FRESH START

Tomorrow marks one of my favorite days as a sports writer.
Wednesday will serve as Big East media day at Madison Square Garden, a chance for writers from across the conference to speak with every league coach and certain key players. It’s an opportunity to get a sense of what the newsmakers from around the league think and begin searching for story ideas to work on throughout the season.
I’ll be very interested to see what others have to say about UConn, a far different team than a year ago. Replacing a group filled with veterans and soon-to-be NBA draft choices is an ultra-young roster, but one filled with talent.
I’m already of the belief the Huskies will crack the top-10 at some point — an easy schedule before the Big East opener at West Virginia will facilitate that rise in the polls — but hearing the opinions of league coaches should make for some interesting assessments.
After only getting to see a few practices so far and with the exhibition season set to begin in about a week, tomorrow sets the stage for a long haul that usually runs into the latter stages of March and maybe beyond when you’re covering UConn. Here’s to a new beginning.