In a just world, USC basketball would have something in common with SMU football in the near future.

The death penalty.

Pat Forde, ESPN.com, "USC, Tim Floyd Have No Excuse for Turning a Blind Eye"

Though there's much more in the column, the lead says it all. But is Pat Forde right?

Unsurprisingly, how you answer that question depends greatly on which section of the bleachers you occupy. From my perch, four points strike me worth raising:

1. Half the story is no story at all. At least facially, Pat Forde's argument stands on firm ground: "Repeat NCAA offenders get the death penalty. USC is a repeat offender. QED: USC deserves the death penalty."

But such an argument contains what I think to be a problematic assumed premise: that the universe within which this situation resides is orderly and systematic. Put another way, transgressions are defined not merely by that which the system prohibits, but also the extent to which the system enforces the rules.

And here, there's a case to be made that in the aggregate, factoring in all the elements of big money collegiate sports, the universe of NCAA amateurism oftentimes more approximates a Hobbesian state of nature than an ordered society governed by enforced rules. Whatever USC's sins in carelessness and stupidity, the more fundamental underlying issue - boosting amateurs - is one the NCAA has proven itself incapable of regulating with meaningful consistency. Thus, to the extent that the very concept of amateurism in the big money NCAA systems of football and basketball are a farce, eruptions of self-congratulatory finger-wagging at one particular transgressor - notable mostly for being so stupid as to be caught in the flimsiest of nets - seem a fine case of squaring the circle.

In that sense, mounting the pulpit to lecture exclusively about dropping the hammer on USC seems a bit like a team of doctors employing a tourniquet on a gushing artery without any discussion of, or plan to, operate thereafter. There is an important conversation to be had about the amateur athlete situation in big money sports, but it may be as much institutional (NCAA) as institutional (USC).

2. Yeah, but we won't. A real conversation about amateur athletes in money-making sports may well be in order, but don't hold your breath. Because such a conversation necessarily would include truthful, fair, and realistic discussion about race, class, and the entrenched interests the system already favors.

And though I'm not masochist enough to dive into that conversation in this space myself, I can guarantee that even the mere mention of the topic heats the blood of some folks straight to a boil.

Whether or not an in-depth conversation about such difficult topics is possible, for now it suffices to say that perhaps no entity contributes more to, or profits more from, the exploitation of amateur athletes than ESPN - a point I mention not to judge capriciously the merits and demerits of their business, but to suggest that this story is only partly about OJ Mayo, his shady handler, and USC. In a more robust dialogue about this complex issue, a thorough list of actors to subpoena would include the professional sports agencies who game the system, the NCAA who (through its inaction) lets them, and the broadcasting giants who derive profit from the very stardom/professionalism that they in large part create but which the rules purport to prohibit.

3. A penny for your thoughts, Mr. Garrett? Philosophical caveats acknowledged and filed in the record, this Mayo scandal is pretty damn entertaining. Whatever you think about sports amateurism and the regulation thereof, this particular episode of candid camera is irresistibly comical.

Imagine for a moment that you're USC's athletic director, Mike Garrett. To secure such a job undoubtedly means you have a better-than-average understanding of the collegiate athletics landscape in general, and the big money sports in particular. It would be impossible, then, to be unaware of all the leeches and opportunists crowded 'round the periphery of NCAA competition, eager, willing, and able to capitalize on the valuable commodity that is the future professional athlete.

Now imagine that OJ Mayo is headed to play basketball for your school. Yes, that OJ Mayo, whose NBA jersey your eight year old nephew included on his Christmas list assuming (not unreasonably) Mayo was already a pro.

After you finished trying to explain to your nephew that ESPN's coverage of an athlete was not, in fact, determinative of an athlete's professional status, you'd probably turn your attention to the question of OJ Mayo's impending year as a USC Trojan. You think you might spend some time putting together a plan to ensure this superstar's one year at USC wasn't a problematic one for the university?

Let's bypass answering that rhetorical question and put it to Mr. Michael Garrett himself: "Hey, Mike. Recent polls have shown that while 98 percent of Americans were able to predict that OJ Mayo would need some managing to keep separated from opportunists working for agents, only a fifth of Americans can find California on a map. What the hell happened here?"

