It’s great to finally have our guys back on campus – like many of you out there, now the work begins! Good luck to everyone as they prepare for the upcoming season! Here are some things that I’ve picked up over the last few days…..

John Calipari has one upped his buddy Rick Pitino this week with the hiring of Brandon Weems (a former high school teammate of and close friend LeBron James) as a graduate assistant. A few weeks back, Pitino hired Shabaka Lands as his GA. Lands was an assistant at Pike High School (Indianapolis), where he coached Marquis Teague, the No. 1 point guard in the Class of 2011. Lands may help "land" Teague, but LeBron’s involvement with Kentucky’s program may help with a lot more guys. Lebron toured Kentucky’s facilities in July and met the current players (http://www.ukathletics.com/sports/blog/spec-rel/071709aaa.ht…). He seems to be strengthening his relationship with Coach Cal which can only help the Wildcats. A strange game of one-upmanship is being played in the state of Kentucky……

Reports are that former UK coach Billy Gillispie has checked into rehab in Texas. After his third DUI arrest last month, he is now hopefully on the road to recovery. We here at HoopDirt wish him our best and hope to see him on the sidelines somewhere in the near future.

An interesting report from is coming from ESPN radio in Williamsport, PA. They are reporting that Lock Haven basketball coach John Wilson, Jr. will not have his contract renewed. It’s interesting because they say he will be terminated after the 2010-2011 season. I’m not great with numbers, but that is two years away. Either the report is erroneous, or we may have a first in college basketball – firing a guy two years in advance. Good luck to Coach Wilson and his staff.

http://espnwilliamsport.com/index.php?option=com_content&amp…

This is a bit old, but we failed to mention last month that Steve DeMeo has hired his staff at DII Newberry College. The former Providence and UCF assistant has hired Jimmy Link and Kyle Steinway. Link will also serve as the cross country coach, and Steinway is a former manager at Providence

Remember – the race to 1000 "friends" on Facebook is on. Only 40 more to go…..