Although most of the staff here at Razorback Expats is pretty caught up in McFadden McMania right now, it's important to remember that basketball season starts tomorrow. Our hopes are high for the b-ball Hogs this year, what with so many key players returning and especially the star of the Red-White game, Coach John Pelphrey, so what better way to prepare for the season ahead than with this quick hodge podge of interesting links:

* I could barely believe this stat when I read it, but the Hogs' appearance in the AP preseason poll marks the first time they've been in the top 25 in seven years. Seven years! Try to wrap your heads around that one for a minute...

* In the "What Might Have Been" department, let's all take a deep breath and be thankful that Dana Altman was so spooked by a Hog call and Razorback cap that he went running back to Creighton. In this funny clip from the Slophouse blog, it seems that some of his former players aren't letting him off the hook quite so easily.

* In another find from the Slophouse, USA Today has a nice profile of John Pelphrey. Nothing too earth-shattering in it, but reading between the lines, the players sound pretty happy to be playing for him (vs. playing for Heath, perhaps).

* Although Wofford isn't a particularly scary opening game opponent, let's hope the Hogs fare better than our Kentucky friends did against their season-starting cupcake. Suffice it to say, the Billy Gillespie era is not off to a roaring start in Lexington.

* Is John Pelphrey's red Humvee the basketball equivalent of D-Mac's legendary ride?

* Lastly, this link at SECSports.com has a nice breakdown of a lot of the major preseason predictions. Not surprisingly, Patrick Beverley's name shows up in a lot of the 'emerging star' categories.