ESPN.com's Answer Man is keeping up with the national hoops scene as the start of practice arrives Saturday. As expected, he's was eager to answer a few questions from ESPN.com users.

Andy,
I have been following the University of Washington soap opera closely since you broke the infractions and pending NCAA story a few weeks ago. Today I noticed that Washington handed out their own penalties including suspensions and pay cuts for assistant coach Cameron Dollar. No argument from me that all were deserved. One of the illegal visit incidents detailed today concerned a visit at a Seattle select or AAU club where coach Dollar visited with one of the recruits in a no contact period as well as talked to his parents. In that detailed story, it mentions that Gonzaga and North Carolina also had coaches there making the same contacts. My question is why do we not hear about Gonzaga and North Carolina being in trouble over the incident? Also, it would seem that you yourself should fire on North Carolina and Gonzaga as you attacked Washington? Instead, today you write an almost love letter to Mark Few, sickeningly praising him for his courage during this ordeal. Why the double standards from both the NCAA and you? It appears Few's staff is just as much a cheater as anyone else, yet you are making them out to be some kind of hero.
Roy Mueller
Belleville, Ill.

Here's why Roy:
The NCAA discovered that the Gonzaga and North Carolina assistants said hello to Marvin Williams' mother but didn't have a lengthy conversation. The allegation against Dollar was that he held a 20-30 minute conversation with her. Coaches are not going to get into trouble for saying hello to a mother or a coach. That seems to be expected and common courtesy. But anything beyond the greetings is considered a violation. First of all, I never used the word "hero" when it came to Few or his staff. We've all seen how that word is overused and should be reserved for special circumstances after 9/11. Few's staff, Washington State and Eastern Washington did the right thing. They first confronted Washington and after they were rebuffed they went to the NCAA. More coaches need to have the guts to do the same thing. All the rules are in place because coaches don't police themselves. If Gonzaga, Washington State or Eastern Washington are blatantly committing violations then we will report them. Your usage of the word "cheater" is pretty loose, too. Thanks for reading.

What is the NCAA seeking to do with a survey of an 18-week season? It appears that football goes on for 19-22 weeks and the organization has not attempted to reform that sport's season -- we get new bowl games every year. Is it basketball carries so little clout the NCAA feels it can keep tweaking the game at its pleasure. The last 3 weeks involve from 100 teams in the initial week to only 8 teams in the final week. The logic escapes me -- can you explain? The NCAA has yet to clean up football recruiting like it goes after basketball, and the NCAA tourney is the organization's cash cow -- what gives?
Boyd Childress
Auburn, Ala.

Boyd,
The logic escapes me as well. It simply cannot happen if the 18 weeks includes the NCAA Tournament. It makes absolutely no sense. It is the cash cow, especially since the BCS supports mainly the big six conferences instead of the entire Division I landscape. The NCAA continues to pick on men's basketball and yet college hockey is a two semester sport and the last time I checked that sport doesn't get hacked as much as men's basketball. I'm sure CBS doesn't want to pay billions for a watered down product. Hopefully this survey will get voted down.

Why will the Ohio State AD schedule the UC Bearcats in football but not in basketball?
Robert Kelly
Columbus, Ohio

This is another case of a big state school like Ohio State running away from another power in its state. The two will sometimes recruit the same players, but that shouldn't be a deciding factor. It's not like Cincinnati is in the MAC. Cincinnati is a national power and a Final Four-contending type team on an annual basis. Ohio State should schedule the Bearcats in hoops for another intense non-conference, in-state rival. Cincinnati doesn't run scared of Xavier.

I have watched the Washington State basketball team in pick ups and they look real good. In the basketball world they don't get much love. How do you think they will do this year and do you think Marcus Moore is league material?
Jerry
Pullman, Wash.

Paul Graham really believes this is his best team. That might not mean a higher finish in the Pac-10, but at least he's got his own players. Marcus Moore should be one of the best-kept secrets in the league. Graham, a former Oklahoma State assistant, is projecting 6-11 junior Justin Kordsmeier to be like a Big Country for him. He's wide, is hard to move out of the post, and could be a tough matchup for opposing teams. Graham's teams have played hard in the Pac-10 but they haven't been able to win the close games. That has to change for the Cougars to be a pest in the Pac-10.

I thought Kent State was suppose to play in The South Padre Island Tournament with Tulsa. Are they still going to? And when are upcoming schedules available?
John
Indianapolis

Kent State backed out. Not exactly sure why, but the Golden Flashes decided against playing in the tournament. Kent State did pick up a rare big-time home game when Boston College agreed to play on the road. The schedules should be out soon, but a number of the school websites have already posted the schedules for this season.

