Gary Parrish

Bodog.com likes Kansas and Kentucky just as much as I like Kansas and Kentucky .

I visited the gambling site not because I'm a gambler, but because I wanted see the championship odds for certain schools. What I found is that Kansas (4-to-1) is the favorite followed by Kentucky (5-to-1). North Carolina (15-to-2) is third. Then it's Duke (10-to-1), Michigan State (12-to-1), Louisville (12-to-1), Texas (12-to-1), and Villanova (12-to-1).

Click this link (and scroll down) to check it out.

The Big 12 released its official preseason honors Thursday, and the first thing I noticed was that Texas' Avery Bradley won Freshman of the Year instead of Kansas' Xavier Henry. Truth be told, that's how I'd vote, too (as my All-America teams show). But I wasn't sure if the league's coaches would see things similarly. So I found that interesting.

Anyway, that's the first thing I noticed.

But the next thing I noticed was insane: Cole Aldrich and Willie Warren were not consensus All-Big 12.

Is it as silly as the Tim Tebow snub by Steve Spurrier?

Probably not.

But I'd love to hear somebody explain how Aldrich and Warren -- both of whom are CBSSports.com First Team All-Americans -- don't belong on the All-Big 12 team, because there is at least one coach who voted that way. Meantime, Sherron Collins and Craig Brackins were unanimous selections, and I'm OK with that. But not voting for Aldrich and Warren is inexplicable, I think.

Here's how the All-Big 12 team should look:

• G: Sherron Collins (Kansas)
• G: Avery Bradley (Texas)
• G: Willie Warren (Oklahoma)
• F: Craig Brackins (Iowa State)
• F: Cole Aldrich (Kansas)

Arizona coach Sean Miller spent Thursday night with Daniel Bejarano and is now a strong candidate to gain a commitment from the in-state product who this week decommitted from Texas.

“I just want him to be happy wherever he goes," Bejarano's high school coach, Joseph Bustos, told MaxPreps.com's Jason Hickman. "For whatever reason Texas was no longer the place for him."

Among those reasons is Bejarano's reported desire to stay close to his Phoenix home after his father, Damion Gosa, was shot to death in June. Bejarano had been committed to Texas since last October. He's now considering Arizona and Arizona State but, at this point, seems more interested in the Wildcats.

“His first words when he decommitted was, `Hey, get a hold of coach Sean Miller,'" Bejarano's mentor, Ray Arvizu Jr., told the Arizona Daily Star's Bruce Pascoe. "He’s very excited.”

MaxPreps.com ranks Bejarano No. 28 overall in the Class of 2010.

I got to spend a good bit of time with the Texas staff and Avery Bradley while in Austin, the result being Monday's column . But one of the other great things about the weekend was watching pick-up Saturday at the Longhorns' practice facility, where I saw recruits Tristan Thompson (already committed to Texas) and Corey Joseph (still uncommitted) run with UT's players (the only exception being Dexter Pittman, who was out with flu-like symptoms).

So what did I learn?

First, that Rick Barnes has a lot of options.

He's got two all-league (and possibly All-American) type players up front with Damion James and Dexter Pittman, three capable point guards in Dogus Balbay, Jai Lucas (eligible at the semester) and J'Covan Brown, a pair of freshmen who will someday be pros in Avery Bradley and Jordan Hamilton, and a trio of battle-tested veterans in Gary Johnson, Justin Mason and Varez Ward to compliment things. No question, Barnes can go 10 or 11 deep and feel comfortable, if he wants. But more than anything I walked away from the pick-up games impressed by Brown, who will eventually be UT's starting point guard, I'm predicting.

My pal Jeff Goodman over at FoxSports.com had been pushing Brown hard, raving about him, really. Still, I remained skeptical, if only because I hadn't seen the Texas native enough to have an intelligent opinion, and because Brown missed all of last season after failing to be cleared by the NCAA for freshman eligibility. That's usually not a good sign -- a point guard who struggles academically (Derrick Rose being an exception, obviously). But after a couple of hours of pick-up, I can report with a degree of certainty that Brown is UT's most talented option at point guard, and he's apparently demonstrated as much all summer.

