I saw the Canes men's basketball team make their 2007-2008 debut Tuesday night, albeit in an exhibition game. The Canes beat a bad Barry team, 82-50 after leading 40-17 at halftime.

Here are my observations:

JACK McCLINTON WILL BE THE STAR - The 6-1 junior shooting guard made his first five three-point shots and finished with 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting from deep. McClinton is one of the best shooters in the ACC, and I expect a big season from him.

EDWIN RIOS IS THE ANSWER AT POINT GUARD - The freshman who led Miami High to a state title as a sophomore will get major minutes at the point this season. The Canes started junior-college transfer Lance Hurdle on Tuesday, but Rios is the better player.

RIOS MORE UNSELFISH - A bit of a ball hog in high school, Rios shared the ball in Tuesday's game, finding his old Miami High teammate Dwayne Collins for a few assists inside. Rios seemed more humble than in high school, too.

CANES CAN BEAT ZONES - Rios is an excellent shooter. With McClinton, Rios and Brian Asbury starting on the perimeter, teams will think twice about zoning the Canes. Backup guard James Dews is a good shooter, too.

DEEPER UP FRONT - The Canes have more depth up front than last season with Anthony King and Dwayne Collins the top two and Jimmy Graham and Ray Hicks next in line. Adrian Thomas can also help out at forward. Freshman Julian Gamble could redshirt.

COACH THEM UP - Most of the frontcourt scoring comes by virtue of put-backs. Collins, a sophomore, is a great leaper with long arms but he has few post moves. King, a 5th-year senior, has the same problem. Ditto Graham, a junior, and Hicks, a senior.

TOP FIVE - Coach Frank Haith started Hurdle, McClinton, Asbury, Graham and King and used Rios and Collins as energy off the bench. As for who I think will be in there to finish close games: Rios, McClinton, Asbury, Collins and King.

RECRUITING IS STILL THE KEY - Haith has three young stars from the Miami prep ranks - Rios, Asbury and Collins - but he has yet to capture the big national recruit the program needs.

MORE RECRUITING - Even more troubling is that the top two South Florida kids in the Class of 2008 - wing Ray Shipman and post Eloy Vargas - have committed to rival Florida. And it does not look like Miami will get 2009 star Kenny Boynton or 2010 Brandon Knight.

UPDATE - Boynton, a 6-2 shooting guard, lists Ohio State, Texas, Duke and Florida at the top of his list of college choices. That's tough company for Miami to beat. Knight, a 6-3 point guard, is hurt and out until at least January.