There are years when preseason college basketball exhibition games are pointless exercises, utterly forgettable bridges to the tipoff of the regular season.

        There are also years when the games take on a greater value, when they are necessary to help determine roles and pinpoint team and individual weaknesses.

AT A GLANCE

• What: UC vs. California Southeast All-Stars   • When: 8:05 p.m. today   • Where: Shoemaker Center (13,176)   • TV/Radio: None   • Tickets: $20 adults, $12 youth (12 and under)

        That's the way it is for the University of Cincinnati, which plays host to the California Southeast All-Stars at 8:05p.m. today at Shoemaker Center.

        The players and coaches can't wait.

        “We need it because I haven't been able to play our top six, seven guys together,” said 12th-year UC coach Bob Huggins. “These guys need to get a lot of work. We need to play with officials, and we need to run up and down (the court). We haven't run up and down much.”

        Most important: “I'm going to find out who's going to help us and who's not,” Huggins said.

        The probable starting lineup is Steve Logan and Kenny Satterfield in the backcourt, Donald Little at center, Jamaal Davis at power forward and either Leonard Stokes or Immanuel McElroy at small forward. Expect to see plenty of the one who does not start.

        Everyone should play, except injured forward Antwan Jones, who is at least a month from returning from foot surgery.

        Huggins said he already is evaluating his players.

        “The freshmen know what they're doing now,” Huggins said. “The upperclassmen should be way ahead.

        “We've got to start getting guys ready to play, and I can't fool around with guys that aren't going to help us. They should be to the point where they've shown us whether they're going to help us or not. Sometimes that's everybody; sometimes you've got a couple guys who aren't going to help you, and they're not going to get near the reps (in practice) the other guys are.”

        Huggins expects tonight to help determine some of that. Sometimes, he said, a player looks good because of whom he is competing against in practice every day.

        UC, ranked No.14 in the USA Today/ESPN preseason coaches poll, plays another exhibition game a week from tonight against MAFC-KE Budapest. The regular-season opener is in two weeks, against Boise State.

        The biggest name on the California Southeast roster is Rumeal Robinson, a former Michigan star. The All-Stars lost at Xavier (101-76) Friday night, at Louisville (95-87) Wednesday night and at Kentucky (98-82) Thursday night.

        “Am I excited to play? I've been waiting on this for a long time, to get the season going and show people what we can do, because everybody's doubting us,” Logan said. “I'm ready for the new guys to get a little older so they can get some experience.

        “I want to see us against somebody else, see how we compete. I know a couple guys will always compete, but I want to know how the young guys will do. And personally, I want to see how I'm going to do. That's the big thing. I've worked so hard and I want to compete and win. I'm ready to go.”
       

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