Practice starts Friday with many different Madness events. ESPNU will televise 4 hours of coverage for 12 schools.

http://espnmediazone.com/us/press-releases/2012/09/2012mm/

Kentucky, Syracuse, North Carolina State, North Carolina, Missouri, Pittsburgh and Florida State will all have their events aired in-entirety on ESPN3.

Indiana, Georgetown, Maryland, Baylor, Murray State and Kansas will join the above-mentioned schools for the ESPNU coverage.

Here is Vitale's top 40, just for a reference.

http://espn.go.com/espn/dickvitale/story/_/id/8477900/dick-vitale-preseason-top-40-2012-13

The season appears wide open. Some of the high-major teams have a really legit chance to make noise. UNLV, Creighton, San Diego State, Memphis, Long Beach State, Lehigh, Murray State, Gonzaga, VCU, New Mexico, Colorado State, Butler, Houston, Illinois State, Brigham Young and a few others should make noise.

Top 54 non-conference games for 2012-2013, for those looking for some early season match-ups.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/blog/eye-on-college-basketball/19338011/top-non-conference-contests-for-the-2012-13-campaign

Thoughts on the year? Hopefully this thread goes on until October of 2013

Outside of the super six conferences, I think Vegas is the team to beat. Former Jerry Tarkanian player and current UNLV head coach Dave Rice has the Rebels running and gunning once again on the Strip. And I am completely excited by this transformation, as I am a student of the Paul Westhead school of go and love the beauty of the break. In Vegas, Tark the Shark created one of the giant personalities of any program in the history of the college game and it's only good for the sport to see the city of sin back on top and wheeling and dealing like the days of Stacy Augmon and Larry Johnson.

With a monster tandem of 6-foot-8 forwards in Mike Moser, who will make many preseason first team All-American lists, and Anthony Bennett, the top-ranked power forward in this year's freshmen class, in addition to seven-foot Pitt transfer Khem Birch, UNLV will have one of the most formidable front courts in the entire country. That brings me to my most anticipated early-season OOC game of the year, the December 29 meeting between the Rebels and North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Although both teams have almost entirely different looks, you can bet the Heels will be ready for some revenge for last year's double-digit defeat at the hands of Moser and company in Las Vegas. The Bennett versus James Michael McAdoo duel should be top notch.

Then you have senior leadership in Anthony Marshall on the perimeter as well as newcomers in Top 10 shooting guard Katin Reinhardt and USC transfer Bryce Jones, who averaged nearly double figures for the Trojans two seasons ago. This team is loaded at every position and could be a serious challenger with the chops to go the distance come tournament time. Showtime is back in Vegas. Enjoy it.

Aside from following Duke (that's my favorite team), every year I tend to have at least one or two teams in the less celebrated conferences that I like to keep tabs on and follow as much as possible. In the past, such teams have included the Blake Stepp and Dan D*ckau Gonzaga clubs; the really good Charlotte 49 teams of the early 2000s that featured Curtis Withers, Demon Brown and Brendan Plavich; and Andrew Goudelock's College of Charleston Cougars over the past several seasons.

Who's your favorite non-traditional team that you enjoy watching the most and think could surprise the nation and win it all? And why? (This obviously eliminates an obvious choice like Michigan State or Florida.) Mine: (If not evident by the e-book I wrote for the Kindle above) Vegas.

This upcoming year. Virginia Commonwealth. Potential to be the best VCU team under Shaka. Return 7 of 8 top players and bring in Bradford Burgess' brother Jordan who has similar size and was a top 100 recruits.

CBS' listing for top 100 players.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/storylist/20512719/2/2012-13-college-basketball-previews/cbssportscoms-top-100-players

12 Freshman make the list.

3. Shabazz Muhammad, UCLA
5. Nerlens Noel, Kentucky
19. Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State
20. Kyle Anderson, UCLA
27. Ben McLemore, Kansas
32. Alex Poythress, Kentucky
33. Archie Goodwin, Kentucky
52. Isaiah Austin, Baylor
56. Steven Adams, Pittsburgh
57. Anthony Bennett, UNLV
74. Gary Harris, Michigan State
87. Rasheed Sulaimon, Duke

I think Austin, Poythress, Goodwin and Bennett are underrated. Noel, Muhammad and Anderson are overrated. He's a really good player, but if Cody Zeller is your top overall player, this year is wide open.

