Recruiting and signing the Michael Beasleys and O.J. Mayos of the world can be great for a program but this positive also has a negative.

The NCAA has recently revealed it's APR (Academic Progress Rates) sanctions. USC basketball has lost 2 scholarships and Kansas State basketball lost 1 scholarship. When these top athletes leave for the NBA (one and dones), they have only went to school for 1 semester and are busy doing workouts for pro teams. These workouts result in them mising class. Why would these players care anyways? They are getting selected in the draft and getting millions of dollars from it. The colleges on the other hand are paying for it dearly. Lacking a greater number of scholarships means losing out on a chance to maximize a coach's ability to get a top recruit. Michael Beasley and O.J. Mayo have left their marks on Kansas State and Southern Cal.

The one and done idea is a stupid idea and I hope David Stern does not increase the number of years. The NBA should copy the MLB in the way they handle the amateur draft. The MLB allows players to enter the draft after high school but if they go to college they have to stay in school till at least their junior year. This may not be the ideal that Stern is looking for but it is certainly better than what he has set up.

The NBA is using college basketball as a free minor league system but the colleges suffer from it. This is taking away the student aspect from the idea of the student-athlete. Players have different reasons for leaving for the draft. For some, it is financial and others are legitimate superstars (Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, etc.) who are ready for the NBA and do not need the college game to develop.

After just two seasons, Gary Walters has rebuilt the underachieving Vikings program. Hopefully we can see the type of production in the 70s when the Vikings were able to reach N.I.T. and March Madness. Cleveland State should expect a lot of good things in the future from Walters. He is hoping to build a mid-major program into national prominence like John Calipari has done for Memphis.

They do not lose a lot of players for next season. Four of their five starters were underclassmen. Now that Butler has graduated most of their team expect for frosh superstar Matt Howard, the Vikes will be the favorites to win the Horizon League and get their first March Madness berth in the last 20 plus years.

Junior leaders Cedric Jackson and J'Nathan Bullock are back and hungry for the respect that this team deserves. Walters has also signed a top 100 recruit for the 2008 class from the 2008 class.

Cleveland, come out to watch this team because they are going to bring good things and success to this city. I hope to be blogging more on this team come time for the season, but for now I am out.

The Tampa Bay Rays (formerly known as the Devil Rays) are shocking everyone by contending in a very deep quality American League. How have they done it and can they continue to contend towards the end of the season? This is definitely a topic to look at closely.

As of now the Rays are 16-14. They have a sea of good young players and have gotten rid of the bad apples like Delmon Young and Elijah Dukes. They are 4th in the AL in SB at 28, 6th best ERA at 4.04, 3rd in OPS at .687, and fourth in WHIP at 1.31.

The Rays are letting guys like B.J. Upton, Carl Crawford, Eric Hinske, and top-tier prospect Evan Longoria swing the bat and they have done well. But can they hold it up for the entire season? Probably not. They are young which means inexperience in a playoff hunt, plus they are in the American League, which is very deep and up to 9 teams have the ability to make the playoffs. I would be shocked to see them win more than 80 games. They have only had one 70 + win since 2002. But this is a team to watch over the years that should be seriously contending by 2010.

It is interesting how they have changed so drastically (even though saying this is a bit premature) once they shed the name of the DEVIL Rays.

Bill Self is building up the dynasty after just grabbing a 2010 commitment from Royce Woolridge. He is a SG at 6-1 and 170 lbs. This kid can really shoot. It seems like a while since Kansas has gotten a commitment this early, let's just hope it sticks. Check out some of the posts that give a lot of good insight about this mystery Jayhawk commit.

The 2008 recruiting class for Kansas goes very deep. I have to give Bill Self a lot of credit for getting such a good class after losing out on many McDonald's All-Americans.

Tyshawn, will bring a winning attitude to Kansas, even though Kansas already has it. He averaged 10 pts. and 5 ast. for the national champion St. Anthony of Jersey. According to Scout.com he is the #15 rated PG prospect. This gives plenty of depth at the PG position with Taylor likely backing up Sherron Collins at the point. Tyshawn Taylor chose Kansas over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

Let's look at how this will affect the scholarship offers for the 2009 recruiting class. Assuming Mario stays in the draft we still have one scholarship available. No scholarship players will graduate in 2008-2009 season which could limit the possibilities Bill Self can have in making a solid recruiting class. Sherron Collins could leave for the draft after his junior year since he will be the man for the Jayhawks next season. Besides Sherron no one else should be leaving which could give us a max of 2 scholarship offers. The must-get is Xavier Henry, who can fill up the stat sheet. The '09 class is so much better than the '08 one so it would advantageous to have as many scholarship offers for that year as possible.

