• I know some people may think I'm crazy, but I believe Ohio State big man Greg Oden could return to college for another season. He is still learning and recovering from his right wrist surgery. Oden loves his teammates and the college environment. He reminds me of Tim Duncan in terms of personality. There will be time for a great NBA career.

• Bob Huggins suffered a double dose of disappointment. Forward Bill Walker was declared out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL. Then his Wildcats lost to Bob Knight's Texas Tech Red Raiders and Bramlage Coliseum had a number of empty seats.

• I was impressed with several aspects of Connecticut diaper dandy Hasheem Thabeet. He has a tremendous wingspan to help him block shots. I also loved his footwork. It is going to take him to develop further as he is still very green. With more seasoning and practice, he has the potential to be very special. Thabeet is athletic and can jump too. Jim Calhoun has a solid prospect in this 7-3 center.

• Whenever there are intersectional battles between members of the power conferences, I feel strongly that there should be neutral officials from a different conference. I am not saying that league officials from one of the competitors would call a game differently, but neutral officials would make sense. There would be less pressure on the referee and his crew members if they didn't have an affiliation with a league playing.

• I know that some people feel Duke is overrated this season, but I totally disagree. Look at what Coach Mike Krzyzewski lost from his squad – J. J. Redick, who was one of the top players in America, Shelden Williams and Sean Dockery. The Blue Devils have a lot of young talent and leadership is supposed to come in the backcourt from Greg Paulus, who is only a sophomore himself. The Blue Devils have relied on offense and this Duke team could be the first to average under 70 ppg. since 1981-82.

• This has been a great season for diaper dandy point guards. I have been so impressed by the likes of Tywon Lawson down at North Carolina, Mike Conley Jr. of Ohio State and D. J. Augustin of Texas. Conley is among the nation's assist leaders!

• UCLA suffered a blow when Josh Shipp suffered a hamstring injury that will sideline him for the rivalry game against USC this weekend. Shipp's athleticism helps the Bruins on both ends of the court.

• Congratulations to South Carolina coach Dave Odom, who was given a contract extension by the school. Odom is a hard worker who has done a good job with the Gamecocks.

• There are so many high school coaches, lower level college head coaches and college assistants waiting for their opportunity to serve as a Division I head coach. One inspiration to them should be Bo Ryan of Wisconsin, who has taken advantage of his opportunity after great success on the Division III level.

• College football is over, so several basketball teams have picked up reinforcements in the form of exceptional athletes from the gridiron. Oklahoma State, already a ranked team but one bothered by injuries, added All-Big 12 receiver Adarius Bowman to Sean Sutton's squad. Cincinnati got tight end Connor Borwin to help right away. Borwin played for the football team in the International Bowl last Saturday, then was on the court for Sunday's loss to Rutgers.

• One unsung player to watch is Providence's Herbert Hill. The 6-10 senior entered the week as the nation's leader in field goal percentage, hitting an incredible 69.7 percent from the floor.

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