For Brandon Jennings, today was supposed to be The Day.

The Arizona-signee, who has openly talked about heading overseas for a year whether he receives a qualifying test score or not, was slated to receive the results of his most recent ACT.

However, Jennings' advisor, Kelly Williams (also the father of New Jersey Nets point guard Marcus Williams), said via text message that the date was "pushed back to July 11th."

Well, let's keep playing time waiting game.

Nolan Dennis is headed to Memphis.

The smooth Dallas-area rising senior committed to the Tigers, opting for John Calipari’s program over UCLA, Texas and North Carolina.

Calipari may not publicly say it, but he wants to try and get high-character guys – and this is certainly a start for the Class of 2009.

The previous staff did a nice job with Dennis and the new guys – Josh Pastner and Orlando Antigua – helped seal the deal.

Dennis apparently struggled in the spring, but he’s still a legitimate Top 50 player who just needs to become tougher.

Now Memphis will turn much of its focus to trying to land one of the nation’s top players, Xavier Henry.

Billy Donovan and the Florida Gators just landed a huge commitment in Doc Rivers’ other son, Austin.

Austin has been considered as an elite player and a target for the Gators since he attended the elite camp a year ago.

The 6-foot-3 combo guard in the Class of 2011 averaged 13.9 points per game at Olympia High and shot 38 percent from long distance this past season.

“I’ve been talking to them for a about a year now since the beginning of my freshman year,” Rivers told Scout.com. “The staff and everybody … I just started getting a good relationship with everyone over there and that’s what it comes down to. That’s when I decided to make my commitment.”

Rivers’ older brother, Jeremiah, recently transferred from Georgetown to Indiana – and the consensus is that Austin is clearly more talented than his older ‘bro.

Austin was one of just two rising sophomores that was invited to last weekend's Steve Nash Skills Camp.

I’m headed to Cape Cod for a couple days before I take to the road for the ever-important July recruiting period. I didn’t go out in April, so I’ve got some catching up to do. LeBron and I will be spending the first three days hanging together in Akron, then I’ll head to the Peach Jam and will finish up in Las Vegas.

Here’s an offseason rundown of the A-10:

Charlotte – Bobby Lutz will take his team to Toronto for Labor Day and will also play in the tournament in Anaheim from Nov. 27-30. The 49ers brought in Shamari Spears from Boston College and will also go on the road for non-conference games against Maryland (1/3), Davidson and Southern Illinois (12/6) and play Clemson at home on Nov. 22.

Dayton – Flyers assistant Anthony Solomon returned to Notre Dame and was replaced by Cornell Mann (Western Michigan). Dayton will play in the Chicago Invitational and will face Auburn (11/28) and Marquette (11/29). The Flyers will also play at Creighton (12/10) and at home against Marshall (12/23) and George Mason. Head coach Brian Gregory also lost Thiago Cordeiro (Arkansas State).

Duquesne – Greg Gary got the head job at Centenary and Kim Lewis went with him. The two Dukes assistants were replaced by Scott Rigot, formerly of Kentucky, and Steve Hall, a high school head coach out of Detroit. Duquesne lost Stephen Wood, but gained Kentucky big man Mike Williams via transfer. Ron Everhart’s team will play West Virginia (12/13) and go on the road against Pittsburgh (12/6) and Duke (11/28).

Fordham – No staff changes, no trips, no transfers and a non-conference game against Villanova. The word out of Fordham is that freshman point guard Jio Fontan, a 6-foot-1 floor leader from St. Anthony’s, has been terrific in open gym so far this summer and will be handed the ball from Day One.

George Washington – Karl Hobbs kicked Cheyenne Moore and Miles Beatty off the team at the end of the season. The Colonials will also participate in the Rainbow Classic out in Hawaii.

La Salle – John Giannini’s team will open with UConn in the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands on Nov. 21. The Explorers will play Florida State at home on Nov. 18 and also play Villanova at home on Dec. 14.

