Personally, I enjoy the NBA playoffs more than any other postseason event in American sports. The regular season is emphasized by the supremacy of home-court advantage within the sport while the 16 team format ensures that everyone has to work to earn a championship. The best of 7 format weeds out weaker teams, challenges the strong teams, and provides a tactical back-and-forth that is pretty compelling for those of us interested in the strategic elements of sport.

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After visiting Columbia and chatting with Frank Haith, shooting guard Jordan Clarkson has decided to transfer from Tulsa to Missouri. He will sit out the 2012-13 season and have two more years of eligibility starting in the fall of 2013. Clarkson had been linked to Texas as a possible transfer destination. However, after meeting with Tulsa athletic director Ross Parmley, Clarkson was denied a LOI release to Texas, along with Baylor, Texas A&M, and Arizona.

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I was scouring the Googlewebs for AAU affiliations of Texas high school basketball players, and quickly became frustrated with the lack of consolidated, up-to-date, and relevant information. Sure, AAU basketball is a murky underground cesspool, but then again, so is the Internet.

Since it took me a while to compile this information, I figured I might as well share it with the public at large. Feel free to list any corrections or additions in the comments; the following was the best I could find.

Player listings include position, year, high school, current star rating, and committed school (if applicable). I added some brief write-ups with a Texas slant.

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It's hard to say.

Jordan Clarkson's family met with the Tulsa athletic department yesterday. After discussions with athletic director Ross Parmley, Clarkson has been granted a release to all but four schools. Unfortunately for Texas fans, it is not clear which schools are on the "YOU SHALL NOT PASS" list.

Clarkson had previously been denied a release to five schools: Texas, Texas A&M, Baylor, Missouri and Arizona. According to the Clarkson family, that list has been reduced by one. Pragmatically, the school no longer on the list is likely the one that Clarkson wants to transfer to, and the other ones were kept by Tulsa's AD to save face.

For those who were initially bashing on the Danny Manning-Kansas connection, your anger is misplaced. Both local and national media have been placing the blame entirely on the new athletics director. Parmley was recently hired by Tulsa in January. Clarkson's father has also maintained that Manning, also recently hired as Tulsa's coach, had nothing to do with Tulsa's decision.

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The regular season is coming to a close and it's time to assess the top players in a lockout shortened season.

First, my unsolicited MVP ballot.

MVP - Lebron James

Hating on James is an enjoyable national past time (The Decision ever lingers) and I'd love to defend a homer vote for the best ambassador for basketball in the world in Longhorn Kevin Durant, but Lebron's consistent dominance has been the story of the season. The objective evidence is:

• The Heat are 13-1 without Dwyane Wade in the line-up, overall second best record in the East
• James leads the league in PER, averaging a stat stuffing 27.1 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 6.2 apg. When you average 27-8-6 every night, you're doing what you want on the court. Those are Bird/Magic/Jordan/Robertson numbers
• Lebron is the best defender in the league. He can guard four positions, his on-ball pressure is searing, and he can throw around NBA power forwards inside
• He's shooting 53%. Of all of the stats you can cite, for a high level scorer playing the 3 position to shoot >50% from the field is remarkable.

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Per FOX Houston's Mark Berman, the Texas Longhorns will play the UCLA Bruins at Reliant Stadium in Houston on December 8. It's great news for Houstonians who are tired of seeing all the good football games going to Dallas.

This year's tilt should be a great one. Not only should Texas be better with Myck Kabongo staying and Cameron Ridley coming, but UCLA will also be a team to watch next year with stud recruits Shabazz Muhammad and Kyle Anderson headed to Westwood. Texas beat UCLA 69-59 in Los Angeles last year in a game that was watched in person by about 42 people (attendance estimate). The upcoming game in Houston should draw quite a few more than that.

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Over the past month, there has been rampant speculation that Tulsa sophomore shooting guard Jordan Clarkson might eventually find his way to the Forty Acres. Clarkson, who led the Golden Hurricane with 16.5 PPG and 2.5 APG last year, had expressed interest in transferring after head coach Doug Wojcik was fired. Clarkson had not officially requested a transfer, opting to mull over the decision after Tulsa hired new head coach Danny Manning (formerly an assistant with Kansas).

It appears that mulling period is over. The Tulsa World reported last night that Clarkson had officially asked for his transfer and has been granted a release from his scholarship. Even World sportswriter Eric Bailey acknowledged that Clarkson is interested in Texas:

Speculation has linked Clarkson to Big 12 schools, including the University of Texas. Clarkson will have to sit out one season regardless of what school he transfers to next year. If he goes to a school that Tulsa has released him to, he can receive an athletic scholarship. If Clarkson attends a school that isn’t on Tulsa’s list, he must attend the school at his own cost.

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Larry Brown, the only coach to win both an NBA and NCAA basketball Championship is the new basketball coach at SMU.

The over/under on Brown's stay on Mockingbird Lane is 3 years.

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