The stakes get higher

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Oh, to be a Division I basketball recruit.

Jeff Peterson, a sought-after 5-11 point guard from Dematha Catholic in Maryland, was so flush with interest that he de-committed from Princeton in January, then stirred up interest from Iowa, Xavier, and St. Louis, where he visited recently. Maybe he saw that rising Princeton sophomore Marcus Schroeder was leading the nation in minutes per game at the PG spot. Or maybe, like many of us, he sensed that Joe Scott's days with the Tigers were numbered.

But Peterson's coach was quoted as saying that the young man's plans were thrown into whack a bit by Steve Alford's move from Iowa to New Mexico last week. And Peterson himself was quoted about a month ago that he "could still go to Princeton" if things didn't work out elsewhere. So now Princeton might have the slightest of openings to steal away what might have been the centerpeice of the Tigers' Class of 2011.

And if you're Gary Walters, the stakes of your search for a new hoops coach just got a little higher.