CINCINNATI -- Watch a college basketball game sitting alongside new NCAA officials coordinator John Adams, and you notice there are a lot fewer blown calls than usual.

Is that because the officials know he's sitting there on press row? Is it because the three gentlemen assigned to referee the game between Xavier and Toledo are particularly capable?

Or, just maybe, it is because if you pay really close attention to what the officials are doing -- sometimes, to the exclusion of how the game is unfolding -- you find they do an excellent job in the most important aspect: getting the calls right.

A retired game official who has worked as officials supervisor for the Horizon, Heartland and Great Lakes Valley leagues, Adams took over the NCAA position following the 2008 NCAA Tournament, the last for longtime officials coordinator Hank Nichols. When the position was created in 1986, Nichols' charge ostensibly was to make officiating more standardized across the nation, eliminating the regional quirks that made games in the Pac-10 look different from those in the Big East. That part of the whole initiative didn't work out so well.

What Adams wants to accomplish might eventually be grandiose, but he is working first to standardize the application of particular calls he believes are essential to the promotion of a clean, artful game. He calls them "absolutes."

The first is that any time a defender places two hands on a ballhandler, it's a foul. Any time. Another is that a player who trips a ballhandler will be called for a foul. No more happy "accidents." The third is enforcing the new goaltending rule: Essentially, a shot can't be blocked after it strikes the backboard.

Adams also has what he calls "focus points." He asked officials to be vigilant about illegal screens "that make a difference" and lead directly to scores. He wants them to watch shooters more closely to be sure defenders don't tap their elbows -- a common trick coaches teach.

He wants officials to be more judicious about calling the charge/block, using the rule as it's written: That a defender establishing legal guarding position before a ballhandler makes contact is going to get the call, but a defender beaten by an advancing dribbler should not be awarded with a charging call if he draws contact with a knee, hip or shoulder.

"I think it's a play we do pretty well on, night-in and night-out," Adams said. "Now, traveling doesn't evoke the same emotions as a block/charge does, but we do a much better job on block-charges than we do on traveling."

All working officials were mailed instructional DVDs during the offseason. Adams does not have actual authority over the thousands of games that are played through the course of the college basketball season. Those belong to the various conference supervisors who schedule officials from the start of the season to the end of the league tournaments.

Most refs, though, aspire to be one of the 96 who'll call the 64 NCAA Tournament games Adams does control.

The crew for Xavier-Toledo consisted of three fine officials capable of working deep into the tournament: D.J. Carstensen, Lamar Simpson and Michael Roberts. They are not the brand-name guys you see every night in big-time games. So the fact they adhered so well to the new directives was not totally surprising. They want to become more prominent.

How about the veteran guys who've worked the game their way for so many years, who conference supervisors covet working in their leagues?

"So far, so good," Adams said, with a look that suggests it'll be a continuing challenge.

Adams pays close attention to the officials' positioning during the game. The baseline official leads the ballet. He is expected to position himself on the side of the court where the ball is located; the other two react to him. The importance of maintaining clear viewing angles is paramount. Officials should not be looking at the back of a jersey. If that's the viewpoint, they're not able to see the play. The ref in that case needs to move.

"If our refs can get in good position to see the play," Adams said, "getting it right is greatly increased."

When the Xavier-Toledo game concluded, Adams asked a simple question: Was this game easy, average or difficult to officiate? Frankly, it seemed like a breeze. Toledo fell out of the game fairly early and never made a serious comeback. The teams seemed to be making a conscious effort to play hands-free defense. There were only a handful of block/charge calls to navigate. Wouldn't it be harder to ref, say, the Crosstown Shootout rivalry between Xavier and Cincinnati -- or the game Xavier played against West Virginia in last year's Sweet 16?

"First of all, you're up like a player. You're going to be at your best," Adams said. "But there are so many things going on in the building that challenge your sensory perception. There are more things interfering with your concentration when there are 17,000 people in an arena.

"But if I was a ref, I'd want to ref the big games. Being in that arena, and being asked to be at my best for 40 minutes, is the challenge every good referee wants."

Mike DeCourcy is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at decourcy@sportingnews.com.

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Now, why is it they built the whole thing around North Carolina vs. Kentucky (Tuesday night)? At the moment, it's kind of like a movie starring Will Smith and Wesley Snipes.

