ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Six stops down, one to go.

Well, actually two more stops - since I'll head to New York City tomorrow night for Big East Media Day. 

Chris Chaney and I had breakfast with Notre Dame coach Mike Brey this morning (I treated him to a terrific Marriott Courtyard continental) and concluded the day with dinner with Michigan State coach Tom Izzo and Matt Larson, one of the elite sports information directors in the business – with a pair of practices and a loss in ping pong in between.

Delvon Roe may not have gotten Tyler Hansbrough on the court, but the Michigan State sophomore could take Pyscho T in ping pong.

I ended up with a victory against Hansbrough last preseason, but my streak came to an end against Roe – the awkward southpaw who used his length and trash-talking ability to knock me off in two consecutive games. Roe then proceeded to pull out a come-from-behind victory against Chaney.

Anyway, it's late and I've got an early wakeup call to get to Michigan's morning practice, but I'm going to go through some quick observations from both Notre Dame and Michigan State:

THOUGHTS ON NOTRE DAME

1. Luke Harangody can and will shoot the ball far more from the perimeter. 'Gody, who will contend for National Player of the Year honors if the Irish can compete for the top half of the Big East, made 14-of-38 from beyond the arc, but Brey will give his senior big man the green light to shoot it from deep. "He's one of our best shooters from out there," Brey said.

2. Ben Hansbrough will carve out his own identity. He's got that Hansbrough toughness that his brother is synonymous for, but he can really score the ball. After sitting out last season following a transfer from Mississippi State, Hansbrough has learned that he doesn't need to run to the ball. His teammates will find him.

3. Tim Abromaitis, an unheralded recruit from Connecticut who chose the Irish over William & Mary and redshirted last season, may ultimately be the key to the Irish's season with Scott Martin out for the year. Abromaitis (6-foot-8, 230 pounds) is a big, strong wing in the mold of Matt Carroll and David Graves who could wind up starting and figuring prominently in Brey's plans.

4. With the loss of Kyle McAlarney, Ryan Ayers and Luke Zeller to graduation and Martin to injury, the Irish will look to drive the ball to the basket instead of settling for long jumpers.

5. The arena looks much better after a million facelift. The seats are now all one color instead of the cheesy, multi-colored seats that used to be in the Joyce Center.

THOUGHTS ON MICHIGAN STATE

1. Delvon Roe is extremely close to 100 percent physically but still needs to regain much of that "feel" that made him one of the elite high school players in the nation prior to knee injuries that cost him about 18 months. Roe is pain-free, is quicker, moving better laterally and more explosive. However, he'll still need to work on his offensive game, and that will be a gradual process this season.

2. I'm not sure there was a more valuable leader and "intangible" player in the nation than Travis Walton last season. He was also a lock-down defender. Who will pick up the leadership duties? Roe said it'll be a combined effort, but it'll have to be primarily done by senior Raymar Morgan and junior point guard Kalin Lucas. I saw signs that Lucas is ready to do it, but he'll need to prove it through adversity – and that means waiting until a tough stretch this season.

3. Tom Izzo needs to find one more big guy that will allow Roe to rest or allow him to move to power forward and in turn, have Morgan slide to the small forward spot. The three candidates are seldom-used veteran 7-footer Tom Herzog and freshmen Derrick Nix and Garrick Sherman. My gut on this one is that Nix, a widebody who has lost about 70 or so pounds (he's down to 275) from when he graduated Pershing High last year, takes up space, plays hard and can rebound and defend.

4. You'll see a different Chris Allen this season. Allen shot just 31 percent from beyond the arc last season, but he'll become the Spartans top perimeter shooter. His confidence is back and trust me when I say he will become one of the Big Ten's most feared shooters by the end of the year.

5. I am high on Kentucky freshman John Wall and Kansas floor leader Sherron Collins, but Lucas is right there with both of them. His shot has really improved and Izzo said his decision-making has taken a step forward.