NCAA Basketball Acc Basketball

Two weeks ago, Pat Summitt surveyed the national scene and said this:

"A lot of people don't have Mississippi State on their radar screen and they should."

Never argue with Pat.

Mississippi State is climbing the rankings -- moving from No. 25 to No. 19 in this week's poll -- and the ladder of national recognition, particularly after Sunday's 84-55 win over No. 20 Maryland.

Granted, Maryland is remodeling after the graduation of Kristi Tolliver and Marisa Coleman and the transfer of Marah Strickland, and Brenda Frese's program will likely struggle with change most of the year, but the Bulldogs took it to the Terrapins on their home floor.

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The preseason media poll that predicted North Carolina would share the Atlantic Coast Conference championship with Duke was still hours from being released. The national polls that picked the Tar Heels sixth (by the media) and fourth (by the coaches) were more than a week away.

But Roy Williams didn't feel a need to wait to issue a disclaimer about the early exuberance over his defending national champions.

"The expectations of our young kids, and the way they were evaluated or ranked as a recruiting class, puts a lot of expectations on kids who have never done it,'' Williams said last month at the ACC's media day, on the day his team -- missing the top four players and 74 percent of the points from the group that had waxed Michigan State in the national title game -- split the voting for the conference title.

Tonight is the opening night for college basketball. Defending champion North Carolina tips off at 7PMtonight on ESPN, followed by Syracuse. Plus teams like California and Ohio State start their season as part of one of the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament. All with little hype despite being on one of the ESPN family of networks.

So, the quiet start kicks off what has become the annual lament among college basketball writers. There are no festivities. There is no "celebration." There is no coordination. There is only a quiet and disjointed start to college basketball.

The reasons are familiar. Both external and internal. Pro and college football are dominating most of the market. The NBA and NHL have been underway for a few weeks, as well. Plus the NCAA and basketball programs do themselves no favors with teams no organized start to the season. Teams kicking off their season with no rhyme or reason (other than planning around on-campus football games). College basketball just gets lost in the shuffle.

Kay Yow is still very much a presence in the North Carolina State women's basketball program.

Her name is on the athletic department's Wall of Fame, and on the basketball court at Reynolds Coliseum. Her photo still hangs in the women's basketball locker room.

"She was North Carolina State basketball, and you don't and you can't wipe that away with a new staff," said new N.C. State head coach Kellie Jolly Harper.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Tuesday's weather in Florida's state capital was Sunshine State-perfect for early November. Aubry Boyd opened his eyes and welcomed the bright, 75-degree day with a wish he has repeated for the past 14 years.

"Every day I wake up hoping it's a better day than it was yesterday," Boyd told FanHouse. "I am not complaining because I am still here. I still want to be part of life."

Paralysis and a motorized wheelchair have not stolen Boyd's genuine love for vitality and people. He still talks hoops, politics, religion and women over cold suds and wings with the fellas. He still wants to make a difference.

Boyd's smile and personality -- continued sources of pleasure and inspiration -- were on display Tuesday night when the Florida State basketball program honored one of its own.

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The talk of the Atlantic Coast Conference's basketball media day Sunday was the trouble a player could get into if he talked too much.

Or said the wrong thing, or gestured the wrong way, or celebrated excessively, or did anything else that might be considered "unsporting behavior,'' according to a new zero-tolerance policy approved for this season by the NCAA.

Many of the players and coaches gathered at Greensboro's Grandover Resort bluntly said they either did not like the change, didn't understand why it was necessary, or both. The biggest issue: there is too much room left for the wrong interpretation.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- When he addressed the packed house at Comcast Center at Maryland's Midnight Madness festivities Friday night, Gary Williams said he didn't prepare his comments and spoke off the cuff. It wasn't hard to figure out where his inspiration came from.

"I'd like to thank all the fans who are here tonight, all across the country, who stayed with us last year,'' he said. "Last year was one of the great experiences I've ever had as a coach.''

Staying with the Terrapins in 2008-09 was a challenge, especially after a contentious midseason stretch that featured a surprise home loss to Morgan State, a 41-point humiliation at Duke, Williams' public feud with athletic department officials, and an impromptu appearance at a subsequent Williams press conference by athletic director Debbie Yow so she could give him a vote of confidence.

Merely a week ago Florida International, their coach Isiah Thomas and athletic director Pete Garcia were threatening to pull out of a preseason basketball tournament when they found out that they were going to play UNC rather than Ohio State. Forget that their contract specified that it was and either/or situation at the discretion of the organizers, they were taking a stand against being "bullied." They were standing up for the "little guys" in college basketball.

Yeah. So much for that. It's now about the greater good of the Coaches vs. Cancer charity that the tournament supports.

Florida International has not played a game yet under new coach Isiah Thomas, but the program is acting like it is already a player in college basketball. They are threatening to pull out of the 2K Sports Classic Tournament, which benefits the Coaches vs. Cancer charity, because they are no longer slated to be the road patsy for Ohio State. Instead they are getting sent to Chapel Hill to face North Carolina.

The Golden Panthers had agreed to play in the preseason tournament even before Isiah Thomas was hired as the head coach. It had been presumed that they would go to Columbus to play the Buckeyes. Ohio State had indicated on its Web site that FIU would be the opponent. FIU and Thomas referenced starting the season there.

For once, Duke should be looking forward to an early entrant.

Andre Dawkins, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard from Virginia Beach, Va. and the Blue Devils top recruit of the 2010 class., may suit up for the Blue Devils a year earlier than expected.

But according to his father, the decision, first reported by FOX Sports' Jeff Goodman, isn't final.

"He still has to complete something before that would take place," Dawkins' father, also named Andre, told the Raleigh News & Observer. "He has all of the requirements as far as credits. He did real well on the entrance exams."

For Duke, which is returning just scholarship guards from a team plagued by point guard trouble last season, Dawkins can't get on campus fast enough.