College Basketball Power Rankings

Midnight Madness is still weeks away... but here's an early look at how the top teams of 2011-12 stack up in the eyes of your intrepid guide to basketball.

1. North Carolina

Getty Images / Streeter Lecka

With Harrison Barnes and John Henson opting to stay in school for one more year, the Tar Heels are absolutely stacked this season. The emergence of Kendall Marshall as a legit point guard could be the key to an NCAA title run.

2. Kentucky

Getty Images / Streeter Lecka

Another year, another ridiculously-talented recruiting class for John Calipari's wildcats. Incoming freshmen Anthony Davis and Marquis Teague could be NBA lottery picks. Plus, the wildcats return Terrence Jones from last season's Final Four squad.

3. Ohio State

Getty Images / Andy Lyons

Jared Sullinger would have been a top-five pick in this year's NBA Draft. His return gives Thad Matta's Buckeyes a dominant big man to play off a talented backcourt featuring Aaron Craft and William Buford.

4. Duke

Getty Images / Kevin C. Cox

The Dookies lose Kyrie Irving, Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith, but bring back the Plumlee brothers, Seth Curry and Andre Dawkins, and add Austin Rivers - Celtics' coach Doc Rivers' son and one of the top incoming freshmen of 2011-12.

5. Syracuse

Getty Images / Jim McIsaac

Jim Boeheim's 27-8 team returns mostly intact, with Rick Jackson the only loss. His production could be replaced by the continued development of big man Fab Melo.

6. Connecticut

Obviously, the loss of Kemba Walker is huge. But Jeremy Lamb could be Jim Calhoun's next superstar, and most of the champs' supporting cast is back to defend their title.

7. Vanderbilt

Kentucky runs the SEC with a never-ending series of one-and-dones. Vandy has taken a different route - returning every player from last year's 23-11 team - and could wind up competing with the Wildcats for the conference crown.

8. Louisville

Rick Pitino's squad out-performed expectations last season. They'll have a lot more hype this year, thanks to the incoming freshman tandem of Wayne Blackshear and Chane Behanan.

9. Memphis

Josh Pastner's squad may not reach the same heights as John Calipari's best Tiger teams, but with Adonis Thomas joining a very solid returning core, Memphis should be the class of Conference USA.

10. Florida

Guard play is key in college basketball, and Billy Donovan's club will be knee-deep in talented guards. The Gators return Kenny Boynton and Erving Walker and add Rutgers transfer Mike Rosario and freshman Brad Beal. If they can get anything out of center Patric Young, this team will be very dangerous in March.

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Bruce Pearl Trades Hoops for Groceries

Ex-Tennessee Volunteers coach Bruce Pearl is stepping away from basketball for the time being, turning down coaching job with the NBDL's Texas Legends (and a rumored analyst position at ESPN) to become the vice president of marketing at H.T. Hackney Co., a wholesale grocery company.

Pearl cited family concerns - he has two children in high school, and his wife is from the Knoxville area - as the reason for turning down other offers.

Of course, another coaching gig in the NCAA probably isn't an option for the time being; Pearl was hit with the dreaded "show cause" penalty for his part in recruiting violations and a subsequent cover-up and is more-or-less un-hireable for the next three years.

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College Basketball Power Rankings

11. Pittsburgh

Jamie Dixon loses Gibert Brown and Brad Wanamaker, but returns leading scorer Ashton Gibbs. Is this the year the Panthers finally break through for a deep March run?

12. Wisconsin

Badger point guard Jordan Taylor is one of Division I's most anonymous superstars. Bo Ryan needs someone to step up to replace shooter Jon Diebler.

13. UCLA

The Bruins lost Tyler Honeycutt and Malcolm Lee to the NBA Draft, but have outstanding size in the frontcourt with UNC transfers David and Travis Wear set to join Josh Smith and Reeves Nelson.

14. Baylor

Quincy Miller and Perry Jones are likely NBA lottery picks, but the Bears will go as far as JUCO point guard Pierre Jackson can take them. That may be a long way; Jackson could be a better fit for this team than shoot-first guard LaceDarius Dunn.