What too few want to recognize about Kentucky--including the people who booked this game and UK itself, which agreed to be featured--is how obviously the roster declined in Tubby Smith's final seasons. This program is being rebuilt, and second-year coach Billy Gillispie still is papering over holes in the plaster.

The gap at point guard is severe enough that Kentucky opened against the worst low-major opponent it could find in VMI, which plays an uptempo attack and got 12 combined turnovers from the UK point guards. It will not get easier against North Carolina, which is America's best team and also likes to pressure the ball in the backcourt. Freshman DeAndre Liggins is extremely gifted but probably will not be a genuine Division I point guard until he's had another six weeks of training.

Kentucky will battle in this game because that is what a Gillispie team does, because it's what a Kentucky team does, but the Wildcats will be going home to Lexington at 0-2. This team will require at least as much patience as last season's.

Crash course

If Davidson is able to get through its NIT Season Tip-Off opener tonight against James Madison and Oklahoma wins at home as expected, two of the nation's five best players will be on the floor in a second-round game: the Sooners' Blake Griffin and the Wildcats' Stephen Curry.

It'll be Curry we're watching, though, because he's a bit more famous and because the novelty of his switch to point guard remains. After one game--OK, it was a game against Division III Guilford--Curry's assist/turnover ratio is 10-to-1.

Is the Pac-10 clueless?

Friday evening, Oregon will play a game at UC Irvine. This will be the fourth road game a Pac-10 team will have played against a mid- or low-major opponent with the season not even two weeks old.

Almost on an annual basis, the members of this conference complain they get little national respect. Well, why should anyone respect them when they so obviously do not respect themselves? Try to find another big-time conference where nearly half of the teams would agree to play road games in such places as Howard, Yale, Portland and, now, Irvine. When the Pac-10 starts thinking like a power, perhaps it will more often be treated as one.

At least UCLA gets it

Ben Howland's Bruins accepted an invitation to the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic, which meant they'd get two home games and, if successful, a trip to New York to face bigger-name competition.

Should they get through Michigan in the semifinals Thursday--and if Duke survives Southern Illinois--we'll get our first meeting of top 10 teams: UCLA vs. Duke at Madison Square Garden.

That's how a big-time team does it.

This story first appeared in Monday's edition of Sporting News Today. If you are not receiving Sporting News Today, the only daily digital sports newspaper, sign up today.

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1. What day is it that we're not supposed to sleep? That's the only real problem with ESPN's College Hoops Tip-off Marathon. It's hard enough to stay up all night without pharmaceutical assistance, but looking at game schedules to figure out when all this is going to run must be for the smart guys at MIT.

ESPN used to make it clearer by listing the start time for its midnight games as 11:59 EST. That way if it said Monday, you knew you were staying up Monday. But the start for the Massachusetts-Memphis game is listed on Monday's schedule -- this is from the network's own website, people -- as starting at 12 a.m. It's not even on Tuesday's schedule.

I think that means the game already has been played. Except it hasn't.

All I can gather from this is that I'm setting the TiVo for whenever it tells me Saint Mary's is playing Fresno State. Gotta see the Gaels' Patty Mills as much as possible, as soon as possible.

2. Double dose of Curry. If you think the media went heavy on the Curry last March, you might get more than you can handle Tuesday.

At 2 p.m., as part of the ESPN extravaganza referenced earlier, Liberty will visit UNC Asheville in what may be the earliest heavyweight showdown ever in the Big South Conference. Watch that, and you'll see Stephen Curry's younger brother, Seth, start at guard for Liberty. I've already been warned twice that Seth is a special player: once by Scout.com analyst extraordinaire Dave Telep, once by Stephen himself. Seth scored 23 points in his NCAA debut, although it was against an NAIA opponent.

And should Davidson win its Monday opener over James Madison in the NIT Season Tip-Off, Stephen and his Wildcats teammates will face a true road game against Oklahoma at 9:30 p.m. for the right to advance to the semifinals in New York City over Thanksgiving weekend.

3. Thursday night in the Apple. The 2K Sports College Hoops Classic semifinals are at Madison Square Garden Thursday: Duke vs. Southern Illinois, UCLA vs. Michigan. But the best, most intriguing game involving the New York metropolitan area that night will be down in Puerto Rico, where Seton Hall will play Southern California in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off.

