ESPN Men's Basketball

At 3 a.m., with wind whipping and a light snow falling, I found myself walking around the better part of the circumference of Ford Field -- in a skirt, wearing a spring raincoat for protection (yes, it was Detroit, but it was also April).

A colleague, who shall remain nameless to protect the directionally challenged, had decided he knew better than me which way to get to the parking garage, and his decision, coupled with bad advice from the security guard manning the press entrance door, sent us on a miserable escapade in the predawn of April 7.

Just a few hours earlier, North Carolina had cut down the nets after blowing out Michigan State in the national championship game, enjoyed a "One Shining Moment" serenade and officially put a close to the 2008-09 season.

Our subzero car search somehow seemed like a fitting end to the season. There was no one on the street, no joy, no mirth, no sign that a national champion had just been crowned, a sort of so-much-for-'08-09-let's-bring-on-next-season moment.

This past basketball season had flashes of drama (thank you, Lute Olson and Billy Gillispie) and moments of mayhem (the hot-potato No. 1 ranking), but for the most part it was mind-numbingly dull.

North Carolina was expected to win in November and won in April.

The talent cycle that rolled in too many quality freshmen to count the year before offered slim pickings in this past season's rookie class.

There were more average teams than great teams, setting up a yawner of an NCAA tournament, in which blowouts were commonplace and Cinderella was left stranded in a pumpkin (when Arizona is your upset story, you got problems).

The selection committee should have sent roses to Scottie Reynolds and Michigan State. Reynolds provided the lone drama with his buzzer-beating winner against Pittsburgh in the Elite Eight and Michigan State offered an electric atmosphere in what otherwise would have been a funereal Ford Field.

Done in by the economy (save for Lexington, where a multimillion-dollar coach is always money well spent), even the offseason coaching carousel has been more hypnotically boring than wildly spinning.

The beautiful thing about sports? There's always next year, and the early signs point to a more entertaining 2010.

The blue bloods are back (Kansas and Kentucky), reloaded Butler offers some mid-major fervor, Indiana actually has players, and thanks to John Calipari turning recruiting into an arms race, there could be so much friction when Kentucky and Louisville meet in Rupp Arena the Commonwealth might actually combust.

And hey, the Final Four is in Indianapolis, so snow squalls are less likely.

But the biggest and best news about 2010 is the basketball sandwich that is currently being cooked in hoops kitchens everywhere. Talented upperclassmen are eschewing the NBA in favor of another year in college, prepping to pair up with an equally talented rookie class.

It's the promise of a talent largesse that was sorely lacking this past season, when a wading-pool-deep rookie class combined with the mass NBA exodus to dilute the game.

Now, despite an underclassmen list longer than Hasheem Thabeet's wingspan, a number of really good players -- likely lottery picks -- are giving the NBA the brush-off: Kansas' Cole Aldrich, Oklahoma's Willie Warren, Iowa State's Craig Brackins, North Carolina's Ed Davis, Wake Forest's Al-Farouq Aminu and Georgetown's Greg Monroe all were viewed as high first-round picks, aka instant millionaires.

All of them decided to stay in school despite a draft year that has been labeled one of the weakest in recent memory.

"My goal isn't to get drafted," said Warren, echoing the sentiments of many. "My goal is to keep maturing and learning and be a part of something special. I want to be in the NBA for a long time and be an elite player. To lead a team in college and be the face of the program takes me one more step toward accomplishing that."

Saying "no" to the NBA isn't entirely unheard of. Just a year ago we were celebrating the returns of Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green, and three years ago the Florida Gators returned to court history and wound up winning back-to-back championships (in '06 and '07).

But to have so many highly thought of players independently return is almost unheard of, a tantalizing display of being true to one's school despite dollars dangling like carrots made of carats.

That the risk-taking returnees have partners in highly touted rookies also ought to make things more exciting. Consider that Aldrich and returning guard Sherron Collins will pair with Xavier Henry at Kansas; Warren with Keith Gallon and Tommy Mason-Griffin at Oklahoma; and Davis with John Henson at North Carolina. Mix in DeMarcus Cousins and Daniel Orton at Kentucky, Avery Bradley (ESPN's top-rated freshman) and Jordan Hamilton at Texas, plus John Wall at a school to be named later, and you have practically the entire roster for the 2010 NBA draft.

"The reason everyone is saying next year is going to be so much better is because of all the players returning," Warren said. "That's not pressure at all. I think it's a challenge. If you're one of the top seven to 10 players this year, why can't you be the same if not better next year?"

A year ago, the Big East was the beneficiary of the brave new world of returning players. While other leagues took big roster hits with players bolting for the NBA, the Big East lost only two players (Syracuse's Donte Greene and West Virginia's Joe Alexander) early. That imbued league rosters with that rarest of commodities -- experience.

It is no coincidence that the Big East teams that went the furthest (Villanova, Connecticut, Pittsburgh and Louisville) also had a glut of seniors and juniors.

Now the Big East is in serious restocking mode, while the Big 12 -- with Kansas looking like the consensus preseason No. 1 -- officially becomes something other than a football conference.

Aldrich, Collins, Warren and Brackins return, while five of ESPN's top 15 recruits join the conference (and 21 of the top 100).

"I'm always hesitant to predict these things, because as soon as you do it changes," said Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe. "But with the players we have coming back and the signees at our institutions, we're certainly headed in the direction of one of the top conferences in the country."

And all early signs point to a more entertaining 2009-10 season.

I already know one thing: I'm in charge of finding the car.

Dana O'Neil covers college basketball for ESPN.com and can be reached at espnoneil@live.com.