Happy Hour 03/22: What the Hell is Going On Here?

♦ In the span of about two hours, the game of coaching musical chairs got crazy in the Big Ten. First, it looked like Xavier's Sean Miller was going to be the next University of Minnesota head coach. Shortly thereafter (very shortly), the Gophers raised the stakes significantly, hiring Tubby Smith away from Kentucky to run the show at Williams Arena next season. (ESPN.com confirmed the story soon after that.)

As Maize n Brew Dave just said to me via IM, "What the hell just happened?" Even the Minnesota press was knocked off their chairs on this one.

The dominoes aren't just falling in order now; they may have been scattered off the table. One of the elite jobs in college basketball just opened up in Lexington, and can expect to attract some of the biggest names available (or not available until approximately two hours ago). And whichever school loses their coach to Kentucky might create an opening that jumps ahead of Michigan in the greeting line.

♦ I'm sure you've all read this already, but just in case you haven't had a chance to see what it looks like when a coach sells his soul, here's a link to the NY Times article on the O.J. Mayo/Tim Floyd courtship at USC.

The main reason I'm linking to it today is The Big Lead raised an interesting point earlier today: What are the chances Mayo plays a minute for the Trojans once the NCAA looks into his relationship with Ronald Guillory?

I'll repeat what I said in the comments section over there: If Jamal Crawford was suspended while at Michigan because of his living arrangements with what the NCAA termed a “sponsor,” then what the hell will they have to say about an “event promoter” making overtures to a college coach?

♦ A swap of first-round picks (#8 to #10) and two second-round picks for Matt Schaub? Last night, my initial thought was that the Texans gave up too much for a back-up - and still rather unproven - quarterback. Then Richard Justice said he loved the trade on his Houston Chronicle blog. And if you weren't sure such a deal expressed the Texans' intentions to make Schaub their starting QB, they followed up with a six-year, $48 million contract that effectively sends David Carr looking for free agent handouts.

But enough about those other teams. Let's bring it back home to Detroit. Atlanta now has the #8 pick in the first round, and the 7th and 12th selections in the second round. Is that what Matt Millen might be looking for in exchange for the #2 pick? Here's how ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli sees it:

Most teams use a chart, principally developed by former Dallas and Miami coach Jimmy Johnson, that assigns a points value to every choice in the draft. The corresponding points for the eighth pick in the first round is 1,400. The two second-round choices owned by the Falcons are worth 510 points (the seventh choice in the round) and 460 points (the 12th).

The total points value for the Falcons' three choices in the first two rounds is 2,370 points. On the points chart, the second overall choice in the entire draft, owned by Detroit -- which is rumored to be interested in trading back -- is worth 2,600 points. Atlanta would fall a little shy of that, but not by much, with its 2,370 points for the three choices in the first and second rounds.

If the Falcons have their eyes on Calvin Johnson, and the Lions want to move down, there might just be enough to dance with here.