June 22 News and Notes

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, New Mexico State recruit and high school All-American Herb Pope might back out of his commitment to the Aggies after former NMSU coach Reggie Theus left Las Cruces to become the new Sacramento Kings coach. "I'd say it's a little better than 50-50 that he won't stay at New Mexico State," said Nick Lackovich, Pope’s assistant coach in high school. Herb's pretty upset about [Theus' departure]. I think he might wait a week to see what happens." Lackovich also said that when Pope signed with New Mexico State, Pope and Theus had a verbal agreement that the school would release Pope from his letter of intent if Theus went elsewhere.

Bob McClellan of Rivals.com gives his updated Preseason Top 25. North Carolina stays at the top spot, with Memphis, UCLA, Kansas, and Louisville rounding out the top five. Some interesting rankings include: USC at No. 9, Kansas State at No. 11, and Arizona at No. 12. Florida is unranked.

Bryan Graham of CSTV.com gives his Early-Summer Top 25. Memphis is atop the rankings, while North Carolina, UCLA, Georgetown, and Louisville round out the top five. The two-time defending national champs, Florida, sit at No. 23.

ESPN.com goes through each of the six major conferences with a quick look at each team in the league, discussing the good and bad news every team faces heading into next season.

Mark Schlabach: ACC, SEC
Jay Bilas: Big East
Andy Glockner: Big Ten
Fran Fraschilla: Big 12
Andy Katz: Pac-10

According to the Rapid City Journal, UC-Irvine sophomore guard Adam Templeton has announced that he will transfer to Drake. Templeton said that basketball was not the only reason for the transfer. “At Drake, academically, they’ve got a business major that I want to pursue,” he said. “At Irvine, they didn’t have a business school, so I want to major in business at Drake.” He also mentioned the level of play in the Missouri Valley Conference as a key selling point. “Oh yeah, the teams are going to be a little better competition,” he said. “I’m looking forward to that. Hopefully we can get to the tournament sometime.” At Irvine, Templeton was a part-time starter who averaged 8.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.

According to the Gainesville Sun, Rayford Shipman, one of the top players in Florida, has announced that he will be headed to the Gators. "He's come up to Gainesville each of the last two years and really enjoyed the school, the facilities and the coaches," said Shipman’s high school coach, Mark Lieberman. "He's looking forward to going to Florida." Scout.com ranks Shipman as the No. 12 small forward in the country and the No. 65 recruit overall, while Rivals.com ranks him as the No. 21 small forward.