The Cleveland Cavaliers- Washington Wizards series has been brutal thus far. Whenever Lebron James drives through the lane, a Wizard is there prepared to hack him and sometimes not even going for the ball. I do not know what Stu Jackson and the referees are thinking but they are not calling these fouls correctly. They are just slapping players on the wrist and letting them get away with it. If they do not call, the Wizards will continue to foul Lebron and I am afraid it could lead to him getting hurt.

All of this leads to Game 5. The Wizards are down 3-1 in the series and probably have no chance of winning this playoff series. So what is going to hold the Washington Wizards from committing more vicious fouls? Nothing. I hope all of the Cavaliers can get out of this series safely and that the referees and the league office have some guts to make the right call.

The Jayhawks are losing two outstanding players in Darrell Arthur and Brandon Rush. As a Jayhawk Nation we can not be upset since they did bring a national championship home. They will be dearly missed but will be representatives for Kansas and should represent well in the pros. We also can not forget the seniors that put in such hard over the last four years and have ended their college careers on a high note.

On the other hand, Kansas will bring back three players that contributed heavily to the success of Kansas' title: Cole Aldrich, Sherron Collins, and Mario Chalmers (assuming he withdraws his name from the NBA draft). The Jayhawks' also are bringing in a solid recruiting class for next year.

Marcus Morris, Markieff Morris, Travis Releford, Quintrell Thomas, Mario Little, and Tyrone Appleton wiil be arriving in Lawrence for the 2008-2009 season.

Marcus Morris is a 6-8 SF that can create a lot of problems for a defense. He can shoot threes and be dependable rebounder.

Markieff Morris is a 6-9 PF that rebounds well while having the ability to step out and shoot the three. The Morris twins will be difficult to guard because of the matchup problems that they create.

Travis Releford, a 6-4 SG, could be a player, while known as a top-tier prospect, that can become a reliable scoring threat when not many scouts would see an initial impact from his freshman year. He is a great shooter, good dribbler, and makes crisp passes. Releford looks capable of replacing Brandon Rush on the wing at the SF position.

Quintrell Thomas, a 6-7 PF, is undersized for his position but at the end of his career at Kansas he could be remembered as a Darnell Jackson-type impact player.

Mario Little is a 6-4 SF and Tyrone Appleton is a 6-3 SG. Both are junior college players and should give some leadership and experience to the ball club.

Predicted 2008-2009 Starting Lineup

PG- Sherron Collins

SG- Mario Chalmers

SF- Travis Releford

PF- Markieff Morris

C- Cole Aldrich

Key Reserves: SF Marcus Morris, PG Tyrel Reed, SG Tyrone Appleton, SG Mario Little, PF Quintrell Thomas

Chad Johnson says he will hold out and not participate in training camp until the Bengals trade him. Cincinnatti is falling apart and Carson Parlmer and Chad clearly do not like each other. So, it is time for the two to split and go their separate directions. Chad, preferably, would like to get traded before the draft, so how much would Chad go for? Any common-sensed general manager would trade away a first round pick for me. He will produce right away instead of a team waiting for a draft pick to produce plus a draft pick costs a ton of money. Cincinnatti's general manager is in a tough spot. He could trade away Chad Johnson and lose one of the best wide receivers in the league or stay put and risk getting no value from Chad Johnson.

It is decision time for some of the Kansas Jayhawks basketball players: Brandon Rush, Darrell Arthur, Sherron Collins, and Mario Chalmers. If all four come back next year, there is a good chance the Kansas Jayhawks could repeat for the first time since ... 2007 when the Florida Gators repeated. Mario, Darrell, and Brandon are all likely first round picks while Sherron would probably be a second round draft pick. Brandon Rush likely will leave for the draft but maybe the Jayhawks could be drawn by the same desire those Gators felt when they were guaranteed lottery picks.

