It didn’t take long for premature polls to pop up for the 2008-09 men’s basketball season and, not surprisingly, West Virginia’s is held in high regard.

7. WEST VIRGINIA - If late-season sensation Alexander, a 6-foot-8 forward, sticks around for his senior year and teams up with top recruit Kevin Jones, a 6-7 forward, the Mountaineers will have a potent one-two punch in the frontcourt.

Other polls of less repute have WVU in the top 20, though they all include the same caveat about Alexander, which makes this this the time to say it’s expected he will soon announce his intention to enter the draft. (Edit: Fantastic. It’s official now. Google it. ) He’ll do all the camps and workouts, but will say from the beginning that it’s his plan to return to school for his senior season. He’s been telling people as much for a while now.

That said, when one tests the waters, sometimes it feels really good and you soon realize it’s a good idea to take a swim. Who knows what happens, but he can’t be blamed for heading in this direction. The only thing you should root for is that he doesn’t get hurt in the process.