5. It looks like Jim Calhoun won't be leaving the sidelines just yet. The legendary Connecticut coach has dealt with a series of illnesses and injuries over the past few years -- including three treatments for cancer and a recent trip to the hospital this past June after breaking several ribs in a charity bike ride -- but the Hall of Famer doesn't appear to be ready to call it quits on his coaching career. Calhoun, one of only seven collegiate coaches to reach 800 career wins (Syracuse's Jim Boeheim needs only one win to reach the mark), is currently in the midst of negotiating a new multiyear deal with the Huskies. "It's not going to be a one-year contract," team spokesman Kyle Muncy said. "How many years it's going to be, I don't know, but it will not be a one-year contract." And that's certainly a good sign for UConn fans, who thought Calhoun might be coaching his final year in Storrs this fall after the school was found to have illegally recruited highly touted freshman Nate Miles just days before the team's Final Four contest against Michigan State last April.
 
4. It wasn't that long ago that Binghamton coach Kevin Broadus was enjoying an America East championship and a trip to the Big Dance. In fact, it was just last March that the Bearcats took a trip to Greensboro, N.C., to face No. 2 seed Duke in the first round of the NCAA tournament (Binghamton lost the game and ended its season with an 86-62 defeat). Fast forward six months later, and the program is an absolute state of disarray. And it's mostly thanks to starting point guard Emanuel "Tiki" Mayben, who got the snowball rolling last week when he was arrested in his hometown of Troy, N.Y., for selling and possessing cocaine. A day later, the program dismissed five other players -- including the team's leading scorer last year, Derrick "D.J." Rivera (20 ppg, 6.5 rpg). And that snowball continues to grow larger this week after the school's athletic director, Joel Thirer, announced his resignation. Thirer, however, will remain a tenured professor at the University, while Jim Norris will take over as the department's interim athletic director. Yet for Broadus, it's a major damper on what could have been another stellar season in upstate New York.
 
3. There isn't a team in college basketball with a bigger target on its back this fall than Kansas. The Jayhawks, who return their top three players in point guard Sherron Collins, shooting guard Tyshawn Taylor and center Cole Aldrich, are expected to be the preseason No. 1 when the polls come out in November and have the talent, depth and experience to cut down the nets in Indianapolis next April. That is, if Bill Self's players can manage to stay out of trouble before then. So far, that's been mostly a problem for the 6-foot-3 Taylor, who last week was involved in a fight between the Kansas basketball and football teams and dislocated his thumb in the process. The scuffle, which lasted two days and stems from a long-running dispute between the programs, has Taylor out for 3-4 weeks but more importantly, shines a bright light of embarrassment on the University and its athletic department. "The reason it happened was because a really small group of individuals put selfish motives ahead of what was really important," Self said. A few days later, even Taylor can attest to that now. "I'm embarrassed because of the situation," the sophomore said this week. "We embarrassed our campus, our university, both teams, and it's just a situation that shouldn't have happened. ... I wish I could take it back." While it's too late for that, Taylor's apology was an honorable move for a kid that still has some growing up to do.
 
2. What a scary week it has been for college athletes in the weight room. On the same day that USC running back Stafon Johnson dropped 275 pounds on his neck and was rushed to the hospital for immediate throat surgery, Tennessee forward Emmanuel Negedu collapsed during a workout inside Tennessee's weight room, needing a defibrillator to save his life minutes after falling to the ground. Despite not having a pulse at first, the 6-foot-7 sophomore from Nigeria was alert when an ambulance arrived to escort him to UT Medical Center. "I feel good," he said after the incident in a statement. "It means a lot that everyone has asked about me and that people are praying for me. It's good to be a part of the Tennessee family." Last season, Negedu played in 33 games, averaging 7.2 minutes, 1.9 rebounds and 1.7 points. While those numbers don't exactly jump out at you, there's a good chance that Negedu will take on a larger role this season with the Vols, who should contend with Kentucky for this year's SEC championship. "Lots of factors had to happen for God to do his work, and we thank God for the blessing of his work and the blessing of (team trainers Chad Newman and Jason McVeigh)," Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl told WNML. And they'll be thanking him a lot more if they win that conference title in March, too.
 
