...I've already heard a few people making arrangements to watch the UT-UCLA game on TV, since they dont have the Stampede pass and would have to wait in line for most of the day.  I've also heard people planning on meeting at the Erwin Center around 6:00 or 6:30.   If you are a Senior and you dont have an Exam on Friday, both of these are the wrong answer, even for average basketball fans...

More after the jump...

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...if you haven't checked out Wiggo's Stetson Recap or Tulane Game Preview, then do so immediately.  As many fans were unable to watch the Stetson game, I wanted to add some additional comments.  With the gigantic caveat that it was only one game and the smaller caveat that we only played one good offensive half, I think there are some first impressions and storylines from the game that deserve mentioning.

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...the last few weeks, clips from various Midnight Madness sessions at schools from around the country have been popping up on YouTube.  Storied programs such as North Carolina, Georgetown, Kentucky, and Indiana had rocking events.  Not to be left out, even schools such as Yale, Kansas State, Tarleton State, and NDSU held similar events.

Watching these clips provided a double punch to the stomach.  First, they serve as a reminder than Texas doesn't put on a similar event.  Second, they reminded me of the disastrous "Roundball Roundup" event from last year, which put the final nail in the coffin over never getting to see a "Midnight Madness" style event during my eventual seven years at Texas.

Much more after the jump...

***Please note that Roundball Roundup was LAST YEAR.  Texas didn't have a basketball kick-off event for this season, at least, not that I could tell****

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...a few days ago, UT unveiled their hyped "Basketball Rewards" system.

We first mentioned the system here, and it appears that some of my main concerns have come to fruition.  This isn't going to *hurt* the program, by any means, but I think it's a lost opportunity to engage student participation.  That said, after the jump, I'll list my guess as to the main reason behind the prize system and how it will have a positive impact on the basketball program.  There's definitely some good things here...

Let's break this down...

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...the more things change, the more Rick Barnes stays the same. 

As Andy Katz notes, the Longhorns will have a murderous schedule in 2008-9, but most of the premiere match-ups won't occur in the Erwin Center.  In fact, the non-conference home schedule can accurately be described as "UCLA and the Six Dwarfs."  In looking at the totality of the schedule (which we do after the jump), the 'Horns will be tested early and often.  Outlined below, the non-conference schedule contains a healthy dose of excellent, very good, and creampuff teams, while the conference schedules remains front and back loaded, with a much-needed lull in the middle.  With the Longhorns near the top of the field in a mediocre Big 12, the grueling non-conference schedule bodes well for our postseason hopes.

For those of you lucky enough to have already purchased the Stampede pass (if not, do so now), then we are slightly over one month from the opener at the Erwin Center against Stetson.  Let's break this down...

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...while the BON Community remains understandably football-focused (except for the Gazelle updates from PHF), the fact that basketball season starts in two months is flying under the radar.  Putting this in terms of the football calendar, the basketball season starts the week of the Kansas game.

For me, the most frustrating part of the basketball off-season remains its "Iron Curtain" nature.  For football fans, the progress and development of individual players during the off-season can be gauged through the Spring Game, open practices, practice recaps, and the litany of reports trickling in from the summer workouts.  On a lesser scale, baseball fans also get the chance to witness player development through Fall Ball, which now contains several games open to the public.  Yet, for us Hoops Junkies, we are forced to sit through the off-season daydreaming about the effects of Todd Wright's workouts and over the progress of the team on an individual basis.  Rick Barnes' teams have shown the ability to come together collectively over the season, but the offseason remains the primary period of individual improvement.

After the jump, I'm going to spotlight my five key concerns related to the off-season development of individual players...feel free to provide any additional concerns in the comments.  Let's do this...

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As BON continues picking up student readers, I feel it is my duty to advise incoming new students about their first game at DKR.  And if you are a freshmen or transfer student reading BON, then I doubt you’re a casual fan whose only interest is the social landscape of DKR. 

Plus, as a military man and diehard UT fan, that’s just not how I roll.  This post is my take on gameday advice for first-timers who are serious about their football, and I welcome everyone to provide critical, constructive, and helpful feedback…think of the children, please.  Feel free to take a less hardline approach below, but let’s do this...

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Since there appear to be many more current students at BON, I thought I would touch on something potentially interesting for those of you still roaming the Forty Acres as students...

In clicking the link to order my 2008 football season tickets and the subsequent OU ticket, I saw an interesting item about a new program for the 2008-9 Basketball season.  Before providing some ruminations over this new system--and what it potentially entails--I want to remind everyone to buy their season tickets before Friday's deadline.  There's nothing worse than the one friend who claims he "never got the e-mail" about the deadline.  Assuming he remains your friend after the episode, of course...

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