Mike Garrett explains the OJ Mayo mess. Not enough maps, I'd say.

4. Stoning the enemy is always fun, even from a glass house. Across town from the unfolding South Central nightmare, the princes of Westwood are enjoying every salacious detail that emerges from this story. Understandably so. If asked to choose my five favorite days in BON history, I'd undoubtedly include among them the day Mr. Bomar pulled a Bomar. Indeed, there are few satisfactions as fulfilling as schadenfreudian satisfaction.

While I unequivocally enjoy a spring get-together amongst friends to stone the enemy during his weakest hour, it is rather amusing to watch such a stoning party break loose in a glass house (title-holder: Rick Neuheisel).

Though Bruins fans understandably have found their own way to make peace with Slick Rick's sketchy past, at least to this outsider, this point pretty well makes the case argued above: The haughtiness, be it from Pat Forde or a Bruins fan or anyone else, rings a bit hollow when the OJ Mayo case is viewed as a single wave in the stormy sea of NCAA regulatory dysfunction.

I'm pretty sure there's more to this painting than that dot you're yelling about.

Those enjoying USC in crisis will have to forgive me for thinking the truly exceptional aspect of this case was the degree of arrogance and stupidity by which USC seems to have been operating.

As an example of the general dysfunction in the world of amateur athletes in big money sports, it appears to me a great deal closer to par for the course.

Not that we're likely to really talk about it.

Addendum: As bassale comments below: USC's screw up is "a pretty damn big dot," a point I don't disagree with. Two concluding follow-up notes, then:

First, the piece as a whole was an attempt to present the bigger context which remains (as yet) unspoken in the giddy-up to hang the Trojans.

And second, none of the above is to suggest USC shouldn't receive or won't deserve NCAA sanctions for this scandal.

On a day when Texas fans should have been offering ten-gallon hat tips to DJ Augustin for two of the most memorable and important years in the program's history, much of the attention was focused elsewhere. Specifically, conversation was diverted away from Augustin and onto AJ Abrams who surprised everyone - from fans to NBA scouts - by making known he was declaring for the draft.

On its face, Abrams declaring isn't objectionable. He has that right and there are justifiable reasons for the move.

But why Tuesday night? Why throw the news out hours before DJ Augustin was about to make his? Why, when the odds of Abrams returning for his senior season are all but guaranteed?

We don't have to guess why, because AJ's father made it perfectly clear for us:

"He's not disgruntled with UT, but this is a business," Andy Abrams said. "He's serious about it."

The elder Abrams believes his son did not receive proper credit for his accomplishments, particularly from the national media.

"This is his daddy saying this, not him, but nationally it was 'D.J. Augustin and the Texas Longhorns,' " Andy Abrams said.

And there you have it. Abrams' timing wasn't coincidental at all. It was a conscious business decision - apparently made in large part by Daddy - to use Augustin's announcement to AJ's advantage.

And hey, maybe over-involved Dad is right; after all, the move had its intended effect.

But at least to this fan, this was bad business of an entirely different sort. And as AW noted in an email last night, it's offensive enough at least to make you pause and wonder whether next year's line up might be better with Ebanks on the wing, anyway.

You hate to think something like that, but... well, apparently the Abrams want AJ to be treated as a commodity.

It's just business, right?

--PB--

The Austin American Statesman is reporting that DJ Augustin will declare for the NBA draft today.  The good news is that they're also reporting he won't hire an agent.  We should have expected as much when even AJ Abrams declared earlier today.  The DMN has some quotes from AJ's dad saying that he needs to play PG next year to prove he has value to NBA teams.  Meanwhile, I'm still trying to read anything I can out of all this.  I'm sure the Texas guards have spoken to each other about this in depth, but whether they have some kind of secret plan together is pure speculation, and dubious at that.  It seems silly to scheme about something when you're not even sure one of you will get an offer to work out.  Just wanted to nip that in the bud (although I probably actually just started it).

