Mike DeCourcy accepting the Gary Williams challenge.

Shelden Williams returning to school.

Jeff Shelman breaking the code on the politics of blogging. (Ok. For this I am not thankful).

The growing realization among the late-realizing that the legends of today (Olson, Calhoun, Chaney and Boeheim) won't be around tomorrow.

Practice, practice, practice.

Pat Knight in charge of the happiness of Bobby Knight.

An MWC race that is more wide open than the French doors of a Desperate Housewife. (Nick Welch's injury triggers an immediate Steve Fisher response.)

The Morning Roundup: soon to be published in 3-D (but only viewable with special CSTV or ESPNU glasses available at the MLBAM office and participating Disney Stores).

A Gang member emailing to admit he ranked Arizona too high in his Preseason Top 25.

(If) Katie Holmes isn't actually pregant.

(If) Jost Pastner is offered a head coaching job.

(If) Jessica Simpson is back on the market.

Today's news: a Fran Fraschilla cameo, a shocking development in the Sherron Collins saga, a(nother) Marquette-Big East preview, a Dan Wetzel endorsement, and Stan Heath defending the future.

As a Camb-Ri(n)dge man once said in Latin: "I've been coming down and passing the ball and hiding a lot on last-second shots. This time I wanted it to be me."

Fasten your seat belts. It's going to be a bumpy ride.

-- The University of Hawaii is still looking to fill the position of assistant coach. Sun, sand, and Rick Pitino's legacy. What's not to like?

-- Bad News Bears: Beset by personal problems, Cal's Marquise Kately is unlikely to return this season. Convicted of resisting arrest outside a bar, Rhode Island's Dawan Robinson was sentenced yesterday to 50 hours of community service. Arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, Purdue's Tarrance Crump is the only Boilermaker who did not attend Tuesday's Tip-off Banquet. Per Jeff Washburn of the Lafayette-West Lafayette Journal & Courier, Matt Painter is "moving on" without Crump. I'd like to "move in" to the preseason.

-- The Decatur (IL) Herald Review's Mark Tupperware is versatile and surprised (as am I):

Sherron Collins' decision to commit to Kansas over the weekend, after attending the Jayhawks' Midnight Madness event, is peculiar to say the least...

It's always intersting to see who is pulling the strings in the recruitment process and some of the behind-the-scenes things make you scratch your head in wonder.

When Collins came to Illinois on a previous visit, he told the coaches he wanted to commit. Right then. On the spot. Let's get it over. This is where I want to be. But his coach, Crane Tech’s Anthony Longstreet, told Collins he wouldn't let him commit just yet. He wanted to wait.

Longstreet said he felt Collins should take a visit to Kansas. And even though he wanted to play at Illinois, they’d make a courtesy visit to the Jayhawks, then return to Illinois (on Oct. 22) and have an announcement the next week. OK, Collins said. They'd do it that way.

But somewhere along the line — and somehow — Collins was convined he should be at Kansas...

Collins hasn't called the Illini coaches since his decision was made (for him?). Calls to him have gone unanswered. Even calls to his uncle, who at one point appeared to be in Illinois' corner, have gone silent.

I was in Indianapolis in July and conferred with other reporters who listened to Collins speak at the Nike All-Ameican Camp. You could not help but come away from that meeting feeling that Illinois was in great shape. And you’re a fool if you believe any of this was about one school "out-working" another. Illinois did everything it could do, above board, and came away empty.

-- Rodney Edgerson, expected to start for Washington State, was last week diagnosed with two stress fractures in his lower spine and is expected to wear a brace for the next six weeks. If upon being re-evaluated he is asked to redshirt, the Cougars could be even worse than expected. Dick Bennett: Edgerson "is probably our most complete offensive player."

-- Andre Williams of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call pens a fluff piece about Villanova's guards. Randy Foye, it turns out, couldn't wait for practices – and suicides – to begin. (No lie).

-- Andy Katz: The Preseason NIT shall now be known as the NIT Season Tip-Off.

