heels are Harrison Barnes (No. 4 at MaxPreps.com), Reggie Bullock (No. 5 at MaxPreps.com) and Kendall Marshall (No. 13 at MaxPreps.com).

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."

Chris Crawford announced Thursday that he will remain home for college and play at Memphis.

"I just really didn't want to leave," said Crawford, a senior at Sheffield in Memphis. "I want to play in front of my family."

Crawford (ranked 66th nationally at Rivals.com) is the fourth prospect from the Class of 2010 to commit to Memphis. He joins Will Barton (ranked 11th nationally), Joe Jackson (ranked 12th nationally) and Antonio Barton, meaning Memphis now has three top 75 commitments.

Crawford and Jackson played summer ball together for the Memphis Magic Elite.

The 6-foot-4 guard hit the winning shot in the title game of the adidas Super 64 tournament in Las Vegas.

There have been some questions about whether Crawford will qualify academically to compete as a freshman. But a source who has seen the transcript told CBSSports.com this week that Crawford "will be fine" and added that there's no reason to think he won't be eligible. Crawford was also considering Tennessee and Mississippi State.

Joe Jackson committed to Memphis as expected Friday, meaning Josh Pastner now has two top 10 recruits from the Class of 2010 despite the fact that he's still yet to coach his first game.

"I wanted to stay in the city and be a part of the Memphis tradition," Jackson said at a makeshift press conference held outside of the Finch Center practice facility on the University of Memphis campus. "I'm excited."

Jackson is a 5-foot-11 point guard from White Station High in Memphis. The National Hoops Report ranks him No. 9 in the Class of 2010. Will Barton, a 6-5 guard from Baltimore, is the other elite prospect already committed to Memphis. The National Hoops Report ranks him No. 6 in the Class of 2010.

Worth noting: Rivals.com updated its school rankings Friday. It listed Memphis' class of Joe Jackson, Will Barton and Antonio Barton (yes, they're brothers) as the nation's third-best class, behind only Ohio State's and Syracuse's.

Also worth noting: Among the people who attended Jackson's press conference was Tarik Black, a 6-7 forward from Ridgeway High in Memphis. Rivals.com ranks him as the 47th-best prospect in the Class of 2010. He's uncommitted and still considering a number of schools -- among them Memphis, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Alabama.

Jackson's commitment means six of the National Hoops Report's top 10 prospects are now committed.

Here's an updated list:

1. Harrison Barnes (uncommitted)
2. Perry Jones (committed to Baylor )
3. Brandon Knight (uncommitted)
4. Jared Sullinger (committed to Ohio State )
5. Fab Melo (committed to Syracuse )
6. Will Barton (committed to Memphis )
7. Reggie Bullock (committed to North Carolina )
8. Adreian Payne (uncommitted)
9. Joe Jackson (committed to Memphis )
10. Tony Mitchell (uncommitted)

An MRI performed Friday showed that Memphis forward Angel Garcia has a torn ACL that will force him to miss the entire 2009-10 season, Tiger coach Josh Pastner confirmed to CBSSports.com.

Garcia tore the ACL in a Thursday workout.

"It was just one of those weird things," Pastner said. "There was no contact. He didn't jump. His knee just gave out on him, and I just feel sick for the young man."

Garcia is a highly rated recruit from the Class of 2008 who was forced to sit out last season because of academics. The 6-foot-11 forward was expected to play a major role this season given the lack of big men on the Memphis roster. Junior college transfer Will Coleman and senior Pierre Henderson-Niles are the only conventional post players currently in the program.

"We've got a good nucleus," Pastner said. "But we don't have any depth."

Josh Pastner is about to land another elite recruit.

This time it's a local product.

"I am committing TONIGHT at the Larry Finch Center at 6:30 pm," likely McDonald's All-American Joe Jackson posted on his Facebook page early Friday. "Come support me and one of the biggest decisions [of] my life. ... Kansas, TN, Memphis. What [is it going to] be?"

For those unfamiliar, the Larry Finch Center -- technically the Larry O. Finch Center -- is the practice facility on the University of Memphis campus. So it should come as no surprise that multiple sources have told CBSSports.com that Jackson will verbally commit to Memphis tonight (over Kansas and Tennessee) and provide what should be a wild scene in his hometown.

"Joe loves the city and he wants to be a Tiger," one source told CBSSports.com. "He was always going to be a Tiger."

Thus, this is hardly a shock. Things have been headed this way for months, honestly, and Jackson spent much of the past week dropping hints on Facebook . Even so, it's still huge news in the recruiting world if only because it means Pastner will now have commitments from two top 10 prospects from the Class of 2010 despite the fact that the 31-year-old former Arizona player is still yet to coach his first game.

Serious question: Has something like this ever happened?

"The closest thing would be John Calipari [getting] John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins [this past offseason before ever coaching a game at Kentucky], but obviously Cal has coached [games] before," said longtime recruiting analyst Justin Young, who runs the National Hoops Report. "But other than that, no sir."

Memphis will now become the nation's only school with commitments from two Top 10 prospects.

One of those commitments is Will Barton, a 6-foot-5 guard from Baltimore.

The National Hoops Report ranks him sixth in the Class of 2010.

The other is obviously Joe Jackson, a 5-11 point guard from Memphis.

The National Hoops Report ranks him ninth in the Class of 2010.

