Miami coach Frank Haith said it was a consensus among coaches at the ACC meetings earlier this week to try and override the proposal that will eliminate the April evaluation period.

``We’ve got to get that back,” Haith said. “Collectively, we all want that back.”

Haith also said that the 16-game league schedule will stay in check until the current TV deal expires in two years – and then it will be re-visited.

Just about everyone knows that the Hurricanes will be a Top 25 preseason club, but what they don’t know is that Haith & Co. will welcome in one of the most underrated freshman in the entire country in 6-foot-5 athletic wing DeQuan Jones out of Georgia.

Jones is ranked No. 23 in the country by Rivals.com.

``He reminds me of a Quentin Richardson type,” Haith said. “He’s extremely athletic, his shooting has really improved and his ballhandling has gotten better, also. He’s a slasher who plays with reckless abandon and is a workaholic who always wants to be in the gym.”

Miami returns just about everyone except for solid big man Anthony King, but now Haith has that guy in Jones who can matchup with the other big, strong wings in the league – a la Gerald Henderson Jr., Marcus Ginyard, etc.

``He’s gives us athleticism and size on the perimeter, which is something we lacked last year,” Haith said. “That’s one of the reasons why he’ll make an impact this season.”

ALTMAN STRESSING STRENGTH

Creighton coach Dana Altman had such a young team last season that it was impossible to hide its deficiency: The players just weren’t strong enough.

So Altman has asked for and received a strength coach who will work primarily with the basketball players. In the past, the team had to share its strength coach with other teams in the program.

``We weren’t physical enough last year and that was one of our glaring weaknesses,” Altman said. “We need to emphasize it within our program and now we’ll have someone who works with our guys a little more.”

It was a down year for the Blue Jays and they still won 22 games. The only significant loss is that of senior big man Dane Watts (9.6 ppg).

Athletic freshman wing P’Allen Stinnett (12.6 ppg) wasted little time making an impact in Omaha – and guards Booker Woodfox (9.6 ppg) and Cavel Witter (9.1 ppg) were solid as well. Altman will need for former Louisville forward Chad Millard (4.1 ppg) and Kenny Lawson Jr. (5.9 ppg) to provide more along the frontline.

DUKES LOSE DUO

The real reason that Duquesne is losing Shawn James and Kojo Mensah to the NBA Draft (both have made poor decisions and signed with agents) is because their advisor, Norm Ostrin, wasn’t happy with their roles.

Specifically, Ostrin wasn’t in favor of Everhart using his system of using such a deep bench. FOXSports.com spoke to three NBA executives and the consensus was that neither player is expected to be selected in the NBA Draft – unless they have stellar workouts.

MORE TOURNEY INFO

- UNLV will host a tournament on Nov. 28 in which the Running Rebels will play California and Cincinnati will face Florida State.

- Kennesaw State is hosting a tournament on Nov. 14-15 with Western Illinois, Maine and one more team to be determined.

- Illinois State is hosting a tournament over Thanksgiving with Cal Santa Barbara, Nicholls State and Winston Salem State.

- BYU will play Arizona State and Louisville will face Minnesota out in Phoenix.

RANDOM NOTES: It appears as though LSU assistant Butch Pierre is headed to Oklahoma State. … Memphis coach John Calipari is also looking at Georgetown assistant David Cox (a former D.C. Assault guy) in addition to Pittsburgh assistant Orlando Antigua. Cox also got his start as Jamie Dixon’s director of operations. … The top unsigned player in the country, Devin Ebanks, is expected to make a decision either Sunday or Monday following his graduation at St. Thomas More (Conn.). … One source told me not to be surprised if Lute Olson brings back Reggie Geary to take Miles Simon’s spot on the staff. Simon has been the head coach in the NBDL. … Ohio State coach Thad Matta still doesn’t have any movement in his right leg. ``The doctors said it’s going to take time,” said Matta, who developed problems in the foot after back surgery. … Robert Morris assistant Andrew Toole has been given the associate tag. … Not sure if I mentioned that Jean Prioleau has gone from Iowa State to TCU and Jim Christian has also brought on Bill Wuczynski from Florida International.