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That is why when Nacogdoches High coach Mark Richardson called Texas assistant Russell Springmann on Monday morning to pass along the news that James would attend UT, it meant more than just a recruiting steal from embattled Big 12 rival Oklahoma. It capped an already strong class that would finish No. 3, behind only Ohio State and North Carolina, in Scout.com's 2006 team rankings.

It meant that the 'Horns, if they develop quickly enough, have a shot at being next season's UNC -- the team that had its roster nearly wiped clean yet managed to remain in its conference race and the Top 25. And James, an athletic forward with three-point range, relishes the chance to step right in along with Durant, a sweet-shooting swingman who is already a projected top-three pick in the 2007 NBA draft. "If I wanted to go to a team that was already built," James said, "I would have gone to Texas A&M. But I wanted to go out on my own -- and it's gonna be fun to watch."

The 'Horns' new players will not be the sole source of entertainment, however. In their recruitment of James, Texas' staff shed early light on its plans for an offensive transformation, going away from the scheme they used in '05-06, which was a slow-paced, inside-out attack run through Aldridge and Tucker. UT coaches showed James tapes of the Phoenix Suns' up-tempo offense during his recruiting visit -- and told him they plan to implement the system next season.

In that setup, the 'Horns could play two guards -- Augustin at the point in the Steve Nash role and either Gibson, Abrams or freshman Justin Mason in the Raja Bell spot -- and two rangy small forwards -- Durant and James, in the Boris Diaw/Tim Thomas/Shawn Marion roles -- along with a center, presumably sophomore Connor Atchley or freshman Matt Hill.

After he committed, James spoke briefly with Texas head coach Rick Barnes, who reiterated his plan. "He said to me, 'Phoenix Suns,'" James recalled, "and told me how we'd run a four-out, one-in offense next year." The Suns, perhaps not coincidentally, happen to be James' favorite NBA team, despite his East Texas roots.

Springmann, who spearheaded James' recruiting, said the staff was all smiles on Monday after landing their seventh prospect in the class of '06. "To get a player as versatile and dominant as Damion is, at this point in the game," Springmann said, "is an opportunity you don't normally have."

Now Texas has to capitalize on that opportunity. Durant has the sidekick he desired. Barnes has the personnel to migrate toward a Runnin' Horns attack. And what seemed like a demoralizing string of spring departures doesn't seem so bad after all.

Men (No Longer) in Tights, But What About the Shoes?

	CU's Andy Osborn and Marcus Hall made up college hoops' only (known) Flying Tights Duo. US PRESSWIRE
	LeBron James: The tights trendsetter. John Biever/SI

Tucked into an NCAA rules committee press release this month, under the bold-faced heading "Undergarments," was a statute that effectively snuffed out one of the shortest-lived trends in college hoops: tights.

^{(Rule 3-4.14, Page 63)--Compression pants may not extend beyond the game pants. Shirt sleeves may not extend below the elbow. Rationale: This will eliminate the use of undergarments that extend to the ankle and prevent the use of long sleeves.}

Full-length spandex, we hardly knew ye. And we were hardly fond of ye, either. The tights era never really had the chance to take off -- it spanned, to the best of my knowledge, fewer than 10 players in the NCAA ranks: LSU's Glen Davis, Ohio State's J.J. Sullinger, Colorado's Marcus Hall and Andy Osborn, Missouri's Thomas Gardner and, in the one-leg variety, Miami's Guillermo Diaz and Rutgers' Quincy Douby. (If readers have more, please submit them via the e-mail form.) It was a fad borrowed straight from the NBA: The Mavs' Jerry Stackhouse lays claim to being the first player to wear the full-length version, to deal with leg injuries during 2004-05, but the real trendsetter was LeBron James, who first donned the leggings in December.

University of Miami trainer Garrick Edwards said Diaz approached him in January and asked, "Do you have anything like what LeBron wears?" And Davis, the LSU star who periodically wore tights during February and March, said he first took notice of them when King James added them to his on-court wardrobe. Not that the tights were purely for fashion; Davis said he had a thigh bruise and "it took a long time to warm up; they made me sweat faster, and I liked using them."

The NCAA, like the NBA, clearly did not approve; word leaked that the pros were banning them for the 2006-07 season, and the college ranks followed suit. Players at both levels will only be allowed to wear them if they have been cleared through a team doctor or trainer.

What the NCAA rules committee's latest edict, which also included a ban on "arm sleeves," like the ones worn by Villanova's Allan Ray, Miami's Robert Hite and Rutgers' Douby, means is that almost every aspect of a player's body is regulated.

Headbands? Can't be wider than two inches, can't have more than one, small logo, can't be a color other than the team's dominant shade, or white. Wristbands? Ditto.

Necklaces? No way. Arm sleeves? Disallowed. Undershirts? Gotta be the same color as your jersey. Can't be torn. And can't have sleeves past the elbows (Mike Gansey, you got out just in time). Jersey numbers? Have to be under 55, and not ending in a 6, 7, 8 or 9. I'll spare you the rest -- from piping to side panels to patches -- but I promise, it could fill a few more "continue" buttons' worth of Web pages.

Heather Perry, the NCAA's rules committee spokesperson, told me, "The committee's perspective on this is that they want the teams to look uniform. We understand that it's a really big thing in our society to have individuality, but the team concept is what they're going for here."

Which is understandable. However, there is one area of college basketball apparel that remains conspicuously, and completely, unregulated. Can you guess which one it is?

Cue up Mars Blackmon: "Is it the shoes?"

In the rule book, Perry said, "There is not a single rule about shoes."

I called Birmingham Southern athletic director Joe Dean Jr., a rules committee member, and asked him why. "That's a very good question," he responded. "But I don't have an answer for you."

The answer, my friends, is easy. Mr. Blackmon, may we amend your next line?

"It must be the shoe ... companies."

A few articles of evidence: North Carolina is in the midst of an eight-year, $28 million deal with Nike. Kansas signed an eight-year, $26 million contract with Adidas last April. That kind of investment, I guess, buys you complete creative control.

Summer Hoop Tunes

While on the Texas beat (from the top item), I'd like to lament that the Lone Star State is producing far more quality music these days than my hometown of NYC. The gods of the indie world allowed me sneak previews of two LPs that should get a lot of run on your iPods this summer. Say you heard about them here ...

The first is straight from the home of the 'Horns: Movie Monster by Austin's Sound Team, a six-piece outfit that did two shows in Manhattan -- at Webster Hall, as an opener, and a headlining gig at the Lower East Side's Annex -- earlier this month. I saw both, and I'm hooked on their new disc, which features a heavily textured yet precisely layered and non-abrasive (much less so than the Walkmen) sound. It rolls out in June. There was a bit of New York elitist backlash against the Sound Teamers after a lackluster opening set for Arcade Fire in Central Park last summer, but I promise you, this band has come a long way since then. And they mentioned Vlade Divac in a recent interview, which ups their hoops cred.

The second is from the land of the (North Texas) Mean Green, Denton. The band's called Midlake; the album's called The Trials of Van Occupanther. In contrast to Sound Team's wall of well, sound, this is a far more whimsical, folksy-indie pick. Midlake has opened for the Flaming Lips, and they remind one a bit of the Oklahoma City legends -- just with an identity that's a lot more down-to-earth.

My thanks go out to friend-of-the-column Chris, who runs the Dallas blog gorillavsbear.net, an invaluable Web music resource for those of us who need a break from following recruiting wars via the Internet. He tipped me off about these bands in the first place.

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