The Trojans still are adjusting to a new chemistry with shot-happy (not that it's a bad thing) O.J. Mayo gone to the NBA and freshman DeMar DeRozan taking his place. DeRozan also will have some work to do at the other end guarding the Hall's Jeremy Hazell.

4. Friday night in the Apple. Even on a routine Friday, New York City is the most exciting place on Earth. And this will not be a routine Friday if everything goes the way college basketball fans outside Ann Arbor, Mich. -- yeah, like there are any who live there! -- and Carbondale, Ill., are hoping.

A Duke vs. UCLA final might actually energize Madison Square Garden about college hoops. Even when the Garden is half-full and half-interested, it's a special place to watch a game. The electricity for Devils-Bruins would light up Times Square.

5. The road to Maui. As those guys from MIT could tell you, there is no road from the U.S. Mainland to Hawaii's ideal island. You have to fly for a really, really long time to get there, which may be the only reason I don't vacation there every single year.

To break up their trips to the Maui Invitational, a few of the partygoers decided to stop off in California and play a little ball along the way. Last time North Carolina did this -- in November 2004 -- the Tar Heels wound up losing at Santa Clara. But they're at it again, visiting UC Santa Barbara for a Friday 10 p.m. game. Notre Dame decided to throw another road game onto its already demanding schedule and will play at Loyola Marymount at the same time.

Mike DeCourcy is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at decourcy@sportingnews.com.

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For instance, Connecticut's A.J. Price was not included at point guard. It made sense people would wonder how he could be excluded, but he was ranked as a shooting guard because it appears he'll play much of the season there.

But when the power forwards were ranked on Friday, there was a posting from someone upset that Tyler Hansbrough was not included. This person actually believed I forgot Tyler Hansbrough.

Anyone else find that fall-down funny?

1. Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina. Hansbrough will end his career as the definitive college basketball player of the decade. Think about that for a moment. You had Bill Russell in the '50s, Lew Alcindor in the '60s, Bill Walton in the '70s and Patrick Ewing in the '80s. The '90s belonged to Christian Laettner and his NCAA Tournament heroics. Now, in part because LeBron James decided to pass on college altogether and Greg Oden and Kevin Durant stuck around but a year, nobody recent can match Hansbrough's accomplishments. But notice with the top players in the previous decades, what all of them had in common: Each celebrated at least one NCAA championship. It's the final frontier for Hansbrough.

2. Hasheem Thabeet, Connecticut. If there is any one player standing between North Carolina and the championship, he is standing 7-foot-3. Thabeet could become the decisive player of the 2008-09 season. Thabeet has done a masterful job using the college basketball framework to improve his game, from his days as a project two years ago to now as threat at both ends of the court. If Thabeet were to face Hansbrough at the Final Four, at the very least Thabeet's defensive prowess in the low post would force Hansbrough to reconsider how to transact business. Thabeet's emergence as a star this season will be fascinating to watch.

3. Luke Harangody, Notre Dame. Harangody is most notable for his bruising style, but that's the easy part of what he does. What makes him truly special is how nimble he is for such a big dude -- and he'll be more so now that he's in better shape -- as well as his sticky hands and the soft shooting touch he displays when facing the basket. In their second meeting last year, Harangody dealt with Thabeet's height and reach by moving out toward the foul line and shot 13-of-24 from the field.

4. DeJuan Blair, Pitt. There aren't a lot of 6-7 centers at the highest levels of college basketball, but you just don't find a DeJuan Blair on every corner. Blair's combination of length and width more than compensate for his disadvantage in height. And he isn't just strong, he is disarmingly skilled and unreasonably quick. Of all the statistics that defined his freshman season, the one that never ceases to amaze was his total of 62 steals. That's just under two per game. Which is what Stephen Curry averaged as a quick guard playing in an uptempo system. Just saying.

5. Patrick Patterson, Kentucky. If he's healthy ... That's what you keep repeating to yourself with Patterson. He lost the last few weeks of the 2007-08 season with an ankle injury so severe it kept him off the court for most of the summer. It has looked early on as though either the injury or the inactivity might continue to exact a toll. How long he'll need to reestablish himself is tough to measure -- it could be days, weeks, months -- but Patterson is a high-character player who will fight to recover until he once again is among the very best college big men.

