I'll tell you what. I forgot how taxing it is to have a puppy. We hadn't had one in about 11 years when we got my golden retriever from a breeder outside of Buffalo, and I honestly forgot how much work it is.

Kasey (as named by my daughter) is about 11 weeks and was doing great for the first few days - sleeping through the night. Now we're up walking her in the middle of the night, my hand looks like I've been in hand-to-hand combat and she's a relentless barker when we put her back in her crate.

Anyway, enough of my whining. I've decided to highlight Xavier and its new head coach, Chris Mack, for my first installment of Running Through 343.

A lot of assistant coaches take over rebuilding jobs where they are just looking forward to Year 3 or Year 4 with a chance to make some inroads.

Xavier first-year coach Chris Mack has taken over a job where the Musketeers have a chance to go deep in the NCAA tournament.

"I think it would be a little crazier if I were coming from an outside program," Mack said. "But I drive the same way home every day and eat at the same restaurants."

"Sure, they'll be more outside pressure," he added. "And I'll be making the ultimate decision, but it's still business as usual."

Mack, a Cincinnati native who played at Xavier, inherits a team that lost two starters from a 27-8 club that lost to Pittsburgh in the Sweet 16.

However, he'll still return plenty of talent, especially if athletic junior forward Derrick Brown opts to return to school. Brown has declared for the NBA draft but has not hired an agent.

"He's going all-out and trying to do what he can to be a first-round draft pick and I don't blame him," Mack said. "I'm selfish and I'd love for him to come back, but only if it's in his best interests."

Brown, according to NBA executives, is likely a second-round pick. A rare Top 100 player who redshirted his freshman season, Brown would certainly benefit from one more season, especially with a chance to spend more time at small forward and develop his perimeter skills. Another concern from NBA scouts is that Brown hasn't taken over games.

Despite losing B.J. Raymond and C.J. Anderson, Xavier could have a higher ceiling this season due to the addition of two point guards, Indiana transfer Jordan Crawford and redshirt freshman Mark Lyons, who sat out last season after he wasn't cleared by the NCAA.
Both have practiced with the team all season.

"We're going to be a lot smaller in the backcourt," Mack said. "Sometimes you may see a guy like Jordan or Dante Jackson at the three, and both of those guys have the ability to play point guard."

Mack said although this group will have the potential to score more points than last year's group, he's not changing the mindset that his former mentor, Sean Miller, instituted with the program.

"We're not going to sacrifice on the defensive end," he said. "We've got talented offensive players, but we're not going to change what's worked."

RANDOM NOTES: Florida sophomore forward Alex Tyus has opted to remain with the Gators. ... DePaul's Jerry Wainwright has shaken up his staff. All three assistants - his son, Scott, and Gary DeCesare and Ramon Williams, have all resigned. The Blue Demons were 0-18 in the Big East last season and 9-24 overall. ... Alabama coach Anthony Grant has retained Antoine Pettway and brought in Dan Hipsher from South Florida. Grant has also brought Tony Pujol with him from VCU in the role of director of basketball operations. ... Scout.com's Evan Daniels reports that Notre Dame has picked up a commitment from Mount St. Joseph (Md.) junior point guard Eric Atkins. ... Forgot to mention that Manhattan picked up a nice commitment with former Alabama point guard Rico Pickett, who spent this past season in the junior college ranks. ... Isiah Thomas has hired TCU assistant Anthony Anderson. ... Santa Clara hosts the longest standing on-campus tournament, the Cable Car Classic. This year the field also includes Northeastern, Kent State and Wofford. ... Marquette signed 7-foot-2, 215-pound big man Youssoupha Mbao out of Stoneridge Prep (Calif.). ... Look for North Florida coach Matthew Driscoll to hire former VCU director of operations Jeremy Shyatt as an assistant.