Anybody who spent time here last season already knows we are big Kyle Whelliston fans. His Mid-Majority site is one of the best hoops havens on the Web and we are thrilled he will be doing stuff on the Mid Majors scene for ESPN.com this season (as long as his site does not suffer).

OWN YOUR OWN: Still available for a limited time, Hoop Time's commemorative "Take a Walk" t-shirt as written about on ESPN.com.

Kyle has some kind words for Bucknell in his ESPN piece on this season's possible Cinderella teams:

After a shocking 69-66 road win over Big East power Pittsburgh on January 3rd (and a subsequent win over NIT finalist St. Joseph's), the switchboard at the Lewisburg, Pa., campus was overwhelmed by media calls. Once Patriot League play began, though, Holy Cross emerged as the conference favorite and local interest waned as the Bison stumbled at modest places as American and Navy. By mid-January, the Bison were only managing half-capacity crowds and the orange-'froed arena MC struggled mightily to whip Sojka Pavilion attendees into anything resembling a frenzy. The kids couldn't even get enough people to paint their bodies to spell out the school's name -- they had to settle for 'BUCKN.'

So, we're not going to be fooled into believing the Kansas win created mass acceptance. Sure, home games against Villanova and St. Joseph's have sold out already and there have even been a few 'Rock, Chalk, Take a Walk' T-shirts seen on the streets around campus, but the Bison are undoubtedly still a mid -- which is a good thing. Just don't tell anyone they have all five starters back, including underrated point Abe Badmus, sharpshooter Kevin Bettencourt, athletic wing Charles Lee and legit big man Chris McNaughton.

Just a few small problems: Even after the wins over Pitt and St. Joe's, Sojka was never close to full, save for the Patriot League opener when they let people in for free, bringing a plethora of the notoriously tight-fisted locals out for that game, few of which were seen again all season.

The Villanova game is, indeed, sold out, but there are still plenty of seats available for the Saint Joseph's game.

And the "BUCKN" thing ... That never happened either. (In fact BU sports information director Jon Terry assures me that they had enough to spell the whole name at every game. "At one point I think we even had an exclamation point," says Terry.) Ditto for the T-shirts ... we didn't sell that many and none were shipped to Lewisburg (though the official bookstore shirts were, and are, all over campus).

Also on ESPN.com: Andy Katz and Doug Gottlieb have both picked Bucknell as one of their three Mid Majors to keep an eye on this season. Says Katz:

3. Bucknell
The Bison return all five starters and no longer will be the sleeper team no one pays attention to until it's too late. Bucknell beat Pittsburgh and Saint Joseph's on the road last season. A win at Duke would be a bit farfetched, but beating Villanova at home isn't a reach. Saint Joe's and DePaul also could get nipped by the Bison.

Gottlieb goes even further, predicting Holy Cross might make the PL a two-bid league for the first time.