Shutting The Door On The College Hoops Season (Kind Of)

Tyler Hansbrough is your overlord, UConn is perfect and Courtney Paris doesn't owe Oklahoma a dad-gum dime. College basketball season is closing its books ... kind of.

The coaching carousel is slowly coming to an end with only Xavier's coaching vacancy needing to be filled. (Anyone know where Billy Gillispie is?) It is a risky proposition following Sean Miller because even though the talent is there, I would not be surprised if the recruiting efforts by the Ohio State and Cincinnati (and Cleveland State?) could easily turn the Muskateers to Ohio's third best school even though it plays in the very winnable Atlantic 10 Conference.

As for Mr. Miller, I will bid him good luck because he is going to need every ounce of it as he steps directly into the shadow of Lute Olson and tries to replace three NBA first-round picks.

Then there is Memphis, which is seeing a mass exoudus in the wake of John Calipari heading to Kentucky. Calipari's replacement, well, some think he should have ended up at Arizona, but since the Tigers still play in Conference USA I will peg Josh Pastner as an early candidate for Coach of the Year.

Oh, by the way, signing day part deux starts April 15. This is where the de-committs and the diamonds in the rough find their respective teams.

And that's where yours truly will shift to the local front.

SIU Director of Athletics Mario Moccia left the men's Final Four in Detroit and headed to the women's Final Four in St. Louis as Moccia searches for a replacement for the recently resigned Dana Eikenberg. There is a lot of work that needs to be done to restore a program that went from conference champions in 2007 to the athletic department's biggest question mark.

Moccia has made two great hires in his time at SIU: Dale Lennon (football) and Audra Nothwehr (tennis). And while Saluki tennis is hidden in relative obscurity because it is not a revenue sport, Nothwehr has done a stellar job rebuilding a program whose coach left right before the Fall 2007 semester began. There is no need to rehash the awesomeness that was year one of the Lennon Era.

Then, there is Saluki men's basketball.

Since SIU finished a disappointing season 13-18 with a quarterfinal loss against Bradley, head coach Chris Lowery has been beating the recruiting path like it owed him milk money. I've had the pleasure to speak with Lowery on trips to Kansas and Florida, not to mention randomly running into him in Lingle Hall. Our conversations have centered around size, class balance, JUCO hunting and depth.

At this point, a shot of depth is what the Salukis really need because the starting five is basically set. An educated guess, you ask?

Kevin Dillard, Tony Freeman, Ryan Hare, Carlton Fay and Anthony Booker. Hare and Justin Bocot will duke it out for that third starting guard spot, but whoever does not make it will be the team's go-to-guy off the bench where they will be joined by Nick Evans. As for the Saluki signees: point guard Kendal Brown seems like the real deal and a true hidden gem and I can see Drew Barham going places as long as he stays off my YouTube radar. Forward Jordan Myers could be a steal if SIU can throw the redshirt on him.

And this is where JUCO hunting becomes important.

SIU already has a verbal committment from John Freeman, who fits the bill as an athletic wing defender. The Salukis also have an offer on the table for 6-foot-6 forward Torye Pelham -- who is also weighing offers from Oklahoma and Iowa. As for the third and final schollie at C-Lo's disposal: I've heard everything from a 6-6 point guard to a 7-foot center. Anything can happen, but no one knows when.