Conference USA should slap a pair of shackles on Memphis coach John Calipari. In a league that soon will lose more than its share of basketball icons, that's one way to help underpin its hoops future.

Simply stated, Calipari is the last high-profile ambassador standing in the remodeled C-USA.  Losing him as the hardwood figurehead would be a Texas-sized blow to the new Lone Star-minded league.

It's not that Calipari has his sights set on new employment at season's end.  But with the new makeup of C-USA � coupled with the success the Tigers coach has sustained over extended periods at the college level � at least one big-time suitor is certain to inquire.

St. John's and Virginia immediately come to mind.  Even a return to UMass is a possible scenario.

That's why league presidents must seriously consider moving on Temple when they meet this weekend.

Of all the potential candidates to fill C-USA's 12th slot, the Owls by far bring the most value.  In terms of basketball history and tradition, Temple is among the richest in the Northeast, a longtime hoops Mecca.

From Owls coach John Chaney � a bona fide legend in his own right � to the Philadelphia mega-market, Temple would bring instant clout and respect to a conference suffering major losses in both departments.  Coupled with Memphis, Temple could help resurrect C-USA's basketball image and perhaps mimic or surpass the Atlantic 10's rise in the 1990s, for which Calipari and Chaney were largely responsible.

That goes without mentioning the intense rivalry that exists between the two coaches. Over the years, it has been a media-riveting standoff of bigger-than-life personalities, producing the type of hype and drama which will be in major shortage in C-USA after the departures of Huggins, Pitino, Crean, et al.

True, inviting Temple would be total break in the logic that has driven the conference expansion processes until now.  Football has been the engine pulling the realignment train, as leagues reposition themselves for the new BCS agreement.

That Temple has been a football wasteland is a mere side issue in a new C-USA equation that now requires an injection of clout on the hardwood.

In any event, the conference would be hard-pressed to secure a program at this juncture that will significantly enhance it's football profile. UTEP and North Texas certainly won't.  Neither will Louisiana Tech, Miami (Ohio), or Toledo.

Besides, C-USA took a much lighter hit to its football stock.  Marshall and Central Florida easily compensated for the league's initial defections.  The evacuation of Texas Christian should be considered the only major short-term loss.

Basketball is another story.

While there still will be a handful of above-average roundball programs left lingering in C-USA, overall the conference took a major step back in the national pecking order.  Whether or not the league can regain some of the momentum that ushered it to a position among the nation's elite will depend highly on its ability to attract and retain top-flight coaches.

As it stands now, C-USA is one foul shy of being disqualified from big-time hoops.

Failure to pursue Temple � or a postseason exodus by Calipari � would be the deciding whistle.

New-look leagues present strategic hurdles

DePaul coach Dave Leitao is just getting his feet wet in C-USA.  But by the time he finally has a pulse on the 14-team basketball league, his program will be among those defecting to the Big East.

Then the initiation process begins again for the Demons coach.

"In my second year, I'm still trying to get the rhythm of the conference," Leitao said recently.  "What road games are like, what kind of players you have to get, who the competition really is, and how you make it in that upper echelon.

"As soon as I get a better feel, the conference is taken out from under us.  Obviously it's an exciting venture to play in the Big East and be on the national stage as we will be, especially bringing the teams that we are.  But you know, I'm just getting comfortable and it's kind of sad in a way because the league is only eight years old.  To change as it is is a little disappointing."

Especially for a coach like East Carolina's own Bill Herrion, who is beginning to reap the recruiting benefits of membership in a major basketball conference, but now must re-acclimate his program to a new league lineup for the second time in five years.

"For East Carolina, it's going to create a whole new set of issues in terms of who you are playing," Leitao said.  "I think as a fan base, you want to know who your rivalries are.  Your students want to know who to hate.

"Three years ago it was the Colonial.  For three or four years it's Cincinnati, Louisville, and DePaul.  Now it's going to be SMU and Tulsa."

"So it's hard," added Leitao," especially for Billy trying to create a solid program and get guys who are going to fit in what's going to work in the league.  There during a five-year stretch, he's playing three groups of schools.  That's hard to do."

It's still too early to vote on C-USA superlatives, but Mike Cook is a solid bet for freshman first-team honors.

For the season, the versatile Pirates guard is averaging 9.2 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.  Those numbers are even higher in league play at 11 points and four rebounds respectively.

"He not only scored, but basically controlled the whole tempo of the game with the ball in his hands," Leitao said of Cook's recent performance against DePaul.  "He scored when they needed it, rebounded, made assists, and kind of kept them together at times when we were getting some baskets."

Even more impressive has been the confidence with which Cook has made the transition from high school to college, from the wing to the point.

"I've seen him for about three years," Leitao said.  "I remember him as almost like a four man, a wing player who bodies guys down low.

"To make the transition as he has is amazing, and to play it so confidently is even more amazing from the standpoint of this team has been together for a little while.  They've got some seniors who have contributed a lot of games for Billy.  To have a guy step into that role and play like he's been here for a long time is very unique in today's game.  It speaks to his level of maturity."