15. Kansas

Bill Self's squad loses the Morris brothers and Josh Selby but returns Tyshawn Taylor, Elijah Johnson and Thomas Robinson, which should be enough to compete for yet another Big 12 title.

16. Xavier

Guard Tu Holloway is one of the nation's best, and the Musketeers also return their second and third-leading scorers from last year's 24-8 club.

17. Marquette

Coach Buzz Williams returns most of last year's Sweet Sixteen squad.

18. Texas A&M

Coach Mark Turgeon departed for Maryland, but left behind a talented roster anchored by future NBA wing Khris Middleton.

19. Alabama

The Crimson Tide just missed the NCAA Tournament last season after posting a 25-12 overall record (12-4 in the SEC), but rallied to reach the NIT Final. Look for Anthony Grant's club to reach the Big Dance this year.

20. Michigan

The Wolverines would have ranked much higher if Darius Morris returned to school. Tim Hardaway Jr., will need to step up to replace him if Michigan is going to challenge Ohio State and Wisconsin for a top spot in the Big Ten.

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Coaching Salaries

Jun 27 2011

Say what you want about the Kentucky job... the prestige, the tradition, the fan base...

The money ain't bad, either.

The University of Kentucky continues to set the bar high for coaching salaries, giving John Calipari an eight-year deal reportedly worth an average $4,500,000 annually. He'll make more in 10 minutes of game time than the average Kentucky resident makes in a year.

And Coach Cal isn't even the highest-paid coach in the Bluegrass State. That honor goes to Louisville's Rick Pitino, who reportedly pulls over $7.5 million dollars annually.

To illustrate how salaries have grown: in 2002, according to a report in Sports Illustrated, there were relatively few basketball coaches making "CEO money." SI's list at the time put just three coaches over the $1 million mark in salary, with Kentucky's Tubby Smith the highest-paid at $2.4 million a year.

Here's a look at some of the top reported salaries in Division I men's college basketball. Bear in mind, this is not a straight applies-to-apples comparison... some schools include apparel deals with sneaker companies as part of the reported compensation package (Florida is one), others do not. Public Universities -- most of the schools on this list -- have to be more forthcoming about the salaries they are paying, while private institutions like Duke and Syracuse can play things a bit closer to the vest.

Coach	Team	Average Salary (Millions)	Source
Rick Pitino	Louisville	7.5	USA Today
John Calipari	Kentucky	4.5	Associated Press
Mike Krzyzewski	Duke	4.1	USA Today
Billy Donovan	Florida	3.5	Orlandosentinel.com
Bill Self	Kansas	3	ESPN.com
Thad Matta	Ohio State	2.5	Diverseeducation.com
Jim Calhoun	Connecticut	2.3	Associated Press
Rick Barnes	Texas	2.4	Yahoo! Sports
Roy Williams	North Carolina	2.11	ESPN.com
Sean Miller	Arizona	2.3	USA Today
Tom Izzo	Michigan State	1.735	MSUSpartans.cstv.com
Ben Howland	UCLA	1.5	LATimes.com
Tom Crean	Indiana	1.48	Insidethehall.com
Mark Turgeon	Maryland	2.5	Dallas Morning News
Jim Boeheim	Syracuse	1.00 plus	Syracuse.com

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NBA Lockout

NBA payrolls have been capped since 1983, but there have always been mechanisms for getting around the salary restrictions. The best-known exception is the "Larry Bird Rule," which allows teams to exceed the salary cap to re-sign their own players.

The league's owners will reportedly push for a "hard" cap in the next CBA -- similar to the structures used in the NHL and, until recently, the NFL.

The players have vowed never to accept a hard cap. But then, so did the NHL's players -- before a lockout wiped out the entire 2004-05 season.

The players' argument against the hard cap is fairly simple. No one is forcing you guys to sign Drew Gooden to a five-year, $32 million contract, or give Joe Johnson a deal that will pay him over $20 million a year when he's 35.

The owners motivation, though, is equally simple. We need protection from ourselves... or, more specifically, from the dumbest among us. When the Bucks gave Gooden that deal, it set the market for moderately-talented rotation power forwards at $6 million per annum. What happens, then, when Blake Griffin's rookie contract expires? He's gotta be worth two-to-three times what Gooden is making, right? One bad deal can cause league-wide inflation.

