A month into the 2002-03 season and ESPN.com's Answer Man continues to see a full mail bag each week. As always, he's eager to answer a few questions from ESPN.com users. Be sure to listen to Doug Brown and Katz tonight during the ESPNRadio.com webcast of the Jimmy V Classic. They'll be answering your questions throughout the broadcast. Click here to submit a question to be answered during the doubleheader's broadcast.

OK, OK, we heard you. I forgot to mention a few names on a long list of early potential player of the year candidates. But I wasn't trying to slight Wake Forest's Josh Howard, Marquette's Dwyane Wade, Tennessee's Ron Slay, Illinois' Brian Cook, Texas' T.J. Ford or Louisville's Reece Gaines. The intent was simply to put out some of the names who could end up being candidates, but not all of the names.

The trouble with putting out such a list that isn't a final list of your candidates is you'll leave someone out. So, let's turn it around, here. The poll to the right is a list of the 10 players ESPN.com thinks had the best first month of the season, taking into account how their teams are doing, thus far.

The only players on the list below that have lost a game prior to Dec. 17 are Wade and Notre Dame's Chris Thomas. This doesn't mean that Indiana's Tom Coverdale, Kansas' Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich, a healthy Arizona's Luke Walton or anyone else can't win the player of the year award. We'll just take this month-by-month.

So, go ahead and vote to let us know what you think ... so far.

Now, on to a few responses to my Weekly Word note on the player of the year award after 30 days of games:

How could you forget to include T.J. Ford in your massive run-on sentence for player of the year? He's playing at least as well as half the players in that list and is consistently mentioned with Gardner, Ridnour, and Thomas as one of the best PGs in the league. Especially after taking Zona to the wire in Tucson, T.J. has shown how dangerous the Horns can be with the ball in his hands.

Zander Blunt
Philadelphia

Love your stuff, but in your list of players you say have made a case for player of the year, how can you leave off Dwyane Wade form Marquette? Here is a preseason all-American having a great year -- 25 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 4.4 apg, sooting 55-percent from the field. I like the fact that you have included players from smaller programs like Korver and Nelson and I won't dispute those guys. Chris Duhon is a good player, but player of they year? I don't think so. The worst offense was Brandin Knight. How about these stats: 10 ppg, 5 rpg, 7 apg and shooting a horrendous 37 percent against no teams in top 150. So just how has he made a case for player of the year?
Jim Desing
Milwaukee

How on EARTH does Dwyane Wade of Marquette NOT make your list. He's the best player I've seen other than Chris Thomas of Notre Dame all year. He did a number on your alma mater tonight, too. He's in the top seven in scoring and that's AFTER playing Villanova, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, etc. Yet he's not a ballhog at all. He is a complete team player. Love your stuff, but this one was a MAJOR oversight on your part.
Chico Bond
Los Angeles

How come know one gives Reece Gaines of Louisville any player of the year hype? You made a list of about 15 players and he was not one of them. Do you honestly think that those players are better than Gaines? Gaines is highly underrated and makes his teammates better by just being in the game. I mean, come on, he scores 20 points a game and throws about 7 assist per game.
Joseph Gibbs
Louisville, Ky.

How can you not include Josh Howard in your early candidates for "Player of the Year?" Maybe he is not going to have to pack a suit and catch a plane to the Naismith Award ceremony, but he has definitely played as least as well as fellow-ACCers on the list. How can you put Chris Bosh, Rashad McCants, and Duhon on the list and leave Howard off? People constantly look over him and he's proving to be one of the few remaining veteran leaders in the ACC.
Kurt Gula
Mooresville, N.C.

Hey Andy, Wake up!
Seems like you've already "thinned out" your Player of the Year candidate list. Where is Wake Forest SENIOR Josh Howard? His early-season numbers (21.7 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 2.7 spg) and leadership of a young team have been as impressive as any other preseason Wooden award candidate. While the talented, yet unproven, ACC FRESHMEN Bosh and McCants were losing at Minnesota and at Illinois, Howard was dumping 31 and 9 on Wisconsin, gaining the only road win for a team in this year's ACC/Big 10 Challenge. Their inclusion in your list, and Josh's omission is a joke.
Randy Strube
Houston, Texas

I can't understand how you would pick Bosh and McCants over Josh Howard? There is probably not a player who means more to a team than Josh Howard does. You are losing your credibility by the second
Lanier Jackson
Winston-Salem, N.C.