"J'Covan's really good," James said. "He's been great, man."

Great enough to make you think he'll be the starting point guard?

"At this moment, yes," James answered without hesitation. "He's a guy who really distributes the ball, and you can't [leave him] and double-team me or anybody because of the fact that J'Covan can shoot the ball real good. So he's going to help us a lot."

I think so, too.

AUSTIN, Texas -- I'm on football duty this weekend.

I've got Texas Tech at Texas -- otherwise, known as a game so good Cory Joseph decided to visit.

"He's phenomenal," said former NBA coach Eric Musselman. "He's mature beyond his age and very, very confident."

Musselman familiarized himself with many of the elite Class of 2010 prospects last month at the adidas Nations event, and it should be noted that when I asked for the player who most impressed he immediately started talking about Joseph -- a 6-foot-3 point guard who is currently on campus here visiting Texas. Joseph averaged 24.8 points and 5.6 assists at adidas Nations, where he caught the attention of Musselman and everybody else, really. MaxPreps.com ranks the Canadian as the 22nd-best prospect in the Class of 2010.

"He just has total control of the ball, and he's very composed," Musselman said. "He's confident yet not cocky."

As for Musselman, he worked the adidas Nations event for the same reason that he helps with a local high school team and both of his sons' youth squads, because he's a coach who still enjoys coaching and doesn't want to get too far away from his profession. Musselman hasn't coached in an official capacity since the 2006-07 season with Sacramento, when a year with Ron Artest resulted in a 33-49 record. But the recently married Bay Area resident is still in the gym all the time, and next week he'll head to Russia to conduct a coaching clinic.

"I don't want to get rusty," Musselman said. "Just like a hitter needs reps in a batting cage, a coach needs reps, too."

Two of the bigger names in college basketball have finalized their decisions about the NBA Draft.

Texas junior Damion James has decided to withdraw from the NBA Draft, a source close to the Big 12 program told CBSSports.com on Saturday. Meantime, UCLA freshman Jrue Holiday told Brian Dohn of the Los Angeles Daily News that he will sign with an agent and effectively end his college career after one season.

James' return should make Texas a preseason top 10 team.

The 6-foot-7 forward was not expected to go in the first round of the NBA Draft.

Holiday, on the other hand, is a sure-bet lottery pick despite an underwhelming season.

The deadline for underclassmen to withdraw from the 2009 NBA Draft is Monday at 5 p.m. ET.

Eight schools have won a bowl game and NCAA tournament basketball game this season.

Three are from the Big 12.

Here's the list ...

• Arizona (Pac-10)
• Connecticut (Big East)
• Kansas (Big 12)
• LSU (SEC)
• Maryland (ACC)
• Missouri (Big 12)
• Southern California (Pac-10)
• Texas (Big 12)
  

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- I know Texas believes it's at a disadvantage playing Duke in Greensboro. But I think the opposite will be true because the Greensboro Coliseum is filled with North Carolina fans, and if the Tar Heels beat LSU those fans will almost certainly hang around to cheer against Duke, meaning about 85 percent of this building should be booing Mike Krzyzewski.

Advantage: Texas.

Although the Longhorns still have that point guard problem to address.

Here's Tuesday's Dear Gary ...

Dear Gary: Who has prettier eyes: Stanley Robinson at Connecticut or A.J. Abrams at Texas? Seriously, what's up with their eyelashes?

-- Phil

I'm glad to know I'm not the only heterosexual man -- I'm assuming you're heterosexual too, Phil, but if not, that's cool -- who has looked at A.J. Abrams' eyes and thought, "Damn, those are some pretty freaking eyes." His eyelashes are off the charts, and this is coming from somebody who can appreciate nice eyelashes, because, at the risk of bragging, I must admit that my eyelashes are spectacular. You can't really tell from my picture, but ask around. My eyelashes must be in the upper 95 percentile of adult males, and yet I feel embarrassed anytime I'm around Abrams, because he's got like the best eyelashes I've ever seen.

So to answer your initial question, it's A.J. Abrams with the prettiest eyes, and it's not close.