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Wilson Chandler Gambling Season Will Be Cancelled

Free-agent forward Wilson Chandler, who spent last season with the Knicks and Denver Nuggets, has signed a contract with the Zhejiang Guangsha of the Chinese Basketball Association.

The Chinese league will not allow contracts with an opt-out that allows players to return to the NBA when the lockout is settled, so this move means Chandler will not play in the NBA this season. Chandler is by far the most prominent NBA player to sign a deal with no opt-out.

The move is a gamble for the 24-year-old swingman, but could be a very smart one. By signing now, Chandler locks up one of a limited number of Chinese Basketball Association spots available to foreign players - CBA clubs are limited to two foreigners per team. If the NBA season is cancelled, he'll still draw a pay check. And he'll have the option to return for the 2012-13 season.

Even if the NBA does resume business in time to have a 2011-12 season, the free agency period will be truncated. Waiting until next year to hit the market may also work to Chandler's advantage.

And, as Newsday's Alan Hahn points out, in 2012, the Knicks are expected to have money to spend.

Chandler is technically a restricted free agent; the Nuggets have the right to match any NBA contract offer he receives. In the past, teams with RFAs that signed overseas retained that right. Josh Childress was a RFA when he headed to Greece, but the Hawks retained the right to match contract offers while he was overseas. He was traded to the Phoenix Suns upon his return. Of course, there's no guarantee that restricted free agent status will exist in the next collective bargaining agreement.

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CBA Talks to Resume This Week

The NBA and NBPA are tentatively scheduled to resume CBA negotiations this week, though plans have not been finalized due to Hurricane Irene and her impact on travel up and down the East Coast. If the league and players do meet, it will be just their second face-to-face since the lockout began 60 days ago, and their first since August 1.

We can only hope this session is more productive than the last, which ended with David Stern lobbing lawsuits at the union, charging Billy Hunter and company with bad faith negotiating and attempting to prevent the union from using decertification as a strategy.

But it's hard to imagine the sides will make much progress; the gap between the owners' and players' proposals is Grand Canyon wide at this point. The league has offered the players a $2 billion share of league revenues that doesn't necessarily grow as quickly as the NBA's overall income. They also want a hard cap on player salaries, and have pushed aggressively for ways to reduce the number of "dead" contracts taking up space on team payrolls.

I like to think of that last bit as the Eddy Curry problem.

The players are willing to reduce the overall share of basketball related income they're getting from the current 57 percent, but want to keep many elements of the current system, including the soft cap and full guarantees on player contracts.

There's another fundamental disconnect between the players' and owners' positions, that Tim Donahue illustrates over at Eight Points, Nine Seconds. The NBPA insists on discussing the CBA in terms of what they're giving up. But that's deceptive at best.

For example: Maurice Evans, a member of the NBPA's executive committee, claimed that the owners' proposal actually amounts to a 40 percent reduction in salaries over ten years. That would be true if we project the players' revenue share over the next decade using the terms of the last CBA... but that's a deeply flawed assumption, because the last CBA expired at the end of the 2010-11 season.

The owners, on the other hand, want to wipe out every gain the union has made in 50-plus years of collective bargaining and start form a completely blank slate. Good luck with that.

What happens next? This may ultimately come down to the fact that, though the NBA's offer isn't particularly palatable to the union, it's a better deal than the players will get anywhere else. There simply aren't enough jobs in Europe or Asia to go around, and they don't pay as well as NBA jobs will even under the owners' proposal.

The best case scenario - for fans, at least - is that the NBPA realizes this is a no-win situation and accepts the basic framework as laid out by the league - and soon. According to Steve Kyler of Hoopsworld, a deal must be in place by September 15th, or training camps and preseason games will start getting cancelled.

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College Basketball Power Rankings

21. Arizona

Derrick Williams' departure leaves a major hole in Sean Miller's rotation, but the Wildcats return most of last year's Elite Eight squad.

22. Cincinnati

The Bearcats bring back the top four scorers from a team that reached the second round of the 2011 NCAA Tournament.

23. Missouri

The Tigers have the talent to be competitive this season, but they'll have to deal with controversy, as new coach Frank Haith may have been aware of improper benefits given some of his players at his last stop - the University of Miami.