Rhode Island – Pat Skerry left to join Keno Davis down the road at Providence. The Rams will play in the Philly Hoop Group Classic in November and will also face Duke (11/16) and Providence (12/6) on the road. Hakim McCullar is transferring out of the program.

Richmond – The Spiders will play in the CBE Classic and will also travel to Spain in August for 12 days. They will also play Wake Forest at home on Dec. 19 and travel to Virginia Tech on Jan. 14. Chris Richard left to become a walk-on at Oregon State.

St. Bonaventure – The Bonnies are playing in a five-team round robin tournament hosted by Rutgers. It also includes Rutgers, Delaware, Robert Morris and Marist. St. Bonaventure will open with Robert Morris at home on Nov. 14. The Bonnies also lost Hilary Hailey (Maryland-Eastern Shore) and Matt Morgan (Winthrop).

Saint Joseph’s – Assistant Doug Overton left to coach in the NBA. The Hawks will play in the Maui Invitational and also have road games against Villanova and Creighton. Forward Todd O’Brien transferred in from Bucknell while D.J. Rivera left for Binghamton.

St. Louis – Assistant coach Paul Biancardi left to take a full-time gig with ESPN and has not been replaced yet. Rick Majerus & Co. will play Boston College at home in a return home-and-home series. The Billikens also lost four players via transfer – Adam Knollmeyer (Missouri Science and Technology), Dustin Maguire (Northern Kentucky), Marcus Relphorde (Indian Hills) and Anthony Mitchell.

Temple – The Owls will play in the Palmetto Classic in Charleston, S.C., a new tournament that will include the College of Charleston, Clemson and five other teams. Temple will also play against Tennessee (12/13) and at Kansas (12/20).

UMass – New coach Derek Kellogg hired a staff that includes Vance Walberg, Adam Ginsburg, Antwon Jackson (William & Mary) and Andy Allison as the director of basketball operations. The Minutemen will play in the Coaches vs. Cancer in Michigan and also have home games against Boston College and Vanderbilt and road games against Kansas and Houston. UMass will bring in Doug Wiggins (UConn) and lose Max Groebe.

Xavier – Director of Operations Bill Comar left for a spot on the road at Loyola-Chicago and has not been replaced yet. The Musketeers will play in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off from Nov. 20-23 along with Memphis, USC and Virginia Tech. They will also play non-conference games against Duke, Butler, Auburn, LSU and Virginia.

NEW ENGLAND ELITE TOP 75

The New England Elite 75 Camp will be held Thursday, Aug. 14th at Boston University from 4-10 p.m.

The event, run by New England Basketball Services’ Adam Finkelstein, featured nearly every top high school player from New England a year ago – regardless of grade.

Erik Murphy (Florida), UConn commits Alex Oriakhi and Jamal Coombs as well as Mike Marra (Louisville), Tevin Baskin, Austin Carroll, Nate Lubick, Nadir Tharpe all attended last year and are expected to return this year.

RANDOM NOTES: Paul Biancardi has left St. Louis to take a full-time gig at ESPN.com. Biancardi was extremely grateful to Rick Majerus for the opportunity this past season… Purdue’s Paul Lusk has been promoted to associate head coach by Matt Painter. … New Orleans head coach Joe Pasternak nabbed another big-time transfer with the addition of ex-Memphis wing Doneal Mack. The Privateers also got Joey Cameron last week.

The Big East 18-game conference schedule was released (http://www.bigeast.org/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_I
D=19400&ATCLID=1505292) and, after a quick glance, here are a couple thoughts:

- Each team plays three other schools in a home-and-home.

- Villanova drew the most difficult trio with Marquette, Syracuse and Providence – three teams that should enter the season ranked either in or right around the Top 25.

- Providence and its new coach, Keno Davis, have a favorable schedule with its three home-and-homes against Villanova, Cincinnati and Rutgers.

- Pittsburgh, Marquette and Syracuse all have more difficult road slates in the league.

