Brook Lopez should have learned.

After missing the first five games last season due to a serious back injury, the skilled Stanford seven-foot sophomore will sit out the first semester this season due to academics.

We're guessing that Lopez could be eligible at most institutions, but he's not at most schools. He's at Stanford and the requirements aren't quite the same.

While Lopez won't be able to play the first nine or ten games of the season, the one advantage he'll have from last season is that he's allowed to practice.

Lopez is a lottery pick, but he's not necessarily the key to the Cardinal's success this season.

That honor will belong to point guards Anthony Goods and Mitch Johnson. Truthfully, Johnson is a backup in the Pac-10. Goods is a true combo guard, who will have to learn - and quickly - how to run a team with one of the most talented frontlines in the entire nation: Brook, his twin brother, Robin, and Lawrence Hill.

PROVIDENCE LOSES POINT GUARD

Providence coach Tim Welsh proved he could win without Sharaud Curry last season.

The Friars will have to do it again early this season as the diminutive junior point guard will miss the Tip-Off Classic in Puerto Rico after suffering a broken foot in practice last week.

"I'm crushed he's out for a while," Welsh said. "It's unfortunate, but he'll battle back and we'll make sure he's 100 percent."

Providence will likely turn to either sophomore Dwain Williams when the Friars face Temple on Nov. 15.

Welsh told FOXSports.com that he is hopeful that he'll have Curry back for the Dec. 1 game against Boston College in the Hall of Fame Challenge.

REX BUILDING AT FAU

Rex Walters and Florida Atlantic were picked to finish dead last in the Sun Belt a year ago. The Owls wound up 16-15 and they won 10 games in league play.

Walters & Co. lost their top scorer, DeAndre Rice, who averaged 20.5 points per game, but the Owls return their next four leading scorers, including Carlos Monroe (18.4 ppg, 9.4 rpg) and Paul Graham (14.1 ppg).

"I'm real excited," Walters said. "We're in great shape and we're healthy."

Walters will also get a pair of guys who sat out last season due to injuries - wings Xavier Perkins (6-4, 245) and Sanchez Hughley (6-3, 205). Perkins sat out due to a heart condition while Hughley missed the season because of a shoulder injury.

"Both of them have a legitimate chance to start," Walters said.

FAU will also get Sammy Hernandez, who transferred from George Mason, eligible in the second semester. The rugged and aggressive power forward was a key role player on George Mason's Final Four team two years ago.

The Owls also had a nice week on the recruiting trail as Walters, with the help of assistant Mike Balado, hauled in a pair of teammates from the Florida Rams program. Dago Pena, a high-energy wing out of Punta Gorda Charlotte High (Fla.), and 6-foot-1 combo guards Shavon Shine both committed to FAU.

Walters also mentioned that the $10 million renovation of the facility is nearly completed in which the locker rooms and floor have been upgraded.

KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR

Central Florida coach Kirk Speraw got some good news last week when he found out that 6-foot-9 big man Will Bakanowsky was granted an additional year by the NCAA.

Bakanowsky missed his senior season last year due to concussions and spent the year teaching seventh-grade math at a middle school in Jacksonville. He will continue to teach this year while taking classes for his master's degree.

Speraw should be able to use Bakanowsky, who started 26 games two seasons ago and averaged 6.4 points and 4.3 boards per game. He had 15 points and seven boards in a loss to UConn in the 2005 NCAA tournament.

RANDOM NOTES: Reebok is holding a weekly clinic for some of the top local high school players each Tuesday night and Saturday morning (9-11 a.m.) at its facility in Canton. Lesley College coach Scott Willard will run the first one tonight from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Northfield Mount Hermon's John Carroll will run Saturday's.