- Mario Chalmers' draft stock is at an all-time after he made the greatest shot in Kansas history and one of the best shots ever in the tournament. Chalmers' draft positioning has been a low second round pick his entire career until the tournament began. Another season may help him plus next year looks to have a weaker draft class than this year. Chance of Leaving: 45%

- Sherron Collins has the most upside of any Kansas player. He can shoot the three, though inconsistent, and break the defense off the dribble. For the most part, Collins has been playing injured (never 100%) his first two years at Kansas. Another year could show the scouts what he can do at 100%. Of these four Jayhawks players, he is the most likely to stay. Chance of Leaving: 25%

- Darrell Arthur changed during that Final Four. He played as many people expected he would perform throughout the year. "Big Shady" is on the fringe of a lottery pick to a mid-first round choice. His offensive repertoire is outstanding at its best and his all-round game can be very poor and unworthy of a first round choice when he plays with no fire. Many scouts are judging him on potential. Chance of Leaving: 80%

- Brandon Rush has declared for the NBA draft twice before, which is a huge indicator he will do so again. If he declares again, he can not take himself out of the draft because the NBA allows players to test its waters only twice. Brandon Rush is viewed by many scouts as a high quality bench performer but could flame-out like his two brothers Jaron and Kareem. If he stayed to played his senior year for Kansas I would be shocked after he nearly went into the draft out of high school and never would have played a single college game. Chance of Leaving: 90%

What if Brandon Rush never got injured and went into the 2007 NBA Draft? A different champion would have been crowned instead of the Kansas Jayhawks. Kansas is an all-around great team but without Brandon Rush they can kiss the trophy good-bye. Even with Rush back, no one knew how healthy it could be or how fast it could heal. I bet the Jayhawks would have reached the Elite Eight maybe the Final Four but the Championship and win it ... no way.

On the flip side, what if Julian Wright stayed another year as he promised. I believe, even with that added talent and athleticism, Kansas would not have won the National Championship with Julian Wright playing with them. The key to the Jayhawks victories in the Final Four were that they made it a must to get the ball down to the big guys. The Jayhawks have great guards but the key to them being the best team in the country is the forwards and centers. Julian Wright can create a world of hurt for the opposition but he would have drawn the attention away from Kansas getting the ball down low. All things happen for a reason.

STEPHEN CURRY IS COMING BACK. I love him as a player and am glad to see him announcing that he will come back to play for Davidson next year. He knows he can develop his game further (mainly bulking up and adding a stronger inside game of dribble drive). This will without a doubt keep Coach McKillop in Davidson who probably would otherwise accept a higher conference coaching job. Davidson will lose PG Jason Richards to graduation which is a loss that will definitely affect the success Davidson can have next year due to his amazing sight of the court and to make the best pass available. Andrew Lovedale, Davidson's main inside threat, will be back next year. He can provide Curry with some assistance in scoring and provide solid rebounding numbers. Do not be surprised if Stephen Curry will play point guard because Davidson has no true point guard on their roster unless they chose to convert shooting guard, a bench player, to the point guard role.

The Magical number 2:12. That is how much time Memphis needed to burn through to become national champions. Big Problem: Kansas did not want to end their season with a 60-51 deficit. Sherron Collins' play was the turning point for the Jayhawks run when he stole the ball from Antonio Anderson and got the ball back froms several passes and nailed the three-point shot. Along with Kansas's outstanding play, Memphis missed 4 of their last 5 free throws in regulation. No one can take anything from Kansas. They finally win their 3rd National Championship since Danny and the Miracles in 1988. Mario Chalmers' clutch shot with 2.1 seconds remaining on the clock will be remembered as one of the greatest shots ever in tournament history and be a yearly highlight of great shots in March Madness' history. He will be praised as a god for many years to come.

Kansas should be considered in the upper echelon of teams. Many analysts say they have no future all-stars or All-Americans, but they were a TEAM, none better than them. I have enjoyed watching them play over the years but likely Rush, Arthur, Chalmers, and Collins will test the NBA waters and they lose five seniors. Russell Robinson, Sasha Kaun, Darnell Jackson, Jeremy Case, and Rodrick Stewart, who sadly injured his knee before the Final Four and could not play.