Best eyelashes in college basketball.

And an OK jumper, too.

 

Here's Monday's Dear Gary ...

Dear Gary: How can you rank Texas ahead of Michigan State? Texas has four losses and Michigan State has three. Plus, Michigan State BEAT Texas! You should be Poll Attacked!

-- Ben

I addressed this issue on one of the message boards, but I'll do it here, too, just to make sure everybody sees it. Because, honestly, I think any criticism about me having Texas ranked ahead of Michigan State in the Top 25 (and one) is fair, which is another way of saying that I believe I probably got it wrong.

To be clear, I like Texas.

The Longhorns have wins over Wisconsin, Villanova, UCLA and Texas A&M, and their four losses are all reasonable (except, perhaps, the one that came at Arkansas). Problem is, one of the losses was to Michigan State, and that should always be a tiebreaker when comparing comparable teams, the head-to-head match-up. And Michigan State won the head-to-head match-up. But the other problem with ranking Texas ahead of Michigan State is that Michigan State actually has the better body of work, particularly when you consider that the Spartans have a nation-high eight victories against schools ranked in the Top 50 at CollegeRPI.com.

Bottom line, I have no problem admitting when I mess-up.

And I think I might've messed this up.

But the good news is that when I mess-up it's the difference between No. 8 and No. 9, and not something crazy like what we see weekly in the AP and Coaches polls. And for that, I invite you to tune in a little later on today, when the Poll Attacks put real ignorance on display.

Meantime, here's how I wish I'd done the Top 10 (in hindsight):

1. Duke

2. Connecticut

3. Pittsburgh

4. Oklahoma

5. Wake Forest

6. North Carolina

7. Louisville

8. Michigan State

9. Texas

10. Marquette  

CHARLOTTE -- You might remember last March when I was at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, had my flight canceled and ended up having to drive to Durham for the regular season finale between North Carolina and Duke. I was so pissed, because the delay wasn't even weather-related, and I swore to myself I'd stop connecting in Charlotte, and I haven't been back since.

Until now.

And you'll never guess what happened.

Yep, my freaking flight home (from the Jimmy V Classic in New York, through Charlotte) has been canceled, so I'm sitting at the same Fox Sports Bar here in the E Terminal as last time, wondering what it is that makes US Airways the most unreliable airline in the world, at least according to me. I mean, does this happen to anybody else? Or is it just foolish sportswriters?

(By the way, if you want to read about last March's debacle, click this link. I think you'll be able to tell how mad I was.)

Anyway, let's move on (even if I'm stuck).

I got so caught up in the Stephen Curry Show Tuesday night that I forgot to tell you about my favorite part of the Jimmy V Classic doubleheader, which consisted of a drunk Knicks fan on the front row near the Texas bench basically begging UT junior Dexter Pittman to enter the 2009 NBA Draft so that the Knicks can draft him. It was hilarious for two reasons: First, because Pittman (who is 6-foot-10, 295 pounds) only plays 10 minutes a game for Texas. Secondly, the guy never stopped yelling.

"Come on Big Dex!" he would yell. "We NEED you, man! Three hundred pounds in the middle! Jerome James ain't gettin' it done!"

Pittman and his teammates on the bench would smile each time.

Then the guy would start again.

"You can bring Clint Chapman with you, Dex!" he yelled. "Just enter the draft! We need you! The Knicks NEED you!"

Good times.

And with that, I'll get back to sitting here and being mad. And I hope no SEC football coach is trying to get a new contract tonight, because stuck here in the same airport with me is super-agent Jimmy Sexton, who said, rather brilliantly, "I knew I should've gone through Atlanta."

Here's Monday's Dear Gary ...

Dear Gary: I see you called Arizona one of the "top 10 programs in America" last week. I'm fairly sure you also stated as much about Indiana when that job was open. So what are the top 10 programs?

-- Brian

What I mean when I describe something as a "top 10 program" is that it should be one of the top 10 programs in America when everything is going the right way. Obviously, that's not the case at Arizona right now. But assuming Jim Livengood makes a great hire I believe Arizona will again establish itself as one of the top 10 programs in America.

