Friday Morning Dump

- Today's must-read comes courtesy of College Chalktalk. In honor of John Wooden, the guys over at CCT have put together Wooden's Pyramid of Success, asking different players, coaches, and people around the UCLA program to elaborate on what a certain block means to them. Seriously, check it out, there is some really good stuff there.

- Jeff Goodman takes his turn looking at the NCAA's potential rule banning scholarship offers until July 1st before a player's senior season. Goodman, like everyone that has weighed in on the issue, agrees that the spirit of the rule is a good thing, but that it will be impossible to enforce. As usual, Goodman has a ton of quotes from coaches, the best coming from Georgia Techs Paul Hewitt:

"It's just going to be a wink and a nod," added Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt. "What are we supposed to say when a kid wants to come? No? I think it puts us in a bad spot."

- Offseason Dana O'Neil! This time, she caught up with new Charlotte head coach Alan Major, who took an unusual path to a head coaching position. Hopefully, he will do well in Charlotte.

- The gentlemen (I've met the folks over at RTC; they are a couple of damned hooligans, and certainly not gentlemen) folks over at RTC put together a fantastic post taking a look at everyone's biggest concern with tournament expansion -- what the hell happens to our bracket pools? Because in the end, aren't those pools the reason that everyone watches the tournament?

- Can Tommy Amaker turn Harvard into a perennial contender in the Ivy? If he keeps landing kids like Jeremy Lin and incoming freshman Laurent Rivard, then he should be able to.

- UConn's Ater Majok, who flirted with the NBA before he even played a second for the Huskies, told the Hartford Courant's Mike Anthony he will be playing out his four years in college. Smart decision. The kid has the tools to one day be a pro, but my-oh-my does he have a lot of polishing to do.

- A second Kansas official -- Brandon Simmons, the school's former assistant athletic director for sales in marketing -- has plead guilty in the investigation into the ticket scam.

- A quick recap of Day 3 at Nike's Peach Jam.

Jonny Flynn and Wes Johnson never played together at Syracuse, but they are playing together in Minnesota. After Johnson's first summer league game, Flynn hopped behind the camera and interviewed Johnson:



Everyone like highlights, right? Well, here are some of the best from the NC Pro-Am down in Charlotte. Most impressive? Look at the crowds. Its a packed house.