24. Butler

The losses of Shelvin Mack and Matt Howard will obviously hurt, but I'm not about to bet against the team that has reached the last two NCAA title games.

25. Gonzaga

Elias Harris and Robert Sacre make for a very imposing frontcourt... if the 'Zags can get consistent point guard play, they should do well.

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Winningest Programs

Jul 28 2011

During the 2009-10 season, three teams -- the Kentucky Wildcats, North Carolina Tar Heels and Kansas Jayhawks -- could reach the 2,000 win plateau. The Wildcats open the year 12 wins away from 2,000, the Tar Heels 16 away and the Jayhawks 30.

The most successful programs in men's Division I college basketball history -- ranked by number of wins -- through the 2008-09 season:

All-Time Wins in Division I

Rank	Team	First Season	Wins	Losses	Ties	Percentage
1	Kentucky	1903	1988	635	1	0.758
2	North Carolina	1911	1984	703	0	0.738
3	Kansas	1899	1970	793	0	0.713
4	Duke	1906	1877	817	0	0.697
5	Syracuse	1901	1753	806	0	0.685
6	Temple	1895	1711	960	0	0.641
7	St. John's	1908	1686	868	0	0.66
8	UCLA	1920	1672	726	0	0.697
9	Penn	1897	1658	949	2	0.635
10	Notre Dame	1898	1651	908	1	0.645
11	Indiana	1901	1641	909	0	0.644
12	Utah	1909	1637	858	0	0.656
13	Illinois	1906	1609	853	0	0.654
14	Western Kentucky	1915	1602	780	0	0.673
15	Oregon State	1902	1594	1180	0	0.575
16	Washington	1896	1591	1047	0	0.603
17	Louisville	1912	1587	831	0	0.656
18	Texas	1906	1586	945	0	0.627
19	BYU	1903	1578	994	0	0.614
20	Arizona	1905	1568	858	1	0.646

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Javaris Crittenton Wanted for Role in Shooting Death of Atlanta Woman

A warrant has been issued for the arrest of ex-NBA player Javaris Crittenton, who was allegedly involved in the shooting death of an Atlanta woman on August 19.

According to authorities, Crittenton fired shots from a moving car, killing Jullian Jones. They believe that Ms. Jones was not the target, and that Crittenton was attempting to exact revenge against someone who robbed him earlier this year. Police in Atlanta and Los Angeles and federal authorities are looking for Crittenton now.

This isn't Crittenton's first brush with the law. You may remember him as the other player involved in the "guns drawn in the Wizards locker room" incident in December 2009. Crittenton was suspended for the remainder of the 2009-10 season after that incident, and has not appeared in an NBA game since. He spent time with the Charlotte Bobcats during training camp in 2010, but failed to make the final cut.

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Andre Drummond Increases Connecticut's Chance to Repeat

Some thought Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun would retire after winning the 2011 national title. Instead, he pulled off the biggest recruiting coup of the summer and will return for the 2011-12 season with an excellent chance to win another championship.

Blue-chip center Andre Drummond shocked the basketball world on Friday by announcing, via his Twitter feed that he'll play for the defending champs this season. His destination isn't that surprising - it's never really shocking when UConn lands a top recruit. But the timing is. Just weeks ago, Drummond announced that he'd attend prep school for a year; most experts had him pegged as the top prospect in next year's freshman class.

The announcement also comes as a surprise because, technically speaking, Connecticut doesn't have a free scholarship to offer Drummond at this time. ESPN's Andy Katz is reporting that another Husky player - likely redshirt freshman Michael Bradley - will give up his scholarship to accommodate Drummond's arrival in Storrs.

Connecticut was a consensus top-ten team before Drummond announced his intentions. I had them ranked sixth in the first edition of my college hoops power rankings. In the latest edition, I've bumped them up to number two. If Drummond is as good as advertised and Jeremy Lamb develops into the player I think he'll become, the Huskies will have as good a chance as any team to win the 2012 title, and become the first team since the 2007 Florida Gators to repeat as champions.

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Coaching Salaries

Jun 27 2011

Say what you want about the Kentucky job... the prestige, the tradition, the fan base...

The money ain't bad, either.

