A year ago it was billed as the next big thing in college basketball. The Guardians Classic had a field that rivaled the Preseason NIT or Great Alaska Shootout or Maui Invitational.

When the inaugural 16-team event narrowed to four for the semifinals and finals at Kansas City's Kemper Arena the field included marquee names Memphis, Alabama, Iowa and Missouri. Pretty good for a first-year event.

	Dan Miller and Notre Dame routed IUPUI in the second round. Playing twice at home was the main reason the Irish stayed in the Guardians Classic.

Things are little different this year thanks largely to the NCAA's rule limiting teams to two appearances in exempted events every four years. Instead of a 16-team event that originally featured teams such as Missouri, Duke, Connecticut and UCLA, the Guardians Classic became a scaled down version of its young self.

Instead of some of college basketball's big names, this weekend's final four includes Notre Dame, Creighton, Furman and Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. In addition, the event has moved from Kemper Arena to Memorial Auditorium. It's a fine tournament, but it just isn't the same.

It's fair to say that of the exempted tournaments that were able to stay in business, the Guardians Classic -- an event designed to promote the National Association of Basketball Coaches' Guardians of the Game program -- has suffered the most.

"If the 2-in-4 rule had not been there, this would've been an incredible field," said Jim Haney, NABC executive director. "But we have to deal with what we have."

While this year's event doesn't have the buzz that last year's did, Haney said the NABC doesn't have any plans to scrap the event. The goal is to return the Classic to it's original form with 16 teams starting play at four campus sites and the four winners then advancing to Kansas City.

Rick Giles of the Gazelle Group, the company that runs the Guardians Classic and other events, said that a number of schools have been contacted about next season's events. The biggest challenge will be finding four schools that want to host the first two rounds.

"There are very few viable hosts with any (2-in-4) eligibility remaining," Giles said. "Our ability to put the event is predicated with being able to get four hosts.

"The way we did it last year is the model for success. This year has been quite a struggle. In the long term I don't think it works under this format."

Assuming the event survives, Haney couldn't, however, say where in Kansas City the event will be held in the future. It could return to Kemper, the building that has held many NCAA Tournament games in recent years and the past six Big 12 tournaments. But it could also remain at Memorial Auditorium, where the NABC is building its National Basketball Center. The National Basketball Center, which is scheduled to open next year, will be home to the NABC headquarters and include a coaches hall of honor, an interactive fan experience and hoops-related retail.

Memorial Auditorium is an older building, but it has history. It's hosted seven Final Fours and many more NAIA championships. It's also located in downtown Kansas City and is a short drive from the Plaza area rather than in the warehouse-dominated area where Kemper sits.

There's also talk in Kansas City of building a downtown arena. If that happens, the Guardians Classic could move there.

Regardless of the geography, Haney is optimistic things will improve.

"This is a blip sort of on the radar, this year and potentially next year," he said. "There are issues, but if we can schedule far enough in advance, we should be fine."

But if the 2-in-4 rule remains in place -- an Ohio judge said he wanted to see more evidence before issuing an injunction to stop the rule -- will it be difficult for the Guardians Classic to lure top teams?

Grab a major college team's media guide and it's a near lock that there will be pictures of players in some exotic or interesting locale. It might be Hawaii or Alaska or Puerto Rico or Madison Square Garden, but the pictures are there to show recruits "Yeah, we're big-time. You get to go to cool places if you sign with us."

While Kansas City is a nice town, Arthur Bryant's is damn good BBQ, and Boulevard Pale Ale is a solid microbrew, it ain't Maui and the Missouri River hasn't been confused with an ocean. Could that be a factor for teams if they're only allowed two trips every four years? It's hard to believe it wouldn't be for some schools.

When the 2-in-4 rule was upheld this season, exempted events were scrambling to find teams and several tournaments approached Notre Dame about bagging the Guardians in order to go somewhere warm. Fighting Irish coach Mike Brey opted for the Guardians in order to play two home games before potentially advancing to Kansas City.

