Head coach Bob Huggins' DUI in June figured to be a major recruiting setback that could have worsened this week when interim head coach Dan Peters left for Ohio State. But with Huggins due back Aug. 27 and NBA Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson standing in until then, any residual effects from the DUI will be minimal in the recruiting arena.

"There's going to be recruiting obstacles to overcome when your head coach isn't out on the road for a month," said Dave Telep of TheInsiders.com, "but it's not as much of a hot-button topic, because there's not a person in the gym who doesn't think Bob Huggins will be back in Cincinnati as the front man."

Rivals.com's Tim Watts, Prepspotlight.com's John Stovall and independent recruiting analyst Russ Blake agreed with Telep. As long as Huggins is coming back, incoming players won't cross UC off their lists.

"It puts more of an onus right now on the assistants to identify the players they feel will best fit the Cincinnati program," Blake said. "They need to make those guys' top cut and get them to visit in September when a sense of order is restored to the program."

That responsibility falls upon Andy Kennedy, UC's recruiting coordinator, whose job has remained fairly normal this summer considering the disorder that has swirled around him. Kennedy has spent July in the gyms, watching recruits.

"Andy Kennedy has always been the high-profile guy for UC on the AAU circuit," Watts said. "All the kids recognize Kennedy. I can't think of a single kid that has mentioned anything to do with Coach Huggins."

THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE: The major developments in the last month at Ohio State, Xavier and Cincinnati have created what could become an intense three-school rivalry.

And when it comes to in-state recruits, the competition is unlikely to remain friendly.

Unfortunately for fans, the three best programs in Ohio will keep the rivalry off the court, primarily in the homes of high school recruits, instead of on the nonconference schedule.

Sure, Xavier and Cincinnati will continue to meet in one of college basketball's best single-event games, the Crosstown Shootout, but it would be nice if Ohio State jumped into the mix.

But there is little chance of Thad Matta at Ohio State scheduling Xavier with his former associate head coach, Sean Miller, running the Musketeers. And now that Matta has plucked Peters from Cincinnati, the odds of a UC-OSU matchup are even slimmer. Seeing his former boss, Huggins, on the other bench in an early-season contest is probably not at the top of Peters' wish list.

So if the Buckeyes can't find a way to get on the court with the Cincinnati teams during the regular season, it's up to the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee to make this happen. Few tournament games would be more dramatic than Ohio State and Xavier playing for a trip to the Sweet 16, or the Bearcats and the Buckeyes in a nail-biting first-round classic.

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