Day 9: Syracuse | Traveling Violations

PHILADELPHIA – This is the best college basketball big city in the nation, a major metropolitan region with four professional sports franchises that still has a deep passion for the college game.

Philadelphia is home of The Palestra, the Big Five, Tom Gola, Daddy Mass, John Chaney, Hawk Hill and on and on and on.

So when Syracuse decided not to practice on Sunday – an event we had hoped to catch – we decided to get Jim Boeheim on the phone for an interview and then head fake the Tour so we could come here.

Philly presents a more direct route to Connecticut – our final stop – anyway. And in the spirit of its rich history, this may turn out to be a big year for Philadelphia college basketball.

There is too little time and too many teams to delve into the details, but the city's six top teams all appear on the uptick.

At Saint Joseph's, the return of super guard Jameer Nelson makes the Hawks a preseason top-20 team and sets up one of the most

Day 8: Xavier | Cincinnati | Traveling Violations

CINCINNATI – A year ago Bob Huggins was coming off a heart attack, raising questions concerning his ability to coach Cincinnati – a team, it would turn out, that had some very un-Bearcatesque tendencies.

Like not practicing hard. Or playing hard. Or even listening to Huggins when he did return to full health.

"You know," Huggins says, "sometimes last year was like going to the dentist's chair."

What a difference a year makes.

UC's practices on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning were more than intense and difficult and valuable. They were fun.

So forget last season, when UC went 17-12, ending an 11-year, 23-wins-or-more stretch and failing to win the Conference USA title for the first time in the history of the league.

This is the old Bearcat program: big, fast, tough and oh-so talented. And there is Huggins, healthy and happy, barking at his players, demanding more and getting it with each practice.

Which means UC is going to be good

Day 8: Xavier | Cincinnati | Traveling Violations

CINCINNATI – When it comes to promoting its star players no school is as aggressive and resourceful as Xavier. This isn't the biggest basketball program in the nation, but when the Musketeers have a star they pull out all the stops to draw attention.

Posters, flyers even bobble head dolls are sent out. It's one reason why David West won a number of national player of the year awards last season. And, ironically, why so many people are overlooking XU this year.

No West, no Xavier, right?

Well, assistant athletic director Tom Eiser's newest creation is, in some ways, a statement as to what just might become of Xavier now that West is in the NBA.

On Eiser's desk on Friday was a Russian nesting doll – those egg shaped things that open up to reveal a small one inside, then a smaller one inside that and so on – with the likeness of XU senior Romain Sato. The first doll depicted Sato in his Xavier uniform, holding a basketball.

The one inside

Day 8: Xavier | Cincinnati | Traveling Violations

CINCINNATI – Over the summer Xavier assistant Sean Miller read a copy of Michael Lewis' "Moneyball," about the groundbreaking way in which Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane uses stats to make the small market club a consistent winner.

Miller quickly passed the book around Xavier's staff. And while head coach Thad Matta acknowledges the differences in the two sports, the principles of Beane's system stuck with him. He keeps asking himself whether basketball people are missing something also.

"I think we have always been very big on stats," said Matta, who is entering his third season at XU. "We chart everything we do in practice. But [reading "Moneyball"] put an emphasis on what we do with those stats and with our players – even the way we look at recruiting a little bit.

"We aren't trying to sell blue jeans here. We are trying to win basketball games."

Matta is now more stat-obsessed than before, although he has always been

Day 7: Kentucky | Traveling Violations

LEXINGTON, Ky. – With 10 television cameras beaming his likeness to every corner of the Commonwealth and 75 media members waiting on every word, Tubby Smith did his best to make the most of one of his least favorite duties as the head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats.

Talking to the media? Smith could do without that, which is why he is one of the least accessible coaches in the nation even though he is trailed by college basketball's largest media contingent.

Dealing with the expectations and demands of fans? If Smith were given his way, he would coach in a vacuum, an ironic trait for someone who's every move is watched and analyzed by the game's most intense fan base.

But that's Smith and that's Kentucky and while it isn't always smooth, it is a marriage that continues to flourish into its 7th season.

Smith is coming off of a tremendous year. His Wildcats (32-4) dominated the regular season, putting together a 26-game win streak, sweeping through

Day 7: Kentucky | Traveling Violations

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Lukasz Obrzut is the 7-1 guy. Shagari Alleyne is the 7-3 one.

That's 14-feet, 4-inches of freshman center for the Kentucky Wildcats. Both players have plenty of potential and plenty of room for improvement, and both are causing a big stir at UK.

Getting one seven-footer is a big deal in college hoops (UK hadn't had once since Sam Bowie in the early 1980s). But two in the same class?

"They are big ," said junior Chuck Hayes.

But are they any good?

The Commonwealth has been abuzz with debate on this topic since the two signed national letter of intents last spring. Obrzut, originally from Poland, can really run. Alleyne, a native of the Bronx, N.Y. has a wingspan that could stretch across the Ohio River.

But then again, if they are so good why didn't more big-time schools recruit them – Obrzut originally committed to Fordham, Alleyne chose Rutgers. Or why aren't they already in the NBA?

Plenty of college coaches passed on both of

Day 6: Louisville | Traveling Violations

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – For Rick Pitino the most surprising thing about the 2002-03 Louisville season, when the Cardinals came out of nowhere to win 25 games including 17 consecutive at one point, was just that – the success.

For everyone around him, the big surprise was Pitino himself. Winning is what he does; the results weren't a shock. But the way the 50-year-old handled each triumph and, even more unlikely, each setback was.

When U of L won, Pitino insisted the victory be toasted and treasured. There were celebratory dinners and pats of congratulations, a far cry from the famously driven coach who in seasons past never seemed satisfied.

"He made sure every success was noted," said former assistant Mick Cronin.

Then came the real shocker. When the Cardinals lost (and it happened just seven times), he actually took it well.

"I think I accepted – well, accepted is probably the wrong word – but I understood what winning and losing are all about,"

Day 6: Louisville | Traveling Violations

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – It is the worst kept secret in college sports. The soon-to-be depleted Big East is going to re-expand its membership, and its invites are going to Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette and possibly South Florida.

For U of L coach Rick Pitino, a New York native and someone who worked in the 1980s at Big East school Providence, not to mention pro stints with the Knicks and Celtics, it's a good thing.

Nothing against Conference USA, but the chance to go home again is appealing to Pitino.

"Obviously the Big East has changed since I was in it," said Pitino, who led Providence to the 1987 Final Four. "But the chance to go back to New York, go back to New Jersey, Providence, Washington D.C., Storrs, Conn., is exciting.

"This is where I got my start. I understand my window of coaching is closing. The chance to go back to where I started is exciting."

• We were treated to a beautiful drive on Thursday morning. We left in the dark of