Rasheed Sulaimon heads into the season fairly undetected by the rest of the country, but is going to be a huge asset for Duke and the best perimeter defender for the Blue Devils since Nolan Smith. As good as Rasheed's predecessor Austin Rivers was offensively as a creator and pure scorer, he was way too polarizing for the good of team chemistry and an even less effective defender. Although not as offensively gifted as Rivers, Rasheed is a super-athletic 6-3 wing who is a prominent scorer in his own right, but who also possesses the versatility and quickness on the other end of the floor to guard any position in the backcourt and that is the key ingredient that Duke severely lacked a season ago.

Can't wait to get started. College basketball is above all else, imo.

Love hoops. The entirety of the season and how it develops is far more fun in basketball. Still, it's hard to beat a great saturday of college football and a season of NFL.

As a basketball junkie, I will always profess hoops as my number one love. But I am a sports fan in general and thoroughly enjoy football Saturdays as well as the NBA, NFL and baseball, if only during the playoffs. What elevates college basketball to the top for me, however, is the unrivaled spirit and energy that surrounds college athletics – no matter how loud it gets at Lambeau or in The Thunder Dome in Oklahoma City, it’s just not the same – as well as the single most exciting postseason event of any sport in the world (outside of perhaps the World Cup, although I am not a fan of soccer). There is nothing else in sports like the NCAA Tournament. Simply put, it’s madness.

As a basketball junkie, I will always profess hoops as my number one love. But I am a sports fan in general and thoroughly enjoy football Saturdays as well as the NBA, NFL and baseball, if only during the playoffs. What elevates college basketball to the top for me, however, is the unrivaled spirit and energy that surrounds college athletics – no matter how loud it gets at Lambeau or in The Thunder Dome in Oklahoma City, it’s just not the same – as well as the single most exciting postseason event of any sport in the world (outside of perhaps the World Cup, although I am not a fan of soccer). There is nothing else in sports like the NCAA Tournament. Simply put, it’s madness.

reclegend22;1291087 wrote:There is nothing else in sports like the NCAA Tournament. Simply put, it’s madness.

Most sports fans will agree with this. Regular season, eh, mostly just for the junkies like us. March Madness? Literally everyone enjoys that...

Most wide-open season in a long time in my opinion. I went through the top 10 of Vitale's list and thought "I really don't think they should be ranked that high" about literally every team outside of UK and possibly MSU, but I guess someone has to be up there.

Just saw CBS Sports "expert picks". 2/5 had Arizona, UNLV, and Gonzaga in the Final 4, and Gottlieb took Zona to win it all.

I also forgot about VCU and Butler being in the A-10 now. That should be a fun league.

The Atlantic 10 has all of a sudden become one hell of a coaching conference. With Shaka Smart at VCU, Brad Stevens at Butler, Phil Martelli at St. Joe's, Chris Mack at Xavier and the national emergence of Saint Louis under a legend in Rick Majerus (when he returns from his leave of absence next season), you have a star-studded cast of suits (and a knit sweater) on the sideline that rivals some of the best in basketball.

Just think about this. Compared to the Pac 12, whose fraternity of coaches has a combined four Final Fours reached by two men (Ben Howland 3 and Mike Montgomery 1), the Atlantic 10 features three different coaches who have reached the Final Four (Rick Majerus, Brad Stevens and Shaka Smart) a total four times, including three appearances in national championship games. The current crew of Pac 12 coaches has only coached on one Monday Night (Ben Howland in 2006). Pretty impressive when you stack it up.

So apparently North Carolina retired Harrison Barnes' jersey. Is this serious? Most underachieving recruit ever?

Azubuike24;1293758 wrote:So apparently North Carolina retired Harrison Barnes' jersey. Is this serious? Most underachieving recruit ever?

No.

It was honored.

