Happy to announce that I'll be an AP Top 25 men's basketball voter again this year. The first preseason poll comes out on Oct. 31, but we have to send them in by Oct. 24.

So, here's the preseason poll I've sent in, along with the five-man All-America team they also request:

PRESEASON TOP 25

1. Duke: This seems too easy, but it's hard to deny Grayson Allen and one of Coach K's best recruiting classes. Almost had them No. 2 because of Harry Giles' health concerns, but it appears he'll be back soon.

2. Kansas: Gee, ya think they'll win the Big 12 again?

3. Oregon: UConn could meet Ducks in Maui next month.

4. Kentucky: You know the deal - great recruiting class, etc., etc.

5. Virginia: I liked Austin Nichols a lot at Memphis, and I love him with the Cavs. He and London Perrantes make a heck of a tandem.

6. Villanova: Why do I think the loss of Ryan Arcidiacono and Daniel Ochefu will hurt the defending champs more than others seem to believe?

7. Xavier: Until Billy Preston commits next year, Myles Davis will be the butt of most of my music-related college hoops jokes. Sorry in advance

8. North Carolina: UConn could meet Tar Heels in second game in Maui. Would be fun.

9. Wisconsin

10. Indiana: Are we sure Yogi Ferrell has graduated?

11. UCLA: Daniel Hamilton may have gone pro, but his brother Isaac could be poised for stardom.
Arizona.

12. Arizona

13. Saint Mary's: Not a misprint. I liked the Gaels last year, and I love veteran teams that bring back their entire starting five.

14. Michigan State: Gavin Schilling's knee surgery a huge concern for Spartans.

15. Gonzaga

16. Cincinnati: With Troy Caupain, Gary Clark, Jacob Evans and NC State big man transfer Kyle Washington in tow, I think Bearcats deserve to be favorites in the American. Watch out for Washington. He put up big numbers against UNC and Syracuse a couple of years ago.

17. UConn: There's no doubt the Huskies have the most talent in the AAC, but a lot of it is young and new, and it may take a while to mesh. That may mean some early-season struggles, but by February, I think Kevin Ollie & crew will have it figured out. Season finale vs. Cincy at Gampel could be for regular season title.

18. URI: It gives me no extra pleasure voting in my alma mater. (OK, maybe a little). But seriously, a healthy E.C. Matthews and Hassan Martin makes Dan Hurley's Rams legit.

19. Louisville: How many games for Rick Pitino? Gotta be at least nine, right?

20. Syracuse

21. West Virginia

22. Iowa State

23. Texas

24. Purdue

25. Florida State: New Haven native Tharon Mayes' stepson, Xavier Rathan-Mayes, is a star.

ALL-AMERICAN TEAM:

(FYI, I don't put freshmen on my preseason All-American team)

Grayson Allen, Duke

Jaron Blossomgam, Clemson

Josh Hart, Villanova

Ivan Rabb, California

Thomas Bryant, Indiana

Shabazz Napier took exactly six shots in UConn's two exhibition game romps. Played only 14 minutes in the second one. Is he injured? Just reverting to 'Shabazz-the-distributor' mode? Anything to be concerned about?

Ummm, no.

"I didn't want to tire out 'Bazz," Kevin Ollie pointed out. "I wanted him to have fresh legs for the (Maryland) game. And I wanted to have good gamesmanship, too. I didn't want to run up the score."

Think of it as sort of like a spring training game, where the stars get one or two at-bats and leave the rest of the game to guys wearing numbers in the 70's and 80's. Still, Napier admitted to being "kind of upset" about not seeing much playing time against SCSU or Concordia.



No doubt, Napier goes through stretches where it seems he'd rather distribute than look for his shot. But Ollie has no concerns.

"The game's going to dictate it," said the coach. "You go out and say, 'I'm gonna shoot 25 shots,' that's when you don't have a good game. If the game dictates him to take 20 shots, he'll take 20. If the game dictates him to pass it and get off the ball and get 10 assists, then he'll dictate that. He's got great basketball IQ. I've been around probably one guard that's had better basketball IQ than him, and that's Andre Miller, when I was at Philadelphia."

Napier appreciated the compliment.

"That's kind of unexpected, actually. Andre Miller's got a great IQ. He's still in the league because he's a smart point guard. That's a great compliment."

Ollie continued: "I want him to be aggressive. That doesn't mean shooting. Sometimes I get on him not being aggressive -- probing the defense, getting in the thick of the defense. Maybe that's passing 20 times in a row, but that's being aggressive. I never talk about shooting with him, I just talk about aggressiveness."

A few more notes and quotes from today's practice:

*** Napier was asked how much concern the team has for Maryland on Friday night.

"I don't think anybody on this team is scared or nervous of Maryland, or anybody. Once you step on the court, everything goes out the window. Maryland ties their sneakers the same way we tie our sneakers. They've just got Under Armours, we've got Nikes."