1. Speaking of Bruce Pearl, the Vols coach has always had a tendency for speaking his mind -- and for the most part, it's been in a good way. But sometimes Pearl, who has done wonders to turn around Tennessee's basketball program in only five years, can be too much of a jokester and take things a little too far. And in this day and age when the media likes to dissect every word and sentence from coaches, players and parents, Pearl has to know better than to say what he said, especially at a charity fundraising event. And especially with the cameras rolling. But as the Boston native pronounced about his players: "I've got a tough job. I've got to put these guys from different worlds together, right? I've got guys from Chicago, Detroit. I'm talking about the 'hood! And I've got guys from Grainger County, where they wear the hood!" It's another thing to say what he said during a radio interview or in a post-game press conference. Sure, the crowd laughed, but how will other players take his words in the coming days and weeks? Will they remember what Pearl said in two months from now? While there's little chance that Pearl meant any harm by the joke and while he did apologize for the remark the following day, there's no guarantee that his perception won't change among players and coaches around the country in a sport heavily dominated by African Americans for quite some time.

5. Congratulations to Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, who earned a contract extension through 2016 last week. Izzo has unquestionably been one of the top coaches in college basketball for the last decade, winning five regular-season Big Ten championships and taking the Spartans to five Final Fours during his time in East Lansing. Those numbers, better yet, could both jump to six this season with a starting lineup returning that includes point man Kalin Lucas, shooting guards Chris Allen and Durrell Summers and forwards Delvon Roe and Raymar Morgan. Many of the preseason top 25s that have already been released are predicting the Spartans to be a top-five team this season, and while the Big Ten will be loaded with veteran experience and talent across the board, Michigan State should also have the upper hand on the rest of the competition after making it all the way to last year's national championship game in Detroit.

4. It's not too often that you hear about one of Wisconsin's players getting into trouble with the law -- let alone two. But Badgers coach Bo Ryan will be without one of his newcomers this year after freshman Jeremy Glover was kicked off the team for a burglary arrest earlier this month. Glover, 18, and teammate Diamond Taylor were originally suspended by the team after the two were found stealing iPods, a cell phone and more than $400 in cash. While Taylor's status is still up in the air, losing Glover is a minor blow for Ryan and the Badgers, who will be counting on senior guards Trevon Hughes and Jason Bohannon (36.6 percent from the 3-point line last season) to lead the way for a team that will be looking to fill some holes down low after the departure of forwards Joe Krabbenhoft and Marcus Landry. But if there's one thing that you learn over the years, it's that you never count out a Bo Ryan-coached team even when the Big Ten appears to be one of the best conferences in the nation for the first time in awhile.

3. Another week goes by, and more news regarding Kentucky comes to the surface. This time, though, it's the university doing its own investigative journalism after reporting several minor rules violations to the NCAA last week. Though the school shouldn't be punished too severely in the end, the main violation involves Bilal Batley, a former Graduate Manager at Indiana under Kelvin Sampson and a former Assistant Director of Operations/Management at Memphis under John Calipari who broke NCAA rules when he shagged rebounds for an unnamed student-athlete at a gym this summer. Batley has since resigned from the program for an unknown reason, while the other secondary violation reported by the school involved a high school basketball camp advertising that a current Kentucky player may appear. With this latest act of integrity, it may look like the Wildcats are trying to wipe the slate clean after the mess that Calipari left at Memphis. But there's no way around it -- whether he likes it or not, the spotlight will continue to shine on Calipari week after week this season.

2. Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon had to think it was bad enough that he was losing redshirt junior forward Gilbert Brown for the first semester this season. Now, he's got even bigger problems on his hands. One of the Panthers' two seniors and lone returning starter, Jermaine Dixon will miss roughly two months to recover from bone graft surgery he had last week on his broken right foot. Dixon, who returns as Pitt's most experienced player, played in all 36 games last season, averaging 8.4 points per game, but has dealt with injury issues this summer after originally fracturing the foot in July. Dixon's absence, in fact, could especially prove to be costly for the Panthers early on as they'll face Binghamton and possibly Texas, both NCAA tournament teams last year, in the month of November.

1. Marquette coach Buzz Williams knew he had to replace a lot coming into this season. After all, the Golden Eagles lost their senior backcourt trio of Dominic James, Jerel McNeal and Wesley Matthews that attributed to the majority of the team's scoring last year. While senior forward Lazar Hayward will be Williams' go-to player in the fall, freshman point guard Junior Cadougan was expected to relieve some of the pressure as well. That, however, won't be the case anymore after Cadougan, a 6-foot-1 native of Toronto, tore his Achilles' tendon last week and will likely miss the entire 2009-10 season. "We all know injuries are a part of sports," Williams said. "As a program, we are all hurt and disappointed for Junior. ... He will still be a valuable member of our team this season." With the loss of Cadougan, Williams will have to lean on newcomers Dwight Buycks and Darius Johnson-Odom even more in what could end up being a rebuilding year for Marquette.

