Tuesday Morning Dump

- SI's Seth Davis provides us with our first must-read of the day, catching up with Butler head coach Brad Stevens.

- Then there is this profile of Nolan Smith by Fanhouse's David Steele. Hate Duke if you will, but Smith is quickly becoming one of the most likeable players in the country.

- Not to be outdone, Steele's Fanhouse colleague Graham Watson has this look at the "mid-majors". He better be careful who he labels a mid-major, however. I don't think Memphis fans appreciate it.

- And finally, there is Jeff Goodman, who provides this look at Steve Donahue and the job he has to do at BC.

- A couple of big-name coaches will head to Capitol Hill to lobby for improving and increasing federal funding for cancer research. The college hoops world has always been a strong promoter for cancer research, with the Jimmy V foundation and the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. BYU head coach, and former cancer-survivor Dave Rose, will lead the campaign to raise awareness and improve support.

- A first look at some potential candidates for Big-10 Rookie of the Year. There are a handful of potential first-year players who could vie for the award, but even before the season begins, tOSU freshman Jared Sullinger is clearly the front-runner to win in what could be his only season in Columbus.

- Jeff Goodman reported that Kyle Singler made his return to the court yesterday; Goodman also lists the best assistant coaches in the ACC.

- Matt Norlander details the path taken by Wofford standout Noah Dahlman. The younger brother of former-Spartan Isaiah Dahlman, Noah was not recruited nearly as much as his brother, but has had a much more successful individual career (Isiah did go to back-to-back Final Fours with MSU, but had a limited role.)

- Kelly Mehrtens, the Athletic Director at UNC-Wilmington resigned on Monday afternoon. She denied that her resignation had anything to do with the news that was leaked last week about the unethical treatment of an injured women's basketball player by her assistant coaches. She also received criticism for the painfully-long 79-day search for a new men's head basketball coach this past summer. Merhtens arrived at UNCW in 2007 after serving as the Associate Athletic Director at Kansas. Her resignation is ironic because the man she served under at Kansas, AD Lew Perkins, retired a couple weeks ago, a year earlier than expected ,amidst tons of speculation involving illegal practices on the part of the Kansas athletic department.

- Sure, why not? Another list of players who could have breakout seasons.

- Creighton University has decided to host a "Midnight Madness" event for the first time in school history. On October 15th, the Greg McDermott era will begin in front of capacity crowd at the on-campus Ryan Center. The Blue Jays have held inter-squad scrimmages for season ticket-holders before, but never have they put on a full-fledged "Midnight Madness" spectacular. With the crowds the Bluejays get at home game, we expect insanity for "Midnight Madness".

- The Seattle Times had a great Q&A session with Washington head coach Lorenzo Romar.

- Louisville freshman Russ Smith will be out 8-12 weeks with a broken foot.

- Dorian Finney-Smith, a small forward listed by Rivals.com as a top-50 recruit in the class of 2011, will make his college decision today.

- A look at the off-season workouts of the Old Dominion Monarchs, one of the favorites to win the every-improving Colonial Athletic Conference.

- Basketball Prospectus takes a look at a couple of southern story lines: Coach K's busy summer, Tennessee's off-court drama, and the high hopes of a young Memphis squad.

Which one of these guys is the 7'2" Tuba player that is walking on at LSU?