Best day of autumn: NCAA hoops, USC and UCLA

Starting in late September, from the time I could go by myself into a drugstore or convenience store or any place that sold magazines, I would start looking for the Street and Smith's college basketball issue.

It was early Christmas, unwrapping the magazine page by page, finding out what team was ranked No. 1, where my beloved Marquette Warriors would show up (yes, they were the Warriors and not the Golden Eagles way back when), see what college seniors were All-American favorites (they were mostly seniors) and what high school players were being highly recruited (we didn't have the Internet and a billion recruiting services to give a rating to a 5-foot-4 seventh-grade point guard).

That magazine would last me for a good two weeks of study. I went looking for Street and Smith's this year and it wasn't until a couple of days ago, when I found Sporting News and Athlon and Lindy's but no Street and Smith's that I realized Street and Smith's is gone. Sporting News took over Street and Smith's. Like just about every bank I've ever used, the name of my old favorite has changed/been consolidated/disappeared.

Sporting News still looks like Street and Smith's, though and it still has things like a boys high school All-America team (actually first, second third and fourth teams) and a women's preview and a boys high school top 25 to go along with its college top 25 (Mater Dei is No. 1).

The pressure is off UCLA and USC a bit this year. Most pre-season polls and magazines have UCLA around No. 7 and USC in the second half of the top 25. Last year the Bruins and soon-to-be first-team All-American freshman center Kevin Love were ranked No. 1 at various times during the season. The Bruins are still favored to win the Pac-10, but a fourth consecutive Final Four would be a pleasant surprise instead of an expected burden.

The burden of expectations belongs to North Carolina now and its returning top six scorers and glitzy recruits. UCLA Coach Ben Howland can step back, take a breath, smile and work on surprises. His team is only favored to win the Pac-10 this year. Nothing to it.

-- Diane Pucin

Photo: Ben Howland has been known to try to rally his players from the sidelines. The pressure might be a little less this season. Credit: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times