The University of Kentucky continues to set the bar high for coaching salaries, giving John Calipari an eight-year deal reportedly worth an average $4,500,000 annually. He'll make more in 10 minutes of game time than the average Kentucky resident makes in a year.

And Coach Cal isn't even the highest-paid coach in the Bluegrass State. That honor goes to Louisville's Rick Pitino, who reportedly pulls over $7.5 million dollars annually.

To illustrate how salaries have grown: in 2002, according to a report in Sports Illustrated, there were relatively few basketball coaches making "CEO money." SI's list at the time put just three coaches over the $1 million mark in salary, with Kentucky's Tubby Smith the highest-paid at $2.4 million a year.

Here's a look at some of the top reported salaries in Division I men's college basketball. Bear in mind, this is not a straight applies-to-apples comparison... some schools include apparel deals with sneaker companies as part of the reported compensation package (Florida is one), others do not. Public Universities -- most of the schools on this list -- have to be more forthcoming about the salaries they are paying, while private institutions like Duke and Syracuse can play things a bit closer to the vest.

Coach	Team	Average Salary (Millions)	Source
Rick Pitino	Louisville	7.5	USA Today
John Calipari	Kentucky	4.5	Associated Press
Mike Krzyzewski	Duke	4.1	USA Today
Billy Donovan	Florida	3.5	Orlandosentinel.com
Bill Self	Kansas	3	ESPN.com
Thad Matta	Ohio State	2.5	Diverseeducation.com
Jim Calhoun	Connecticut	2.3	Associated Press
Rick Barnes	Texas	2.4	Yahoo! Sports
Roy Williams	North Carolina	2.11	ESPN.com
Sean Miller	Arizona	2.3	USA Today
Tom Izzo	Michigan State	1.735	MSUSpartans.cstv.com
Ben Howland	UCLA	1.5	LATimes.com
Tom Crean	Indiana	1.48	Insidethehall.com
Mark Turgeon	Maryland	2.5	Dallas Morning News
Jim Boeheim	Syracuse	1.00 plus	Syracuse.com

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What is "Show Cause"?

Definition: The "Show Cause" penalty is perhaps the harshest in the NCAA's arsenal, as it essentially prevents a person from working in college basketball.

A show cause penalty -- usually with set duration -- may be handed down for a variety of reasons, but is most often used for coaches who commit NCAA violations relating to recruiting. For example, ex-Indiana coach was hit with a five-year show cause penalty stemming from improper phone calls made to recruits, and Ohio State coach Jim O'Brien faced the same penalty after making an under-the-table payment to a recruit.

Any school wishing to hire a coach under a "show cause" designation must appear before the NCAA infractions committee and potentially face new sanctions. No Division I athletic director has ever taken that step. As such, "show cause" usually amounts to a total ban from working at the college level for the duration of the penalty.

For example, California coach Todd Bozeman was hit with an eight-year show cause penalty stemming from improper payments made to the family of one of his players. Ten years elapsed before Bozeman was able to find a job at the college level -- he's currently the head coach at Morgan State.

Examples:

The NCAA hit ex-Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson with a five-year show cause penalty, while Sampson assistant Rob Senderoff received a three-year penalty.

View the original article here

What is "Show Cause"?

Definition: The "Show Cause" penalty is perhaps the harshest in the NCAA's arsenal, as it essentially prevents a person from working in college basketball.

A show cause penalty -- usually with set duration -- may be handed down for a variety of reasons, but is most often used for coaches who commit NCAA violations relating to recruiting. For example, ex-Indiana coach was hit with a five-year show cause penalty stemming from improper phone calls made to recruits, and Ohio State coach Jim O'Brien faced the same penalty after making an under-the-table payment to a recruit.

Any school wishing to hire a coach under a "show cause" designation must appear before the NCAA infractions committee and potentially face new sanctions. No Division I athletic director has ever taken that step. As such, "show cause" usually amounts to a total ban from working at the college level for the duration of the penalty.

For example, California coach Todd Bozeman was hit with an eight-year show cause penalty stemming from improper payments made to the family of one of his players. Ten years elapsed before Bozeman was able to find a job at the college level -- he's currently the head coach at Morgan State.

