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

• Congratulations to Roy Williams, Phil Jackson, the Texas Western basketball team and the entire class on their induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame at Springfield. Williams has been a class act at Kansas and North Carolina and he is deserving of this honor.

• It's nice to see Rodrick Rhodes reunited with Travis Ford. Rhodes, a former first-round NBA draft pick who played at both Kentucky and Southern California, has been hired by Ford to serve as the Assistant to the Head Coach/Director of Player Personnel at the University of Massachusetts. Rhodes was a college teammate of Ford's at Kentucky. He played parts of three seasons with the Houston Rockets, Vancouver Grizzlies, and Dallas Mavericks and also served as an assistant coach at Idaho State last season.

• Memphis coach John Calipari deserves some credit for instilling discipline to his program following the recent arrest of two players following an incident at a nightclub. Calipari is concerned about teaching his players about the most important game of all, the game of life.

• I have always felt the Crosstown Shootout between Xavier and Cincinnati was one of the most underrated rivalries in America. I loved it when the late Skip Prosser and Bob Huggins did battle in so many intense, exciting games. This season, the teams will hook up on December 12th at the Cintas Center. Also keep this date circled on your calendar. Huggins gets his first shot against Cincinnati on January 30th when the Bearcats visit Morgantown for a Big East match-up.

• It has been an up-and-down off-season for Duquesne. One of the premier diaper dandies in the A-10 last season, Robert Mitchell, has decided to transfer and is expected to attend Seton Hall. Mitchell averaged over 16 ppg. last season. The Dukes added 6-8 freshman Damion Sanders, who originally committed to Marquette but was not admitted to the school. Then came the suspension of Stuard Baldonado, just days after he was arrested on a drug conspiracy charge. His status is clearly in question.

• Congratulations to Boston College coach Al Skinner on his recent contract extension. He has led the Eagles to six NCAA tourney trips since the 2000-01 season. His team has been very competitive in the ACC since its arrival. This season Boston College returns Tyrese Rice to lead the way.

• I have talked about teams playing overseas to prepare for the upcoming season. Baylor junior guard Henry Dugat, who averaged 11.7 ppg. last season, stepped up in a recent trip to Cancun. Dugat led the team in scoring in the last two games of the trip, including a 20-point effort in the finale.

• Indiana had several outstanding performances at the end of its trip to the Bahamas. DJ White scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds in just 14 minutes. Diaper dandy Eric Gordon showed flashes of brilliance by scoring 19 points. Junior Jamarcus Ellis fell just short of a triple-double with eight points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Ellis also contributed six steals in the rout.

• When the Great Alaska Shootout pairings came out, an interesting semifinal possibility came up. Gonzaga and Texas Tech could meet, and that would be a rematch of an exciting 2005 NCAA second-round game. Bob Knight's Red Raiders won that one by two points. Washington State, Michigan and Butler are also in the field.

• Vanderbilt improved its roster with several late additions. The most recent was Festus Ezeli, a 6-11, 245-pound center. A native of Nigeria, Ezeli becomes the sixth member of this year's freshman class. He graduated from high school at the age of 14 before moving to Northern California.

• For those keeping score this season, there were several schools moving to different conferences. As a public service for those who were wondering: Northern Colorado has joined the Big Sky; UC-Davis is now in the Big West; Valparaiso has joined the Horizon League; and IPFW is in the newly named Summit League. If you were curious, there are only four Independent schools scheduled to compete this season: Chicago State, Longwood, Savannah State and Texas-Pan American. Do you remember the days when Notre Dame and Marquette were prominent Independents?