It made perfect sense for SMU.

Matt Doherty’s team has three players who hail from Senegal, so the Mustangs recent trip to Senegal and South Africa was two-fold:

To allow his current players to get a chance to see their family and friends back home and also to recruit the area for the future.

Remember, Doherty also has the help of Amadou Fall, who lives in the Dallas area and works for the Dallas Mavericks.

``He’s the pied piper in Senegal,” Doherty said. “He’s very influential on the whole continent.”

Doherty was able to practice 10 days prior to the trip, which spanned from late May until early June and included five days in Senegal and five in South Africa

``It was incredible,” Doherty said. “To see where our players, Bamba Fall, Papa Dia and Mouhammad Faye, grew up and meet their families. It was very educational and also a great team bonding experience.”

Doherty spoke about the poverty in Dakar. ``It blows you away,” he said. “Kids with no shoes on their feet, people in the street because of over-population. Villages don’t have electricity. But what struck me is that they are still very happy and spiritual.”

Dia hadn’t been home in nearly five years.

Doherty took the team to see Nelson Mandela’s home and also the Civil Rights Museum.

They also played three games and put on numerous clinics.

``Our team got better,” Doherty said. “And we marketed our program and continued to develop a relationship with the community over there.”

Doherty was unable to bring any of his freshman and that’s one of the primary reasons (along with cost) why many coaches opt to wait until Labor Day, when they are allowed by the NCAA to bring their freshman on the trip.

The offensive development of Fall, the 7-foot-1 senior center, impressed Doherty.

``His game has gone to another level,” Doherty said. “His confidence is high and he’s using a right-handed jump hook all of the sudden. We haven’t had a go-to guy that people have had to double.”

Doherty also said that sophomore swingman Alex Malone is more aggressive and point guard Mike Walker made quality decisions.

Lute Olson and his revamped staff are getting it done.

In the span of less than 10 days, Arizona has pulled in a pair of Top 100 players. First it was Greg Smith (Scout.com, No. 27), a big man out of California, followed by yesterday’s news that 6-foot-7 skilled small forward Mike Moser (Scout.com, No. 84) has also committed to the Wildcats.

Reggie Geary was the key man on the recruitment of Smith while Russ Pennell was responsible for getting Moser, who attends Grant High in Portland, Ore.

However, Olson said the most important recruitment was courtesy of Mike Dunlap, who was key in the return of Chase Budinger.

``He’s so well-respected in the coaching end of it,” Olson said on Tuesday night. “He has a lot of contacts overseas which we may utilize depending on how recruiting goes over here.”

``But he was so critical in getting Chase back to school,” Olson added. “He has so many NBA contacts and was able to find out how Chase’s workouts went and other important information about his draft status.”

Olson said he is still awaiting July 6, the date in which Brandon Jennings is expected to get his test results back. Olson was miffed as to why Jennings didn’t receive his results when the majority of the other students around the country received them on June 30.

``It creates a problem for us because of setting up schedules,” Olson said. ``It’s really unfair to Brandon.”

Olson also said he has yet to speak with Jennings about the recent speculation that he may head overseas even if he qualifies to play college basketball.

``We’ll talk once we find out what happens with his test score,” Olson said. “We’re not going to worry about it until then.”

NOT THE ONLY CATS GETTING IT DONE

Arizona wasn’t the only Wildcats celebrating on the recruiting trail on Tuesday. Villanova received a commitment from a potential McDonald’s All-American in 6-foot-7 power forward Isaiah Armwood.

Armwood joins another one of Scout.com’s Top 25 Players in the Class of 2009, talented Philly guard Maalik Wayns, who have already committed to ‘Nova.

ROSE STOPPED FOR GOING 100 AT 2:58 A.M.

With all the talk about Michael Beasley's so-called character issues prior to the NBA Draft, how about this week's Chicago Tribune story about No. 1 overall pick Derrick Rose having to go to court to face charges of driving 106 m.p.h. at 2:58 a.m. back on April 29?