Now we've got just that much longer to wait and bite our nails.  I'm expecting some news from DamJam, Damo, or whatever we decided to call him very soon.

[Update by Horn Brain, 04/23/08 12:53 PM CDT ]  Give texasauteur credit for this one, he beat me to it by about 14 minutes.

[Update by Horn Brain, 04/23/08 1:08 PM CDT ]  Now the DMN has an article saying that DJ will be hiring an agent.  Let the newspaper source credibility wars begin.

[Update by Horn Brain, 04/23/08 1:31 PM CDT ]  Rivals agrees ($) with the AAS:  DJ has until June 16 to finalize his decision.  Cross your fingers, BONers.  Is it time for an "I will do X if DJ comes back" thread?

According to this Statesman article, the Longhorns Elite Eight run generated more revenue for the school than the football team's Holiday Bowl berth. In fact, Texas lost money on its December trip to California because its expenditures exceeded the bowl payout, about $1.2 million.

Also of interest, the story notes that the Big 12 is paid for each game played in the NCAA Tournament, with Kansas and Texas accounting for half the conference's revenue over the past six years.

Which rather reminded me of DJ Augustin's quote when asked about an emerging 'rivalry' with Texas A&M on the hardwood: "No. Kansas is our rival."

--PB--

According to Joseph Duarte of the Houston Chronicle, DJ Augustin is close to declaring for the NBA draft. Duarte speculates that DJ will not sign with an agent and still could return to Texas.

I have a couple of issues with this article.

Augustin was projected as a lottery pick (among the top 14) early this season before his stock began to plummet in the NCAA Tournament.

That is a bit harsh and a bit simplistic. Derrick Rose made a lot of opponents look silly during Memphis' run to the finals. In my opinion, DJ's stock is not being hurt by his NCAA tournament performance but instead by the number of quality underclassmen who have already declared for the draft.

Which brings me to my second issue with Duarte's post,

That list could grow in the next week with Darren Collison (UCLA) and Eric Gordon (Indiana) expected to enter the draft.

Gordon declared over a week ago and even though he hasn't yet hired an agent, there is almost no chance that Gordon returns to Indiana.

Anyway, the thoughts on Orangebloods.com indicate that DJ will sit down with his family this week and will likely make an announcement early next week. I still think Augustin declares but I'm less certain now than I was just a few weeks ago.

One last thing to consider. If DJ stays, then the Longhorns will need someone to transfer or move off scholarship in order to sign another player in the 2008 class. With Tyreke Evans committing to Memphis, the top kid on the Longhorns' board is Devin Ebanks, a 6-7 wing player. Ebanks will be in town next weekend for an official visit. He has already visited West Virginia and has a visit scheduled for Memphis in a couple of weeks. Ebanks is probably another one-and-done kid, though.

A couple of sceanrios: 1) DJ stays and Ebanks signs elsewhere; 2) DJ stays, Ebanks signs with the Longhorns, and someone transfers; 3) DJ leaves and Ebanks signs; 4) DJ leaves and Ebanks signs elsewhere and the 'Horns sign Jeff Taylor or possibly nobody.

I'd be fine with any scenario but #1 #4.

DJ's deadline to declare for the NBA draft is April 27th.

--AW--

SB Nation is upgrading all its sites to the slick new 2.0 version you can see at sites like Athletics Nation or Lone Star Ball. The college sites are all scheduled to upgrade in the middle of May, a timetable that was absolutely untenable for me for the same reasons I'm on writing hiatus right now.

But as SBN can't hold the upgrade until June, we're going to go ahead and do the makeover on Sunday.

Readers who comment will want to 'claim' their blog account by registering with SBN, a process which will allow you to retain your comment and diary history from BON, and give you a screen name that you can use to be a contributing member at any SBN sites.

You can wait for the upgrade at BON or head over to one of the already upgraded sites and go through the quick registration process.

Once we're launched, we can all explore the new toys together. The feedback from readers in other communities has been overwhelmingly positive, so it'll just be a matter of getting used to the new system. By the time football season rolls around, we'll all have forgotten there was even a change.