I understand including Chris Bosh on the early list with all those double doubles. As Ron Slay continues to dominate and put up 20-plus points and 10-plus rebounds consistently, will he get attention? The man is the emotional leader of his team and he plays HARD. He also shoots over 95 percent on free throws, which is pretty good for a big man. It is fun to see him hit threes, and it will be a blast seeing him have an incredible year. I am just wondering how long until he gets the pub?
Clayton Wood
Lexington, Va.

Katz,
So far this season, Keith Bogans is playing much better than last season. He has scored 20 points or more in each of his last four games, and has also worked to get his teammates involved in the offense. His defense hasn't been too shabby either (six steals against Tulane, for example). If he can continue to shoot well and average around 20 points a game, plus be a defensive presence, does he stand a chance of competing with Nick Collison, Kirk Hinrich, Mario Austin and Luke Walton for player of the year awards?
Brian Paynter
Sacramento, Calif.

Are you kidding? You mention a bunch of freshman who are performing well (for freshman) as "Player of the Year" possibilities, but fail to mention the scoring and rebounding leader of the No. 14 ranked team in college basketball? Brian Cook of Illinois is making scoring from everywhere, rebounding, and being a team leader among freshman look EASY. C'mon, Brian Cook was expected to be among the best and is one of the few that have lived up to his hype thus far. Give him a MENTION!
Nate Anderson
Chicago

And now for some more of your questions, corrections, and comments:

Andy, here's what you say: 'Ohio State at Pittsburgh: Finally. The Panthers play a team from a top six conference. The Buckeyes are still banged up but should at least give Pitt a game. The Panthers haven't had a legit one yet.

So, Pitt finally plays a team from a Top Six conference tomorrow night. I imagine the fans of Penn State would be interested to know that they no longer play in the Big 10. Pitt went up to Nittany Valley and beat PSU handily over a week ago. Look, I'm a die-hard Pitt fan and I agree that Pitt's schedule has been laughably soft so far (and I'm glad you're paying attention as the schedule toughens) but you don't bolster the point by misrepresenting the facts.I guess I need to ask you a question, care to comment?
Jonathan Paul
Pittsburgh, Pa.

Well, you got me on Penn State. We could have strengthened this by saying a legitimate Big Six conference team, so far. That's a shot at Penn State -- this season. The Nittany Lions are not a contender in the Big Ten and will fight to get out of last place throughout the season. Penn State's talent slipped the past two seasons. That doesn't mean the Nittany Lions can't win games against teams like Pitt, but they've got to find more scorers and discover a way to defend or else it will be a long, long season at Penn State. But I stick by what I have said about Pitt's schedule: it's not tough enough. The Panthers first tough game will be at home against Ohio State. Their strength of schedule is 318 heading into the Ohio State game. The next is at Georgia on Dec. 31. The Panthers might not be tested enough before the Big East, certainly not as well as Notre Dame has been pushed.

Hey Andy,
What's the deal with the Arizona at Oregon game on Jan 2? I hear that it might not be televised nationally? This could be a potential 1 vs. 2 matchup. What have you heard? Thanks!
William McKiernan
Chicago

William,
This is the most ridiculous move a network and conference have made this season. The Pac-10 and Fox are putting on Arizona State vs. Oregon State instead of Arizona at Oregon. What?? This makes absolutely no sense. The powers on the West Coast say they have to meet contractual demands to put on every team. OK, well how about another week for ASU and OSU? This will be the game of the year in the Pac-10. I wouldn't miss it. Too bad most of the nation won't see it unless you live in Oregon and Arizona and can catch it on local television.

Great work Andy. Do you think UConn's big come-from-behind win last week will help or hurt them in the long run? I think they will now have the confidence to believe they can win every game no matter what the score is at halftime. Another way of looking at it is their confidence might be shaken a bit because two weaker teams, UMass and GW gave them fits. What do you think and where do you see UConn come March?
Corey V.
Fresno, Calif.

UConn got rattled in the UMass game. But the Huskies did come back. That should show how tough they can be when pushed. The Huskies are still the class of the Big East East Division. They're in a for a fight with Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Syracuse and Georgetown -- easily the Big East's tougher division. If the Huskies can play defense like they did in the second half, get the scoring they need out of Ben Gordon, Emeka Okafor, Rashad Anderson and Denham Brown, then they'll be fine come March. This still could be an Elite Eight squad.

I was just wondering your take on Alabama becoming a true basketball school. With Mark Gottfried coming in as coach the program has really come around. Alabama has never been ranked in the top five, and they look better than ever. Is it possible that Bama will contend for the SEC title and make a run in "the dance" this year?
Paul Vandiver
Birmingham, Ala.

