If you've been to the grocery store, you might have noticed the college basketball preseason magazines are out.
It might be worthy of head scratching since most college football teams have only played a couple games. Yet check the calendar. Basketball practice begins on Oct. 1, just a couple weeks from now.
Also, teams have been able to practice a couple hours a week through the summer.
"It's a great orientation," said WVU men's basketball coach Bob Huggins. "It's not much more than that, but it is a great orientation."
Huggins, of course, is trying to again shape a Big 12 contender, but without double-double machine Devin Williams or long-armed Jon Holton. The backcourt - specifically Jevon Carter, Dax Miles and Tarik Phillip - will have to shoulder much of the responsibility.
"Those three guards are pretty good," Huggins said. "They've been in the gym."
Yet back to the "orientation." Those new to the gym are freshmen Maciej Bender, Chase Harler and Sagaba Konate.
"Our three freshmen coming in are all going to play," Huggins said. "We're pleased with our freshmen."
He broke it down, beginning with Konate, the 6-foot-8, 240-pound freshman said to be physically ready.
"Sags has played really well," Huggins said. "He gets better every day. He has a chance to see substantial minutes.
"Magic [Bender] missed a bunch playing over in Poland [for the U20 European Championships Division B group team], but he's starting to catch up. He's really shooting the ball well. He needs to gain muscle mass, but he's going to be able to contribute the way he is. Plus, he'll gain some between now and when the season starts.
"Then Harler will play because he plays so hard. He's got pretty good foot speed. He's athletic enough. He just plays so hard. And playing the way we play, if you play real hard, you'll get in the game."
The word on point guard James "Beetle" Bolden, however, wasn't encouraging.
"He's working his way back," Huggins said. "He just hasn't done anything. When you haven't done anything for a year, it's hard. He's spent a year in rehab. There's a ton of difference between him and Lamont West. Lamont practiced every day. Lamont took a redshirt; Beetle took an injury redshirt. Big difference."
It'll be an interesting year. Huggins said West will see action because "he's 6-8, can run, is athletic and can shoot the ball." But what about within the "Press Virginia" defense? Which players will take over for Williams and Holton?
"Nate [Adrian] is going to have to do what Holton did," Huggins said. "Then I don't know. Taking over for Devin could be Elijah [Macon], Brandon [Watkins] or Sagaba [Konate]. It could be a lot of people. It could be by committee."
Huggins, by the way, was on the recruiting trail on Thursday. Word is, WVU's staff was at Hargrave Military Academy for the first possible chance out of Morgantown to check on South Charleston High product and 2017 Mountaineer commitment Brandon Knapper - and left very impressed.
Also, 6-10 Sterling Manley of Pickerington (Ohio) Central and Taveion Hollingsworth of Paul Laurence Dunbar High in Lexington, Kentucky, have both made official visits to Morgantown. Hollingsworth is apparently a late bloomer in regard to the recruiting radar. His high school won a Kentucky state title and Hollingsworth was the Sweet 16 MVP after averaging 21 points in the tourney.
Also, WVU has a commitment from four-star Derek Culver, 6-8, of Warren, Ohio, which was big news around Morgantown back in August. In addition, the Mountaineer staff is trying to woo Ripley native and now-Huntington Prep standout Chase Johnson, who is apparently headed to Florida for a visit this weekend.
Also, I'm hearing WVU's coaches are working Huntington Prep point guard Jon Kabongo hard for the 2018 class.
Huggins, as you might know, couldn't comment on any of the above. But he would outline what he wants when practice begins in October.
"We'll need to work on the press and getting those guys that haven't been in it to understand what it takes," said the coach. "There are so many things you have to do, man.
"We also need some semblance of a zone defense. We have to get our man-to-man defense way, way, way better. We have to work on whatever offense we're going to run. We have to work on zone offense. Then you have to break it all down.
"There's a lot of stuff to do."
Contact Mitch Vingle at 304-348-4827 or mitchvingle@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @MitchVingle.