Other Hoop Thoughts

• Speaking of the freshmen, it's all well and good that Indiana's Eric Gordon is off to such a great start, but if the Hoosiers are going to improve on last year's dismal road record, they are going to have to do it with strong inside play from D.J. White, not with jump shots.

• Hey UConn fans, Hasheem Thabeet is not going to be a big scorer this year. Deal with it.

• I like the adjustment Michigan State coach Tom Izzo made in promoting freshman Kalin Lucas to the starting lineup and bringing junior Travis Walton off the bench once the regular season started. Not only does having Lucas in the lineup help the Spartans get their running game going from the opening tip, but also it avoids the problem of having their first three guys off the bench be freshmen.

• I'd advise Michigan fans not to pay too much attention to where the Wolverines' recruits are ranked by the experts. Coach John Beilein is not going to go after a lot of highly ranked guys, but he is going to get recruits who are well-suited for his system. Just give him a little time and trust that he knows what he's doing.

• Got a few books to recommend: They Call Me Coach by Phil Martelli sums up life and leadership philosophies from the most charismatic coach in college hoops. Money Players by Marc Isenberg is an extremely helpful primer on the business of sports for anyone hoping to become a college or pro athlete. And a special five-star recommendation for Across the Line by Barry Jacobs, which profiles the first black basketball players at each school in the ACC and SEC.

• Losing Jodie Meeks for four to six weeks because of a pelvis injury is about the last thing Kentucky needed right now. It's amazing that even while announcing Meeks would be out of action, coach Billy Gillispie still wouldn't commit to starting Joe Crawford.

• If Darnell Jackson keeps this up, Kansas is going to be even better than I thought.

• Write this down in ink: Arizona's Chase Budinger is going to be the Pac-10 player of the year.

• Of all the new coaches in new places, I really think Arkansas' John Pelphrey has come into the best situation. He's following a coach who was pushed out and he's inheriting a talented team that was really young last year but played well down the stretch.

• I hope you all watched that terrific North Carolina-Davidson game Wednesday night, if only so you could appreciate Davidson point guard Jason Richards is just as responsible for the Wildcats' success as Stephen Curry.

• You've gotta figure Memphis will be the No. 1 ranked team in both polls going into the NCAA tournament. Once conference play begins in January, teams like North Carolina and UCLA are going to get nicked from time to time while Memphis will roll through Conference USA.

• It's going to be a loooooonnngg year at Cincinnati.

• I really don't like that the NCAA has explicitly said referees' enforcement of the new bench decorum guidelines for coaches will affect their NCAA tournament assignments. I fear that will create the impression that the way to earn an assignment to the Final Four is to call a lot of technicals. Everyone knows the refs have to do a good job to work the later rounds. I didn't see a need to reenforce that.

• To think, I almost selected Austin Daye, the 6-10 freshman swingman, as my "lost in the shuffle" player for my preseason postcard visit to Gonzaga. All the kid has done is come off the bench to lead the Zags in scoring in each of their first two games. I know this is a better team when Josh Heytvelt is healthy, but I think Daye is going to really benefit from Heytvelt's absence while he's recovering from foot surgery.

• If you're a Pitt fan, you've got to love this start by junior forward Sam Young (team-leading 19.3 ppg, 9.0 rebounds in the first three games). My buddy Pete Gillen is looking pretty smart right now for picking Pittsburgh as his darkhorse team to make it to San Antonio.

• I wonder how many folks really know how good Maryland sophomore guard Greivis Vasquez is.

• I know it's early, but I feel compelled to point out that in Tennessee's first two games, Chris Lofton has made just 1-of-10 attempts from behind the arc and averaged 7.5 points. As Cliff Clavin would say: What's up with that?

• I know it's folly to underestimate a Bo Ryan-coached team, but I just don't see how Wisconsin is going to score enough points (especially on the perimeter) to reach the NCAA tournament. The good news is, this is a good time to have a down year in the Big Ten.

• Remember, defenses are well ahead of offenses this time of year. That's why these early games look so sloppy at times.

• The one thing that would drastically change Duke's season is rapid improvement from 7-1 sophomore Brian Zoubek. The problem is, Zoubek missed critical development time during the summer when he was hurt. It's harder to get significantly better during the season.

• Gotta feel for Syracuse point guard Josh Wright. You wait your whole life to have a big year as a senior, and here comes a freshman hot-shot like Jonny Flynn to take your spot.

• Note to self: Make sure to set the DVR next time UNC-Greensboro is on. Gotta see this kid Kyle Hines who went for 25 in the win at Georgia Tech.

• I hope Derrick Low and Kyle Weaver are in really good shape, because they're both going to average about 38 minutes a game for Washington State this year.

• Whatever happened to the MAC?

• The one thing North Carolina needs more than anything is another consistent perimeter shooter to complement Wayne Ellington. The most likely candidates are Bobby Frasor and Danny Green, but if Tywon Lawson ever starts giving the Heels that dimension, it could be over with.

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