There could, however, be a winner out of this year's event -- Creighton.

The Bluejays, who have won 92 games over the past four seasons, will face IUPUI on Monday and are expected to face Notre Dame on Tuesday. If that happens, Dana Altman's team will have a chance to play a upper-division team from a major conference -- something that doesn't happen enough for top mid-major programs.

Regardless of the outcome, simply playing Notre Dame would help Creighton's standing in the Ratings Percentage Index and could help the Bluejays get an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament if they fail to win the Missouri Valley's automatic berth. A year ago, Southern Illinois, another Valley team, received an at-large berth in part because of the games they played in a Las Vegas tournament. The Salukis defeated Iowa State in the event and played Illinois close.

As the former Delaware coach, Brey understands the importance of the event for Creighton.

"I think it's huge for them," Brey said. "No question it can help them get in."

And it's also hard for Creighton to schedule games against teams such as Notre Dame.

"It was hard the last couple of years (at Delaware)," Brey said. "I remember how guys were talking to me before and I'm speaking the same language now.

"I'm not into community service."

Part of the reason is because Brey knows how good the Bluejays have been in recent years.

"If we're fortunate enough to play Creighton, it's like a Big East matchup," Brey said.

"If you have an older team from the MAC or America East or Missouri Valley playing a younger (major conference) team, that's scary and that's what it would be for us?. When you see the ticker go by on the TV, you almost expect (upsets) now. I just say 'There it is, I hope it doesn't happen to us.'"

Games of the Week

Texas Tech vs. UNC Wilmington, Friday While the folks in Lubbock have taken to college hoops since Bob Knight's arrival in West Texas, but many Red Raiders fans probably don't realize that this game isn't a gimme. UNC Wilmington doesn't have great name recognition, but with guard Brett Blizzard, the Seahawks are good. After all, they won at Minnesota last season and defeated Southern Cal in the first round of the NCAA tournament. An easy opener this isn't for Texas Tech. Kansas State vs. Brigham Young, Saturday This first-round game in the Virgin Islands Paradise Jam is a nice test for the Wildcats. If K-State is improved the way it claims, Jim Wooldrige's team needs to defeat the Cougars. Texas A&M at Miami, Tuesday This is another game in which a second-division Big 12 team can make an early statement. Aggies coach Melvin Watkins talked at the league's media that he's tired of getting his butt beat. A win over the Hurricanes would be a start. Iowa at Drake, Tuesday Last season, the Hawkeyes went on the road and lost at Northern Iowa. This year an Iowa team that his less talent and significantly less depth than a year ago travels to Drake. The Bulldogs believe they can contend in the Missouri Valley and if that's really accurate, they need to win a home game against Iowa.

A Scary Saturday?
A year ago, the non-conference schedule wasn't the kindest to the Big Ten. And while most of the conference's fans will be focused on a Ohio State-Michigan football game, it could be a very important day for the Big Ten on the courts.

After going 116-40 (.744) during the 2000-01 non-conference season, the Big Ten slipped to 99-55 (.643) last season. Among the losses were teams such as Western Michigan, UNC Wilmington, Bowling Green, Yale, Butler, Southern Illinois, Northern Iowa, San Francisco, James Madison and Weber State.

While some of those teams, Southern Illinois in particular, ended up being NCAA tournament teams, they're also teams that Big Ten schools should defeat.

So what will happen this season? Will the Big Ten -- a conference that lacks some of the star power it's had in the past -- recover? Three hoops games Saturday will be an early test for the league. Michigan faces St. Bonaventure in the Virgin Islands Paradise Jam; Penn State, fresh off a beat down from North Carolina, plays at Ivy League favorite Penn and Wisconsin hosts Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

While the Big Ten fancies itself to be above the Atlantic 10, Ivy League and Horizon League, don't be shocked if the big boys lose at least one of the games.

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