6. B.J. Mullens, Ohio State. People get overly excited when I compare him to Hakeem Olajuwon. That doesn't mean he looks like a Hall of Famer today. It means that for a 7-footer he runs, jumps and moves like someone much smaller. Mullens is extremely active around the goal. Remember, when Olajuwon was a freshman he was only a bit player for a Houston team that reached the Final Four. Mullens will be an essential player for the Buckeyes, although their first goal is just to make it back to the NCAA Tournament.

7. Jarvis Varnado, Mississippi State. Varnado isn't the complete player that some others on the list -- and some listed below -- have made themselves. But if there's any element of this game that is truly underrated, it's shot-blocking. Most blocks occur close to the goal, which means they're erasing shots that are likely to connect. Varnado is the best pure shot-blocker in college basketball -- which is to say, he does not have the advantage of standing 7-3. When he does get the ball on offense, he converts nearly 65 percent of his attempts. Seems like a good time to have him try a few more.

8. Samardo Samuels, Louisville. Samuels will be a double-double machine for the Cardinals. One journalist described Samuels as having an "NBA-ready body." Well, sure, if the NBA wants a 6-8 center. There's much more use for that in the colleges, where Samuels' low-post skill and intensity will give the Cardinals the perfect complement to the highly skilled perimeter players who will surround him. Where Samuels will have to be serviceable, at least, is on defense. He's unlikely to provide the same presence as David Padgett, but Samuels could use his muscle to make it harder for opponents to gain position.

9. Greg Monroe, Georgetown. The fact he is playing for Georgetown makes it comfortable to predict that Monroe might have this kind of impact as a freshman. John Thompson has proven he knows how to coach big players. Monroe had his moments as a high school senior when he abandoned rebounding and interior defense, but with DaJuan Summers preferring to play on the perimeter it's hard to imagine Monroe getting to drift to the outside. He should be a force as a rebounder and shot-blocker for a team that will need an inside presence.

10. JaJuan Johnson, Purdue. This spot could have gone to Arizona State's Jeff Pendergraph (if he were more productive) or Arizona's Jordan Hill (if he were more assertive) or Vanderbilt's A.J. Ogilvy (if he were more consistent). It's possible all of them will belong near the top of this list by the end. They're excellent players. But Johnson appears ready for a breakout season on a team that will make great use of him. Johnson is long and springy and will make Purdue's defense even more oppressive as he adds consistent shot-blocking at the back. If Purdue ends this season in the Final Four, Johnson's improvement will be the biggest reason.

Jerome Jordan, Tulsa; Jordan Hill, Arziona; Jeff Pendergraph, Arizona State, Connor Atchley, Texas; A.J. Ogilvy, Vanderbilt; JaMychal Green, Alabama; Chris Johnson, LSU; Josh Heytvelt, Gonzaga; Mac Koshwal, DePaul; Aron Baynes, Washington State; Taj Gibson, Southern California; Luke Nevill, Utah; Shawn Taggart, Memphis; Ahmad Nivins, Saint Joseph's; Goran Suton, Michigan State; Arinze Onuaku, Syracuse; Cole Aldrich, Kansas.

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This may not be the first time you've come across this particular prediction, but there are those suggesting it'll be Spain's Ricky Rubio or Ohio State's B.J. Mullens. They will turn out to be wrong, though.

Griffin has everything an NBA team could want, including the desire to be great. And, of course, the No. 1 position on our list of the best power forwards in college basketball.

1. Blake Griffin, Oklahoma. The first time you see Griffin play on television, he looks like he couldn't be any taller than 6-5 or 6-6. Because nobody who runs like that, jumps like that, moves like that possibly could be carrying 250 pounds on a 6-10 frame. It defies logic. It seems to defy physics. Griffin is so powerfully explosive there's almost no one who has played this game who offers a proper comparison. What's impressive about his presence atop this list is that he chose to stick around college basketball to properly develop his game rather than jump to the NBA and hope his weaknesses would be disguised. Griffin understands he has to be a better jumpshooter to be the professional star he is capable of becoming. So here he is. Enjoy it while it lasts.

2. Austin Daye, Gonzaga. It feels really weird to be ranking Daye at this position, but it's kind of where he'll play for the Zags this season, so it only seemed right to place him in this column. But Daye's is the game of a small forward. He has a terrific mid-range game, is a creative scorer and is a superb 3-point shooter. If he plays anything like a power forward -- if he grows comfortable with contact and battles for rebounds -- he won't be around the college game much longer and Gonzaga will last long into March. Maybe April.

