AP voters are annually asked to select our college player of the year, coach of the year and three All-America teams. The AA teams don't have to be in the c-f-f-g-g format, but have to at least conceivably be able to take the floor together.

Unless you want a "position-less" team ...

Anyway, here are my selections. Threw the AAC a bone with Nic Moore on third team. Sue me. And as for player of the year, I get that Denzel Valentine is terrific and maybe a more well-rounded player. But I can't deny a player so offensively brilliant and efficient and skilled as Buddy Hield. He's a rare breed.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Buddy Hield, Oklahoma

COACH OF THE YEAR
Tubby Smith, Texas Tech

FIRST TEAM

Buddy Hield, Oklahoma
Denzel Valentine, Michigan State
Brice Johnson, North Carolina
Ben Simmons, LSU
Kris Dunn, Providence

SECOND TEAM

Malcolm Brogdon, Virginia
Grayson Allen, Duke
Tyler Ulis, Kentucky
Georges Niang, Iowa State
Perry Ellis, Kansas

THIRD TEAM

Yogi Ferrell, Indiana
Josh Hart, Villanova
Domantas Sabonis, Gonzaga
Jarrod Uthoff, Iowa
Nic Moore, SMU

Nothing more irrelevant than the final Top 25 ballot of the season. Teams only care about their seedings right now for the NCAA tournament, not their rankings.

But, had to submit one, so here's mine. Also, AP voters must submit three All-America teams, a national player of the year and a national coach of the year. I included my votes for those here, as well (and gave the AAC a little much-needed love. How the heck did UCLA get in over Temple, anyway?).

1. Kentucky
2. Wisconsin
3. Villanova
4. Duke
5. Arizona
6. Virginia
7. Gonzaga
8. Northern Iowa
9. Notre Dame
10. Iowa State
11. Maryland
12. Kansas
13. Wichita State
14. Utah
15. SMU
16. Oklahoma
17. Baylor
18. Louisville
19. Arkansas
20. Georgetown
21. Oregon
22. North Carolina
23. Michigan State
24. VCU
25. Butler

ALL-AMERICAN TEAMS

First team
Willie Cauley-Stein, Kentucky
Jahlil Okafor, Duke
Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin
Jerian Grant, Notre Dame
D'Angelo Russell, Ohio State

Second team
Karl-Anthony Towns, Kentucky
Kris Dunn, Providence
Georges Niang, Iowa State
Tyus Jones, Duke
T.J. McConnell, Arizona

Third team
Kevin Pangos, Gonzaga
Montrezl Harrell, Louisville
Malcolm Brogdon, Virginia
Ryan Boatright, UConn
LaDontae Henton, Providence


PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jahlil Okafor, Duke


COACH OF THE YEAR
Fran Dunphy, Temple

The big winners in my AP Top 25 this week are Michigan, Texas and Creighton.

The Wolverines jump 12 spots, from 16 to 4, after a tremendous week in which they beat No. 3 Michigan State (on the road) and No. 10 Iowa. Couple that with another road win last week at (then) No. 3 Wisconsin, and that's a brilliant three-game stretch for the Wolverines, who are 7-0 in the Big Ten. John Beilein can coach a little, eh?

I also welcome back Creighton and, for the first time, welcome Rick Barnes' Texas Longhorns. I knocked the Blue Jays out last week after they got blitzed at Providence, but welcome them right back after they destroyed No. 4 Villanova on the road on Monday, 96-68. (By the way, that loss to PC isn't so bad. The Friars are, as of right now, an NCAA tournament team, even without Brandon Austin and Kris Dunn).

Texas, meanwhile, gets the nod after winning at No. 24 Baylor and at home against No. 22 Kansas State this week. This after beating No. 16 Iowa State last week, giving it three straight wins over ranked teams. The Longhorns will look to make it four straight when they host No. 8 Kansas on Saturday.

So, with two new teams, I had to knock two out. Kansas State was easy, after a two-loss week. The other was trickier (keep in mind, I didn't have Baylor ranked). I wound up booting Ohio State, whom I had ranked No. 17 last week. The Buckeyes lost at Nebraska on Monday, their fourth straight loss. And while they bounced back with a perfunctory home win over Illinois on Thursday, I have a tough time ranking any team that's lost four of its last five games.

Elsewhere, I kept UConn at No. 23 after wins over Temple and Rutgers. I'm starting to like my SMU at No. 25 all the more, though I was one of only two voters to vote for the Mustangs last week. And I righted a wrong by moving San Diego State up a few notches and moving Kansas over Oklahoma State, whom the Jayhawks beat two weeks ago.

