Former Dukie Nate James Hired As Assistant

Former Duke player Nate James was hired on Tuesday by Mike Krzyzewski to be the team's new assistant coach. James played for the Blue Devils from 1996-2001, totaling a record of 71-9 including Duke's most recent National Championship in 2001. James is leaving his position as the program operator at Duke's new practice facility and now is taking over for Johnny Dawkins, who was named the new head coach at Stanford last week.

I know that assistant coaches being hired isn't big news, but this is a good signing for Coach K and Duke. It is tough replacing a long time assistant, but James is familiar with Duke and their tradition. He is still young, but he had tremendous success as a player, so he should have no problem being on Duke's coaching staff.

Arizona HIres Russ Pennell As New Assistant Coach

Former Arizona State assistant coach, Russ Pennell, has been hired for the same job by their rivals, the Arizona Wildcats.  Pennell will replace former assistant and interim head coach, Kevin O'Neill, who is currently working for Arizona's athletic department.  Pennell fills one of two assistant head coaching vacancies for the U of A.  The other became open last week when assistant Miles Simon's contract was not renewed.  Pennell worked at Oklahoma State under Eddie Sutton and at Mississippi until settling as an assistant for Arizona State from 1998 to 2006.  Pennell will join Lute Olson and Arizona as they try to making it to their 25th consecutive NCAA Tournament, currently the longest streak in the country.

Ekpe Udoh Will Leave Michigan

Sophomore forward Ekpe Udoh has decided to transfer from Michigan, but has not yet chosen a destination for his junior year.  Udoh said that it was a tough decision for him and didn't mention any reasons for transferring.  Udoh averaged 6 PPG, 5 RPG and 2.9 APG, for the 10-22 Michigan Wolverines, who finished second to last in the Big Ten.  Udoh may be transferring because he was not happy with first year coach John Beilein.

West Virginia Head Coach Bob Huggins Signs Extension

Bob Huggins made his contract extension official by signing West Virginia's offer of 11-years at $1.5 million a year with incentives.  During this past season and Huggins' first as West Virginia's basketball coach, he made $800,000. Huggins earned this long-term contract and raise after leading the Mountaineers to a 24-10 season and a trip to the Sweet Sixteen.  Huggins will mostly likely be married to West Virginia for the rest of his coaching career, with this contract lasting until he is 65.

To me this is a bit too long of an extension for Bob Huggins.  Huggins is definitely worthy of being West Virginia's head coach, but it may be a risk to sign him for 11 years because of his past.  He had a DUI back in 2004, which helped contribute to his resignation at Cincinnati. Other than that mishap, Huggins has been a great coach and is perfect for being at West Virginia over the long hall.  WVU is Huggins alma mater, and he led them to their third Sweet Sixteen in four years in 2008.  Also, Huggins is an effective recruiter and was responsible for bring Michael Beasley to Kansas State.  If Joe Alexander returns for his senior year, West Virginia will be looking at a preseason top 10 ranking, and could go farther than the Sweet Sixteen in the 2009 tournament.

Tennessee Dismisses Sophomores Duke Crews and Ramar Smith

Tennesse Volunteers head coach Bruce Pearl has dismissed sophomore forward Duke Crews and sophomore guard Ramar Smith after multiple failed drug tests.  Pearl stated that both players were given multiple chances to clean up their acts and now both will have to transfer.  Smith started about half the games for the Vols at point guard and Crews came off the bench.  Smith and Crews where highly anticipated five star recruits coming out of high school, but both saw their sophomore numbers and minutes decline from their freshman seasons.  This is not the first time Crews had behavior problems.  Crews served a month long suspension prior to the season after marijuana was found in his campus apartment.

This was a good decision by Pearl.  After giving these guys multiple opportunities to mature from their mistakes, they failed to improve, and therefore, 

deserved to be dismissed.  As young student-athletes, making mistakes is alright, just don't make the same mistake twice, and that is what Crew and Smith did.  Tennessee shouldn't suffer much from their absences, because their numbers declined, and Bruce Pearl has been a great recruiter.  He has done a phenomenal job building Tennessee into a college basketball powerhouse, so Pearl should have no problem filling their spots.  Tennessee should be a top 20 team even without Crews and Smith because they are returning four contributers and are welcoming an impressive recruiting class.

Indiana Center Eli Holman Intends To Transfer

Indiana's freshman center Eli Holman met with coaches thursday, telling them he planned to transfer, which would make new head coach Tom Crean's rebuilding project even more difficult.  Sources say that Holman threw a tantrum in the coaches office that required assistance from the campus police.  Crean stated that he was surprised by Holman's behavior and wants to help him figure things out. Holman was not threatening anyone but was obviously upset, for what is now an unclear reason.  The 6-9 center was a medical redshirt last season after injuring his left wrist and averaged 1.0 PPG and 1.7 RPG, in only six games.  Holman was to be a crucial part of the Hoosiers next season, but if he leaves, Indiana will be left with only five returning players from the 2007-08 season.

This is potentially really bad news for Indiana.  If Holman does in fact transfer, it may take another year or two for Crean to get Indiana back to the top.  Holman was Indiana's top recruit last season after Eric Gordon, and was a top 100 player in the very deep 2007 recruiting class.  The Hoosiers are already without their starting five from last season, which could make for an ugly first season for Crean. Due to Kelvin Sampson's violations, Crean has already lost one scholarship, and could lose two more if the Indiana players don't score higher on the NCAA academic progress report.  Crean is welcoming a less than impressive recruiting class, and these loss of scholarships could lead Indiana toward the bottom of the Big Ten.  Holman's absence would just fuel the fire and leave Crean with a depleted Indiana roster.

Washington State Gives Tony Bennett Raise and Contract Extension

Washington State head coach Tony Bennett received a contract extension lasting through 2015, and a raise of $200,000, which will total $1 million a year. Bennett was desired by many high profile programs, but decided to stay where he found success at Washington State. Bennett has led the Cougars to back-to-back 26 win seasons, tying a school record, and led them to consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament, the first coach in school history to do so. Also, Washington State finished third in the Pac-10, considered by many to be the best conference in the nation, made it to their first ever sweet sixteen, and was ranked #15 in the end of the season polls.

This was an important contract extension for Washington State. After Bennett's success over the past couple of seasons, it was destined that Bennett would get a head coaching job at one of college basketball's elite programs. With Washington State's extension, they lock up one of the youngest, and most improved coaches. At 38-years-old, Bennett could be the head man at Washington State for many years and develop that program into one of the nation's best. As Bennett continues to gain experience and starts seeing top tier recruits, Washington State should be a consistent top 20 program.