Washington State coach Tony Bennett told me that there have been plenty of NBA scouts that have come through Pullman in the last month or so and their reaction has been fairly consistent.

"They basically give us a backhanded compliment and tell me that of all the teams they’ve seen, they don’t think we’re as talented,” Bennett said. “That’s OK. We’re solid – and I think we can be good. We’re in un-chartered waters with our program.”

People can’t forget that this is a team picked to finish dead last a year ago in the Pac-10. Now there are expectations to not only hang with everyone in the nation’s top conference, but knock off the big boys like Arizona and even UCLA.

The only loss from a year ago was that of Ivory Clark, who didn’t even start for the Cougs down the stretch.

Bennett said that Aussie 6-foot-10 junior Aron Baynes, who missed the early part of the season after ankle surgery, is healthy and could start alongside guards Derrick Low and Kyle Weaver and forwards Daven Harmeling and Robbie Cowgill.

If Bennett wants to go with a smaller lineup, he could also insert perimeter players Nikola Koprivica or Thomas Abercrombie. Also, look for skilled junior forward Caleb Forrest out of Colorado to make his way into the rotation.

"You’d like to hope we’ll be better because we’re a year older and more experienced,” Bennett said. “We’re just hoping it means we’ll win more games.”

FROSH PHENOM

Somewhat overlooked in all the hype surrounding O.J. Mayo, Derrick Rose and Kevin Love is that Kansas State freshman forward Michael Beasley has been spectacular this far.

The 6-foot-8 Beasley scored 42 points in a scrimmage against Marquette last week and then put up 35 points and 15 boards in just 27 minutes in an exhibition against Division II Fort Hays State.

"He’s above advertised,” Wildcats coach Frank Martin said. “People perceive him as lazy and as someone who doesn’t care, but he’s the polar opposite. He has that drive to want to be great.”

Beasley has bulked up from 218 pounds when he first arrived in Manhattan, Kan., and now checks in at 242 – without losing much of his quickness.

When asked whether Bill Walker was healthy, Martin directed me to this photo - http://www.kstatesports.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_O
EM_ID=400&KEY=&SPID=213&SPSID=3084 – where Walker is jumping over a 6-foot-8 kid at Fort Hays.

Walker also said that incumbent point guard Clent Stewart is still about 50 percent with a hamstring injury, but freshman Jake Pullen has done a nice job in the last week. Blake Young has also been forced to play with the ball in his hands with Stewart out of the lineup.

SPREADING THE LOVE

It seems as though nearly everyone is going with the same pick of North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough as the Player of the Year. My guess is that the Tar Heels junior big man will once again average just around 18 points and eight boards per game.

If I had to go out and pick a Player of the Year today, I’m going with a freshman out of Los Angeles – and no, it’s not USC’s O.J. Mayo.

UCLA’s 6-foot-9, 260-pound versatile big man Kevin Love will be the best player – and the most critical player to his team – in America this year. He may not average 18 points per contest like Psycho T, but he’ll grab as many boards and he’ll average at least three times the amount of assists as Hansbrough (1.2).

BIG EAST TOURNEY EXPANSION

Beginning in 2009, the Big East will include all 16 teams in its tournament.

"Since the league expanded to 16 teams, I have felt that the 12-team format for the tournament ostracized the programs, coaches and especially the players of the teams that were excluded from going to New York," UConn coach Jim Calhoun said in a statement. "The experience of playing in Madison Square Garden and all that is associated with the history of our tournament in New York City needed to be something that every team in our league could be a part of."

Random Notes: Notre Dame received an early commitment from Strake Jesuit College Prep (Texas) 6-foot-5 junior wing Joey Brooks. … New Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie got his first win in Lexington after a 27-point victory over Central Arkansas last night. How about sophomore forward Mark Coury, a walk-on, scoring 13 points and grabbing 10 boards? … I know this has been passed around plenty, but I forgot to link to it and its MUST-SEE video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TajSyEm-Qg. … Ohio State was the latest team to fall in exhibition play, joining Michigan State and plenty of others. The young Buckeyes lost to Findlay, a Division II school. Tom Izzo’s Spartans dropped a game to Grand Valley State.