Brian Thomas: The basketball madness is back. In roughly two weeks, seasons will tip off for NIU men’s and women’s hoops. Some may think it is early to start talking about basketball, but we have been dying to talk about it.

Jimmy Johnson: No doubt, Brian. The NFL and college football seasons have been entertaining me thoroughly, but I’m salivating for some action on the hardwood. Plus, with the NBA season in serious limbo, college basketball will move up the ladder of my sports priorities. So what are your feeling about the men’s team?

BT: Well, Jimmy, I had the privilege of attending the men’s basketball scrimmage Saturday, and I liked some of the things that I saw. I like head coach Mark Montgomery’s idea of a strong defensive team, and his philosophy to stress the fast break. I feel like that style of play will suit this year’s team well. I stress the word team, as last year it seemed to be more of a one-man show, with Xavier Silas calling the shots. This year’s team will play much more together, which I look forward to seeing. What are some of the headlines for women’s basketball this season and what can we expect from them?

JJ: To quote Sesame Street, the word of the day for women’s basketball is transition. In her second season as head coach, Kathi Bennett will have to find a way to make up for the lost production of Ebony Ellis and Marke Freeman, who now play professionally in Poland. Ellis was the Huskies’ force inside, while Freeman played out of her mind often, despite typically being the smallest player on the court. Bennett will have to find that player inside and a new ball handler to run the offense. Now for the men’s team, I’m really looking forward to seeing this freshman class.

BT: I think we are all looking forward to seeing what this freshman class can do. But we should not be quick to expect big things from them right away. This is a very young team with eight freshman, all who will have to adapt to college basketball very quickly. There are only two seniors, and they will have to step up and show strong leadership for the freshmen, pushing them in the right direction. However, once these freshmen adapt to college basketball, I think they can be a dangerous group and make things happen for NIU. What other quotes do you have for us to describe women’s basketball?

JJ: What am I, Big Bird? How about solitary? Not in a bad way, that is. What I’m referring to is the lone senior for the women’s team: Courtney Shelton. This year’s team is also heavily filled with underclassmen, so Shelton will have to raise her game in the leadership department. I covered women’s basketball last season, so I can attest that she was one of the more vocal players on the court for NIU. Plus, words can’t do it all sometimes. Shelton has a solid game from beyond the arc, and I expect that trend to continue in her final year as a Huskie. She’ll lead with her play, too.

BT: It will be interesting to see how the men’s inside game fares this season, after the loss of big man Nate Rucker, who transferred. Rucker was the only Huskie to appear in all 30 games last season, starting 29 of them. He averaged 7.1 points while earning a pair of double-doubles last season.

Senior Tim Toler will have to step up in the paint for NIU this season, or perhaps the freshman twin brothers Keith and Kevin Gray can fill that void.