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The Morning Mix

- Jay Bilas gets the ball rolling today. he suggests that it’s time for Division-I hoops to downsize. Myron Medcalf thinks that reducing the landscape size would eliminate the cinderellas, which make the game so much better. Dana O’Neil also vouches for a larger pool of D-I teams, as it makes for a higher level of competition at the top (This really is a great debate, and kudos to the ESPN.com editors for providing three different opinionated pieces on the subject.)

- Did Pete Thamel refuse to report information about a person involved with Nerlens Noel because that person was a huge supporter of Thamel’s Alma mater?

- We should all applaud Ryan Greene. Why? Because he wrote a terrific piece highlighting the positives that can come from being a student-athlete. Not very many people focus on the positives. I’m not going to give you any more info. Just make sure you click the link

- A good-read from Eamonn Brennan about the depth of the Big-Ten next season. He suggests that the conference should be as competitive, if not more, than this year, with at least four legitimate contenders

- An awesome-read from Donna Ditota on the issues with the academic progress rate

- Deadspin’s Timothy Burke, known for his tremendous .GIF and video-grabbing skills, absolutely laid into Steve Kerr for his article about raising the NBA draft age limit to 20 years-old. Burke wins via baby seal clubbing @ 1:21 of Rd1

- Jeff Goodman breaks down the coaching carousel (A good-read with bountiful information)

- A pretty cool story from Rustin Dodd of the Wichita Eagle about the rise of prep school matriculation of midwestern players. Prep schools were long thought to only be accessible to the wealthy upper class in the northeast. But as more and more prep stars gain success, the popularity of these boarding schools has expanded

- A long, but insightful-read from Brian Ewart about what the Big East will need to get out of their next Commissioner

- If the Big East splits up, with the football schools going one way and the basketball schools going the other, Notre Dame is not likely to stick around

- There is yet another academic scandal at North Carolina. But all the basketball players who took classes involved in the scandal have been cleared

- The ACC has signed an extension with ESPN to keep the broadcast rights until the 2026 season. Jason Kirk explains why the ACC is going to see a substantial monetary gain because of it

- Wanna know why Bo Ryan tried to block Jarrod Uthoff from transferring to certain schools? Jeff Eisenberg’s headline should tell you why

- As I pointed out on Monday morning, Oakland wants to take Butler’s spot in the Horizon League. Oakland would be a great fit, as long as Detroit approves of the move

- Indiana coach Tom Crean defended his decision to end the Kentucky series. The Hoosiers are only playing one game in Indianapolis, not two. He would not concede another neutral court game (45 min from campus no less!) in order to play the National Champions

- If Old Dominion heads to the C-USA, it will be because of football. But how will the basketball program be affected?

- Anthony Davis will be the No.1 pick of the NBA draft. While it’s not official, it’s unofficially official. But how big of an impact will Davis have? Can he make the Bobcats 20-25 games better?

- Georgetown might have missed out on Nerlens Noel, but the Hoyas were able to sign 6-11 Jacksonville-native Bradley Hayes.

- St. Bonaventure’s head coach Mark Schmidt has used his team’s success to earn a long-term contract with the school that will end in 2019

- After leading Virginia to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2007, Virginia Coach Tony Bennett got a contract extension that would keep him in Charlottesville until 2o19

- Kansas State’s James Watson has left the program because of a heart illness. But Coug Center suggests that this might just be a way for coach Bruce Weber to free up a scholarship. If this is true, it’s pretty disgusting. If it isn’t, then these are some pretty bold accusations.