Does that make sense?

If not, try to think of it like this: Pretend you are the nation's hottest coaching candidate and attached to no particular school or region. Now pretend every school wants to hire you and then try to determine which 10 jobs would give you the best chance to succeed based upon factors like the level of national prestige, the recruiting advantages (geographic or otherwise), the passion of the fanbase and the commitment from the administration.

That's how you determine a great program.

In that case, my list would probably look like this:

1. North Carolina
2. UCLA
3. Duke
4. Kansas
5. Ohio State
6. Texas
7. Kentucky
8. Arizona
9. Indiana
10. Connecticut

Two elite prospects came off the board Thursday when Ryan Kelly and Jordan Hamilton announced their destinations.

Kelly is a 6-10 power forward from North Carolina ranked 11th in the Class of 2009. He picked Duke. Hamilton is a 6-7 small forward from California ranked 13th in the Class of 2009. He picked Texas. That means the Blue Devils and Longhorns now both have commitments from multiple top 20 prospects.

Here's an updated look at Scout.com's top 20 from the Class of 2009 ...

(Note: North Carolina, Duke and Texas are the only programs with multiple Top 20 prospects.)

1. Derrick Favors (uncommitted)

2. John Wall (uncommitted)

3. John Henson (committed to North Carolina)

4. Xavier Henry (uncommitted)

5. Renardo Sidney (uncommitted)

6. DeMarcus Cousins (committed to UAB)

7. Lance Stephenson (uncommitted)

8. Kenny Boynton (uncommitted)

9. Abdul Gaddy (committed to Arizona)

10. Avery Bradley (committed to Texas)

11. Ryan Kelly (committed to Duke)

12. Daniel Orton (uncommitted)

13. Jordan Hamilton (committed to Texas)

14. Alex Oriakhi (committed to Connecticut)

15. Dominic Cheek (uncommitted)

16. Wally Judge (committed to Kansas State)

17. Dante Taylor (committed to Pittsburgh)

18. Dexter Strickland (committed to North Carolina)

19. Mason Plumlee (committed to Duke)

20. Thomas Robinson (uncommitted)

I was going to try to get through the day without posting this blog.

But I knew I'd never make it.

Unfortunately, some of my readers -- not you reading this; just the stupid ones -- lack reading comprehension skills, which causes me to often times explain things over and over again as if I'm talking to my 5-year-old son. It's frustrating. But it comes with the territory. So let me use this space to further explain my column about "NBA talent" on college teams and address some emails I've received this morning.

Ready?

Here we go!

Question: My favorite team (insert name here) has a great player named (insert name here) who is probably a lottery pick. How could you not count him as being drafted this year or next year?

Answer: As I clearly stated, whether prospects are considered "NBA talents" is not something I decided for the purposes of this column. I turned that over to DraftExpress.com. In other words, this was a simple process for me. If DraftExpress.com had a player listed as going in the first round or second round of the 2009 or 2010 NBA Draft, I listed him accordingly. If not, I didn't. So any questions about the status of prospects should be directed to DraftExpress.com's Jonathan Givony, not me.

(Sorry Jonathan!)

Also, I explained in the column that this is not an exact science or an absolute predictor of which teams will and will not be great. One reason is because many players considered "NBA talents" in October won't be considered "NBA talents" in March, and vice versa. Another reason is because though I believe with every ounce of my brain that "NBA talents" are necessary to win the national title (just look at the recent history of national champions), I do not believe they are required to make an Elite Eight or even Final Four. For example, I think Notre Dame is going to be great this season, but (according to DraftExpress.com) there isn't a future first-round pick on the team. So while history suggests this suggests the Irish won't be our national champions, it doesn't mean they can't win the Big East and much more.

Question: My favorite team (insert name here) has committed (insert name here). He's ranked 10th in the Class of 2009 and will surely be a first-round pick. Why are you not counting him?

Answer: What on earth does a Class of 2009 prospect have to do with this season?

