McDermott vs. Johnson...

--Early rounds to Johnson, but McDermott battles back like a cagey veteran and takes a commanding lead in the PR fight.

--McDermott had a great day Wednesday. The Johnson bombshell shook the confidence of many fans in Cyclone Nation. McDermott needed to discredit Johnson's timeline and logic. He did.

--McDermott is already a beloved figure within the athletic department at Iowa State. I wasn't surprised at the show of support, and that includes Jamie Pollard who sent us an e-mail from Colorado saying he thinks more of McDermott than ever. Don't think McDermott's coaching for his job next season. He's not.

--Fans are right to wonder why there's so much turnover in the Cyclone basketball program. Some fans suspect McDermott's style of play, others wonder if he's too hard on the players. I don't think it's any one thing, but a lot of little things: losing taking its toll, outside influences, players thinking they're NBA bound when they're not, athletes who've been coddled for so long looking for strokes every day, McDermott being tough with kids who can't take it, etc.

--I do believe McDermott needs to take a long, hard look at his approach, and see if there are any ways he can do a better job relating to present day, big conference, college basketball players. There's been far too much turnover to completely absolve McDermott of any responsibility. We can all improve.

--McDermott was smart to open up to the media. Todd Lickliter chose not to. I think that was kind of smart too. Different circumstances. Clearly, McDermott did not want to lose Johnson, while Lickliter shed no tears about Tony Freeman's exit; heck, he might have encouraged it.

--I think both Lickliter and McDermott want to bring their programs back the right way. No cheating, no empty promises, no sucking up to elite athletes. I think fans should show more patience because it's a lot harder to do it the right way.

--College basketball is a mess. Players committing in the 8th grade; Freshmen taking online classes for one year before going to the NBA; AAU coaches, agents and overzealous family members all seeing prospects as potential ATM machines; graduation rates that are a complete disgrace; players transferring even more in search of playing time and a pro career. The game lost its innocence a long time ago, and it's getting worse.

--Doesn't all this make you appreciate even more the season Drake had? Those elite three Seniors just graduated too. We need more of that.