RANDOM NOTES: New York Daily News writer “Hoops” Weiss reported that ex-UConn forward Curtis Kelly is headed to Kansas State.

Just got word that UCLA coach Ben Howland has signed a seven-year deal that runs through 2014-15.

Howland will get a guaranteed $1.97 million this season and escalates to $2.3 million for 2014-15. There are also incentives that are worth up to $235,000 per season.

Howland, 51, has taken the Bruins to three consecutive Final Fours.

ATLANTIC SUN:

Belmont – Rick Byrd’s team will face Tennessee on the road in Knoxville on Dec. 10.

Campbell – Coach Robbie Laing has brought in Matt Gwynne, a 6-foot-10 transfer from Chattanooga who will have two years left.

East Tennessee State – Murray Bartow’s team will head to Toronto for a Labor Day trip from Aug. 29-Sept. 2
 
Gardner-Webb – Rick Scruggs hired former Kansas player and grad assistant Michael Lee to replace Andre Grey (Western Carolina). Non-conference games of note include Virginia Tech, Kansas State, Wichita State, Oklahoma and South Carolina. Matt French transferred out of the program and is headed to Francis Marion.

Jacksonville – Cliff Warren’s team has non-conference games against Florida State (11/15) in Jacksonville, then will travel to Baylor (11/24), Ohio State and Georgia Tech (11/28).

Kennesaw State – Tony Ingle’s team will host the 100 Club Classic from Nov. 14-15 with Western Illinois, Northern Illinois and Maine in the field. The Owls will also play at Georgia on Dec. 31. Four players transferred out – Tanner Jacobs, Keonte Keith, Nick Mattone and Ryan Daugherty – and Auburn’s Matt Heramb transferred in.

Lipscomb – Assistant Hubie Smith left to take a head high school job and was replaced by Pete Froedden, a former Lipscomb point guard who was the head coach at Sycamore High. Devon Seaford has transferred to Queens College and the Bisons have added Justin Glenn of Centenary. Lipscomb will play at N.C. State (12/20) and Indiana (12/28).

Mercer – New coach Bob Hoffman assembled a staff that includes Spencer Wright, Paul Johnson, Mark Osina and Jon Shaw. The Bears will play in the Chicago Invitational and will also take a trip on Labor Day. Mercer also lost Justin Davis, who transferred and is looking at Washington University.

North Florida – Matt Kilcullen promoted Earnest Crumbley Jr. after Mike Sumney left to take the head spot at Bethany College and also hired Jimmy Link from Flagler. North Florida will play in BYU’s tournament from No. 19-21, which also includes host BYU, Rice and Cal Poly SLO. Non-conference games include Miami (12/31) and Clemson (12/16). Kilcullen also adds Eni Cuka from Florida Atlantic.

Stetson – Collins Okafor transferred out of the program. The Hatters will play at Texas (11/14) and on the road against Florida (12/29).

SIDNEY FAVORING JAYHAWKS?

Renardo Sidney’s father told me that Kansas is the school that is currently the most active in recruiting his son.

The elder Sidney said that both USC and UCLA aren’t recruiting his son nearly as much as they once were. He also mentioned that Arizona State, Memphis and Louisville are in the mix.

RANDOM NOTES: It’s insane that the agent for Lakers 20-year-old center Andrew Bynum is asking for a max contract. Let’s see: Bynum averaged 13.1 points and 10.2 rebounds per game for a whopping 35 games this past year. … Oklahoma State big man Martavious Adams is transferring to Arkansas State.

Four years after the inaugural Villa 7 Consortium, VCU and Nike have decided to add an all-inclusive Villa 6.

For all the coaches looking to eventually get into the invite-only Villa 7 (which has produced 35 Division 1 head coaches in since its inception in 2004), the 1st Annual Villa 6 Consortium will be held at the Palms Casino and Resort in Las Vegas on Monday, July 21.

