Talking hoops:

Kyle Whelliston is a writer for ESPN.com and runs a Web site about mid-major college basketball, MidMajority.com.

The Mirror: How did you become involved with mid-major college basketball?

Kyle Whelliston: I went to the University of Oregon, and we beat the crap out of little schools all the time. It wasn’t until I transferred to Drexel that I really learned to appreciate the struggles these teams go through for respect. Every one of the 341 Division I teams has a theoretical shot at the National Championship, and I find that fascinating.

TM: What do you think about the job that Ed Cooley has done with Fairfield in a year and a half? What do you think about the Stags’ chances this season?

KW: I say give Cooley a flyer on last year, this is going to be a very different and – in my opinion – very improved squad in 2007-08. That’s taking nothing away from Michael Van Schaick ’07, who was a solid ballplayer who did anything you asked him to. The Stags were just so weak inside last year. That won’t be a problem now with the addition of Mike Evanovich ’09 from Iowa State. … There are a lot of smaller teams in the MAAC that he’ll just monsterize, just you watch. I’m writing this with the luxury of one game in the books, and he really handled himself well against a very decent Wake team. If they can get anything resembling outside shooting and decent play from the freshmen, they’ll finish in the top half of the league.

TM: Who do you think is the favorite to win the MAAC?

KW: I see a really tough two-team race between Loyola and Siena. For everything that’s been lost through graduation and transfer, Coach Fran McCaffery’s really put together a talented team up there in Albany this year. The Greyhounds are the best story in the league: One win a few years ago, totally rebuilt under Head Coach Jimmy Patsos, poised to win the auto-bid.

TM: Mid-majors are your speciality, but who is your early favorite to win the NCAA Championship in March?

KW: I’m going to say Clemson. Why? Because there’s a pretty redhead in a Clemson sweatshirt here in the Panera Bread restaurant I’m typing this up in. If the Tigers can overcome their considerable weaknesses and shock the world at 5000-to-1 odds, I’ll be a college basketball genius. If they fulfill their destiny as an eighth-place ACC team, this will be just another worthless preseason pick that’s forgotten, like the rest of them.