"It's gonna be tough. Dez Wells is a great player, one of the best players in college basketball. He's big, strong, he's lie 6-4, 6-5. It's gonna be hard. But one thing I can tell you, we'll be ready to play them."

*** Gotta love Phil Nolan.

"I do't have a go-to move or anything," Nolan said. "When I catch the ball, I have, like, 10 different moves in my head. Whichever one happens, it just happens. I have a couple of favorites, but I just like switching it up. I just don't know what I'll do."

*** Ollie said he has no set starting lineup at this point.

"I'll figure that out on my trip down to Brooklyn ... The starters get their name called out, but that's who I like. Who I trust is the guys who are in at the end of the game. When I was a player, I wanted to be in to finish the game."

*** Brooklyn natives Omar Calhoun and Terrence Samuel get to play a true home game on Friday.

"I'm definitely excited, that's where I grew up," Calhoun said. "There's gonna be a lot of people there -- family, friends, coaches -- coming out to support me."

Does he have to guard against trying to do too much for the hometown fans?

"At the end of the day, everybody knows I'm focused on the game. I want to win, I'm a competitor."

Ollie was asked if Samuel, a freshman, also had to be careful not to get too amped up.

"I"m just gonna say calm down, play your game, be a point guard," said Ollie. "If he gets too jacked up, he'll sit by me. I've got a lot of guards on the bench."

*** Jim Calhoun will join Joe D'Ambrosio on the WTIC-AM 1080 broadcast, just as he did in UConn's season-opener last year in Germany -- an impressive win over Michigan State.

"Coach Calhoun is on the broadcast again, that's a guaranteed win right there," Ollie said with a smile. "We're 1-0 with coach on the broadcast with Joe D., so hopefully we're 2-0."

*** Sometimes in recruiting, it's the not ones you hit on but the ones you miss on that turn out to be a bit of a blessing.

Last year, UConn lost out on a pair of recruits -- Xavier Rathan-Mayes and Brandon Austin -- who they certainly wanted badly. Rathan-Mayes, despite his father being a New Haven native, elected to take his talents to Florida State (his pop's alma mater). Austin, a Philly native, selected Ed Cooley and Providence over the Huskies.

Now, Rathan-Mayes is out for the year after being ruled ineligible by the NCAA. And now Austin, along with fellow frosh Rodney Bullock, is suspended indefinitely from the Friars after "not upholding their responsibilities as student-athletes."

Certainly, no one wishes ill will on either player, and hopefully both are able to get their respective issues resolved and (at least in Austin's case) return to the basketball court as soon as possible. And certainly in Austin's situation, there's no telling whether whatever he did or didn't do at PC, he wouldn't have made the same mistakes at UConn.

But fans that live and die each time a recruit chooses another school over UConn should realize that, sometimes, it's UConn that drops interest (in the cases of Rathan-Mayes as well as Ray Kasongo), and sometimes not getting a particular recruit ends up being a blessing in disguise.

A little over a year ago, UConn fans were dismayed that Xavier Rathan-Mayes chose to go to Florida State rather than UConn. The talented Class of 2013 guard had cancelled a slated visit to Storrs in order to study for his SAT's, he told me, and soon afterwards chose FSU, alma mater of his father, Tharon (a New Haven product).

Turns out, Rathan-Mayes' rejection of UConn may have been a blessing in disguise. Seminoles coach Leonard Hamilton announced on Monday that Rathan-Mayes will be ineligible for this entire season. Citing a source, Jeff Borzello of CBSsports.com says that the NCAA did not accept an entire year of credits from a school Rathan-Mayes attended in North Carolina.

Tough break for the kid and for Florida State, but for UConn, perhaps a bullet dodged.

At Jim Calhoun's retirement/Kevin Ollie's introductory press conference two months ago, Calhoun had this to say about Ollie's resiliency:

"Kevin Ollie has been rejected a time or two. So, recruiting violations? Next guy ..."

UConn has had a lot of "next guys" lately, and you can now add Noah Vonleh to the list. The coveted 6-9 center out of New Hampton (N.H.) prep committed to Indiana last night. The Huskies thought they had an outside shot at Vonleh if the Massachusetts native wanted to stay close to home, but it didn't work out.

UConn fans are likely to blame the seven-month contract Kevin Ollie is currently on for the team's recent recruiting misses (Vonleh, Xavier Rathan-Mayes, Ron Patterson, etc.). It certainly doesn't help. And while UConn's impressive, season-opening win over Michigan State on Friday night certainly could hasten Warde Manuel to offer Ollie a long-term deal, it's going to take more for Ollie to prove himself to the A.D.