1.       Arizona

2.       Syracuse

3.       Florida

4.       Michigan

5.       Wichita State

6.       San Diego State

7.       Michigan State

8.       Kansas

9.       Oklahoma State

10.   Villanova

11.   Cincinnati

12.   Louisville

13.   Kentucky

14.   Wisconsin

15.   Saint Louis

16.   Iowa

17.   Pittsburgh

18.   Duke

19.   Iowa State

20.   Creighton

21.   Texas

22.   UMass

23.   UConn

24.   Memphis

25.   SMU

Spoke (very) briefly to Lasan Kromah today. He said his transfer to UConn isn't official yet, but it's what he's hoping to do.

It seems Kromah's decision to transfer had as much to do with the fact that, under NCAA guidelines, he can do so without having to sit out a year as it does anything else. Obviously, he was recruited by current UConn assistant Karl Hobbs and played for Hobbs his first two years (though he sat out his sophomore season with an injury), so that figured to be an attraction.

GWU assistant coach Pete Strickland said that he hasn't been made aware of where Kromah is heading to, but hasn't spoken to him in a couple of days. (Colonials head coach Mike Lonergan is away at the A-10 meetings).

Here's what Strickland said about Kromah as a player:

"He definitely has the ability to score the ball. He has a very instinctive ability to get to the rim. He doesn't really fit a type -- he's not a 'classic' anything -- he just has a unique ability to get to the rim. He's got great length to him and a nice nose for the basket."

Strickland said that Kromah was considering transferring to UConn, Indiana and Xavier, among others. He noted that the 6-foot-5 Kromah has "plus-four" length. In other words, he's got a 6-9 wingspan.

"Defensively, because of his length, he's kind of disarming," Strickland said. "He had nine steals in a game (on Dec. 28, 2011, against UAB) that set a school record. He just kind of unfolds. You think you have a pass ... now you don't."

As for Kromah off the court: "He's an upbeat kid. I think he really likes Karl. I think that's probably a good fit."

*** Also, Rodney Purvis has been invited to attend the 2013 USA Basketball Men's U19 World Championship Team training camp. Here's the press release sent out by UConn:

Rodney Purvis (Raleigh, N.C.), who has transferred into the University of Connecticut men’s basketball program, is one of 24 players who have accepted invitations to attend the 2013 USA Basketball Men’s U19 World Championship Team training camp.

Purvis, a 6-4 guard, and the rest of the invitees will travel to the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., to participate in the training camp, which begins on June 14. The final 12-man team will be selected during training camp and will train in Colorado until June 19, continue training in Washington D.C., through June 22, then leave for Prague, Czech Republic, to compete in the June 27-July 7 FIBA U19 World Championship.

Purvis, a former McDonald’s All-American, played his freshman season at North Carolina State in 2012-13, appearing in 35 games, starting 23. He averaged 8.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, shot 44.2 percent overall and 38.5 percent from three-point range. As per NCAA transfer rules, he must sit out the 2013-14 season, although he can practice with the Huskies. Beginning with the 2014-15 season, he will have three years of eligibility remaining for UConn.

Besides Purvis, the rest of the invited players include: Ryan Arcidiacono (Villanova University/Langhorne, Pa.); Bryce Alford (La Cueva H.S./Albuquerque, N.M.); Brandon Ashley (University of Arizona/San Francisco, Calif.); Robert Carter (Georgia Tech/Thomasville, Ga.); Damyean Dotson (University of Oregon/Houston, Texas); Kris Dunn (Providence College/Oakdale, Conn.); Javan Felix (University of Texas/New Orleans, La.); Michael Frazier (University of Florida/Tampa, Fla.); Marcus Georges-Hunt (Georgia Tech/College Park, Ga.); Shaq Goodwin (University of Memphis/Atlanta, Ga.); Aaron Gordon (Archbishop Mitty H.S./San Jose, Calif.); Jerami Grant (Syracuse University/Bowie, Md.); Montrezl Harrell (University of Louisville/Tarboro, N.C.); Rondaé Hollis-Jefferson (Chester H.S./Chester, Pa.); Jahlil Okafor (Whitney Young H.S./Chicago, Ill.); James Robinson (University of Pittsburgh/Mitchellville, Md.); Marcus Smart (Oklahoma State University/Flower Mound, Texas); Jarnell Stokes (University of Tennessee/Memphis, Tenn.); Rasheed Sulaimon (Duke University/Houston, Texas); Devin Thomas (Wake Forest University/Harrisburg, Pa.); Mike Tobey (University of Virginia/Monroe, N.Y.); Nigel Williams-Goss (Findlay Prep/Happy Valley, Ore.); and Justise Winslow (St. Johns H.S./Houston, Texas).