5. Looks like Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury may have dodged a bullet this offseason. A couple weeks after highly-touted freshman Renardo Sidney was cleared by the NCAA eligibility center, Stansbury learned that his senior center, Jarvis Varnado, was released from the hospital. Varnado, the country's leading shot-blocker the past two seasons, fell ill in practice on Monday and was taken in for tests. But when doctors couldn't discover exactly what was wrong with him after almost two days of examinations, they sent Varnado home. The uncertainty of Varnado's illness may be cause for concern to some, including Stansbury, but with more than two months before the start of the season, the 6-foot-9 All-SEC big man should be back to 100 percent by the Bulldogs' season opener.

4. If Christopher Niemann hasn't given Nebraska coach Doc Sadler a massive headache yet, there's still time. That's because the 6-foot-11 German center can't seem to stay healthy for any length of time. Niemann, who tore his ACL in the final week of the regular season last year and underwent successful surgery and rehab during the spring, managed to tear his other ACL last week and will miss the entire 2009-10 season now. But there may be one positive for Sadler: Niemann should be able to apply for a redshirt and obtain one. If that's the case, then Sadler can live with the fact that he'll still have three years of Niemann in Lincoln.

3. Ah Billy Gillispie, you couldn't stay away. And he wonders why the media is so hard on him these days. Well, maybe it's because he's making his own news. The former Kentucky coach, who lasted only two seasons in Lexington before getting the pink slip on his desk, was arrested last week for DUI about 30 miles from the school's campus. Gillispie, who refused to take a sobriety test after police stopped him at 2:47 a.m. and smelled wine on his breath, has had two other drunken driving incidents -- one in Tulsa, Okla., while working as an assistant for Bill Self at Tulsa and one in El Paso, Texas, while serving as UTEP's head coach. Strike three, then, obviously shows that Gillispie hasn't learned his lesson. So the next time he complains about us writers ripping him to shreds, he should remember that he has only himself to blame for his own careless decisions.

2. Speaking of Kentucky, how much more drama can we expect from the Bluegrass State the rest of this year? First it was Gillispie being fired by UK in the spring and later suing the university in federal court for million as part of a broken seven-year agreement with the Wildcats. (The school, however, says Gillispie never signed a formal contract and thus isn't owed the money.) Then, we see John Calipari bolt for Kentucky with NCAA violations piling up at Memphis. And finally, we learn that Rick Pitino isn't such a good Catholic after all -- even if Kentucky churchgoers think he should be given another chance. Now a former Kentucky basketball player, Edward Davender, has been arrested for selling fraudulent tickets for the upcoming season. According to Lexington police, the former All-SEC player during the mid-1980s was accepting advance payments for tickets he did not have. And what's next: Kentucky recruits cheating on their physicals?

1. Last but not least, how about Isiah Thomas' introduction to college basketball this fall? If he thought coaching the New York Knicks was ugly, then he'll be in for another sideline nightmare when Florida International opens the season against defending national champ North Carolina in the 2K Sports Classic on Nov. 9. Thomas, after all, doesn't even know how many players he'll have on his roster by then, and there's a good possibility he won't have anyone over 6-foot-7. (The Tar Heels' frontcourt, on the other hand, features 7-footer Tyler Zeller, 6-foot-10 sophomore Ed Davis and 6-foot-10 freshman John Henson.) Though Thomas says that his team is "proud to be invited" to play against UNC in the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament, there's no question that FIU would rather be playing Ohio State in Columbus after fighting the Gazelle Group over the pairing more than week ago.

5. Villanova will unquestionably miss Reggie Redding's presence this fall. The leadership and experience that the 6-foot-5 senior from Philly brings won't be able to be replaced solely by Scottie Reynolds, Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes. With Redding out for the first month of the season after a marijuana possession arrest in July, Jay Wright will be hoping that highly-touted 6-foot-10 freshman Mouphtaou Yarou can fill a void down low for the Wildcats, who are expected to contend for the Big East title this season with Connecticut and West Virginia.
 
4. Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury is halfway there to having Renardo Sidney officially on his team for the 2009-10 season. The 6-foot-11 freshman, who played his high school ball at Fairfax High in Los Angeles and was eventually passed up by UCLA and USC (after originally being offered scholarships by both schools) in the recruiting process, got cleared by the NCAA eligibility center and enrolled in classes on Monday. But Stansbury still needs the NCAA to clear Sidney from any amateurism questions, which could pose a problem in getting the Mississippi native out on the court in the next three months.