Paul,
Gottfried has the Tide as one of the top 10 programs in the country but it will always be second to football at 'Bama. I just don't see that changing. That's not a bad thing if the Tide can get the support it deserves once the season starts, not just when football season ends. Alabama will get a tough test from Mississippi State. Both teams are legitimate Final Four contenders. Those two games this season could be like Duke-Maryland last year. The staffs dislike each other. The players respect each other. The schools are close and the teams vying for the conference title.

You honestly, honestly believe that the St. John's (unranked) vs Wake Forest ranked (No. 30) is really THE game of the day this Saturday and not the match up of Missouri (ranked No. 10) and Illinois (ranked No. 12). If you do, on what unearthly grounds are you basing this incomprehensible decision, other than ESPN's well known East Coast bias. Oh I know, it was St. John's big wins over Stony Brook and Fairfield.
Mark Younger
Decatur, Ill.

Let's see, Mark, here's what I wrote about Illinois vs. Missouri: "Easily one of the best rivalries in the game. Both teams are playing their best basketball of the young season. The loser won't be hurt by this game since each team looks NCAA Tournament bound." What's wrong with that? And, by the way, the game is on ESPN at 5:30 p.m.

Where is the love for East Carolina University? The team is 7-0 and have played some tough competition (Ole Miss. and Va. Tech). I can't believe that this team is getting snubbed. Coach Herrion is doing a great job with a team that only has one senior. I hope to see some people finally take notice of the PIRATES! I truly believe that this team will turn some heads in C-USA.
Clee Smith
Winterville, N.C.

You're right, we should have had them on our rising list this week. Look for a story on them this week from our regional reports. Bill Herrion has quietly turned East Carolina into a contender in Conference USA. Charlotte's transition year could open the door for East Carolina to make a run.

Andy,
I just wanted to say thank you for the article you wrote on the Evansville plane crash 25 years ago. Growing up my entire life in Evansville and attending UE home games during my childhood, it is nice to see that those players are being honored today. Even though I'm only 19, I think about that every time I set foot into Roberts Stadium to watch the Aces play. My mom saved the articles from the days after the crash and I can remember one season reading each article as I listened to the away games on the radio. Now that I'm in Bloomington and watching the Hoosiers play, I still try to keep up with the Aces and reading that article meant a lot to me. Thanks again.
Stephen
Bloomington, Ind.

Thanks Stephen,
Evansville coach Steve Merfeld was gracious with his time to talk about the memorial service. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families who must go through the reminder of this horrible crash every year.

I was intrigued by your Weekly Word column (Friday, Dec. 13) and decided to find out, scientifically, which team is the biggest surprise of the season to date. My criteria are that the team must not have been mentioned in any preseason ranking: ESPN/USA Today, AP, SI Top 65 or ESPN.com's Sizzling 50 AND the team must be ranked in the top 25 in the most recent ESPN/USA Today poll. To my surprise (well, not really), there is only one team that fits these criteria -- Stanford. I think the Cardinal have a strong case for being the most underrated team of the first month of the season.

Five teams appear in the latest ESPN poll that were not on the preseason poll: Notre Dame, Tulsa, Stanford, North Carolina and Creighton. However, ND has been consistently rated in the low 30s (35 in preseason, 31 in "Sizzling 50", 31 in SI) so it should not be a huge shock that they are currently ranked 15th. Tulsa was actually ranked at 25 on the AP preseason ranking and 20 in the SI preseason forecast, almost the same as its current 18 rank. North Carolina probably has the next strongest case (along with College of Charleston) to Stanford's. Although UNC was ranked 50th in SI's forecast, it received zero votes in the preseason poll, as opposed to Stanford's big two votes (also they beat Stanford to win the Preseason NIT). Creighton was rated 36th in the preseason poll and 48th on SI's, so a 24th ranking is not a huge surprise. The biggest surprise, again, is that a team that was not on in the "Sizzling Top 50" or SI's top 65 tournament teams has been ranked 22nd and 20th the past two weeks. The reason I rank UNC and Creighton below Stanford in surprise factor is because they are both currently ranked lower, and I think they will soon drop from the top 25 permanently (since beating Stanford, UNC has dropped two in a row). I think Stanford has the best chance of the three to stay in the top 25. My question is: How did a possible top 25 team get left off of every preseason ranking? And adding further insult, how was it left off the list of surprises for the season. And yes, I am a Stanford alum.
Zachary Foreman
Oakland, Calif.

Well, the reason is Stanford wasn't supposed to be as good as it was in New York. No one knew Rob Little could handle the post as well as he did. No one was quite sure if Josh Childress could handle being a go-to player. Stanford lost to Montana on Monday night, so the questions might continue. I still see Stanford as NCAA Tournament team and a potential third or fourth place team in the Pac-10.

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