• 1. Chilly Reception. Bradley freshman forward Saihou Jassey, from Gambia, is a member of the the Mandinka tribe, the largest of that African nation's seven major tribes. On seeing snow for the first time last year, he was not only unimpressed, but a bit angry: "Seeing snow wasn't very exciting to me because I don't like snow. It might seem like a cool thing to other people, but not me. I wish I had never seen it."

• 2. ISU Will Dominate You. Indiana State has a player named Dom Johnson (whose full name is Dominitrix), who leads the team in scoring at 16.7 ppg. The second leading scorer is 'Boo' Richardson with 12.3 ppg. Of course this is just three games into the season. Between 'Trix and 'Boo' (berry), there's a lot of opportunities for cereal endorsements. Doug Collins is a former standout player with the Redbirds. — (Thanks to John Modde)

• 3. Well, That's Totally ... What? Southern Illinois freshman forward Jordan Armstrong lost 45 pounds in one week while in the hospital following an automobile accident in 2002. His team bio includes this curious sentence: Father is an officer and also repairs shoes...

• 4. Little Big-Eight. The MVC was formed from a split of the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MVIAA) in 1928. The larger state schools (Kansas, Missouri, etc..) became the Big Six (later Eight), while the smaller schools formed the Missouri Valley Conference. Many former MVC-affiliated teams have gone on to bigger and better things after leaving the conference. Notable ex-MVC teams include Cincinnati, Memphis, Tulsa, and Oklahoma State (then Oklahoma A&M). — (Thanks to John Modde).

• 5. Out Of His Shell. Evansville sophomore guard Shy Ely is actually pretty gregarious — he's majoring in broadcast communications.

1. Youth Serves. Auburn junior guard Frank Toblert was called up to the varsity as an 8th-grader at Red Level High in River Falls, Ala., and was a starter by the 9th grade. As a sophomore he broke a backboard by catching a rebound off the glass and dunking it.

2. Jesus Rocks. Meet Mississippi senior guard Tom Abernethy. In addition to having the most interesting hairstyle in the conference, he is the son of Tom Abernethy, who played on the 1976 Indiana team that went 32-0 and won the NCAA title, remaining as the last team to go undefeated in a season. The younger Abernethy "plays guitar and leads devotionals with FCA."

3. Baby Come Back. Big Baby is back! LSU Junior forward Glen Davis, in addition to being the SEC Player of the Year in 2006, is also regarded as a very talented stand up comedian and karaoke singer, at least according to his audiences at the LSU Union's Late Nite program.

4. The Brethren. Mississippi State graduates? Buck Showalter, Jonathan Papelbon, Will Clark, Erick Dampier and author John Grisham.

5. Oral History. Alabama head coach Mark Gottfried played basketball at Oral Roberts his freshman season before transferring to Alabama.

• 1. We Are Marshall. Billy Donovan, one of only three NCAA coaches to have played in the Final Four and win the national championship as a coach (Bobby Knight and Dean Smith are the others), got his first head coaching job at Marshall University, where his teams went 35-20 over two seasons.

• 2. Vive Le France! Tennessee junior guard Chris Lofton is a big deal in his hometown of Maysville, Ky., where No. 5 Volunteers jerseys are available at most retail outlets. But he's not as big a deal as fellow Maysville natives George Clooney and Miss America 2000 Heather French.

• 3. The Fatalist. Three tiny tidbits from Kentucky player bios: Junior guard Ramel Bradley lists his heroes in life as "My mother, grandmother and Jay-Z." ... Seven-foot-1 senior center Lukasz Obrzut's nickname is "Woo." ... Senior forward Bobby Perry lists his biggest achievement as "Living 20 years," his motto as "Live like you are dying," and wears No. 13. Oh, and he has 66 cousins; perhaps he has a fear of being trampled.

• 4. Harrick Rules. We refuse to do the math this early, but when Jim Harrick resigned at Georgia amidst accusations of academic fraud in 2003, he received the remainder of his base salary that amounted to $254,166. Had he stayed through the remainder of his contract, though, he would have gotten $2.1 million. His son, assistant coach Jim Harrick Jr., who was actually fired, taught a class to players in which everyone got an A, and no one actually showed up.

