It can't be seven months ago that Gordon Hayward's shot from halfcourt came so close to providing one of the greatest endings in sports history.
It can't be eight months ago that a lot of people learned in a hurry to correctly pronounce Ali Farokhmanesh, after the Northern Iowa guard hit the 3-pointer that everybody has imitated whenever they get on a court.
Time to file away those memories of Butler and Duke's epic title game, of the Panthers beating top-ranked Kansas on a jaw-dropping 3. A new season gets under way Monday and the biggest change will come in March when, for the first time, people fill out NCAA tournament brackets that have three more teams and three more games.
But first comes four months of the regular season.
It starts with Duke a solid preseason No. 1 in most polls, and Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski's title collection now includes a gold medal from the World Championships. His roster includes seniors Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith back to defend their national championship.
''I've been fortunate. I had to close last season right away to coach the U.S. team, so last season seems to me like a lot of years ago,'' said Krzyzewski, whose four national titles are tied with Adolph Rupp and behind only John Wooden (10). ''I just jumped right into that. It's probably the easiest for me to put last season behind.''
Singler and Smith have a chance to join the Duke elite with a second title.
''You're going to hear this a lot from us: We're not defending last year and not trying to repeat,'' said Singler, a preseason All-American for the second straight season. ''We know for the freshmen coming in, they're hungry to win the national championship. At the same time, we're trying to win another one. That's our main focus. We're just trying to stay motivated and Coach is also helping us in doing that.''
This season's versions of Duke and No. 17 Butler meet Dec. 4 at the Meadowlands, one of two games the Blue Devils play against last season's Final Four. They meet No. 2 Michigan State on Dec. 1 and, eight days earlier, will have faced No. 12 Gonzaga or No. 3 Kansas State in the CBE Classic.
''Someone asked me if we don't win a national championship, will it ruin the year?'' Singler said. ''You just never know what to expect in the year and toward the end of the year, we're not worried about that right now. There's so much we can accomplish, especially at the beginning of the year and the middle of the year. There's so much to learn and experience.
''We definitely have the caliber of talent to accomplish what we did last year.''
No program has ever lost as much talent as Kentucky did from a team that was ranked in the top five all season. Five underclassmen - including freshmen All-Americans John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins - were taken in the first round of the NBA draft.
No problem for coach John Calipari, who brought in a recruiting class considered so good that the Wildcats are No. 11 in the preseason Top 25. Led by Brandon Knight, considered the best prep point guard last season, this class of Wildcats will have to live with the comparisons to Wall and Co., who were beaten by West Virginia one game shy of the Final Four.
''Anybody compared to that group of kids, you're going to be on the short end,'' Calipari said. ''This is a totally different team.''
There are plenty of other quality newcomers, led by Harrison Barnes, the 6-foot-8 forward who is the first freshmen to be selected to The Associated Press' preseason All-America team and the player who is being looked to lead a quick turnaround for North Carolina.
The Tar Heels, who missed the NCAA tournament last season, were picked eighth in the preseason Top 25, a ranking based on the freshmen class led by Barnes.
''It remains to be seen if Harrison is going to continue to grow, but from this point, I've never been around a freshman who has this kind of intensity at this stage of his freshman year,'' Tar Heels coach Roy Williams said.
It will be hard for any story this season to draw the emotion than that of Purdue's Robbie Hummel. He worked hard in the offseason, rehabbing from knee surgery that kept him out of the final month of last season. In the first few days of practice, the senior tore the same ACL and is out for the season, one that starts with the Boilermakers still ranked 14th.
That's where they start, at least. Where teams end up in March is anyone's guess.