Villa 6 will be open to everyone in the industry, but it’s certainly aimed at the mid and low-major guys and other assistants looking to take the next step.

It’s a terrific idea – and I’m not just saying that because I’m involved, either.

``It’s for guys looking to advance their career or increase their visibility,” VCU assistant athletic director Mike Ellis said. “Coaches that want to take the next step.”

The condensed one-day program begins at noon and concludes at 5:45 p.m. the day before everything gets going in Las Vegas.

Here is the agenda:

12:00 – Welcome
12:15 – The Journey featuring Florida associate head coach Larry Shyatt
1:15 – Secrets of Success featuring assistants Joe Dooley (Kansas),Russell Springmann (Texas) and Shaka Smart (Florida)
2:15 – Break
2:30 – From the Athletic Director’s Chair featuring Vic Cegles (Long Beach State), Keith Gill (American), Norwood Teague (VCU)
3:30 – The Anatomy of an Assistant featuring Dave Telep (Scout.com) and Jeff Goodman (FOXSports.com)
4:45 – What I’m Looking for in an Assistant Coach featuring Tulane’s Dave Dickerson and Drake’s Mark Phelps.
5:45 - Closing

If you have any questions, you can call VCU’s Mike Ellis at 804-827-0805 (office) or 804-921-1008 (cell) or mwellis@vcu.edu. Please RSVP no later than Wed., July 16.

Been working on a mock draft for 2009 all morning. It’s pretty tough to do and should be up on the site later today.

- Iowa State transfer Wesley Johnson is headed to Syracuse. The long and athletic 6-foot-7 Texas native chose Syracuse shortly after his visit. ``I knew it was right,” he told FOXSports.com. “I like their offense and I’ve been watching them play for years.” Johnson, who averaged a dozen points per game this past season despite playing with a nagging foot injury, will sit out this season and be eligible in 2009-10. If Jonny Flynn and Paul Harris decide to stick around, the Orange could be Final Four contenders.

- Sad news coming out of Adelphi University, where recent transfer Menghe “Papi” a’Nyam collapsed and died last night during a pickup game. A’Nyam’s death comes a little more than a year after fellow Cameroon player and former New Hampton Prep standout Guy Alang-Ntang died while playing a pick-up game. New Hampton coach Pete Hutchens told me that a’Nyam was one of the best kids he’s ever encountered. ``He was a great person,” he said. “One of the most humble and appreciative kids I’ve met.”

I find it comical to have someone grading the NBA Draft who just hands out A’s and B’s if fear of rubbing someone the wrong way. If you are going to be scared to criticize, then you shouldn’t be in this job.

I am a huge fan of Seattle GM Sam Presti and have known him for nearly a decade, but I think he made a huge mistake when he chose Russell Westbrook at No. 4. I’m entitled to my opinion and he’s got his. So what.

It's nothing personal.

Danny Ainge took a huge risk with J.R. Giddens and his track record of off-court issues. I wouldn’t have given him a guaranteed deal.

I mean, how could anyone in their right mind give the Detroit Pistons a decent grade after Joe Dumars took Walter Sharpe with the 32nd overall pick. The guy’s been nothing but problems wherever he’s been. If I were grading Dumars, I'd have given him a "D" in this draft, maybe even a failing grade.

But the problem is that some are afraid to tell it like it really is, instead they are worried if they say or write something negative that they won’t get “inside” info any more.

Let's face it. No one really has much of a clue as to what's going to happen in the NBA Draft, anyways. Agents and GM's are putting out false info all the time.

- Draft Express was the most accurate in picking the first round, according to my calculations. ESPN.com Chad Ford was second and NBADraft.Net was third. Draft Express is the one site out there that actually goes out and sees the players. To me, you can’t do a mock draft without actually seeing those you are rating.

- Despite reports from the East Valley Tribune that maintain Brandon Jennings didn’t achieve a qualifying test score and will play overseas next season, Jennings’ mentor, Kelly Williams, told me that he still hasn’t received the results.