Examples:

The NCAA hit ex-Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson with a five-year show cause penalty, while Sampson assistant Rob Senderoff received a three-year penalty.

View the original article here

2012 Final Four Tickets

Jun 3 2011

Want to attend the 2012 Final Four in New Orleans? Best start planning now. You'll need to submit an application to the NCAA's online ticket lottery before May 31, 2011.

Tickets are sold in "books" that include admission to both Final Four games on March 31, 2011 and the National Championship game on April 2. All games will be played at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans. Prices range from $170 to $210 per book - very reasonable, considering you're getting three of the biggest games of the year. You can apply to buy up to four books.

Winners will be notified in August, 2011, and ticket books distributed by mail in February 2012.

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Winningest Women's Coaches

Bob Knight retired from coaching with 902 wins -- the most by any men's Division I basketball coach in history. He'd need at least three -- possibly four -- more runs to the Final Four to catch Pat Summitt's win total -- and Summitt is still going strong. Here's a look at the biggest winners in women's college basketball history.

1. Pat Summitt - 1000 (active)

Getty Images / Al Messerschmidt

On February 5th, 2009, Pat Summitt became the first college basketball coach in Division I -- men's or women's -- to boast 1000 career victories. Her next target may be championships -- with eight, she's just two behind legendary UCLA coach John Wooden.

ESPN.com: Summitt Wins 1000

2. Jody Conradt - 900

Jody Conradt's career spanned 38 seasons -- 31 one of them as head coach at Texas. Her record in Austin was 783–245, and included an undefeated team that won the national championship in 1986. She retired in 2007.

3. C. Vivian Stringer - 815 (active)

To the casual fan, C. Vivian Stringer is probably best known as one of the protagonists in the controversy of Don Imus' unfortunate remarks and eventual firing. That's a shame, because she's one of the top coaches in the history of the women's game, racking up over 800 wins in stints at Cheyney, Iowa, and Rutgers.

4. Sylvia Hatchell - 801 (active)

Hatchell is the only women's basketball coach to win championships at the AIAW (small college), NAIA and NCAA Division I levels. She won the 1994 NCAA title as coach of the Tar Heels -- and her Carolina team is a threat to win another championship in 2009.

5. Tara VanDerveer - 739 (active)

The coach of the reigning champions, VanDerveer has won three NCAA titles (1990, 1992, 2008) during her tenure at Stanford.

6. Kay Yow - 737

Kay Yow is one of the most successful coaches in the history of women's college basketball, with over 700 career wins and a gold medal from the 1988 Seoul Olympics on her resume. But her contributions to society went far beyond the basketball court -- diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987, Yow became a major force in fundraising efforts, and served on the board of the V Foundation. She passed away on January 24, 2009 at the age of 66.

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Bruce Pearl Hit with Three-Year "Show Cause" Penalty

Ex-Tennessee basketball coach Bruce Pearl has been hit with a three-year "show cause" penalty for his role in the recruiting violations and subsequent cover-up that ended his tenure with the Vols.

The "show cause" penalty is the harshest the NCAA can levy on an individual. That status means any institution wishing to hire Pearl must appear before the NCAA Committee on Infractions and explain the hiring decision, and potentially face sanctions as a result. No Division I institution has ever taken that step. In fact, only one coach in Division I men's basketball history - Morgan State's Todd Bozeman - has ever landed a head coaching job after being hit with the "show cause" penalty.

Pearl's "show cause" status expires on August 23, 2014. Three of his assistant coaches - Tony Jones, Steve Forbes and Jason Shay - received the same penalty, but with a one-year duration.

Of course, just because he can't work in the NCAA doesn't mean Pearl won't be spending any time in basketball gyms for the next three years. The controversial coach reportedly has an offer to take over the Texas Legends - the D-League affiliate of the Dallas Mavericks.

View the original article here

Winningest Women's Coaches

Bob Knight retired from coaching with 902 wins -- the most by any men's Division I basketball coach in history. He'd need at least three -- possibly four -- more runs to the Final Four to catch Pat Summitt's win total -- and Summitt is still going strong. Here's a look at the biggest winners in women's college basketball history.