• 5. Show Me the Money. Vanderbilt freshman guard Jermaine Beal's nickname? Dolla Beal ... teammate Shan Foster first learned basketball by "shooting a ball through a hole in a bush at my grandmother's house" at the age of 5.

Tomorrow: The SEC West

• 1. Just One More Thing, Ma'am ... Legendary Princeton coach Pete Carrill wore the same worn-out Princeton sweatshirt, bow tie and trench coat to every game, earning him the campus nickname "Columbo." He retired in 1996 after 19 seasons at the university for many reasons, one being Princeton's high tuition making it hard to attract talent. Carrill says that in one case, university officials learned that a recruit's mother had a paper route and subtracted the amount she made from their scholarship offer.

• 2. America's Got Talent. Dartmouth junior forward Jonathan Ball is not only a fan of the Memphis Grizzlies, but is known as "one of the best singers on the Big Green team." A lofty distinction indeed.

• 3. Cool As The Other Side Of The Pillow (Wee!). Yale junior guard Caleb Holmes' father, Mark Holmes, played professional basketball in Iceland.

• 4. Grow Hoof, Grow! Among noted University of Pennsylvania alumni are ninth President of the United States William Henry Harrison, Donald Trump, Noam Chomsky, Gloria Allred, Warren Buffett, and Barbaro ... the latter who technically has not yet graduated.

• 5. Concentrate, Dammit! Students at Brown University do not have "majors" ... they have "concentrations." So, seven members of the men's basketball team "have not yet decided on a concentration." Meanwhile, Cornell University has something called the College of Human Ecology. Is that like, hygiene class?

• 1. Hair Apparent. We may have a new Adam Morrison at Gonzaga ... just when we need him. Meet freshman guard Matt Bouldin and his hair. Looking forward to a great four years, Matt.

• 2. Maybe It's Taz? Loyola-Marymount senior forward Matthew Knight is from Tasmania, yet by all accounts his nickname is not The Tasmanian Devil. His father did, however, play professional Australian Rules Football.

• 3. His Father's Name? Yukon Cornelius. Santa Clara junior guard Scott Dougherty was born in Portland, and both of his parents attended Gonzaga, which covers 1/3 of the WCC. His career goals include following in father's footsteps and becoming a dentist.

• 4. Fog Days. Before they were the Dons, the University of San Francisco's athletics teams were called The Gray Fog. Notable Fog alumni are Pete Rozelle and Bill Russell.

• 5. The Legend Of Houston McTear. Portland sophomore guard Brian McTear's uncle, Houston McTear, was once known as the world's fastest human, tying the world record in the 100-yard dash (9.0 seconds) as a high school junior. He qualified for two Olympics and made the cover of Sports Illustrated in May 1978. Houston McTear lived homeless on Santa Monica Beach for the better part of the eighties before overcoming drug addiction and a nine-year layoff to win the European Championships at age 34.

Tomorrow: The Ivy League

• 1. Streetball Legend. Fresno State's Rafer Alston may be the only man to play streetball, college basketball, the NBA, then start his own traveling streetball league, then return to the NBA (Houston Rockets). From his Wikipedia page: "During a streetball tournament at the legendary Rucker Park in Harlem, Alston once performed what most would regard as an impossible move: during a fastbreak, he supposedly glided in the paint for a layup attempt but made a change of plans in the air as he rolled the ball down his right arm, across his shoulder and down his left arm to a trailing player for a finishing dunk." — (Thanks to John Hendrix).

• 2. Showdown At The House Of Blue Leaves. During the Jerry Tarkanian years, Fresno State player Avondre Jones was arrested for threatening a student with a samurai sword. Also, Terry Pettis was arrested for murder while on the team (he was sentenced to life without parole in July 2006). — (Thanks to Ed Bove).

• 3. Feel The Excitement. According to the school's athletic web site, San Jose State freshman guard Justin Ayers "has not declared an academic major" and "used to enjoy collecting trading cards."

• 4. Hee Haw And Merry Christmas, Sam Wainwright. The University of Idaho's men's basketball and football teams both play in the Kibbie Dome. Distinguished alumni include 1996 decathlon Olympic gold medalist Dan O'Brien, and Idaho Gem, the world's first cloned mule, which was created by researchers at the University.

• 5. ... And Eat Your Vegetables!. Hawaii senior guard John Wilder has a tattoo of his grandparents on his upper left arm, which he consults during games in tight situations.

