Anchorage Daily News

UAA

Location: Anchorage.

Last season: 29-6 (16-2 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference)

Coach: Rusty Osborne (5th season, 78-43).

Postseason: Lost to Augusta State in semifinals of the NCAA Division II tournament.

Go-to player: Kenny Barker, 6-3 senior guard. A transfer from UAF who had to sit out last season, Barker averaged 16 points and 6.1 rebounds for the Nanooks in the 2006-07 season.

One shining moment: How about four? First, the 59-56 Shootout win over Missouri in 1985, broadcast nationally by ESPN, marked the program's first big win over a Division I school and its first significant national exposure. Second, the 1988 NCAA Division II tournament, where UAA lost 75-72 to Lowell in the championship game. Third, the 75-72 neutral-court win over Michigan, ranked second in the nation at the time, early in the 1988-89 season (Michigan went on to win the national title that season). And fourth, last season's journey to the NCAA Division II Final Four.

Choice of music in the locker room: A little of everything, but the radio is often tuned to FM-92.9 KFAT (rap and hip hop).

Famous alum who wasn't a jock: Kai Hibbard, runnerup on "The Biggest Loser" in 2006.

HAMPTON UNIVERSITY

LOCATION: Hampton, Va.

LAST SEASON: 18-12 (11-5 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference)

COACH: Kevin Nickelberry (2nd season, 11-5)

GO-TO PLAYER: Vincent Simpson, 6-1 junior guard. He's the top returning scorer and stealer, averaging 11.1 points a game and finishing with 38 steals last season.

ONE SHINING MOMENT: As a No. 15 seed, Hampton stunned Iowa State in the first round of the 2001 NCAA Tournament.

CHOICE OF MUSIC IN LOCKER ROOM: A mix of artists like Kanye West, T.I, Lil Wayne and Jay Z.

FAMOUS ALUM WHO WASN'T A JOCK: Standup comedian Wanda Sykes.

ALASKA CONNECTION: We looked and looked, and only came up with this: Wanda Sykes appeared at the Atwood Concert Hall in early April.

LOUISIANA TECH

Location: Ruston, La.

Last season: 6-24 (3-13 in the Western Athletic Conference)

Coach: Kerry Rupp (2nd season, 6-24)

Go-to player: Kyle Gibson, 6-5 junior guard. He's a first-team All-WAC preseason pick who averaged 16.5 points a game last season.

One shining moment: Back in the 1971-72 season, Tech was ranked first in the nation. And from 1982-85, Karl Malone played for the Bulldogs.

Choice of music in locker room: Rap.

Famous alum who wasn't a jock: Trace Adkins; Kix Brooks of Brooks and Dunn.

Alaska connection: James Loe, a senior from Oregon, and his parents Curt and Sheila Loe used to live in the Valley. And Karl Malone, the director of basketball promotions, has a home on the Kenai Peninsula.

NORTHERN ILLINOIS

Location: DeKalb, Ill.

Last season: 6-22 (3-12 in the Mid-American Conference).

Coach: Ricardo Patton (2nd season, 6-22).

Go-to player: Darion "Jake" Anderson, 6-2 sophomore guard. The MAC's Freshman of the Year last season, he lead the Huskies in scoring and in 10 games was the leading scorer and rebounder. Mike DiNunno, 5-11 freshman guard, averaged 23 points in the first three games this season.

One shining moment: Passed the 1,000-win plateau in the 2006-07 season. Played in the NCAA Tournament three times -- 1981-82, 1990-91, 1995-96.

Choice of music in locker room: Hip-hop and R&B.

Famous alum who wasn't a jock: Dan Castellaneta, the voice of Homer Simpson. (All together now: D'oh!)

Alaska connection: Scott Stevens, director of basketball operations, played two seasons for the Seawolves (2002-04). And, of course, Homer Simpson fled to Alaska with his family last year.

Bonus: Sports information director Brett McWethy notes that DeKalb is the birthplace of barbed wire, "thus, the sport of fencing was invented in the city in 1873."

PORTLAND STATE

Location: Portland, Ore.

Last season: 23-10 (14-2 in the Big Sky Conference).

Postseason: NCAA first round, lost to eventual champion Kansas in the first round.

Coach: Ken Bone (4th season, 53-39).

Go-to player: Jeremiah Dominguez, 5-6 senior guard. The Big Sky's Player of the Year last season, with a school-record 84 3-pointers, a conference-high 62 steals and an average of 14.2 points a game.

One shining moment: Last season marked Portland State's debut in the Big Dance.

Choice of music in locker room: Rap.

Famous alum who wasn't a jock: Katie Harmon, 2002 Miss America; Mike Richardson, founder of Dark Horse Comics and Entertainment (Hellboy, Mask, etc.)

Alaska connection: The Seawolves and their fans know coach Ken Bone well. He used to coach at Seattle Pacific, a longtime UAA rival.

SAN DIEGO STATE

Location: San Diego

Last season: 20-13 (9-7 in the Mountain West Conference).

Postseason: Lost to Florida in first round of NIT.

Coach: Steve Fisher (10th season, 147-130).

Go-to player: Kyle Spain, 6-5 senior forward. Averaged 13.2 points, 5.4 rebounds last season. Billy White, 6-7 sophomore forward. Averaged 8.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and was the conference's Freshman of the Year.

One shining moment: Beating UNLV to win the 2002 Mountain West Conference tournament championship.

Choice of music in locker room: Hip-hop.

Famous alum who wasn't a jock: Kathleen Kennedy, producer of the movie E.T., and others.

Alaska connection: San Diego State played in the 2005 Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks. Players are still shivering.

SEATTLE UNIVERSITY

Location: Seattle

Last season: 18-9 (11-7 in the Great Northwest Conference).

Coach: Joe Callero (8th season, 96-97).

Go-to player: Shaun Burl, 6-1 senior guard. Averaged 4.2 assists last season.

One shining moment: The real glory days came in the '50s and '60s. In the 1950s, Seattle was the only team in history to beat the Harlem Globetrotters; in 1966, it was the only team to defeat Texas Western in the Miners' storied championship season that inspired the movie "Glory Road." The Redhawks return to Division I play this season after two decades in the NAIA and several years at the Division II level.

Choice of music in locker room: Mix of rap and hip-hop.

Famous alums who weren't jocks: Jim Whittaker, the first American to scale Mount Everest (and a McKinley climber too). Mohamed Ali Alabbar, chairman of one of the world's largest real estate companies and chairman of the group behind the Dubai Desert Classic. Leo Hindrey, president of AT&T Broadband; chairman of YES Network.

Alaska connection: Until moving up to Division I this season, Seattle belonged to the same conference as UAA and UAF.

WESTERN CAROLINA

Location: Cullowhee, N.C.

Last season: 10-21 (6-14 in the Southern Conference).

Coach: Larry Hunter (4th season, 34-58).

Go-to player: Brandon Giles, junior guard. Averaged 15.3 points a game last season and was named to the all-conference team. A preseason all-conference pick.

One shining moment: In 1980, Ronnie Carr sank the first 3-pointer in college basketball history. The ball is on display at the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.

Choice of music in the locker room: Upbeat hip-hop.

Famous alum who wasn't a jock: Paul Johnson, head football coach at Georgia Tech (didn't play football while at Western Carolina).

Alaska connection: Larry Hunter coached Ohio to a fourth-place finish in the 1995 Shootout.

* Coaches' records don't include games from this season

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-- Beth Bragg, Anchorage Daily News

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