The USA U19 World Championship Team will be led by Florida head coach Billy Donovan, who will be assisted by Virginia’s Tony Bennett and VCU’s Shaka Smart. The player selections for the team will be made by the 2013-2016 USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team Committee, chaired by Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim.

Purvis is one of 16 of the invited players who has previous USA Basketball experience. He was a member of the 2012 U18 USA National Team that won the gold medal at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship and qualified the U.S. team for the FIBA U19 World Championship.

*** Finally, this from the American Athletic Conference:

In its first full meeting as the American Athletic Conference, the league made important strategic decisions and addressed many pertinent issues as its membership moves forward together in the reinvented Conference.

The Conference’s Presidents, Athletic Directors, Senior Woman Administrators, Head Football Coaches and Head Men’s and Women’s Basketball Coaches participated in the meetings.

“I am pleased and proud to be a part of a group that is dedicated, optimistic and effective,” said Commissioner Michael Aresco. “We have accomplished a great deal and are moving ahead with great confidence. We have a strong new name that has been well-received. Our soon-to-be-released new logo will support our new name. The American is going to be a prominent force in college athletics.”

Among the subjects addressed by the league’s Presidents and Athletic Directors:

Agreed on a financial distribution plan for the member institutions
Approved a new conference logo, which will be revealed in the near future
Further developed a branding, marketing and public relations strategy
Narrowed the search for men’s and women’s basketball postseason tournament venues
Discussed plans for a digital network
Met with television partners to discuss scheduling and promotional plans
Discussed The American’s position in the College Football Playoff
Agreed to pursue the creation of its own bowl game and maintain an outstanding Conference bowl lineup





























The Conference Presidents chose R. Gerald Turner, President of Southern Methodist University, as their new Chair. Susan Herbst, President of the University of Connecticut, will serve as Vice-Chair. Outgoing Chair Judy Genshaft, President of the University of South Florida, will remain on the Executive Committee, ensuring continuity in governance. Genshaft provided outstanding leadership in the transformation of the Conference.






“The American Athletic Conference has tremendous institutions that are committed to excellence in academics and athletics,” said Genshaft. “We are moving forward as a Conference with great resolve.”






“I am honored to help shape the future of the American Athletic Conference,” said Turner. “Everyone is excited about our extremely bright future and working together.”






"We are moving quickly on all fronts and I am so pleased with the progress,” said Herbst. “UConn is proud to be building this new league and thrilled to be part of all the excitement that comes with creating a bold new vision for student-athletes and our fans. Our exposure will be greater than ever, and we look forward to showing our championship ways to even broader audiences."






The American has television agreements with ESPN and CBS Sports, two of the most prestigious media organizations in sports. The contracts will provide unprecedented national coverage for the league. All football and men’s basketball conference games will be televised.

Kevin Ollie walked up to the podium in the press room of the Dunkin’ Donuts Center, looked out at the assembled media and just shook his head.


“Guys, I don’t know what to tell you,” he said. “Coach Blaney’s been with me a long time, and I don’t think he’s ever gonna see a stat sheet like this. But I really love the fact that we have more points than Providence.”

That about sums it up.

PC outrebounded UConn 55-24. That matches the largest margin ever in a Big East game. No fewer than 28 of the Friars’ boards came on the offensive end.

And yet the Huskies emerged with the 82-79 overtime win.

How, exactly? With one of the few body parts that wasn’t hurting Ryan Boatright when it was all said and done.

“Heart,” Boatright said. “Heart, man. Figured out a way to win, man. We stuck together when the intensity picked up.”

Some more notes and quotes on the game:

On Omar Calhoun’s clutch corner 3-pointer that snapped a 76-76 tie with 41 seconds left in OT.

Boatright: “He makes that shot all the time. It was great that he made it under pressure. But it was just a regular corner 3. I knew once I went baseline, they figured me or Shabazz was going to take that last shot, so when I went up I knew they were going to crash. I kicked it out and he knocked it down.”

Will that help boosts Calhoun’s confidence?

“He’s got enough confidence,” Boatright said with a laugh. “We tell him he’s got the ability to make that shot all the time, so I’m just glad he had the confidence to take it.”

