You won’t find any Michael Jordans in college basketball. In fact, you won’t find any superstars such as Kobe Bryant or Allen Iverson either. The true superstars at the NCAA level don’t even play. You’ll find them on the sideline, in a suit, calling out the next play. No sport is influenced more by its coaches than college basketball. It is no coincidence that the college powerhouses such as Duke and Connecticut are led by legendary coaches such as Mike Krzyewski and Jim Calhoun.

This is the reason that no one has as much pressure on his shoulders this upcoming basketball season as BU head coach Al Walker.

In a season in which the America East is wide-open, the Bearcats have a golden opportunity to establish themselves as a solid Division I program. Yes, they have a 6-6 center and they obviously need to improve on the road where they have yet to win at Boston, Hartford and Vermont. But with the talent on this team, anything short of a NCAA tournament berth can’t be considered a success.

Much will be learned during the 2005-06 basketball season. We’ll find out if point guard Mike Gordon is indeed the general and if senior Andre Heard is really one of the top three players in the conference. And one thing we’ll know for sure — just how good our superstar really is.

Binghamton’s only D-I coach arrived here six years ago with one main goal: to win. Although the Bearcats obtained their first-ever playoff victory last year, they still finished the season below .500. With an overall record of 63-79, this has to be the year that Walker brings Binghamton to the promised land.