Gary Parrish

AKRON, Ohio -- The word in recruiting circles was that Xavier Henry planned to announce his college destination this week at the LeBron James Skills Academy, and I'm here to report that the word was indeed true. Henry absolutely planned to announce his decision. But those plans have since changed and Henry has actually expanded his list of possible schools.

"I was going to make an announcement this week about where I'm going to college, but then I found out I'm still not sure," Henry, the best player at this camp, told me Sunday in between games. "I talked it over with my mom and dad and now I'm not really sure where I want to go."

Henry was down to Kansas and Memphis, and he's visited both schools. He said the new plan is to finish the summer circuit and then visit Texas and UCLA before making a decision between those four programs, though sources still insist it'll likely come down to Kansas and Memphis -- just like last season's national title game -- which is why Bill Self and assistant Joe Dooley were in the stands watching Henry on Sunday right beside John Calipari and assistant Josh Pastner. The four coaches actually sat together and talked throughout, all while hoping they can edge their counterparts for a 6-foot-6 guard capable of leading either school to the 2010 Final Four.

AKRON, Ohio -- Vacation is over and it's back to work today, on assignment here at the LeBron James Skills Academy on campus at the University of Akron. Roughly 80 of the top high school players in the country -- plus 20 or so elite college players -- are in the gym, along with LeBron James, O.J. Mayo and a slew of head coaches. I'll check in later tonight after the games are over, and I'll be filing from here the next couple of days. But in the meantime here's a list of the college coaches who observed the early session Sunday:

• Bill Self (Kansas)
• Jeff Capel (Oklahoma)
• Matt Doherty (SMU)
• Tom Izzo (Michigan State)
• Mike Krzyzewski (Duke)
• Billy Donovan (Florida)
• Paul Hewitt (Georgia Tech)
• John Calipari (Memphis)
• Travis Ford (Oklahoma State)
• Tim Floyd (USC)
• Darrin Horn (South Carolina)
• 'Frank Haith (Miami)
• Tubby Smith (Minnesota)
• That Matta (Ohio State)
• Billy Gillispie (Kentucky)
• Dave Leitao (Virginia)
• Bill Carmody (Northwestern)
• Greg McDermott (Iowa State)
• Todd Lickliter (Iowa)
• Tommy Dempsey (Rider)
• Rick Stansbury (Mississippi State)
• John Beilein (Michigan)
• Jim Calhoun (Connecticut)
• Oliver Purnell (Clemson)

Here's Friday's Dear Gary ...

Dear Gary: Roy Hibbert soft? Maybe in your eyes. Georgetown didn't know how to utilize the big fella. He showed me he can play. Just thought I'd let you know.

-- Jim

Thanks so much for letting me know, Jim. And I didn't really call Hibbert "soft" as much as I pointed out how the word "soft" seems to always surround him, and that's true, by the way. I once asked somebody close to the Georgetown program a simple question: Why isn't Roy Hibbert awesome? The answer: "He's too soft." So that's where that comment came from, and it seems like I've been arguing with folks about Hibbert for years, but I can honestly  tell you I was happy to see him go 17th. That's higher than most mock drafts had him and higher than I thought he'd go, and though I've never been a big fan of Hibbert's game he does seem like a nice guy who deserves good things and I like seeing nice guys who deserve good things get good things.

Either way, I'll stand by my initial point from last year, which was that Hibbert would not help himself in any tangible way by returning to Georgetown for his senior season. I don't think anybody could argue that he did, and don't tell me about his degree. He could've got that degree in the summers or at any point once his basketball career was over. So I still don't believe Hibbert helped himself with that senior year, but he obviously didn't hurt himself as much as I thought he might.