Talking to others around college basketball, another factor that's hurting UConn on the recruiting trail is simply the coaching staff's lack of contacts in the AAU world. Ollie is seen as a great recruiter, and anyone who meets him loves him. But sometimes that's not enough. He's spent almost his entire professional life in the NBA and hasn't yet made the important contacts in the recruiting world that coaches need.

Associate head coach Glen Miller spent most of his coaching life in the Ivy League, which is an entirely different recruiting world than the cut-throat, big-time D-1 landscape. Assistant Karl Hobbs was a demon on the recruiting trail in his eight prior years at UConn, but that ended in 2001. As head coach at George Washington, Hobbs delegated much of the recruiting to assistants (as most head coaches do). And George Blaney doesn't handle any recruiting at all.

And, of course, there's all the speculation and questions surrounding the future of UConn in general and the Big East in particular.

This is not to say that these guys can't go out and light it up on the recruiting trail. The results haven't been there yet, but they've had their hands tied to a degree, be it Ollie's contract or, prior to that, Calhoun's health and impending retirement questions. This is a bright and talented staff that can accomplish a lot of things. But right now, it simply lacks the "bulldog" lead recruiter with the ties to the AAU/preps world that can give a call to the AAU hot-shots and make sure they put in the good word for the Huskies with their kids.

Ollie, an L.A. native, is currently trying to cultivate his West Coast connections on the recruiting trail (he is absolutely loved in L.A.). Jordan Bell, a 6-7 Class of 2013 forward out of Long Beach, will be making his decision on Monday and is said to be down to UConn, Oregon and Auburn (though the Huskies appear to be a long-shot after Bell recently cancelled a visit to Storrs). Ollie also recently had Class of 2015 forward Bennie Boatwright out of the L.A. area on campus for an unofficial visit.

Meanwhile, Class of 2013 Brandon Austin, a highly-touted 6-5 guard out of Philly, is said to be down to UConn, Providence and Texas for his final decision, which could come this week, according to SNY's Adam Zagoria. He'd be a very nice get for the Huskies.

I'd never bet against Kevin Ollie in anything, and certainly not on the recruiting trail, even with the recent rejections. It's just worth pointing out that it's not just his seven-month contract that's hurting UConn in recruiting.

Xavier Rathan-Mayes will be announcing his collegiate decision tonight at 9 right here. His final three is UConn, Illinois and Florida State, but not necessarily in that order. In fact, UConn fans might want to tune into the Yankee game instead. Rathan-Mayes will not be choosing the Huskies.

UPDATED: As expected, Rathan-Mayes didn't pick UConn. He committed to Florida State, alma mater of his dad, New Haven's own Tharon Mayes.

Xavier Rathan-Mayes's father, Tharon Mayes, says that his son postponed his scheduled visit to UConn this weekend because "there were some extra things he wanted to take care of. He wanted to prepare for the SAT's. He really wants to do well on those."

Asked if he believes his son is still considering UConn, Tharon said: "Absolutely, yeah. He plans on making his decision soon. He's been up to UConn already, so it's not like he hasn't visited the school. He said he just wants some time to think about it. He says he's gonna surprise us."

Mayes went with his son to his trip to Illinois last weekend and said it was a "good trip for him." Mayes, of course, starred at Florida State back in the late-80's/early-90's, but insists he's not pushing his son towards any school.

"When he asks for (advice), I'll give it," Tharon said. "It's his experience, it's got to be his decision."

Just spoke with Xavier Rathan-Mayes, who was slated to make an official visit to UConn this weekend. Instead, he said he is in the process of re-scheduling the visit, and that he will "hopefully" still visit Storrs at some point.

Rathan-Mayes was vague as to why he postponed the visit, saying only that he "just had to be at Huntington (Prep) this weekend." He said he is still planning on announcing his collegiate choice at a press conference from his Toronto home on Oct. 13.

Asked again if he plans on still visiting UConn, Rathan-Mayes said: "I think so."

Elsewhere, according to Dom Amore of the Courant, Kevin Ollie is making his in-home visit to Jabari Parker tonight (Thursday).

Xavier Rathan-Mayes will make his official visit to UConn Sept. 27-29. He will visit Illinois this weekend, he told me in a phone conversation.

Rathan-Mayes got a visit from Kevin Ollie and Karl Hobbs on Monday at Huntington Prep in West Virginia.

"It was great," the Class of 2013 guard said. "We had a great discussion, talked about the way I'd fit into the program. I really love Coach Ollie. He's just a great person, a great guy. I think he's definitely going to do special things with UConn in the future."

Rathan-Mayes said he had "mixed emotions" to see Jim Calhoun retire.

"It's sad to see Coach Calhoun go out like that, after having such a great career, bringing UConn basketball from nothing to a national powerhouse," he said. "But I'm really happy for Coach Ollie. We've had a great relationship for a year and a bit. Just the kind of guy he is, he really deserves it."

