Indiana basketball: it begins.

A year ago, Indiana's basketball program returned to relevance after the three worst seasons in program history. At this time last year, we were worried about such things as whether the young Hoosiers would have the chops to win a tough road game at Evansville, let alone at NC State. Mostly, we were hoping the Hoosiers would be among the field of 68. Not even the most exuberant Hoosier fan could have predicted wins over Kentucky, Ohio State, and Michigan State, a sweep of Purdue, a four seed in the NCAA Tournament, and a trip to the Sweet 16. This year, the Hoosiers stand atop the preseason rankings from The Sporting News and other preseason magazines, and we'll know in a couple of weeks whether the Hoosiers will be ranked number one in the preseason AP poll for the first time since 1979. Expectations are high, but so is the talent level.

Today at 5 p.m., the Hoosiers begin basketball practice. This event is closed to the public, but ESPNU will carry it live. Because of IU's fall break, Hoosier Hysteria, the public event, will be a week from tonight. I'm not going to be around today, but feel free to use this thread as an open forum for discussion of what you see on ESPNU. "Wait 'til basketball season" no more: it has arrived.