April 28, 2006

Every Friday during the off-season I will give my thoughts on the game I love, college basketball.

• When you look at all of the players jumping as early entries into the NBA draft, it is amazing to see so many when only 30 first-round picks will get guaranteed contracts. Given a number of seniors and overseas players available, simply do the math and understand that some of these underclassmen are getting bad advice. I hope that a number of them will opt to return to college and not make the mistake that guys like Anthony Roberson and Kelenna Azuibuike, to name a few, made last season. Many of them have no shot and it is all about ego, ego, ego. I have said it before and I will say it again: They will end up bouncing around in Europe and in developmental leagues, becoming basketball vagabonds. The thinking process blows my mind.

• Does anybody think about what coaches go through when kids announce in late April that they are rolling the dice and looking into entering the draft? The coaches are being held hostage, my friends, and they can't really plan for their program when they wonder who is coming back and who isn't. You usually can't recruit a player of that quality this late in the game, so replacing an early-entry candidate is difficult. This is happening all over America.

• Down in Texas, the Longhorns had the making of a dynamite team. Then LaMarcus Aldridge, P.J. Tucker and Daniel Gibson all declared for the NBA draft. Tucker and Gibson did not sign with agents, so there is still the possibility they could return to Austin next season. Tucker is a big, physical, tough inside player. I feel he has other parts of his game that need work and he would benefit from another season at Texas. He's an in-between guy and I am not sure where he will play on the NBA level. Gibson was up and down all season and he needs to be more consistent. He also needs to work on handling the rock. If he was a more-skilled ball handler, with another season under Rick Barnes, his stock would rise even higher. He could be part of a nucleus that could be special.

• For the second straight year, Karl Hobbs has seen a couple of players throw their names in the NBA draft pool. Last year it was Pops Mensah-Bonsu and Mike Hall, but both withdrew and went on to help the Colonials to a big season. This time around, Danilo Pinnock and Carl Elliott have opted for the draft ... for now. Look for Pinnock and Elliott to re-consider and go back to school. Hopefully they will realize that they will be better off playing for George Washington and an outstanding coach in Hobbs than gambling and rolling the dice.

• The addition of Barry Rohrssen as head coach of Manhattan will make the recruiting wars in the New York-New Jersey area even more intense. Rutgers hired Fred Hill Jr. and Seton Hall brought in ex-Jaspers coach Bobby Gonzalez, and all three can flat-out recruit. Throw in St. John's and Norm Roberts and there will be intense battles for top prospects in the Big Apple.

• Now that Matt Doherty has taken over at SMU, I hope Florida Atlantic will consider Rex Walters as his replacement. Walters served on Doherty's staff in Boca Raton last season and the former Kansas Jayhawks guard and NBA player is a hard worker and intense competitor. If given the opportunity, I feel he would be a solid coach. Remember, Florida Atlantic is moving to the Sun Belt Conference.

• For fans of the ACC, next season will bring in a number of special diaper dandies. A lot has been said already about North Carolina's class with Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Brendan Wright. Duke has Jon Scheyer, Brian Zoubek and Gerald Henderson. Georgia Tech has Thaddeus Young and Javaris Crittenton. Florida State has 7-footer John Kreft as well as Aaron Holmes and Josue Soto. Maryland welcomes in Eric Hayes leading a solid class. Virginia has Jamil Tucker and Will Harris coming in. We have to wait and see about N.C. State's incoming group depending on the new coach.

• Former Wolfpack coach Herb Sendek got some good news at his new job, Arizona State. Forward Jeff Pendergraph, a member of the Pac-10 All-Freshman team, will return to the Sun Devils for his sophomore season after considering a transfer. Pendergraph thought about leaving after Rob Evans left Tempe, but after talking to Sendek, he decided to come back. He averaged almost 11 points and six rebounds last season.

• Sendek got more good news, using his ACC ties to get Duke transfer Eric Boateng to Arizona State. The 6-11 Boateng will sit out 2006-07 but will be eligible for 2007-08.

• Mick Cronin is having an impact at Cincinnati already. His latest addition is 6-8 forward Marcus Sikes from Mount San Jacinto (Calif.) College.

• Virginia coach Dave Leitao was happy with the news that Rob Lanier was returning to his staff. Lanier had been mentioned as a candidate for a vacancy at another school but he'll be back in Charlottesville.

Dick Vitale coached the Pistons and the University of Detroit before broadcasting ESPN's first college basketball game in 1979. Send a question for Vitale for possible use on ESPNEWS.