•  It was great to hear that the University of Louisville is going to name its court in honor of Denny Crum. It is amazing when you think of all the things he did in the 80s. It couldn't happen to a better guy, one who showed his passion and love to Louisville. He had a number of opportunities to leave, but he showed his loyalty by leading the Cardinals to 675 Ws while coaching there for 30 years. The pre-game ceremony naming it Denny Crum Court takes place when Louisville faces Georgetown on February 7. This is a nice little payback!

•  Did they hear about this down in Bloomington, Indiana? Talk about rewarding loyalty and taking care of someone who was special to Hoosiers basketball … well, you get the picture. The building should be named after the General, Robert Montgomery Knight, for all he accomplished at IU. I have said it before and I will say it again, baby!

•  Just thinking out loud, if I was Texas A&M, I would be very concerned about Billy Gillispie. Why? This guy is a hot name in the coaching profession and he is so good! The biggest problem for the Aggies administration is keeping him in College Station, Texas. To me, his is one of the rising stars in college coaching. Just look at his record with the Aggies; Texas A&M will make the big dance for consecutive seasons for the first time in school history.

•  There are a number of sophomores doing a great job, guys like Tyler Hansbrough, Brandon Rush, Dominic James and Josh McRoberts. How about some publicity for another super soph who has done a super job despite limited visibility and exposure? Have you heard the name Stuckey? That's right my friends, Rodney Stuckey of Eastern Washington deserves some love. In a recent win against Sacramento State, he scored 31 points; the more impressive stat was his 15-of-16 from the foul line in that contest. Not many fans are aware of him, but he is averaging over 24 ppg. He is special.

•  My sympathy goes out to Ohio State diaper dandy Greg Oden, whose childhood friend passed away in a car accident. Oden learned about the death of Travis Smith, a member of the Ball State golf team, after the Buckeyes' win over Michigan State last Saturday. Smith's father played a part in Oden's development.

•  When you look at the ACC, a player who doesn't get enough publicity while playing brilliantly is Florida State's Al Thornton. Just ask the Maryland people as Thornton put up 27 big points in Tuesday's win over the Terps. He just has to be a little more consistent. This looks like it could be the year the Seminoles are back in the big dance for the first time since 1998.

•  Up at Syracuse, the Orange have to be tossing and turning as Jim Boeheim's squad gave up 61 first-half points against the Irish. Boeheim's kids did not play well on the defensive end, giving up over 100 points on their home floor. That indicates the need to commit to playing defense. Syracuse has to get on a run now and get some Ws if they want to be part of the magical time of the year, March Madness.

•  At Michigan State, Tom Izzo's team has a really rough stretch to complete the season. Two years in a row, the Big Ten rotation has given the Spartans the crème de la crème on the schedule. Michigan State plays four teams in conference play one time – Penn State, Northwestern, Minnesota and Purdue. That means the Michigan State list of opposition includes Wisconsin twice, Ohio State this weekend, Michigan twice, Indiana, Iowa and Purdue. Wow! Izzo is such a motivator and when the Izzone goes wild, the home games could be must-win situations.

•  Speaking of the Spartans, I really believe Raymar Morgan of Michigan State will be a special player. He missed a lot of time due to injury, but he will become an important member of the Spartans for years to come. He is very strong physically and very athletic.

•  Final thought on Michigan State. It is great to see the school retiring Mateen Cleaves' #12 jersey. I always loved watching him play because of his enthusiasm for the game. Cleaves always had a smile on his face.

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.