Thursday Morning Dump

- Today's must-read comes from Dan Wolken of the Memphis Commercial-Appeal, who rips Bruce Pearl for his insincerity at a news conference last Friday where he was supposedly coming clean about lies he told the NCAA. And yes, Wolken, who was recently promoted from the Memphis basketball beat to the role of columnist, goes in on Pearl.

- When the article by Gary Parrish which claimed Pearl lied about a picture taken with a recruit, not about phone calls, broke Tuesday evening, one of the things we wondered about was ow the media would react. Obviously, there won't be as much of a reaction as if this were John Calipari getting caught. Bruce Pearl is not on that level as a coach, but he's also a guy that is generally well-liked. Well, Wolken isn't the only one who took a shot at him. It seems as if Bruce Pearl has gotten Mike Miller over at Beyond The Arc pretty fired up. Miller doesn't break out the whip quite like Wolken did, but he does make a very good point at the end.

- For what its worth, Adonis Thomas, a top 15 recruit from Memphis, said that Tennessee will have a problem recruiting, although they are still on his list.

- One last thing about Pearl -- the Jewish groups that have backed Pearl are still in his corner. I guess that's a good thing.

- Yesterday, news leaked that Michael Dunigan may have left Oregon because he was ineligible. Early this morning, ESPN posted an article from Andy Katz, who spoke to Mike Naiditch, the Chicago man that is now Dunigan's agent. The issue at hand is that Dunigan has had a relationship with Naiditch since he was about 14 years old. (Ed. Note: To clarify, Oregon is concerned about is whether or not Dunigan's eligibility was compromised, possibly stemming from a relationship with Naiditch.) Naiditch claims that he never gave Dunigan any money and that their relationship was not professional under last Sunday, when he signed Dunigan as a client. As former Oregon assistant coach Yasir Rosemend points out, the Ducks may catch a break with the NCAA if the violations occurred during the 40 days that the Ducks were without a head coach.

- Its a shame that this is getting buried so deep in the Dump today, but Jason King -- who has been on fire lately -- wrote an excellent piece on Will Barton. Barton is the Memphis freshman that was originally reported to have had his eligibility revoked by the NCAA. He seems like a very interesting young man that had his wake up call.

- The best non-conference match-ups, via Goodman.

- What will Maalik Wayns' role be for the wildcat's this season? VUhoops.com says there are a couple of viable options for the 6'2 point guard. Us? We think Wayns has a chance to form the Big East's best back court with teammate Corey Fisher.

- Air Force really can not catch a break.

- Would Michigan be better next season using the fathers instead of the kids?

- It's never too soon to take a look at the 2011 NBA Draft big board

- The guys at The Slipper Still Fits try answer the biggest questions concerning Gonzaga this upcoming season

- George Mason and Georgetown, two metro area foes who haven't met since 1985, could meet in the Charleston Classic.