Why doesn't anybody talk about Sean Kline when mentioning Indiana's big men? Kline should be a big help off the bench. He is a player who will do what it takes to win. Although Jeff Newton and George Leach will most likely be the key big men, nobody bothers to think of Kline being a productive player in Indiana's offense. Not to mention his scrappy in your face defense.
John Herrel
Champaign, Ill.

The Indiana coaching staff was down on his conditioning prior to practice. He can and will likely need to be a part of the rotation. If he's in shape then he'll play. If he's not then he won't. But Indiana is too thin to lose valuable minutes from Kline. He has the potential to give them Jared Odle-like minutes within two years.

Hi, Andy. Love reading your articles. I hope you get a chance to answer this question. Why is it when someone talks about young college coaches that are on the rise, you hear names like Billy Donovan, Quinn Snyder, Buzz Peterson, and Mike Davis, but you never hear Mark Gottfried's name? I'm not going to say he's not getting the respect he deserves (I've noticed you mention him frequently), and the aforementioned coaches are good, but I'm just wondering why he's never mentioned. Is he considered to be "on their level"? What's your opinion?
BamaFan
Birmingham, Ala.

Gottfried should get more respect nationally as a coach, but he doesn't because the Tide get lost nationally. Alabama has a chance to be a consistent national player this season after making the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season. Mo Williams and Erwin Dudley form one of the best inside-out combos. Alabama needs to go further in the tourney for Gottfried to get more national due and that's a distinct possibility this season.

With ALL of the problems that the University of Kentucky has been having of their players, the talks of Tubby Smith's head is as heated as ever! Some say that it's his responsibility to control the players, while others say that these players are adults and it's not Smith's job to "baby sit" them. I don't know if Smith has failed to control them and mentor them, but at the same time, these are adults and they are making idiotic mistakes that are screwing themselves and UK! I'm not sure if Smith should be fired, but there is so much pressure on him that he may resign. So my question is do you think he will, and, if so, who can come in as an interim? Two names that have popped up here are Dan Issel and "Goose" Givens.
Jason McCord
Lexington, Ky.

Pressure to resign? Jason, I don't see it, have never heard it and don't believe there is pressure for him to resign. He has had player problems the past 12 months but that doesn't mean he's out the door. Hardly. He's there as long as he wants to be there and that might be only one more season if he gets the pro offer that fits him. It is way premature to start talking about names to succeed him.

If I recall correctly you were taken to task for referring to Xavier as the class of the A-10 last year. You agreed in a response that you stood corrected. Why is it that you continue to use that term whenever you talk about Xavier? They have a good team this year, but they have not done anything over the course of their A-10 tenure to deserve the praise. It does not make sense. I tend to like your column, but I am beginning to think that you are a little thin skinned. Either that, or you have a very low opinion of some of the consistently better program(s) in the A-10.
Amy
New York

The correction dealt with Temple's on-court performance. Xavier is still the class of the A-10 in terms of overall facilities and program. Every coach in the league would like what Xavier has and would trade facilities and support in a second. Take your shots Amy because I'm not thin skinned. The reality is the A-10 is down. Xavier is at the top with Temple, Dayton, Saint Joe's, UMass, St. Bonaventure, Richmond and GW trying to hang with the Musketeers -- at least for this season.

Hey Andy,
I enjoy reading your thoughts on the college game. Anyways, everyone's heard about the Danish star Christian Drejer going to Florida but what we haven't heard is what kind of production we can really expect out of him. Will he be a consistent starter? What do you expect his stats to look like, etc.? Also what kind of production can the freshman Roberson and Boggan bring? Thank you and keep up the work.
Jay Kinsley
Jacksonville, Fla.

Expect him to be a point forward who can play three positions. He should help push the Gators' break and finish from the wing or from the top of the key. He might not start at the beginning, but he will log significant minutes. Anthony Roberson is further back in the rotation with Brett Nelson and Justin Hamilton also expected to handle the ball. But Mario Boggan needs to play. The Gators must have another frontcourt presence and he has the body to become another Udonis Haslam for Billy Donovan.

Louisville's Marvin Stone has to sit out the first semester this season because of a transfer from UK. In which game will he be eligible to return? Is it before the UofL / UK game on 12-28?
Scott Rief
Louisville

Scott,
Marvin Stone will only miss a handful of games. Louisville purposely scheduled itself more games after he's eligible. He'll miss two exhibitions, a game against Air Force, Purdue and South Alabama. He will play, barring injury, against Kentucky on Dec. 28.

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com. He answers questions on college basketball weekly.