3. Kyle Singler, Duke. How happy Singler will be if he can spend this entire season at power forward. Last year he played more than his share of time at center -- way more -- and gradually wore down as the season progressed. The Duke coaches had little choice last season, but they understand this ultimately prevented them from enjoying their customary March success. Singler is extremely skilled for a player his size and can bother opponents with ball-handling, passing and deep shooting. And he will fight as a defender and rebounder. It'd be better if he gets to pick on players his own size, though.

4. Jon Brockman, Washington. If Brockman were two inches taller and played with a more prominent team, he might get the kind of love that comes easily to North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough. Brockman, too, plays with astounding energy, little regard to his own physical well-being and complete devotion to his team. Brockman averaged 11.6 rebounds last season. But too few noticed because his team landed outside the NCAA Tournament. This season appears to be more promising.

5. Earl Clark, Louisville. More than any other power forward ranked here, perhaps more than any player ranked at any position, Clark's presence is about potential. He has been a very good college player in two seasons with the Cardinals. He has the ability to be a great college player. And that is what Louisville will need from him. Clark has a basketball body: long arms, wide shoulders, thick muscles and soft hands. He should be as difficult a matchup as anyone because of the versatility to operate close to the goal, or to face the basket and either pull up and shoot or make a quick move to separate from the defense. Clark averaged only 11.1 points per game last season. He can do more.

6. Tyler Smith, Tennessee. As much as anyone not named Bruce Pearl, Smith made Tennessee a power last season. Smith was almost a shooting guard in his freshman season at Iowa, but following his transfer, the Volunteers needed someone to handle the tough stuff up front. They already had a center, Wayne Chism, with admitted rebounding issues, and they played three smalls on the perimeter. That left Smith to chase rebounds and guard bigger players. It probably wasn't the best thing for the development of his individual skill, but it certainly showed prospective employers he is willing to sacrifice to win games.

7. Derrick Brown, Xavier. There is no more athletically gifted player in college basketball. Brown is quick, fast, long, agile and dynamic. He can guard any position but point guard, and he might cause some problems for those guys, too. There is a bit of Tayshaun Prince about him; he has qualities that might be better appreciated when viewed on a more frequent basis. Brown still has not shown he is entirely comfortable as a lead scoring option. He ranked sixth among the Musketeers in shot attempts last season -- and second in scoring. There's a message in those numbers.

8. Robert Dozier, Memphis. It appears likely that freshman Tyreke Evans will take the greatest number of shots for the Tigers, but do not be surprised if Dozier makes more. He has yet to average double-figure scoring but played last season on a team with three guys who now are in the NBA. Dozier can drive the ball on most any power forward and is an improving shooter. With Joey Dorsey gone, he'll have to be more aggressive around the goal.

9. Brandon Costner, N.C. State. His sophomore season was a complete disaster, partly because he wasn't fully healthy and partly because the team's chemistry imploded, as so much was built around one-and-done freshman J.J. Hickson. It's not completely clear there won't be a hangover now that Hickson has departed, but Costner was terrific on a Labor Day playing trip with the Pack and also produced in the team's exhibition against Catawba. Costner can shoot from long range, is an effective passer and averaged 7.3 rebounds two seasons ago. He not only can be that player again, he could be better.

10. Lazar Hayward, Marquette. Although he took 101 shots fewer than guard Jerel McNeal, Hayward was outscored by only a bucket a game. He is not a classic power forward; listed at 6-6, he might be an inch or two shorter. But if not for his willingness to complete along the baseline, Marquette's weakness in the frontcourt would be even more profound. The Golden Eagles' three senior guards have been the essence of three very successful teams, but if Hayward were allowed more opportunities, the accomplishments could grow.

Honorable mention: Chris Wright, Dayton; DaJuan Summers, Georgetown; Luke Babbitt, Nevada; Raymar Morgan, Michigan State; Trevor Booker, Clemson; Craig Brackins, Iowa State; Marcus Landry, Wisconsin; Jeff Adrien, Connecticut; Deon Thompson, North Carolina; Gary Johnson, Texas; Lawrence Hill, Stanford; Geoff McDermott, Providence; DeMarre Carroll, Missouri.

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