Jan 6, 2006

Each Friday I will have my thoughts on the world of college basketball.

•  Before passing judgment on Kentucky this season, understand that the 'Cats have had questionable play inside. This team lost Chuck Hayes and Kelenna Azuibuike, plus the suspension of Randolph Morris has hurt. Look for Tubby Smith to shake up his lineup after struggling to beat Central Florida Tuesday. Ramel Bradley should start against Kansas Saturday and he'll help on the perimeter. Combining Bradley with athletic Rajon Rondo will help with penetration as well as jump shots. That could open up the middle more. The 'Cats will get Morris back after 14 games on the sidelines, and that will be a factor too.

•  This should be another great weekend of college hoops. Florida has a test against an improved Georgia team that knocked off Georgia Tech and Clemson. If Billy Donovan's team gets past that one, it can roll on and remain unbeaten for quite a while. NC State and North Carolina should be a thriller too. St. Mary's, which knocked off Nevada last week, takes on Gonzaga.

•  Out in the Pac-10, you have to give a lot of credit to Ben Howland and UCLA. This team has been hampered by injuries all season, and Jordan Farmar played so hard despite an injured ankle Thursday night. The Bruins won at Arizona in a hard-fought contest. That was UCLA's first win at McKale Center since 1992. Darren Collison did a nice job contributing for Howland's squad.

•  If you missed Tuesday's performance by Marquette's Steve Novak (41 points, 16 rebounds against Connecticut), it was something special. It matched the likes of J.J. Redick's 41 vs. Texas and Adam Morrison's 43 against Michigan State and Washington. Novak has been Mr. Automatic on the foul line, making 63 straight, including all 33 this season. Tom Crean's kids reflected his personality as they were aggressive, attacking and played brilliantly against the highly-rated Huskies. Marquette vs. Cincinnati should be a dandy.

•  Dee Brown put on quite a show against Michigan State and former high school teammate Shannon Brown. The Illini guard scored 34 of his team's 60 points against the Spartans. Bruce Weber's team did a phenomenal job defensively and Maurice Ager was held in check.

•  Two diaper dandies that have been major factors on teams playing better than expected are Cincinnati's Devan Downey and Pittsburgh's Sam Young. Inside, Young has become a force; just ask Dave Odom of South Carolina and Bo Ryan of Wisconsin, victims of Pittsburgh just before the New Year. Downey has been tough on the perimeter and with his penetration skills. These guys simply don't get the same ink of some of the other McDonald's All-Americas.

•  Besides being one of the top players in America this season, Gonzaga's Adam Morrison is an amazing role model. He has battled diabetes and monitored it several times during games, even taking insulin in public. I don't understand why the NCAA would question Morrison's participation in programs to help fight diabetes.

•  Wake Forest will find out how good they are when they hook up with the Duke Blue Devils on Sunday. The Duke seniors are 0-3 at Lawrence Joel Coliseum, losing 92-89 last season (J.J. Redick scored 33 in that game), 90-84 in 2004 and 94-80 in two overtimes in 2003. Can Wake's Eric Williams and Justin Gray make it four in a row? I think Kyle Visser has to come through with a superb performance if they are to come away with a W over the Blue Devils.

•  Two injuries will have an impact on their respective teams. Creighton's Nate Funk is out for the season after shoulder surgery. UAB lost forward Demario Eddins, a four-year starter, tore his Achilles tendon against VCU and his college career is over. Eddins was 11th on the Blazers' all-time scoring and rebounding lists.

•  It was great to see Rollie Massimino at the Villanova-Louisville game Thursday night. I thought we might go out and have some linguine, but instead I am going to tell you Massimino will be back on the sidelines next season down in sunny Florida, coaching Northwood College, an NAIA school.

•  Speaking of Massimino, it seems like we have fewer and fewer characters on the sidelines. I miss the likes of Jimmy V, Looie Carnesecca, Al McGuire and Abe Lemons. Now we have so many coaches who are careful about what they say.

•  I understand why Rick Pitino softened his non-league schedule this season. With seven new players, and the Big East schedule which includes two games against Villanova, Connecticut and Cincinnati, it makes sense. I'm sure when Pitino took over at Louisville, he didn't expect to be returning to the Big East. Meanwhile it should be interesting this weekend when he coaches against Providence, the school he led to the 1987 Final Four.

•  For Connecticut to make a run at the Final Four, Rudy Gay has to be more consistent. He has the talent to be a superstar if he is more consistent.

•  There is a great battle for the best little man in America. St. Peter's Keydren Clark led the nation in scoring the last two years and he had 39 points and 10 assists in a overtime win over Rider. Loyola-Maryland's Andre Collins, a transfer from Maryland who joined former Terp assistant and Loyola coach Jimmy Patsos, had 39 points in a recent loss to Providence.

•  While Marco Killingsworth and D. J. White have received the most ink at Indiana, Robert Vaden has been impressive as well. He had a school-record streak of 12 consecutive trifectas (over a three-game span) before missing against Michigan. Vaden had 17 points against the Wolverines, all in the second half. Indiana meets Ohio State this weekend.

•  Have people noticed that Seattle has become a hotbed for recruiting lately. There are a lot of talented players now in the college ranks from there.

•  Flying under the radar in the Mid-American Conference is Buffalo. Reggie Witherspoon's team enters this weekend with an 11-1 record, the school's best start since 1962-63. Calvin Cage has been impressive so far.

•  I don't see Pete Maravich's scoring records ever being broken. Think about this -- his career average at LSU was 44.2 points per game, with his best season an amazing 44.5 ppg. The last player to average more than 31 points per game for a whole season was Kevin Bradshaw of now-defunct US International. He averaged 37.6 ppg. in 1991. You don't see too many guys scoring 30 a game any more.

Dick Vitale coached the Pistons and the University of Detroit before broadcasting ESPN's first college basketball game in 1979. Send a question for Vitale for possible use on ESPNEWS.