--PB--

Many readers have already heard, but Tyreke Evans made it official today that he will go to Memphis and play for John Calipari next season. The MVP of the McDonald's All-American game, Evans would have been a really nice addition to Coach Barnes' 2008-2009 freshman class but it would have been a steal to pick him up.

Derrick Rose's decision to jump to the NBA and DJ Augustin's uncertain future probably combined to help Evans finalize his decision. He can play effectively as either a one or a two guard, but sharing the court with Rose or Augustin he would not have had the opportunity to be the main focus of the offense--at least not all the time. Combine that with the fact that he reportedly loves Calipari's offense, and this is simply a case of a kid making the decision that was right for him.

Bumped. What I would have given to be there last night. --PB--

I took my sister to the basketball banquet tonight and came away convinced that Rick Barnes is the best college coach in the country, in any sport.  The event itself was pretty humdrum, but it spotlighted all the strengths of Rick Barnes as a leader, coach, and man that won't show up in the box score...while the event was for the players, Coach Barnes was the star of the evening.

Some notes:

1. I'd never heard this before, but, in kidding about Deloss's   hesitancy to give him a raise, Barnes explicitly said Kentucky offered him the job last year.  However, Barnes said he believes this is the best college job in the country, ahead of any other program.  If he turned down Kentucky, I think it's safe to say he'll be here for awhile.

2. Barnes talked about how Damion Dames and Jerry Johnson might have saved the season.  I'd never heard this before either, but Barnes said the Missouri loss was his worst loss in the last 10 years b/c he didn't think we competed as a team.  He said the loss stuck with him for several weeks, and he felt he was losing confidence in his team due to their effort.  He said he worked the team unmercifully after that--none of the other coaches disagreed--and he couldn't let the loss go.  Finally, Jerry Johnson told him he had to take his foot off their throat or the team would never be able to get back onto their feet.  Barnes said this really hit home with him and changed his approach to the entire season.

Similarly, he said he realized he could never stay mad at Damion James, since Damion wants to please the coaches more than anything in the world.  And if he couldn't stay mad at Damion, he couldn't stay mad at any of the players, since this team put forth such a high effort and did their best.

3. Barnes was pretty ruthless on his assistant coaches.  Rodney Terry apparently told Barnes that he "was ready to get married", even though he doesn't have a girlfriend.  Barnes told all the ladies in the audience to look him up on  "MyFace", as he was itching to get hitched.

He told Ogden he was going to be much more active in recruiting, but, if he was bad at it, he would be fired.  He also said Ogden was Mr. Basketball in Texas "the worst year of players I've ever seen"

Ken McDonald got really emotional about leaving the program and begged Barnes for a home-and-home.  Barnes said we would travel to WKU next year, because he knew they would suck, but then they would have to come here the next 10 years in a row, since he knew McDonald would turn it around.

4. Barnes said he refuses to recruit during the season, since he "focuses on the guys who are already here."  That's pretty awesome.

5. Ian Mooney said Barnes made the greatest mistake in his life by not recruiting Mooney out of high school.  Barnes said Mooney was the worst-shooting white guy he's ever seen in his life.

When Craig Way asked Mooney the best and most challenging thing about playing for Coach Barnes, he answered "if you can play for Coach Barnes, you can play for anyone."

JD Lewis said he had nothing bad to say about Coach Barnes, since he invests so much time into each player and their development.  He said Barnes will squeeze every drop of potential out of his players, and he learned more about defense than he ever thought possible.  He also noted that Coach Barnes was very explicit about the roles of each player and how much they meant to the team.

6. Barnes said the most satisfying moments in his life come from being on a basketball court running his team through a practice.

7. Barnes said Balbay and Matt Hill were "Top 7-8 guys" in the rotation before their injuries.  Do the math on that one.

8. DJ Augustin was not on stage this year, while KD was brought up on the stage before he officially declared last season.  I think it's still up in the air, and he didn't even want to address it.

9. I got pretty emotional during the season highlight film.  This really, really, really was a special season for UT Basketball.