Tomorrow: West Coast Conference

• 1. Mmmmm, Texas. Junior forward Sam Anderson came to the University of Houston after serving two years in the U.S. Navy as a culinary specialist. He chose the Cougars over Stanford and the U.S. Naval Academy.

• 2. Early Candidate For Best Name.SMU's 7-foot-1, 200-pound sophomore center, Bamba Fall, is ready to rock Conference USA.

• 3. Freeze Frame. Well, we're not sure what to think of Marshall's team basketball photo. We just hope that the same intricate planning and attention to detail is reflected in their offense.

• 4. Where's Waldo Rod?. Five-year NBA player and former DePaul University standout Rod Strickland is now the Director of Student Athlete Development at the University of Memphis, where he rarely mentions that he is named in three songs by Wu-Tang Clan.

• 5. Ready To Swash His Buckle. Courtney Captain plays for the East Carolina Pirates.

Tomorrow: The Western Athletic Conference

• 1. Hold The Pickles Hold The Harris ... Syracuse freshman Paul Harris was selected by Big East coaches as Preseason Rookie of the Year. Harris, however was snubbed when the McDonald's High School All-American game committee removed him from that team. Morgan Wooten, selection committee chairman, said that he removed Harris from the team because he took five years to graduate from high school (Notre Dame Prep). Prior participants Gerald Green and JR Smith were not barred from the game even though they took five years to complete high school. Wooten then announced that "if someone is a felon, we don't want that type of person as a McDonald's High School All American," referring to Harris' drug arrest that occurred four years ago. — (Thanks to P. Whiteford).

• 2. Levon Also Sells Cartoon Balloons In Town. Big East preseason player of the year Aaron Gray is the anchor of Pitt's offense, but his teammate, Levon Kendall, may be the most underrated player in the conference. It also just so happens that Kendall enjoys piano, cliff diving, meditation, racing mountain bikes, and whitewater rafting. — (Thanks to D. O'Neil).

• 3. And Thabeet Goes On. UConn freshman Hasheem Thabeet was ruled eligible by the NCAA clearinghouse after weeks of analyzing his transcript. Louisville, Georgia Tech and Texas A&M all felt that he would not be eligible and stopped recruiting him. Given his blocks numbers in the first two exhibition games, it looks as though coach Jim Calhoun has scored a major recruiting coup. — (Thanks to Ian Bethune)

• 4. Please Pass The Biscuits, King Of Kings. St. Johns senior guard Daryll Hill is a cousin of Lamar Odom of the Los Angeles Lakers. If Hill could have dinner with any three people in the history of the world, his choices would be "Mark Jackson, Jesus and David Stern."

• 5. Hoyas Stand Pat. Junior forward Patrick Ewing (yes, the son of that Patrick Ewing) started off at Indiana, but transferred to Georgetown last year, where he had to sit out a season due to college transfer rules. He is 6-foot-8 and averaged 3.4 points and 3.7 rebounds in two seasons with the Hoosiers.

Tomorrow: Conference USA

• 1. The Straw That, Um, Never Mind. Maryland senior guard D.J. Strawberry is Darryl Strawberry's son. This is great because 1) D.J. is really Darryl Jr. but changed his name to D.J. for unknown reasons, and 2) This is a campus where allegedly coke and basketball are notoriously related (in a Maxim interview after they won the National championship, Gary WIlliams said he tells his players to go out and have fun "but if they walk into a room and see a pile of coke, they should turn and walk away." Totally.) — (Thanks to Alejandro de los Rios).

• 2. High School Confidential. At LC Bird High in Richmond, Va., current Boston College guard Tyrese Rice broke JJ Redick's all-time scoring and three-point shooting records. — (Thanks to Chilitown).

• 3. The Blue Devils' X-Box Factor. Duke freshman guard Gerald Henderson's father, Gerald Sr., won two NBA Championships (1981 and 1984) with the Boston Celtics. Gerald Jr.'s favorite hobby is playing video games.

• 4. Longer Than War And Peace. The Florida State athletic web site player profiles are perhaps the longest in all of college basketball, as demonstrated by this small passage in the voluminous entry on junior guard Isaiah Swann: "Pulled the Seminoles to within six at 39-33 as he hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 3:48 left in the first half ..."