-- Shocking: "At least" 21 of Wichita State's 30 regular-season games will be on local, regional or national TV. Excepting a possible Bracket Buster appearance, the Shockers TV lineup includes two games on ESPN2, four on ESPNU, one on College Sports Television, and three on Fox Sports Midwest.

-- An oldie but a goodie: Top 10 nominee Thaddeus Young:

"My Dad, he kind of wants me to play for a black coach. But that doesn't really matter to me."

-- The Daily Illini's Michael Mueller celebrates Brandan Wright's commitment to North Carolina. Why? Because Wright was "arguably" the Blue Devils' (and the Kentucky Wildcats') top target. See also Telep, Dave: "I was surprised because I thought that North Carolina would have been the fourth school on that four-team list. I think the people who knew the Brandan Wright recruitment were generally taken back."

-- Yahoo Sports' Clark Kellogg previews the first member of his Sweet 16, the Boston College Eagles. Much love for Al Skinner.

-- Blogger DeCourcy:

As quoted by the Baltimore Sun, Williams said this: "Get your McDonald's All-American list out from three years ago and see how many guys are doing well in college right now. It's the most overrated thing I've seen."

If you want to interpret his words literally, he's right. A lot of 2003 McDonald's All-Americans aren't doing well in college. That's because they're in the NBA. Eight of the 24 members of that team have either spent a full season in the league or were first-round draft choices last June....

-- The Arkansas Traveler hops aboard the Razorbacks' bandwagon. If Stan Heath is ever let go, he'll kick himself for this summer and fall (unnecessarily) raising expectations.

-- Former St. Louis University basketball star Lewis McKinney was recently appointed to the St. Louis Metro's Board of Commissioners.

-- The Iowa State Daily: "Let's Dance." (You figure out the frame).

-- The Daily Kansan: "[Rodrick] Stewart's on the ball" -- and going to class! Stewart will this season don Keith Langford's number to show his respect for the graduated guard.

-- The No-Spin Zone: Dustin Dow.

"I'm not sure Lon Kruger's the right guy." [Mike] DeCourcy said. "I don't know that he (is) the right fit for the environment. He's a fine technical coach, but I was never impressed with his charisma. I think this job absolutely requires charisma."

-- The Raleigh (NC) News & Observer lists recent ACC Basketball commitments. As he does every year, Al Skinner plays with fire by inking only one prospect.

-- The Connecticut Posts's Chris Casavant opines that DeWitt Maxwell's recent run-in with the law affirms that Division I athletes have minimal margin for error. Maxwell, as I noted two days ago, was last season Fairfield's third-leading scorer. Thanks to his recent arrest, he'll be out at least this semester.

-- The Cincinnati Enquirer's Bill Koch predicts Jihad Muhammad will this season make better decisions as the Bearcats' point guard.

-- Michael Smith of the Louisville Courier-Journal pens the lede of the day but has no news on Randolph Morris. Tubby still knows not how many games Morris will be asked to sit out.

-- Louisiana-Lafayette coach Robert "E." Lee tells Dan McDonald of the Lafayette Daily Advertiser he believes the Ragin' Cajuns are talented enough to make a third consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. Recall that Tiras Wade, Brian Hamilton and Orien Greene are gone from the club that last year nearly upended Louisville during March Madness.

-- Hear ye, hear ye. Former North Carolina and current New York Knicks assistant Phil Ford would love to someday be a head coach.

-- The special guest at Notre Dame's coaching clinic? One Doug Collins.

The % Win Scenarios feature gives you an idea of how likely you are to win your pool. Of all the ways the tournament might end, the % win scenarios for each bracket is the percentage of those scenarios in which that bracket wins your league. In other words, if your "% Win Scenarios" is 37.7, then you win your league (or tie for a win) in 37.7% of the possible tournament outcomes.

The % win scenarios isn't exactly the same as your percentage chance of winning your league, since the win scenarios aren't necessarily equally likely to occur. If, on the other hand, each remaining game is essentially a coin flip, then the % win scenarios does represent your approximate probability of winning.

First place nets $50, second $25 and third $10. If you haven't yet made your picks, do so now!