- UConn’s Stanley Robinson is headed back home for a semester to straighten out some issues. Robinson is an Alabama native who plans to return to UConn, but it’s not a lock – especially if freshman Nate Miles makes an instant impact in Storrs.

- No surprise that Lance Stephenson will consider playing in Europe instead of college after he finishes high school. Adam Zagoria, who runs the top New York-New Jersey area web site (http://www.zagsblog.net/), talked to Stephenson and his father. The most comical part is that Stephenson, a Reebok kid who likely has Sonny Vaccaro in his ear, also said he’d consider joining the Army.

- While Missouri guard Keon Lawrence is saying he is transferring to be closer to home, we’re hearing that he just wants more shots. No surprise. I saw Lawrence score 50 points in an AAU game and walked away in complete disgust. It was one of the most selfish performances I’ve seen in a long, long time.

Here are a few post-NBA Draft thoughts from my hotel room in New York this morning:

1) I thought the Los Angeles Clippers came out of last night with one of the top drafts. They got Eric Gordon, the arguably the top perimeter scorer in the draft, with their first-round pick and then took a flyer on long 7-footer DeAndre Jordan in the second round.

2) What are the New Jersey Nets thinking?  They added three players who basically play the same position within a 24-hour period. They dealt for Yi Jianlian and then drafted Brook Lopez and Ryan Anderson. None of those three is a legitimate center, all three enjoy playing on the perimeter.

3) Still can’t believe that Seattle took Russell Westbrook at No. 4. I’ll say it again: He’s not a point guard and not a great shooter. He’s a terrific defender, but I think general manager Sam Presti made a mistake on this one.

4) Poor Darrell Arthur. The kid was dealt more than a deck of cards. Try and follow: First of all, he slipped all the way to No. 27 overall, then was traded from New Orleans to Portland for some cash. He was dealt to Houston in a deal that brought Portland Nicolas Batum and Joey Dorsey and traded a final time to Memphis for Donte Greene.

5) Memphis general manager Chris Wallace, who didn’t exactly light the world on fire when he was the boss in Boston, has basically decided he’s going to make the Grizzlies O.J. Mayo’s team. Can’t wait to see how this one works out.

6) My guess is that Larry Brown isn’t much of a Raymond Felton fan. It’ll only be a matter of time before D.J. Augustin displaces Felton as Charlotte’s starting point guard. In one of the draft’s biggest shockers, Augustin was taken ninth overall.

7) Best trade of the night belongs to Portland, who dealt the No. 13 pick for Jerryd Bayless, who went 11th overall. The Trailblazers are now a veteran or two away from contending for an NBA title in a few years.

8) I guess Detroit boss Joe Dumars is shaking things up. He took Walter Sharpe. Talk about character issues.

9) Love Utah’s pick of Kosta Koufos at No. 23.

10) How in the world are Kevin Love and Al Jefferson going to be able to stay on the court together defensively?

My bad.

DeAndre Jordan is sitting in the first row and not in the draft room.

Poor Darrell Arthur. It's gotten so bad that his younger brother has his head on the table and is fast asleep.

There was a run of big men starting with Robin Lopez (15), Marreese Speights (16), Roy Hibbert (17), JaVale McGee (18), J.J. Hickson (19), Alexis Ajinca (20), Ryan Anderson (21) and Kosta Koufos (23).

The Nets win the bonehead draft award already. After trading for Yi Jinlian, Kiki Vandeweghe has drafted two more pick and pop power forwards: Brook Lopez and Ryan Anderson.

Darrell Arthur and DeAndre Jordan are the last two standing.

Not much of a surprise with Jordan, who hasn’t really done anything to establish himself as a lottery pick. However, Arthur is extremely talented and has also proven himself.

Toronto just took Roy Hibbert with its first round pick, No. 19 overall.

Chris Bosh, Jermaine O’Neal and Hibbert – with no one in the backcourt.