July 12
Once again, everybody is forgetting about the kids. What am I talking about? The fiasco going on between Cincinnati and Temple over scheduling.

Cincinnati-Temple has been a great matchup, pitting two of America's best coaches.

The ADs, Bob Goin of Cincinnati and Dave O'Brien of Temple, are in a battle. It all stems from last season, when Cincinnati scheduled one too many games and asked Temple out of its game, which was scheduled for TV.

Temple agreed to step out of the game, a financial arrangement was supposedly reached, and an agreement was made that Cincinnati would visit Temple for the next two seasons.

Now Goin said Temple billed Cincinnati a higher fee than anticipated for the cancellation. Goin said his school would send the $85,000 check, but the Bearcats were cancelling playing Temple. In fact, going one step further, Goin said he would never again schedule Temple as long as he is the Cincinnati AD.

Come on, Goin and O'Brien. Let's not be little kids, battling and worrying about individual egos. Cincinnati-Temple has been a great matchup, pitting two of America's best coaches, Hall of Famer John Chaney and Bob Huggins. The game has been exciting for fans and good for TV. In fact, Temple upset Cincinnati in 2000, when the Bearcats, led by Kenyon Martin, were the nation's No. 1 team.

The game is about the kids wearing the uniforms. They love the matchups, and I know Chaney and Huggins love battling against one another. So the ADs should set aside their personal desires and feelings and make sure the Cincinnati-Temple battle takes place in the future.

July 11
RECRUITING THE WRIGHT WAY
New Villanova head coach Jay Wright has landed his first big-time recruit. Wright secured an oral commitment from Allen Ray, a 6-foot-1 guard from New York City.

Wright had a lot of success recruiting in NYC while he served as Hofstra's coach. Remember, he landed Speedy Claxton, who went on to become a first-round pick of the Philadelphia 76ers.

Rick Pitino landed his second major recruit when 6-7 forward Francisco Garcia of Cheshire, Conn., announced his decision to attend Louisville. Garcia made his announcement at the adidas ABCD camp.

Pitino previously landed 6-3 guard Taquan Dean of Neptune, N.J. Over the years, Louisville has fared well recruiting in that part of New Jersey, getting the likes of Billy Thompson and Milt Wagner.

Illinois landed a fine prospect in J.R. Morris, who also considered Big Ten rivals Iowa and Wisconsin.

CHEERS FOR CHANEY
Congratulations to John Chaney of Temple. Not only is he going into the Basketball Hall of Fame, but he also has agreed to a three-year extension at Temple.

FIELD OF 'CHAMPIONS'
The Tournament of Champions in Charlotte has a solid field. The event, taking place on Dec. 21-22, includes North Carolina, College of Charleston, St. Joseph's and Georgia State. That's right, you can see Matt Doherty, John Kresse, Lefty Driesell and Phil Martelli working their magic in doubleheaders. Watching the backcourt of Marvin O'Connor and Jameer Nelson of St. Joseph's is something special.

SUNS RING BELL
I was happy to see Michigan State guard Charlie Bell signed with the Phoenix Suns. I was surprised he went undrafted. Two other members of my all-undrafted team, Iowa's Dean Oliver and Detroit's Rashad Phillips, joined Golden State's summer-league team.