While Pierre Henderson-Niles is losing weight , it's a (likely) future Memphis Tiger who is dominating the discussion among fans and creating quite a stir in the world of recruiting.

His name is Joe Jackson.

He'll be a McDonald's All-American.

And though he's always been guarded with his verbal comments about his college situation, he's been using Facebook for the past week to drop hints about his upcoming decision. The whole thing reached new heights late Monday, when Jackson posted a photoshopped picture of himself in a Memphis jersey, then started trading posts with Will Barton, a fellow consensus Top 20 national recruit who is already committed to Memphis.

The bottom line is this: Jackson is technically still considering Memphis, Kansas and Tennessee, but there isn't a person at Kansas or Tennessee who believes Kansas and Tennessee are in the mix. In other words -- like I've written many times -- Joe Jackson will be a Memphis Tiger. Anything that happens between now and the time he makes that is official is just him messing with fanbases and having a good time with the process, which is kind of hilarious.

Imagine what it must be like for a 17-year-old to excite or enrage thousands of adults with a single status update.

Sounds fun, doesn't it?

But everybody has always known how this movie would end.

Joe Jackson will play for Josh Pastner.

And for what it's worth, I'm hearing a traditional commitment will come soon.

My source said it'll be Friday ... unless Jackson decides he wants to keep having this fun a little while longer.

The NCAA has granted a waiver that will allow Elliot Williams to play for Memphis this season.

"We are appreciative to the NCAA in granting this waiver request for Elliot," said Memphis coach Josh Pastner. "We understand this is bittersweet, but Elliot is excited to play for his hometown school. The city of Memphis has fully embraced Elliot and his family, and they are so grateful for the support they have received."

A Memphis native, Williams chose to enroll at Duke out of high school over Tennessee, Memphis and Virginia. He played for the Blue Devils last season. But the former McDonald's All-American opted to transfer closer to home this summer to be near his mother, who is battling cancer, and there was little doubt at the time that the NCAA would waive the penalty that typically forces Division I transfers to sit out one year.

In other words, Friday's announcement comes as no surprise.

But it's still considered a dose of good news for a program that needed some.

A day earlier, the NCAA announced it is forcing Memphis to vacate its 2008 Final Four.

John Calipari has issued a response to the NCAA's decision to make Memphis vacate its 2008 Final Four.

It reads:

"I’m very disappointed and disheartened by the NCAA’s findings. I fully support the University of Memphis’ appeal and until that process is carried through to its completion, I will have no further comments on the matter. I am anxious to coach the team at the University of Kentucky beginning this Fall."

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Memphis president Dr. Shirley Raines said the school will appeal the NCAA's decision to vacate the Tigers' 38 wins from the 2007-08 season that included a trip to the Final Four.

"While we respect the NCAA process, we disagree [with the decision]," Raines said at an afternoon press conference.

Memphis has 15 days to file its notice of appeal.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- As expected, Memphis will ...

• Vacate all 38 wins from the 2007-08 season and its Final Four appearance.
• Face three years probation.
• Endure a public censure.

One of the interesting bits of information released today is that the SAT in question that the NCAA believes Derrick Rose did not actually take was taken by somebody in Detroit only a month before Rose enrolled at Memphis. Rose had already taken the SAT three times and failed to get a qualifying score each time. So suddenly this Chicago native went to Detroit to take the test one final time, and would it be too cynical to mention that the famed William Wesley -- AKA "Worldwide Wes" -- just so happens to live in Detroit?

That's probably just a coincidence, right?

Former Memphis star Chris Douglas-Roberts has addressed the news that his 2008 Final Four will be vacated.

Naturally, he did so on Twitter.

They took our Final 4 but they can't take the memories. Can't take away that lefty d..nah I'm playing. K Love is my guy!

That "lefty d" is the left-handed dunk Douglas-Roberts put on UCLA's Kevin Love in the national semifinals.

Officially, it no longer exists.

The NCAA Committee on Infractions is forcing Memphis to vacate its appearance in the 2008 Final Four, sources familiar with the case told CBSSports.com on Wednesday.

The NCAA's report will be released Thursday.

Memphis appeared before the Committee of Infractions in June and faced allegations of major infractions -- among them that Derrick Rose used a fraudulent SAT score to gain freshman eligibility, and that his brother, Reggie Rose, traveled on team charters and stayed in team hotels at no expense. With the Final Four now officially wiped from the record books, John Calipari becomes the first coach in history to vacate Final Fours at two different schools.

Calipari's 1996 Final Four at UMass has also been vacated.

He's now the head coach at Kentucky.

Attempts to reach new Memphis coach Josh Pastner were not immediately successful.

Memphis signee Latavious Williams has decided to bypass college and pursue a professional career overseas, according to a statement released Tuesday morning.

"It was a difficult decision," Williams said in the statement. "But after consulting with a number of people, and taking my family situation into consideration, playing overseas is the best move for me."

Rivals.com ranked Williams as the 17th-best prospect in the Class of 2010, and he was the first elite recruit Memphis landed after John Calipari's departure. Still, whether the 6-foot-8 forward would ever actually play for the Tigers has long been in question because of questionable academics. And though the Memphis staff was optimistic, most industry sources familiar with Williams' transcript were highly skeptical he'd ever be cleared.

Either way, it doesn't matter now.