Let's talk hygiene. Cleanliness. Avoiding the spread of germs.

(This is definitely the second straight post with the word 'urinal.' I think that's probably my readership cause.)

We all know that we're supposed to, you know, wash our hands after using the restroom. Do we do this all the time? Probably not, right? Me, I'd say I have about a 90 percent success rate at home, and a 100 percent success rate in public locations (except when the sink doesn't work, or there's urine in it or something). 90 percent is probably overstating, slightly, but not by much.

So, there's a urinal and a stall in the primary restroom at our office. On a particular day earlier this week, I arrived at the door shortly before a newish coworker. I headed to the urinal and, with the urinal taken, he headed to the stall. I finished first. I then proceeded to the sink.

Some soaping, some scrubbing, some pounding my hands against the sink to dry them off a bit before heading to the automatic dryer. As I walk away from the sink, he walks out of the stall. He makes a pithy joke, picks up his coffee mug from a countertop, and walks out. Just walks out. Didn't even make a move towards the sink. Didn't even do the 'run some water over my hands' thing. Just left.

I was a little disgusted, I think. Well, rather, a lot disgusted. At least put up the appearance, pal.

Some will argue that, hey, if you didn't touch anything, or if you didn't pee on your hands, you don't need to wash. I'll respectfully disagree.

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Cats hoops optimism: I'll be honest, here, I've got less than I usually have. This team's incredibly frustrating, only because there's not a single shooter on the roster. Moore sucks. Okrzesik sucks. After Coble and Prince Vince, there's not a single guy I want to see shooting from the outside. And, of course, that's your 4 and your 5 right there, which is fine. I'd rather see Sterling Williams shoot than Moore or Okrzesik or, sadly, Ryan.

It's nice to look at Coble's fantastic freshman season, particularly the fact that he's getting more aggressive on the defensive glass. And it's nice to think that Ryan and Nash will get a year better. But the problem here is that Moore and Williams have certainly not gotten a year better, and Moore seems to be a bit of a headcase. It's like he's had his Winston Blake meltdown two years early.

What is interesting is that, next year, I wouldn't be at all surprised if the Cats wind up starting 6-8 (Coble), 6-7 (Ryan), 6-6 (frosh Capocci), 6-3 (Moore), 6-3 for the roster, with 6-7 doing the majority of the ballhandling while also defending the top of the 1-3-1. I just saw that Nash is listed at 6-4, which I find tough to believe.

Right now, the only true post-ish kind of player on next year's roster is Coble. The two Croatians are redshirting, and there's not another post player in the pipeline. But maybe that's okay, I guess. It's a philosophical thing - problem is, the philosophy doesn't rebound. (Actually, as I think about it, Tolic might come back next year, too. I think he's junior-eligible, but I also think he might go get a real job, too.)

Can 'the system' work in the Big Ten? I don't know, but I think it can. It can certainly work in the Big East (Georgetown, especially West Virginia), and it can work in the WAC (Mountain West?) (Air Force), and it worked in the ACC (NC State), and it might get off the ground in the PAC 10 (Arizona State), though that one'll take time.

The problem is, for all the emphasis on the fundamentals - dribbling, passing, bounce passing, dribble-handoffs, forced bounced passes, sky hooks, shooting, perhaps - there's never an emphasis on ferocity. I don't know how many times they've missed around the bucket because Scott or Coble or Ryan are afraid to dunk the ball. (I know Ryan can dunk, and I can't confirm that Coble or Scott can, but they're big guys, dude.) Part of the reason NU lost the first Wisconsin game is because Scott got swatted from behind on a wide open layup - throw it down, dude. The ferocity particularly comes across in the rebounding numbers, which is why I like that Coble's been so violent in pulling down boards in the last two games - not just getting his hands on the ball, but getting his hands on the ball and ripping it away from everyone else. They need more of that.

I love Carmody - he's funny, he's straightforward, he's likable, he's committed - but he's never been an emotional type. You can't win as a coach strictly with fire - O'Neill and countless others have proven that - and you can win without it - Coach K certainly never has been fiery, or Self, or any number of top choops coaches - but I certainly wouldn't mind it. It's got to come from somewhere, and I wish it could sometimes come from someone on the coaching staff. Under BC and staff, it never has. Maybe Tavaras can take that role. He is, after all, the freakin' Tavaras.

I also wish we could recruit some...non-whites. We'll have Sterling and Nash and the new Michael Thompson next year. They say he's pretty good.

Enough about next year, though.

A thought on this year's roster: Gosh, I kind of love Tim Doyle. Only at NU.

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We're coming down to the wire on the apartment thing. I'm looking at a lakefront (though not the lakefront) place. I've only got to confirm that the complex actually has a lakefront unit available. No washer / dryer, no real laundry on site but, wow, what a view. And a really accessible track around the lake, too. Otherwise, it's probably the same complex I'm squatting at right now, because it's pretty nice.

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I definitely drank two straight nights this weekend. I'm feeling it today. Roomie's last Saturday in town, after all.