Only thing is that I’m going to miss both the exhibition games, and 4 of the first 5 regular season games due to work. FML. But, after that, I think only the Tennessee and misery games are scheduled on work days, so I will be sure and get those off.

This is going to be a great, fun year. Hopefully we can get that SlowDance fucker back for it…..

So the discussion questions will have to wait a week or two before I can say anything about them. The only thing I am sure of is the Jayhawks will be the most talented and best team in the Big 12. Texas and maybe another school or two could give them fits on one night, but over the course of the season it won’t happen.

Bring on Michigan State.

as well as Kentucky are the ones that worry me….however our team’s not bad either.

I still like Carolina, even after Roy-gate. For some reason I’ve always also liked Xavier…I think they had a crazy run in the tournament one year and always seem to have a solid team.

Can’t stand Louisville (the Pitino version, what a scumbag, even before the affair stuff), Duke obviously, Michigan St (a bunch of football players playing basketball), and Illinois-Bruce Weber seems slimy to me.

Player I hate the Most: Kyle Singler. Supreme douche that has been under-the-radar due to the constant knob-slobbing of Tyler.

Under the Radar/ Midmajor I like: San Diego State. Jeff Fischer can still coach, and he’s building something out there. Just landed California Mr. Basketball for this season- he has to be pretty decent, right?

Best Freshman: Derrick Favors. Big men tend to come in and make more of an immediate impact, IMO. This kid has 9 foot wingspan, which is just absurd. He’s a natural shotblocker and good rebounder, both skills that translate well to the college game. Plus he has a nice touch from the outside, and he’ll be on a team at Ga Tech that’s going to let him play all the minutes he wants. Bold Prediction: He’ll be the #1 pick in the draft next year.

UNC doesn’t bother me, because we can play at their tempo without making lots of stupid mistakes, unlike 99% of the rest of the teams in college basketball. Michigan State could give us trouble, since a grind it out style can always keep things close. However, we probably should have beat them last year, and we’re waaaaaay more talented this year.

Getting the chance to play Kentucky excites me, but the possibility of losing scares me. I really feel like that game this year could tip the scales for recruiting wars for the next several years.

because most of mine mirrors his. Weird.

1. The team that scares me most is probably Kentucky or Michigan St. Of course, neither of those teams is on our schedule, so I’ll go with two that are: Tennessee and Texas. Texas is pretty obvious, I suppose, and probably the only game on the schedule I give us as low as a 50/50 shot at winning. Tennessee because it’s on the road and I expect that to be a difficult place to play, especially if Pat Summit is wearing her Tennessee cheerleader’s uniform. Yow.

2. Best freshman will be, in my opinion, Derrick Favors. Damn you, KGRTC! Yeah, I think he’s a freak athlete with the body of a 5-yr pro, as opposed to a college freshman. Of course, all the hype will go to Wall, and probably not without some merit. I just can’t stand the thought of conceding something to Kentucky right now.

3. Mid-major run? Probably go with Butler, but I don’t feel strongly about it. They’ve got a strong nucleus, to be sure, but they’re ranked in the top-10 already, so it’s not likely they’ll over-achieve (unless they make it to the Final Four, which I highly doubt will happen).

4. Team no one is talking about that will be very good? I’ll stay in the Big XII and say Iowa State. With Brackins and Co., they’re going to be a tough beat for anybody, including KU. I like Greg McDermott a lot, too, and think he’s an excellent coach. Team that’s ranked too high…I’ll go with UNC, though I think they’ll be very good. They’ve got a pretty murderous schedule and they’ll likely lose a few games in the non-conference, which will drop their ranking. That’s a really young team with a lot of talent, but they don’t shoot the 3 particularly well, and they just don’t have a lot of experience. I could see them making it to the Sweet 16, but I’m not sure they win the ACC or finish in the top 10 in the polls.

5. 2nd favorite team…well, 6 years ago, I would have said UNC easily. For obvious reasons, they took a big hit in my book there for a while, but I think I’m ready to move on. I grew up in Minnesota, so I have cheered for the Golden Gophers for a long time, and it seems like Tubby Smith has that team on a steep upward trajectory, which pleases me. I’ll say Minnesota, I guess.

6. Again, I hate to steal from KGRTC, but Kyle Singler would have to be this years’ most hated player. If he had jumped to the NBA, it would’ve been his teammate Jon Scheyer. I don’t know what it is, but prominent white players on Tobacco Road just get the ire of the rest of college basketball fans. I can’t explain it. Darkhorse candidate…Cole Aldrich. Just sayin’. Really darkhorse…John Wall. Lots of UK haters out there right now, not that their insufferable fan base makes it particularly difficult…

I know you didn’t ask, but I’ll give you my final four predictions too:

KU, Villanova, Texas, Michigan St.
Championship game: KU v. Michigan St.
Champion: KU (I’ll be the first to admit it…I’m a homer, and proudly so. It sure helps when you’ve actually got the best team.)

Cinderella team (wait for it…): Isaiah Thomas & FIU

The only thing that really scares me about this season (after watching one preseason game and reading the KUSports.com story about Cole) is that our guards are going to be so intent on shooting that they’re going to ignore our All-American center. It seems stupid that anyone would forget about Cole, but with three guards who love to score and a 4 (pick-a-Morris) who prefers to shoot threes, I worry that Cole isn’t going to see the ball enough.

If we play smart ball, Michigan State scares me. That’s it. Texas plays fairly selfish basketball. And Kentucky will be the definition of selfish basketball. And if we’re playing team ball, we’ll own any team that has five scorers.

Don’t see anybody in too much danger in the Big 12, other than Pat Knight at Tech. Not sure what kind of expectations aTm has for their program long-term- would it be completely crazy if they talked about bringing Gillespie back if they struggle this year?

Also, Oregon’s coach has to be feeling the pressure. How do you go from Elite 8 to 8 wins in two seasons? If Georgetown continues to backslide, how long will alumni put up with it, given his pedigree?

Needed a buzzer beater from Wall tonight to beat Miami (OH)… who lost by 11 to TOWSON in their first game. Ouch.