3. How about Denis Clemente's H-O-R-S-E shot off the Bramlage Coliseum scoreboard and floor? I guess word travels fast because the shot, believe it or not, has already generated more than 5,000 views on YouTube. "I just started laughing," Kansas State coach Frank Martin said after seeing the video. "I couldn't believe it. But, coming from him, I wasn't surprised." Clemente, after all, knows how to put the ball in the basket. A second cousin of Roberto Clemente (so you know he's got some athletic ability in him), the 6-foot-1 sharpshooter torched Texas -- in Austin no less -- for 44 points last January and led the team in scoring with 15 points per game. And though Kansas and Texas are undoubtedly the favorites in the ultra-competitive Big 12 this season, with incoming freshman Wally Judge and backcourt mate Jacob Pullen back for his senior year, the Wildcats might just surprise a few folks.
 
2. At the age of 18, Jeremy Tyler doesn't think he needs an education any more. To him, he's better off playing basketball as a full-time job. So last week, the 6-foot-11, 260-pound manchild finalized his jump from high school to professional basketball by signing a one-year, $140,000 contract with Maccabi Haifa of the Israeli Premier League. For Tyler, there's no question in his mind where he belongs. "I think I made the right decision," he said. "I think this team is a good fit for me and it's the right country." He even took it a step further, saying, "I feel good. I feel blessed. I got past the easy part. Now the hard part is to perform and show the world I got a contract for a reason. Now I can play against grown men." With many critical of the decision, the expectations will be high for Tyler, who will be under pressure to perform at an All-Star caliber level while learning how to live on his own in a foreign country (although they do speak in English in Israel). Of course, if basketball doesn't work out for him, he'll always have enough money to buy himself an education back home.
 
1. There weren't many out there that thought Greg Paulus would end up as the starting quarterback in his hometown college after playing four years of basketball at Duke, but that's just what's happening to the Syracuse native at the moment. Paulus, who's only been on campus for only a few months, has suddenly regained the form under center that he once had at Christian Brothers Academy, winning the starting job less than a month before the Orange face Big Ten foe Minnesota in the Carrier Dome on Sept. 5. Syracuse, though, isn't exactly the program it used to be, with the years of Jim Brown and Larry Csonka long in the past. The Orange may still play in the Big East, but there are very few Division I programs that would start a quarterback who hasn't had game experience in four years -- even if he were one of the best talents coming out of high school. But the 'Cuse happens to be one of those programs right now, and with the way things have gone recently in upstate New York, Doug Marrone needs any kind of spark in a league that often doesn't play favorites to anyone.

Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt is well aware of the circumstances that lie before him coming into 2009-10.
 
Contend in the ACC with the likes of North Carolina, Duke and Clemson, or face the harsh reality of possibly being unemployed by season's end.
 
Because after finishing last in the ACC at 2-14 a year ago, there's no question that Hewitt is one of several coaches sitting high on the hot seat this fall.
 
It doesn't matter that the 2001 ACC Coach of the Year took the Yellow Jackets to the national title game five years ago -- only to get crushed by Emeka Okafor and a loaded Connecticut team.
 
It doesn't matter that he signed a contract extension to stay at Georgia Tech through the 2010-11 season, either.
 
Instead, the 46-year-old Hewitt will be relying on an incoming recruiting class, which ranks among the best in the nation and includes local product Derrick Favors, to turn around a program that has fallen on hard times since freshmen stars Thaddeus Young and Jarvis Crittenton bolted for the NBA after the 2006-07 season.
 
That highly-esteemed recruiting class of Hewitt's, however, took a hit this week when it was announced that freshman Kammeon Holsey will miss all of 2009-10 after tearing his ACL during a pick-up game earlier this month.
 
"This is obviously a blow to Kam getting started in his college basketball career, and our team will miss him on the court," Hewitt said in a school release. "But I'm confident he will get through this and have a full recovery."
 
Even though there was a chance Holsey would have redshirted the season with Gani Lawal and Iman Shumpert returning and Favors a lock to be in the Yellow Jackets' starting lineup, this wasn't what Hewitt had in mind with arguably the most important season of his coaching career three months away and counting.
 
Holsey, after all, was among Scout.com's top 100 recruits in 2009 after averaging 27 points and 10 rebounds as a senior at Hancock Central, and the 6-foot-8 forward from Sparta, Ga., was also the 2009 Class A state player of the year.
 
Still, the addition of Favors, Mfon Udofia, Glen Rice Jr., Brian Oliver and Daniel Miller this year should more than enough to complement Georgia Tech's veterans. 
 
But most importantly, it will be Hewitt's job to ultimately transform a team with loads of potential into an instant conference contender within a couple of months. 
 
It's no easy task, but it's one that's attainable for Hewitt -- even with the pressure to win at an all-time high right now. 
 
Remember, there are always worse positions to be in. 
 
Just look at Rick Pitino right now.