Summary

I know these anecdotes all seem to just show up Barnes' quick wit and passion for his players--which we all know about--but that's not what left me shaking my head the entire evening marveling at his abilities.  I'm a military man, so I've seen some leaders, but I'm hard-pressed to think of anyone in as complete control of his situation as Rick Barnes.  He has earned the complete respect and admiration of every single member of the program, not just the players.  I know that's also not surprising, but it's different seeing it manifested in-person.

He has built the most family-driven and team environment I've ever seen, and, while each and every one of the players would KILL for him, they each respect him as their coach and a father figure.  The team has a GPA of 3.29.  This team came together faster and quicker than anyone thought possible, and the current bond between the players/coaches/staff seems inseparable.  I got chills the entire evening thinking about how good this team is going to be next season, based off the love and dedication everyone displayed for each other. They've already started their practices for next season, and EVERYONE on-stage reiterated they want to be cutting down the nets next season.

Last night, the fans got a glimpse into the true nature of Texas Basketball.  Personally, I wouldn't trade places with any current program in the country...

The AAS has a story up on Texas' future point guard Dogus Balbay's suspension for playing "professionally" in Europe prior to coming to Texas.  Texas is saying that Balbay was cleared to play for the last ten games of the season, but did not participate.  Therefore, those games should count toward Balbay's 11-game suspension.  I understand that it's worth a shot, (if the NCAA will give OU their wins back...) but this doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

If those games count for his suspension, then they should count toward his eligibility too, right?  You can't count and not count the same 10 games.  My first question to you, then, is:

Has anyone ever heard of a player using all or part of their redshirt season to serve a suspension?

Assuming that it counts, that would effectively burn a whole year of Balbay's eligibility to let him play 11 games against non-conference opponents.  Obviously the experience would be valuable in the rest of the games, but is it worth a whole year of Balbay?  This, of course, assumes that Balbay is a four-year player at Texas.  PB has given us hints that his sources think Dogus is something special, but that doesn't mean he'll necessarily go early for the Association.  Brandon Rush played four almost four years, for God's sake.

So, given that information, here's my second question:

Suppose the NCAA gives Barnes the choice:

A.) Take the redshirt off early and have Balbay only miss the first game of the season or...
B.) Keep the extra year but lose 11 games next season

What does he do?

For my money, I'd drop the shirt and get Balbay into the game as early as possible.  With DJ, it'll give Barnes confidence to give quality minutes to Dogus and keep DJ fresh, without DJ, it will be vital to help the team mesh with Balbay early on before the real tests arrive.

Also, I'd just like to say that the NCAA is ridiculous.  If Balbay never made a dime, how exactly is he a professional?  Because one of my friends played in an IM basketball game with Jermichael Finley, that makes him an NCAA student-athlete?  Because other players on the team got paid, Dogus is a professional?  Puh-lease.

Oh yeah, by the way- I owe vy til i die an award since the rest of you gave up:

I love this.

As noted in the diaries, Andy Katz has Texas as his pre-pre-season #1 team for 2008-09.

If DJ Augustin comes back.

Andrew and I think DJ's headed pro, but let's pretend he's not and talk about it for a few minutes, both because it'll be fun and I need a break from work.

ROSTER

The 2008-09 team would look exactly like this year's team, minus a couple dozen minutes from JD Lewis and Ian Mooney, both of whom graduate. Texas would replace those two with two superior guards in J'Covan Brown and Dogus Balbay. Both are 6'2 Brown is 6-2, Balbay 6-0, and both can handle the ball, instantly upgrading our depth at guard by 67%.

Texas is still in the mix for a couple other big name recruits, but under the assumption that DJ and Damion return, there's a scholarship problem. Either someone like Harrison Smith would have to go off scholarship, or there'd need to be a transfer. For now, we'll just cap the roster as is; anyone else that comes aboard would be gravy.

OFFENSE

Texas did a lot well on offense this past season. We were off the charts protecting the ball, solid beyond the arc (38%), and surprisingly strong on the offensive glass, securing nearly 37% of our misses (40th best nationally).

What didn't Texas do well? We were a below average team shooting twos (48.5%) and we struggled all season to get to the free throw line. Texas' 21.8% Free Throw Rate was 271st in Division 1 basketball. (Good news caveat: none of this season's Final Four participants finished in the Top 50 in FTM/FGA, and only North Carolina finished in the Top 100.)