As if to prove that point, Calhoun said: “It felt good. I knew I was going to knock that down. It was too big of a shot to miss … That’s something I know I can do. I’ve just got to keep taking steps forward from here … I just know I’ve got to be ready. That’s what I put my work in for. The extra shots in the gym is something I can do to be confident and be able to knock that shot down.”

Boatright on the final play of regulation, an off-balance shot of his that was blocked by Kris Dunn:

“It was designed for me to get open and be ‘iso.’ I should have made a better move. When I drove middle, Enosch went to set a screen for Shabazz at the same time. Everything collapsed, and I couldn’t get a shot off.”

*** Boatright battled most of the game with a bum right ankle after turning it early on. He said he’s also been battling left knee tendonitis pretty much all season.

*** Olie always seems to add an inspirational quote after a UConn win.

“That’s the team I came down to Providence with,” he said, specifically referring to the team’s second-half effort. “That’s the team I want to coach right there.”

*** Providence began the game with starters Vincent Council and LaDontae Henton on the bench (“coach’s decision,” according Friar head man Ed Cooley). UConn took advantage and jumped out to a 25-10 lead as the Friars missed their first nine shots. But once Council checked in with 10:47 left in the opening half, the game change. PC immediately went on an 8-0 run, had pulled to within one by halftime and took its first lead of the game in the early seconds of the latter half.

Council finished with 15 points and 10 assists before fouling out early in overtime.

*** Three of UConn’s big men (Tyler Olander, Enosch Wolf and DeAndre Daniels) all also fouled out in OT. Olander was battling flu-like symptoms and was a game-time decision but wound up starting. He finished with just two points and no rebounds before fouling out.

*** Dunn didn’t have a great homecoming, going 1-for-7 form the floor for seven points, one assists and two turnovers before fouling out. He did grab eight rebounds and had the big block of Boatright at the end of regulation.

*** PC’s plus-31 rebound margin matches the one St. John’s managed over Seton Hall (64-33) on Jan. 26, 1997. The Red Storm won that game, 66-62.

UConn has its annual grudge match with Providence on Thursday at 7 p.m. at The Dunk, where strange things (marital aids, players' angry brothers) tend to happen. The teams will meet again in their respective Big East regular season finales on March 9 in Storrs.

No matter how bad the Friars are -- and they've been mostly bad in recent years, going 12-42 in Big East play the last three seasons -- they always seem to give UConn a battle. PC has won five of the last seven meetings and eight of the last 12, including a 72-70 win at the Dunk last February.

The Friars are stumbling through another season at 10-10 overall and 2-6 in the Big East, losers of three of their last four games. But you know they'll give UConn all they've got on Thursday -- they always do.

Here’s some of what Kevin Ollie had to say today:

On PC:

“They’re always tough in the Dunkin’ Donuts Center – I think it’s the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. They’ve got guards, (Vincent) Council’s coming back from his injury feeling more confident, (Kris) Dunn is coming back from his injury feeling more confident, Bryce Cotton averages 22 points a game. It’s a tough matchup. (LaDontae) Henton is also back down low, and Sidiki Johnson is getting minutes.”

"Coach Cooley’s gonna get that thing turned around. They’re playing hard, effective basketball. They’re passing the basketball, making the shots. And Cotton’s a tremendous scorer. We’re going to have to have an emphasis on stopping him.”

On how Dunn has helped Friars since he started playing on Dec. 18:

“His speed, how he attacks the basket, getting out in the passing lane. When they press, he puts tremendous ball pressure on opponents. He adds an extra dimension to them. (Josh) Fortune is real good, too.”

On whether he enjoyed playing at Providence back in the day:

“Not necessarily. They’ll say anything, that crowd. There were always competitive games – they had some great teams when I was playing – Michael Phelps, all the bigs they had, Michael Smith.”

(Ollie can be excused for his Jim Calhoun-like, name-mangling moment. Michael Phelps didn’t play hoops for the Friars before his Gold medal-winning swimming career. It was Robert Phelps Ollie was talking about).

Ollie recalled his game-winning shot against the Friars in 1994. It was a layup at the buzzer and his only basket of the game. It also got Donny Marshall off the hook after he had gotten a technical foul for "sarcastically clapping" at a referee after a call.

“I think it was (Jim) Burr,” Ollie recalled. “That’s the wrong person to clap to. He teched us up. I think that was my only field goal of the game. Good memories. I just remember saving Donny’s life on that one.”