The Kansas fans deserve this one after several Final Four disappointments, in particular Kansas shooting an abysmal 12 for 30 in the 2003 National Championship game vs. Melo' and the Orangemen. ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK KU!!!!!

How about Roy Williams' Jayhawk sticker on his sweatshirt. I think that was stupid. His team just got owned by Kansas two days earlier and Jayhawks fans still have hard feelings towards him. I know many North Carolina Tar Heels fans were irritated with what Roy displayed and I understand. It was okay for him to go to the game but he could have easily chosen not to wear the Jayhawk emblem.

Player matchups:

Derrick Rose vs. Mario Chalmers

- Derrick Rose rarely turns over the ball and makes challenging plays look easy. While Mario Chalmers is the player I feel will be the one to take the crucial if Kansas is in a tight one, Derrick Rose's strength and athleticism will be too much. Edge: Derrick Rose

Chris Douglas-Roberts vs. Brandon Rush

-This matchup likely will decide the outcome of the game. Both are great shooters with CDR having greater ability in the transition game. If Brandon Rush can limit CDR's effectiveness, Kansas will win. Chris Douglas-Roberts, the All-American is just too good. Edge: Memphis

Darrell Arthur vs. Robert Dozier

-Arthur, when he shows some tenacity and Kansas makes an effort to get the ball down to him he can be one of the most effective big men in the country. Dozier has athleticism for his size, but Arthuer has more. Edge: Kansas

Darnell Jackson vs. Joey Dorsey

-Dorsey has been a changed man since the beginning of the tourney. Dorsey can be very dominant in a game through rebounding and defense without scoring (as shown by in the UCLA game). Darnell Jackson has been very inconsistent in this tournament but can bring a lot to a team. Edge: Memphis

Kansas Bench vs. Memphis Bench

-Kansas: Sasha Kaun has played his best basketball this tournament. He is possibly the only big man that cared to show up for the Davidson game and the reason Kansas is still playing. Sherron Collins can replace Russell Robinson and Chalmers without missing a beat. When his outside shot is falling, he is dangerous. Big negative: Collins turned the ball over 7 times against UNC. And don't forget about Cole Aldrich. He played strong when the other Kansas big men were struggling with foul trouble.

-Memphis: Shawn Taggart is similar to Dozier, neither do too much or hurt a team by stupid mistakes. Shawn can clean up the glass at times but expect Kansas to keep him out of there. !! Kansas, at times is careless with boxing out, which could result in easy baskets for Taggart. Willie Kemp, last year's starting point guard is capable of producing decent numbers when giving Rose a breather. Edge: Kansas

My pick: Kansas in a close one, 87-82.

The Kansas Jayhawks join the Memphis Tigers in the Championship Game but not without a little scare from the Tarheels. The Jayhawks were leading the Tarheels 40-12 in the first half and appeared as though the game was over. The Jayhawks physically dominated the Tarheels in every which way. Tyler Hansbrough looked like an average player, not national player of the year caliber. Plus, the entire team was getting pick-pocketed from every direction. The Tarheels must have felt they were playing 5 vs. 8. The face of Roy Williams was priceless. He could not believe what was happening. So did the Jayhawk faithful when the Tarheels cut the lead down to 4. I thought the Jayhawks were done. They showed no resemblance of the team from the first 15 minutes of the game. The largest comeback in Final Four history (assuming they were going to pull it off) was happening right before my eyes. But all that matters is to win in anyway possible and have a chance to play another game.

Joey Dorsey was the key to the Tigers victory over the Bruins. Kevin Love was the player that was supposed to lift the Bruins into the title game but Dorsey caused him to be relatively inaffective. Although Dorsey was held to 0 points, he showed up on the glass with 15 rebounds and constantly irritated Love by not allowing the guards get him the ball. Once Love gets the ball he is one of the best in the country at finishing strong towards the hoop. Without Love getting the ball, he could not be the dominate player he is known for being. If Joey Dorsey plays the same quality defense and gets lots of boards, along with good shooting nights from Chris Douglas-Roberts and Derrick Rose, the Memphis Tigers will be cutting down the nets with their first title in school history. Joey Dorsey's presence will cause problems for Tyler Hansbrough or the trio of big men from Kansas.