Mostly, it was an outstanding year on offense, as evidenced by Texas' Adjusted Efficiency of 123.8, third best nationally. Looking beyond the stats, though, for two straight years Texas has struggled when its undersized guards have been smothered by long, athletic defenses. We saw it for the first time in February 2007, when Kansas State came to the Erwin Center and muscled around DJ and Abrams, stealing the upset. The same problem plagued Texas in the second round of the '07 tournament, as Texas' guards were handcuffed by a bigger, more athletic USC squad. And we all just saw what Memphis did to the Longhorns in the regional finals.

Part of the solution next season would involve bench help from Brown and Balbay - allowing us to rest better our starting guards - but the bigger solution involves improvement in the frontcourt. Texas will certainly have depth in that regard, so much so that the competition for minutes should be fierce. Gary Johnson, Connor Atchley, Dexter Pittman, Alexis Wangmene, and Clint Chapman all return, and Matt Hill should be all the way back from the foot injury that sidelined him for '07-'08.

That's a good problem to have, allowing Barnes both room to experiment with different lineups, an ability to play different match ups based on opponents, and some margin for error should any of Texas' forwards befall injury (or fail to develop). One thing you had to love about this year's national champion Jayhawks was their ability to succeed with a variety of personnel groupings. Bill Self could go long and fast with his big guys or insert a Jumbo package with big bodies to bang.

Texas will have some of that ability next year. Texas can run with DJ-AJ-Mase-Connor-James, it can go a little bigger but still athletic with DJ-Mase-Gary-Connor-James, Barnes can go big with DJ-Mase-James-Gary-Wingman, or Barnes can go Jumbo with Pittman-Wingman-James and two guards. And those are just a few of the possibilities. Hell, if we had flash cards with Texas' roster, we could spend an entire afternoon playing Line Up Musical Chairs.

DEFENSE

This roster should help Texas on defense, as well. Not only will Rick have more options, but he won't be forced to play DJ and AJ for 38-40 minutes a game. As we all know well, Abrams is a very useful college player. But he has limitations, and when Texas finds itself matched up with an opponent which is going to take away the things he can contribute, we can just change our look. That's not just better for our offense; it's huge for our defense, where AJ is often a liability. (To his credit, AJ improved a lot this year. Still, there's only so much you can do at 5-10, 160 pounds against Memphis-type guards.)

The roster flexibility helps the defense in other ways, as well. With more bodies at his disposal, Rick can experiment with full court pressure without worrying that he'll be gassing the only guards on his roster. For a team that gave team after team hell because of our quickness, we weren't able to do much full court pressuring because we had three guards we counted on for 35+ minutes and no back ups to speak of. Barnes (wisely) played to avoid foul trouble or fatigue, but if DJ returns, this roster would give him a lot more options.

Don't forget, too, that the next time we see these guys will be after another offseason working with Todd Wright. The impact of that probably can't be overstated.

FINAL THOUGHTS

It's fun to think about another year with this group, isn't it? Give this year's squad a couple back ups at guard, a year of maturity, and another offseason of strength and conditioning and you can imagine this team being incredibly special. Things to consider as we await DJ's decision:

• Zero percent chance that DJ Augustin doesn't see Andy Katz's article. Any chance the prospect of returning as preseason #1 has any effect on his decision? Not saying it should, but... hey, who knows.
• Dogus Balbay, assuming he's at full health, is going to surprise Texas fans. When I was trying to get the scoop on Kevin Durant's decision last offseason, I chatted on the phone with a draft expert who - after breaking the bad news that Durant would be leaving - went out of his way to make sure I understood what a strong player Texas was getting in Balbay. He would have made a big difference this season. If he's at full strength next year, I expect good things.
• Whether DJ returns or not, I'm fascinated to see what happens with the Texas front court next season. What's the next step for Pittman? For Johnson? Clint Chapman is intriguing as hell. When WingMan gets the game to slow down, he's going to be incredibly useful.

--PB--