• 5. We Meet Again, Mr. Anderson.Georgia Tech freshman guard Ty Anderson is the grandson of college basketball coach Charles "Lefty" Driesell, who retired in 2003 after 41 years as a head coach at Davidson, Maryland, James Madison and Georgia State.

• 1. Dem Bones ... . Indiana guard Adam Ahlfeld is the son of former Hoosiers guard guard Steve Ahlfeld, who has been IU's team orthopedic surgeon for the past 20 years. Ahlfeld lettered for the Hoosiers from 1972-75, strategically missing Indiana's national championship season of 1976.

• 2. Strange Visitor From Another Planet. Michigan's K'Len Morris is not from Krypton, but he is enrolled in the Division of Kinesiology.

• 3. Illini Guy. Illinois sophomore guard Calvin Brock finished in the top seven percent of his academic class at Simeon High and joins Simeon alums Nick Anderson, all-time scoring leader Deon Thomas Bryant Notree, Ervin Small and Kevin Turner who all attended Illinois. Oh, also ... I - L - L!!!!!!!!!!!!!

• 4. I Like You, Do You Like Me? High Five! Northwestern has three players from Croatia; Nikola Baran, Ivan Peljusic and Ivan Tolic, and one from Luxembourg, Jean-Marc Melchior.

• 5. Gopher The Gold. Minnesota junior guard Ryan Saunders is the son of former Minnesota Timberwolves and current Detroit Pistons head coach Flip Saunders.

• 1. Walker, Kansas Ranger. Bill Walker, Kansas State's No. 7 recruit, had an accelerated program to finish high school a year early. He will be eligible to play on December 17, before Big 12 play begins. Add in Cartier Martin, the Big 12's leading scorer last season, and there is reason for optimism. Of course it took the Wildcats three overtimes to beat Washburn in an exhibition game this past weekend. — (Thanks to Travis Hudson).

• 2. San Francisco Values. Bobby Knight often snags players from the Bay Area (Dean Garrett attended City College of San Francisco), and his current team is no exception. Sophomore forward Rogdrick Craig (Portola Valley) is the son of former 49ers running back Roger Craig, and freshman forward Decensae White is from Serra High in San Mateo, which also produced Barry Bonds and Tom Brady.

• 3. Hey You Guys!. The Missouri men's basketball web site includes full-body profile photos of all of their players, many of them posing in dramatic, intimidating fashion. This one, of junior Nick Berardini, is not one of those.

• 4. Penny For Your Thoughts. Baylor's Djibril Abdoulaye Thiam, whose nickname is Penny, is from Dakar, Senegal. Both of his parents played for Senegalese national basketball teams.

• 5. Hail Ceasar. Iowa State senior guard Chris Ceasar, a health and human performance major, has a gospel hip-hop group called GIFTED (Going In Faith To Eternal Deliverance). Also, can anyone explain why the Iowa State Cyclones logo is a tornado with a Cardinal trapped in the vortex?

Tomorrow: The Big Ten

• 1. Pay Attention Isiah, You May Be Next. Well, let's start with this: the Knicks waived Jalen Rose on Monday, leaving their roster at 14, one below the maximum. Rose was scheduled to make $16.9 million this season. Meanwhile, the team reached a settlement with Larry Brown on the remainder of the fired coach's contract. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed. The Knicks like to push them deadlines.

• 2. All Welcome Southeast Jerome. Jerome James said that after being released by the Kings, he was given a garbage bag to clean out his locker. Following the Sonics' playoff series win against Sacramento in the 2004-05 season, he paraded around the court with a trash bag tied to his neck. Once, when asked if he was concerned about his former coach Nate McMillan commenting that he has a selfish attitude, replied, "I don't even know what he's talking about, I just worry about Jerome."

• 3. Um ... What? When coach Larry Brown pulle dhim out of a team film session for a one-on-one talk, Stephon Marbury later said of talking with Brown: "He flexed a real hard juice card, I know that. So he definitely made me aware of what he can do. But that doesn't scare me at all."

• 4. Number One Spot. Quentin Richardson was dating singer Brandy Norwood, but is now rumored to be engaged to singer/dancer Esther Baxter.

• 5. Beginning A New Chapter. Kelvin Cato is the author of two childrens books, h.o.o.p. (Help Out Other People) and t.e.a.m.w.o.r.k.