Robbi Pickeral (@bylinerp) tweeted at 6:43 PM on Fri, Oct 12, 2012:
Neat to see the honored jerseys of Harrison Barnes and Tyler Zeller already in the rafters. Word is, they'll be back this yr. for a ceremony
(https://twitter.com/bylinerp/status/256887890561343489)

Barnes got his honored because he was a 2nd team All American last year and Zeller was honored for being ACC Player of the Year.

Terry_Tate;1293770 wrote:Robbi Pickeral (@bylinerp) tweeted at 6:43 PM on Fri, Oct 12, 2012:
Neat to see the honored jerseys of Harrison Barnes and Tyler Zeller already in the rafters. Word is, they'll be back this yr. for a ceremony
(https://twitter.com/bylinerp/status/256887890561343489)

Honored is not the same as retired.

wildcats20;1293772 wrote:Honored is not the same as retired.

I know, just showing Zeller was honored too.

A long way for Nerlens Noel to go before he's Anthony Davis. Fellow Frosh Willie Cauley-Stein got him less than 2 minutes into the game last night.

http://collegebasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/10/13/nerlens-noel-gets-dunked-on-by-willie-cauley-stein-at-kentucky-midnight-madness/

North Carolina raises just about anything they can find that will hang. Looking up at the ceiling in the Dean Dome can easily result in a sprained neck. Last time I was there, I'm almost positive I spotted Abraham Lincoln's topcoat.

The Black Falcon did have a solid two-year stretch, I will give him that. Averaging over 15 per game for Carolina is impressive. Harry's problem was always his own self-promotion. Exhibit A being that he skyped his recruitment announcement. If I were Carolina, I wouldn't have skyped anything back. That shit was just too much.

UNLV adds former 5-star/top 10 recruit, er...former Memphis Tiger, er...former Mississippi Rebel...guard Jelan Kendrick.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/blog/eye-on-college-basketball/20557700/unlv-picks-up-well-traveled-talented-wing-jelan-kendrick-

Seriously? Does Jalen just pick schools out of a hat? I understand one transfer, but I just don't understand how some kids end up moving from school to school as if they are in Hawaii island hopping. Taylor King is a prime example of this.

Appears to be another great get for the Rebels. Like Missouri has recently, Vegas is really taking advantage of the influx of the "free agency" market in college basketball, all ready having signed Bryce Jones (formerly of USC), Roscoe Smith (UConn), Khem Birch (Pitt) and now Kenrick (Memphis, Ole Miss).

That gives Dave Rice four former McDonald's All-Americans on his roster in Anthony Bennett, Khem Birch, Roscoe Smith and Jalen Kendrick. And Katin Reinhardt, a 6-foot-5 shooter extraordinaire with a flashy game that should translate brilliantly on the Strip, was selected to USA Today's All-USA High School Team, for good measure.

Azubuike24;1293758 wrote:So apparently North Carolina retired Harrison Barnes' jersey. Is this serious? Most underachieving recruit ever?

Most underachieving recruit ever? I think the fault lies with a bunch of morons proclaiming him 1st Team AA before he ever stepped on to a college basketball court. He struggled the first half of his freshman season, and after that, he played well. People just had unrealistic expectations for him. Remember that he played hurt the last half of his sophomore season as well.

I think you and rec should call up UNC and let them know what the criteria should be for honoring players. Geesh, guys.

reclegend22;1294198 wrote: The Black Falcon did have a solid two-year stretch, I will give him that. Averaging over 15 per game for Carolina is impressive.

He averaged 17.3 PPG game as a sophomore while only playing 28.8 MPG. Like you said, pretty good, especially in Carolina's system.

When you get the hype, you get the hype. Barnes was overrated as the #1 player in the class. He was overrated when you compare him to other classes. He was overrated his entire career. He never even played in a Final Four.

I'm just saying. He was a product of hype, because the media wanted someone at Carolina to glorify. Instead, 90% of his career was actually underwhelming when compared to what seemed to be expected. Not his fault, but it is what it is. If he is honored, I guess I'd have to see what others were as well.