Rathan-Mayes' in-home visits are done, and he's already made an official to Florida State, where his father, Tharon Mayes, starred in the early 90's. Tharon, of course, is a New Haven native who is back living in the city.

Rathan-Mayes said he will make his college decision on Oct. 13 at his home in Toronto. He said he doesn't have a leader in his mind right now.

"It definitely plays a factor, my dad playing at Florida State," he said. "Not a lot of kids can say their dad played at the same school recruiting you. My dad being from Connecticut, me playing at UConn when I was younger, I think it would be just as special. I know a lot of people there from Hillhouse, friends and familys down there."

He didn't say anything about Illinois, but then I didn't ask.

"It’s hard. There are a lot of great things about all the programs. "My mom and dad are on the phone with me constantly, writing down the pro’s and con’s. I wouldn’t say one’s standing out right now." 

Here's a feature I wrote on Tharon Mayes, the former New Haven high school star who went on to a successful career at Florida State, then Europe.

Why am I putting a story on Mayes on a UConn blog, you ask? Well, a quick look at his surname and you may be able to surmise that UConn fans may be very interested to hear what Mayes has to say.

Mayes is the father of Xavier Rathan-Mayes, the highly-touted Class of 2013 shooting guard who is a big-time UConn target. (Actually, Mayes is Xavier's stepfather -- he met Xavier's mom, Marilyn, when Xavier was about five).



According to Mayes, Xavier attended Cheshire Academy four years ago, as detailed in a nice story by the late, great Dave Solomon, but is now at Huntington Prep in West Virginia). Among the six schools he's "fond of", according to his dad: Florida State (Mayes's alma mater), UConn, Baylor, Alabama, Memphis and UCLA. There are others, as well. I apologize if I made it sound earlier like he had pared his list down to just those six.

Rathan-Mayes, who has made unofficials to both UConn and UCLA already, plans another unofficial to FSU sometime over the next couple of weeks. He'll narrow down his visits after taking the SAT's in September, according to Mayes. Xavier would like to commit early in November.

Tharon Mayes said that Jim Calhoun's coaching future is "a concern. He likes Kevin Ollie. Kevin’s been speaking to him, it’s definitely a school of interest. But that is something that’s a little scary.”

Here's what Tharon says about his son's game: "He can definitely stroke it. But I think, with him, what makes him tough is he plays both guard spots very well. It adds more to his game than him being a pure point guard or two-guard."

*** Meanwhile, Joey Natale of UConnBall.com caught up with Reggie Cameron after his visit to UConn on Tuesday. Guess what? The visit went "great."

*** Oh, and in the GHPA playoffs: Doug Wiggins had a triple-double (40 points, 10 boards, 10 assists) to lead Recycle Kings to a 152-145 win over Harte Nissan in Game 2 of the championship series. The decisive Game 3 will be tonight (Thursday) at 7 p.m. at Classical Magnet School.

UConn target Kuran Iverson added 36 points and eight rebounds and Jerome Dyson 30 and 11 for Recycle Kings.

Ryan Gomes had 34 and 10, Lamonte Ulmer 28 and 12 and Keith Cothran 27 and seven for Harte Nissan.

According to The Recruit Scoop, Xavier Rathan-Mayes has cut his list to 10 teams -- and UConn makes the cut.

Rathan-Mayes' list is as follows: Baylor, UConn, Alabama, Florida State, Kansas, Kentucky, Illinois, Memphis, Texas and UCLA.

His father, of course, it Tharon Mayes, the New Haven product who starred at Florida State back in the day.

So Kevin Ollie and Ray Allen walk into a restaurant, and ... well, sorry, no punch line here. The result, however (in a very, very, very roundabout way, some 10 years later) is Phil Nolan's commitment to UConn.

Confused? Well, read my story on Nolan, the 6-foot-11 lefthander who'll be arriving at Storrs in about a week. Nolan went to four high schools in four years and struggled academically in Huntington Prep's rigorous  academic environment. But he's got his academics in order and is a soft-spoken, impressive young man, according to all who know him.



Nolan has battled some negative perceptions over the past few years, but Ollie (whose friendship with Trevor Trimble, stepfather of UNC-bound J.P. Tokoto, was a big help in Nolan's recruitment), and two of Nolan's high school coaches, Milwaukee-Riverside University High's Tyrone Lewis and Huntington Prep's Rob Fulford, all speak glowingly of the big man.


“He’s a good kid," said Fulford. "You're not going to have any problems with him." 

(And yes, Fulford now coaches Xavier Rathan-Mayes, the highly-touted Class of 2013 point guard who had an 'amazing' visit to Storrs last fall, at Huntington Prep. Fulford had no new info on which way Rathan-Mayes may be leaning, but did offer this: Rathan-Mayes's father is Tharon Mayes, the New Haven native who starred at Florida State and still lives in Connecticut).