August 4, 2006

Each Friday I will write about the sport I love, college basketball

• Wow, what an incredible class being inducted into the new Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in Kansas City. It is the crème de la crème when you consider Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson, John Wooden, Dean Smith and Dr. James Naismith. Does it get any better than the giants included there? Think about what they accomplished in college basketball! Look at the championships! In my mind, the only reason Bob Knight isn't there is because he's still actively coaching.

• Barry Collier decided to leave Nebraska to take the athletic director position at his alma mater, Butler. Collier used to be the basketball coach there as well. Things were tough at Nebraska; no matter what you did, you had to play the likes of Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State in the Big 12. At Lincoln, you are one step away from being fired and now he is comfortable and in his mind he is advancing professionally. He is going back to Indianapolis and arguably a more serene life. Spending time with his family and being an athletic administrator was more appealing. Now we have to wait and see who Nebraska hires as a replacement. By the way, we are over 60 Division I coaching changes, so you understand why a guy like Collier might be interesting in going to Butler.

• The NIT has decided to abandon its 40-team field and return to a 32-team format. It will be a lot easier to deal with the brackets in that situation, and the NIT has opted to stay with the plan of inviting teams that win their conference regular-season championship but lose in their postseason league tournament. I love that idea, making the regular season meaningful for the mid-majors.

• Give Lorenzo Romar credit. He deserves a salute and a tribute for reaching out to play some big guys in non-league play. Among the teams tentatively scheduled to play his Huskies this season -- LSU, Pittsburgh and Gonzaga. Washington has had some great battles over the years with Mark Few's Zags. Then add on facing the likes of Glen "Big Baby" Davis and Aaron Gray and newcomer Spencer Hawes will have several challenges this season. Gonzaga is a natural on the schedule.

• In the A-10 next season, keep an eye for progress from Massachusetts. Travis Ford has a number of players to watch that will debut, including transfers Luke Bonner (a seven-footer), Tiki Mayben and Gary Forbes. Bonner's brother, Matt, was a standout at Florida and was recently traded by the Toronto Raptors to the San Antonio Spurs. The Minutemen will be playing early, taking a tour in the Bahamas, so Ford will be able to get a good evaluation of his talent. Massachusetts also has a lot of returning talent, led by 6-9 Rashaun Freeman. Ford will take his team to play at Louisville and Kentucky (his alma mater) this season.

• News out of the ACC often centers around the big boys, North Carolina and Duke. Let me tell you, Virginia is going to have a solid backcourt this season with Sean Singletary and J. R. Reynolds. Last season, Singletary was Virginia's first All-ACC first-team selection since Bryant Stith in 1992. Dave Leitao is happy to have this dynamic duo!

• New Iowa State coach Greg McDermott received some bad news when center Jiri Hubalek was suspended for the first six games of the upcoming season by the NCAA. The organization ruled Hubalek received improper benefits and ordered the suspension plus restitution in excess of $1,500. Hubalek shot just under 52 percent from the floor and averaged just under nine points and four rebounds last season while starting 20 games for the Cyclones.

• The tournament formerly known as the Guardians Classic, now called the CBE Classic (College Basketball Experience), has some powerful programs serving as regional hosts. Duke, Marquette, Texas Tech and Stanford will headline the 16-team field beginning with regional rounds on November 12-15. Each regional winner advances to the tournament final four in Kansas City on November 20-21. Last year's field was also loaded with Texas, Iowa, West Virginia and Kentucky reaching Kansas City. Think about some of the talent in this field – Josh McRoberts, Dominic James, Jarrius Jackson … pretty impressive, baby!

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.