5 Storylines 25 Days Out From College Basketball

Football season is very much still in full swing. The weather is starting to change and we are getting some perfect fall weather over the last week or so. However, basketball is right around the corner. In fact, the college basketball season officially tips off in just 25 days. Monday, November 6th will be here before you know it. Several Top 25 programs begin their seasons on that opening Monday including each of the preseason Top 5. It will be a massive slate of games to tip off the season before Baylor vs. Auburn really gets things going on Tuesday, Nov. 7th.

In honor of hitting the 25-day-out mark, let’s begin by taking a look at five of the biggest storylines entering the 2023-2024 season. Every five days we will release five more headlines and ultimately reach a total of 25 when the season begins on the 6th of November.

As Jon Rothstein would say: And Here. We. Go.

The Reigning National Player of the Year Returns…Again

College basketball went 26 seasons between Ralph Sampson returning to Virginia and Tyler Hansbrough returning to North Carolina as the reigning National Player of the Year. Then, we went another 15 years before Oscar Tshiebwe did it at Kentucky last season. However, we didn’t have to wait long for a fourth player to spurn the NBA Draft for another year of college as Zach Edey will be back in West Lafayette in 2023-2024.

Edey, a 7’4″ 285-pound behemoth, produced one of the most dominant college basketball seasons we’ve seen in some time for the Purdue Boilermakers as a junior. He put up eye-popping numbers of 22.3 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game. However, after sweeping the national awards, Edey decided to return for his senior season. The remaining hurdle for Edey will be leading Purdue to a Final Four. In the past three NCAA Tournaments, the Boilermakers have had their season ended by a #13, #15, and #16 seed respectively.

New Faces in New Places – Coaches Edition

When we wrote this section last season we were saying goodbye to legends Mike Krzyzewski and Jay Wright. This time around we say goodbye to Jim Boeheim following his 47 years at Syracuse. After 1,116 victories and the 2003 national title, it won’t be the same watching games at the Carrier Dome without Coach Boeheim’s patented 2-3 Zone defense. Coach Bob Huggins was ousted at West Virginia too, but that came under much more unfortunate circumstances. On the positive side, we are seeing the return of a polarizing Hall of Fame coach to the high-major level. Welcome to the Big Apple, Rick Pitino.

Coach Pitino quickly righted the ship at Iona, leading them to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances and a 64-22 record in his three seasons. Now, he is back on the big stage at St. John’s with a borderline Top 25 roster. Can Coach Pitinio return the Red Storm to their glory days? The better question may be just how quickly can he do so.

While St. John’s made the biggest splash with their offseason hire, there were…