For the first time in a decade, four of the top big men in the country decided to return to college without even testing NBA draft waters. Hasheem Thabeet (cover athlete) of UCONN, Tyler Hansbrough of UNC, Luke Harangody of Notre Dame and Blake Griffin of Oklahoma all came back for another year, and will make outsized contributions to their teams. In the new issue of ESPN The Magazine, on sale Friday, November 7th, writers Luke Cyphers and Elena Bergeron go one on one in “Massive Returns,” with the big men on their decision to stay in school and to chase one more year of Madness.

• Thabeet: “I study players from back in the day – Hakeem Olajuwon, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Real Bigs cannot just overpower people. I want to have skills.”
• Thabeet on big man competition: “Nobody’s better than me, only more experienced. I played Luke Harangody and he was not tough. Tyler Hansbrough? I don’t see nothing.”
• Hansbrough on toughest big man for him: “The guys on Clemson. I don’t want to gas up any one of them, but they’re a really good team.”
• Luke Harangody on expectations: “Last season, no one saw me coming. It wasn’t until the middle of the Big East schedule that the double-teams started. I’ll be ready for them this time. It’s flattering that the spotlight is on me now, but it also puts the pressure on. That’s okay, it motivates me.”
• Blake Griffin on playing one more year and with his brother: “It’s his last year; we might never again get the chance to play together. Besides, we’re on a team that can do something special.”

Also in the College Basketball preview - who will sink, who will swim and who will win it all? The Magazine’s College hoops experts give the lowdown on the best and brightest heading into the 2008 season. Their unanimous pick as National Champ… UNC. Plus, there’s no official fantasy college hoops, but The Mag thinks there should be. So thinking ahead of the curve, The Mag maps out a way to play fantasy hoops with your friends based on a player’s stats.

It's time to pick this year's NEXT athlete, the athlete destined to make the biggest impact on sports in the coming year (and years). The Mag’s 2009 NEXT finalists are Joey Logano (NASCAR), David Price (Tampa Bay Rays), Ricky Rubio (Basketball/Spain) and Matt Ryan (Atlanta Falcons). Fans can vote at espnthemag.com from November 10th – 17th. Go to espnthemag.com now to view exclusive video and interviews with the NEXT finalists.

In his latest The Sports Guy column, Bill Simmons writes about how a hobbled and injured Greg Oden is looking less and less like a NBA cornerstone. But Simmons wants to be wrong - as he thinks the NBA needs more players like Oden.

• Simmons on Oden: “I can’t remember a more fascinating big guy. Shaq was contrived. Robinson was a saint. Ewing was forced. Hakeem was bland. Kareem was a ninny. Wilt was self absorbed. Russell was angry and defiant. Oden presents the first chance for us to connect with a big guy on a semi-spiritual level. He’s the lovable goofball who could have been your college roommate or next-door neighbor, the kid who went big time and took us with him. I want him to make it for the simple fact that I love basketball and we need more players like him. We just do.”

Other features in the latest issue of ESPN The Magazine include:

WHO’S SORRY NOW.  When Steve Smith broke the nose of Ken Luca, it could have ripped the Panthers apart. Instead, a simple sorry smoothed an early season run.  Ryan McGee reports.

GIMME A F…! To fully grasp how much LSU fans love their Tigers, ask them how much they dislike Alabama coach Nick Saban. Wright Thompson reports.

CUTMAN.  When it comes to gaping wounds, no sport has more than MMA. Good thing men like Stitch Duran are around to close them. Chris Jones reports.

Source: ESPN

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Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus, and is available as a freelance writer.

Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network.

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