Ollie on playing zone defense:

“I’m a man-to-man guy. I’m a Coach Calhoun disciple. I don’t really like playing zone, but to throw a team off, and with our guys who can get out and scramble a lot, it’s been effective – at times – for us.”

*** Omar Calhoun played high school basketball with Jordan Fuchs, the 6-foot-6 tight end who committed to UConn on Monday. Fuchs has hinted he might like to play hoops at UConn someday, as well, though that seems to be a long-shot, at best.

Anyway, Calhoun said he’s “good friends with him … a lot of people from New York like coming here because they know I’m having a good time here,” and added that Fuchs has some game on the hardwood.

“He’s pretty good … he’s like a wide-body kind of guy, runs the floor, he’s good.”

Calhoun said he hasn’t spoken to Fuchs since he committed, however, and has no idea if he intends on playing basketball.

*** UConn players gathered in a huddle after practice and seemed to be laughing and enjoying themselves quite a bit.

Said Calhoun: “Just having some fun, joking around. We have some good chemistry on this team. Everyone gets along. It’s a group of guys that like joking, but when we’re on the court, we get it done.”

*** Shabazz Napier said New England bragging rights are at stake tomorrow and recalled last year’s loss at The Dunk.

“Last year, we were winning the whole game and we just kind of gave them the game at the end. My freshman year, I think we played MarShon Brooks really well. I think that was when he was coming off his 55-point game. We’ve just got to play UConn basketball.”

*** Ryan Boatright sat out about the final 15 minutes or so of practice and had an ice pack wrapped around his left knee. However, Ollie said it was just a bout of tendonitis, which Boatright’s been battling all season, that flared up a little bit. Not big deal, it appears.

*** John Saunders will handle the play-by-play on espn2 and be joined by Tim Welsh as analyst. Welsh, of course, was PC's head coach for 10 seasons before being fired in 2008. This will be just the second time Welsh has done a TV game inside The Dunk since his firing. The first came last week against Pitt.

Stony Brook may be a bit tired, having played a game yesterday (an 82-75 win over Canisius) and ferried to Connecticut this morning. But the Seawolves don't figure to be a pushover for the Huskies.

Stony Brook is looking to go 5-1 for the first time since November, 2009, and just the second time in program history. The Seawolves are a fierce rebounding team, beating Canisius on the boards 47-32 on Saturday. They also hit 27 of 31 free throw attempts.


A win today would give Stony Brook its first-ever victory over a nationally-ranked opponent. It would also give Steve Pikiell his 100th win as Stony Brook’s head coach.


Elsewhere:

*** As expected, R.J. Evans and Leon Tolksdorf are both out today. UConn associate head coach Glen Miller told The Day's Gavin Keefe that Evans is hoping to be back by the Huskies' Dec. 4 battle with N.C. State at Madison Square Garden.

*** Trying to think of the last time, before Brandon Austin, that UConn lost a much-coveted recruit to Providence. Not Kris Dunn, whom UConn backed off on late in the recruiting process. Not Ryan Gomes, whom UConn obviously didn't think much of. Geoff McDermott, who the Huskies liked after getting in on his recruitment late, might be the best (and only) answer.

The Register unveiled its winter All-Area and All-State teams today, as well as its MVP's in respective sports.

Here's the Register's 64th All-State boys' basketball team, which includes UConn interest Kuran Iverson.

And here's Joe Morelli's story on our state boys' basketball MVP, Providence-bound Kris Dunn.

Providence College hasn't won much over the past decade, though the Friars have had surprising success against UConn in recent years on the basketball court.

Now, for the first time in memory, the Friars have beaten the Huskies off the court, as well.

PC has received a commitment from Kris Dunn, the highly-touted guard out of New London High. Per this espn.com article, PC has signed just three McDonald's All-Americans in its history (though I'm not sure I'd include Delray Brooks, since he was a transfer from Indiana).

This also beats the Ryan Gomes situation, since few (including then-PC coach Tim Welsh) knew that Gomes would blossom into such a great player at the time. Jim Calhoun famously recruited Emeka Okafor and Caron Butler ("They're not bad!") instead.

Credit new PC coach Ed Cooley, who started recruiting Dunn while Cooley was still coaching at Fairfield and had never let up. Give some credit to ex-UConn assistant Andre LaFleur, too.

And the good news could keep coming for the Friars ... Ricky Ledo will make his college decision next week, according to a source, and PC appears to be in very standing for Ledo's services.