1. Pat Summitt - 1000 (active)

Getty Images / Al Messerschmidt

On February 5th, 2009, Pat Summitt became the first college basketball coach in Division I -- men's or women's -- to boast 1000 career victories. Her next target may be championships -- with eight, she's just two behind legendary UCLA coach John Wooden.

ESPN.com: Summitt Wins 1000

2. Jody Conradt - 900

Jody Conradt's career spanned 38 seasons -- 31 one of them as head coach at Texas. Her record in Austin was 783–245, and included an undefeated team that won the national championship in 1986. She retired in 2007.

3. C. Vivian Stringer - 815 (active)

To the casual fan, C. Vivian Stringer is probably best known as one of the protagonists in the controversy of Don Imus' unfortunate remarks and eventual firing. That's a shame, because she's one of the top coaches in the history of the women's game, racking up over 800 wins in stints at Cheyney, Iowa, and Rutgers.

4. Sylvia Hatchell - 801 (active)

Hatchell is the only women's basketball coach to win championships at the AIAW (small college), NAIA and NCAA Division I levels. She won the 1994 NCAA title as coach of the Tar Heels -- and her Carolina team is a threat to win another championship in 2009.

5. Tara VanDerveer - 739 (active)

The coach of the reigning champions, VanDerveer has won three NCAA titles (1990, 1992, 2008) during her tenure at Stanford.

6. Kay Yow - 737

Kay Yow is one of the most successful coaches in the history of women's college basketball, with over 700 career wins and a gold medal from the 1988 Seoul Olympics on her resume. But her contributions to society went far beyond the basketball court -- diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987, Yow became a major force in fundraising efforts, and served on the board of the V Foundation. She passed away on January 24, 2009 at the age of 66.

View the original article here

College Basketball Power Rankings

Midnight Madness is still weeks away... but here's an early look at how the top teams of 2011-12 stack up in the eyes of your intrepid guide to basketball.

1. North Carolina

Getty Images / Streeter Lecka

With Harrison Barnes and John Henson opting to stay in school for one more year, the Tar Heels are absolutely stacked this season. The emergence of Kendall Marshall as a legit point guard could be the key to an NCAA title run.

2. Kentucky

Getty Images / Streeter Lecka

Another year, another ridiculously-talented recruiting class for John Calipari's wildcats. Incoming freshmen Anthony Davis and Marquis Teague could be NBA lottery picks. Plus, the wildcats return Terrence Jones from last season's Final Four squad.

3. Ohio State

Getty Images / Andy Lyons

Jared Sullinger would have been a top-five pick in this year's NBA Draft. His return gives Thad Matta's Buckeyes a dominant big man to play off a talented backcourt featuring Aaron Craft and William Buford.

4. Duke

Getty Images / Kevin C. Cox

The Dookies lose Kyrie Irving, Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith, but bring back the Plumlee brothers, Seth Curry and Andre Dawkins, and add Austin Rivers - Celtics' coach Doc Rivers' son and one of the top incoming freshmen of 2011-12.

5. Syracuse

Getty Images / Jim McIsaac

Jim Boeheim's 27-8 team returns mostly intact, with Rick Jackson the only loss. His production could be replaced by the continued development of big man Fab Melo.

6. Connecticut

Obviously, the loss of Kemba Walker is huge. But Jeremy Lamb could be Jim Calhoun's next superstar, and most of the champs' supporting cast is back to defend their title.

7. Vanderbilt

Kentucky runs the SEC with a never-ending series of one-and-dones. Vandy has taken a different route - returning every player from last year's 23-11 team - and could wind up competing with the Wildcats for the conference crown.

8. Louisville

Rick Pitino's squad out-performed expectations last season. They'll have a lot more hype this year, thanks to the incoming freshman tandem of Wayne Blackshear and Chane Behanan.

9. Memphis

Josh Pastner's squad may not reach the same heights as John Calipari's best Tiger teams, but with Adonis Thomas joining a very solid returning core, Memphis should be the class of Conference USA.

10. Florida

Guard play is key in college basketball, and Billy Donovan's club will be knee-deep in talented guards. The Gators return Kenny Boynton and Erving Walker and add Rutgers transfer Mike Rosario and freshman Brad Beal. If they can get anything out of center Patric Young, this team will be very dangerous in March.

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