Regardless of where John Wall signs, he won't have anything to do with what happens on the court in the 2008-09 season because he won't play college basketball until the 2009-2010 season. Same goes for Abdul Gaddy. And Renardo Sidney. And Derrick Favors. And you get the idea, don't you?

Bottom line, only players on the current roster matter.

People who may or may not come in the future have nothing to do with this column.

Question: Why did you only list teams with at least eight points?

Answer: Because there were nine teams with at least eight points, and that took me to 1,500 words. That was plenty. But I did use the same exercise to go further down the list. In all, there were 16 teams with at least six points. So if you want to look at the rest of the list, well, here you go ...

-- Pittsburgh --

• Number of projected draft picks:  2
• Number of points: 7
• 2009 first round: Sam Young (4 points)
• 2010 first round: DeJuan Blair (3 points)
• 2009 second round: NA
• 2010 second round: NA

-- Oklahoma --

• Number of projected draft picks: 2
• Number of points: 7
• 2009 first round: Blake Griffin (4 points)
• 2010 first round: Willie Warren (3 points)
• 2009 second round: NA
• 2010 second round: NA

-- Tennessee --

• Number of projected draft picks: 2
• Number of points: 7
• 2009 first round: Tyler Smith (4 points)
• 2010 first round: Scotty Hopson (3 points)
• 2009 second round: NA
• 2010 second round: NA

-- Arizona State --

• Number of projected draft picks: 2
• Number of points: 6
• 2009 first round: James Harden (4 points)
• 2010 first round: Jeff Pendergraph (2 points)
• 2009 second round: NA
• 2010 second round: NA

-- Georgetown --

• Number of projected draft picks: 3
• Number of points: 6
• 2009 first round: NA
• 2010 first round:  Greg Monroe (3 points)
• 2009 second round: DaJuan Summers (2 points)
• 2010 second round: Austin Freeman (1 point)

-- Memphis --

• Number of projected draft picks: 2
• Number of points: 6
• 2009 first round: Tyreke Evans (4 points)
• 2010 first round: NA
• 2009 second round: Robert Dozier (2 points)
• 2010 second round: NA

-- Texas --

• Number of projected draft picks: 2
• Number of points: 6
• 2009 first round: Damion James (4 points)
• 2010 first round: NA
• 2009 second round: Connor Atchley (2 points)
• 2010 second round: NA

The Big 12, on Tuesday, released its official preseason basketball poll, which I thought was interesting because it basically echoed what I wrote earlier Tuesday while addressing an email about Missouri's NCAA tournament hopes. I was glad to see I wasn't crazy with my assessment, that the Big 12 coaches have the same first four teams that I have (just in a slightly different order). Furthermore, the next three (which are clearly behind the first four, like I predicted) are also the same. So without further ado, let's look at the official Big 12 poll:

Team                     (First-place votes)          Points

1. Oklahoma                 (3)                              109

2. Texas                         (4)                              107

3. Baylor                         (2)                              103

3. Kansas                      (3)                              103

5. Texas A&M                                                    79

6. Oklahoma State                                           69

7. Missouri                                                         51

8. Kansas State                                                50

9.  Nebraska                                                     49

10. Texas Tech                                                 39

11. Iowa State                                                   20

12. Colorado                                                     13

In short, I have no real issues with this poll.

One difference is that I like Texas to win the Big 12 based on the Longhorns returning four starters from a 31-win team. However, it could be argued that no major conference school (except Kansas State) will miss a single player as much as Texas will miss D.J. Augustin. And if you subscribe to that theory and the likelihood that Oklahoma will have the best returning player (Blake Griffin) and best newcomer (Willie Warren) in the league, then I have no problem with you putting the Sooners ahead of the Longhorns.

To be clear, I like OU too.

After that, I think Texas A&M, Oklahoma State and Missouri will (like the poll suggests) compete for fifth in the Big 12, which is what I wrote earlier. And that was the basis of me stating that the Tigers have a "decent chance" to return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2003. That they're picked seventh, however, indicates they'll have to overachieve a bit. But remember, Mike Anderson made a habit of overachieving at UAB. So again, let's put Missouri on the bubble and see how things unfold.