Columnist Ron Kantowski: Ready? Basketball is here

Friday, Nov. 21, 2003 | 10:43 a.m.

Ron Kantowski is a Las Vegas Sun sports writer. Reach him at ron@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4088.

One of the favorite pastimes of my youth was following the career of Chip Hilton, a figment of the imagination of former Long Island University basketball coach Clair Bee, who before he invented Hilton invented the 1-3-1 zone defense.

After his coaching days, Bee authored a series of novels geared toward teenage boys chronicling the exploits of Hilton, a three-sport star in football, basketball and baseball.

Following a spectacular career at Valley Falls High, the Chipster moved on to State U., where he continued the seamless transition from one sport to the next.

That was possible from 1948-66, when those books were written. Today, Chip Hilton would miss about a third of the basketball season, because he was still playing football. And that's provided State U. didn't become bowl eligible, in which case he'd be lucky to get his jump shot back by the middle of February.

Is it just me, or does it seem too early to be playing college basketball, a reasonable facsimile of which will be on display tonight at the Thomas & Mack Center when UNLV entertains the Hornets of Delaware State?

This isn't the first time the Rebels have started hooping it up with the leaves still on the trees, and it's actually six days later than their earliest debut. In 1989, they hosted Loyola Marymount on Nov. 15 in the first round of the preseason NIT. That one even caught department store Santas off guard.

But it was just 10 years ago that UNLV waited until Dec. 4 to open its season (and against UCLA at that). The year before that, the Rebels beat Loyola Marymount on Dec. 5. Curiously, those were Rollie Massimino's only two UNLV teams. Perhaps he set aside the last two weeks of November for taking secret money under the table.

Like just about everything else that is wrong with sports, I blame ESPN for the fact I will spend my Friday night watching The Kids Who Shot 38 Percent From the Field instead of the The Men Who Shot Kennedy. While the Great Alaska Shootout wasn't a made for TV event, it didn't become more popular than a parka on the pipeline until Dick Vitale began showing up, thereby removing the monkey from William Seward's back.

More early season made-for-TV events, such as the Maui Classic and the Preseason NIT, soon followed. They created opportunities for powerhouse programs to get a jump on the season, and it wasn't too long before the low-wattage teams got tired of working on their half-court trap in practice while the big boys were doing it in games.

So the middle-of-the-road programs started scheduling early season games of their own, which explains why Delaware State and UNLV, two teams who previously only could have met in the first round of the NCAA tournament after being seeded on opposite ends of the bracket, will be scrimmaging tonight at the Mack.

Lest you think I'm the only one whose peach basket is empty in November, check the box scores.

On Monday, games involving traditional powers Connecticut, Texas, Minnesota, Xavier and Utah attracted announced crowds of 10,167, 6,391, 10,797, 9,102 and 9,952. The UConn-Yale game, featuring the nation's No. 1 team and those smart guys from down the road in New Haven, was a sellout; most of the other arenas were only half-filled.

Maybe Basketball Jones is jonesin' for some basketball this weekend. But with the Rebels needing to beat Colorado State to keeps its bowl hopes flickering, I'm having trouble making basketball my primary focus.

Monday, however, will be here before you know it.