Wow. Basketball practice begins in a little more than 3 weeks. That’s right. Midnight Madness begins Friday, uh, afternoon (more genius from the NCAA) on October 14.

Time for a little catch-up.

Chevon Troutman was drafted in the 3rd round of the Continental Basketball Association draft by the Albany Patroons.

Chevon Troutman, a 6-foot-6, 240-pound forward from the University of Pittsburgh, was taken in the third round. Greg Hotchkiss of the sports information department at Pitt said Wednesday that the last he heard from Troutman, he was playing in Italy.

If Troutman decides to play in the CBA, the Patroons hold his rights for the next 2 years.

The TV contract for Big East Basketball rights doesn’t expire for a couple more years, but there is already speculation as to the size of it since negotiations are expected to begin soon.

It will be interesting to see if the Big East can land ACC-like dollars. It will be interesting to see if the league can jack the current $11 million contract up enough to give all teams, including the five new ones, more than approximately $900,000 per year.

To do that, commish Mike Tranghese and company would have to ink a $16 million or $17 million deal. Is $20 million out of the question?

Maybe the Big East should do what the ACC did in its latest football negotiations: hire IMG’s Barry Frank as a negotiator.

Whatever the case, don’t look for Tranghese to lay an egg in those talks.

There will be a lot riding on this contract. Not just for money for each team — absolutely vital for teams like UConn, Louisville and Syracuse — but also giving the teams exposure on TV — which is very important to recruiting and profile for schools like Providence, DePaul and South Florida. Getting both will go a long way to determining how long the bloated incarnation of the Big East can survive.

SI.com is starting to get ready for b-ball season. They do a slide show of the top-10 Point guards. Carl Krauser is #9.

Then there is Levon Kendall. After his summer playing on both the Canadian Under-21 and full National teams he was the subject of an interesting article last week (you people didn’t think I forgot about or missed it did you?). He spoke openly about wanting to be a leader on the team and assume a more prominent role.

There’s no doubt as a Junior he will have the opportunity early in the season, but there will be a lot of competition for minutes at the forward positions. He will have to play better defense (not get caught in a bad position and commit the foul) and be a much more consistent shooter. His energy and hustle are not in question

The part of the interview that got everyone’s attention, though, was what he said about Krauser.

“He’s definitely going to win some games for us down the stretch,” said Kendall, who likely will be the leading candidate to play small forward this season. “It’ll be interesting to see if he buys into the system and can play with the other guys because I think the group we have right now really plays well together.

“We have a strong group, and I think Carl will realize that if he buys into that, it’s going to make him a lot better player. He’s still going to get his shots. I’ve been telling people that when it comes down to it, he’s going to have the ball in a position to score. He’s still going to be the go-to guy.”

Here’s the thing. I don’t disagree with any of that. I’ve been saying that since Krauser decided not to go pro. It’s the big thing I’ll be watching to see from Coach Jamie Dixon. Keeping Krauser in the team game.

The surprising thing is it came — attributed — from one of his teammates. Essentially calling him out before the practices even start to not make it the “Carl Krauser Show.” How that plays in the locker and between Krauser and Kendall will be an intriguing subplots this year.