There are plenty of college hoops fan bases in this here United States of A. that would kill to have the talent that's currently, probably even as you read this, getting the practice whistle treatment from Rick Barnes in Austin, Tex. Texas has the second-best recruiting class on the way, in addition to Florida transfer Jai Lucas and standout holdover Damion James. The Longhorns were ranked third in the preseason Coaches' Poll. Most pundits believe them to be the second or third best team in the country. It's a very good time to be a Texas hoops fan.

Except, to listen to Burnt Orange Nation on the subject, there aren't too many people who consider themselves Texas hoops fans in the first place.

For the diehards, we'll be there regardless, but I've been polling students about their knowledge of basketball right now.  As of now, the average UT student has absolutely no idea about two key items:

1) The season starts in two weeks

2) This will be THE storybook season for UT Basketball

That's not good.  And even though Texas is a "football school," this doesnt mean that all efforts to drum up support for basketball during the Fall Semester should be abandoned..  Especially not this season.  Just like the new $100 million dollar movie, "This Is It" for UT Basketball.  And, if you were going to market this team, there is no shortage of possibilities.

Perhaps that's just the student body; perhaps the rest of the fan base is just as excited for basketball season as they are for Colt McCoy and co.'s current bid for a national title in football. But Texas fans, seriously, don't take this for granted. Your team is awesome. Yes, Rick Barnes tends to put together awesome teams with alarming frequency, but very rarely are the teams this awesome, and within the larger context of college basketball in general, it's even rarer. Don't wait until February to experience it. Get out there and enjoy it while you can. It's either that, or enjoy your fate as one of those students who never saw Kevin Durant play live because you were too busy "studying" and "laying around eating chips in your dorm room." You will regret this. Trust me.

Related: Big 12 Basketball