It’s long been a complaint that the student sections in the Frank Erwin Center leave a lot to be desired. And to keep from pointing fingers at any one particular group, I’ll go ahead and expand that complaint to the entire arena. The simple fact of the matter is that the FEC is rarely home to an intimidating atmosphere, and is nowhere near the level of product that Rick Barnes puts out on the floor every year. And while these are issues I plan on addressing here at LRT as we close in on opening night, today it seems like there may be a little hope that things are going to be different this year.

The marketing department in Belmont has scheduled a night of giveaways, promotions, and general pandemonium to be held in Gregory Gym on Friday, October 26th. While I couldn’t get much in the way of exact details from the gentleman I spoke to in the marketing office, he repeatedly mentioned that they were looking to get the word out to students about the basketball program.

Of course, most students still have no idea what is going on with the ticket system or the Stampede pass, and there is the looming question of whether or not anything will be done to remedy the giant clusterfuck that occurred at the final home game of the season against A&M. And sure, there’s still more to be done to increase attendance in the rest of the arena. But I’m glad to see some acknowledgment that there’s an elite basketball team on this campus and a slight effort to get our gigantic student body to fill up its small ticket allotment.

I’ll post more details as they are released, but for now let’s all cross our fingers that this is the first in a series of initiatives to increase attendance.

As the football team hosts Kansas State and Vince Young revists the Forty Acres, the UT basketball staff is also busy. Jeff Taylor, Jr. will be in Austin on a recruiting visit this weekend, and word on the street is that the Horns are extremely high on the kid. But before the weekend’s visit even begins, the basketball offices in Belmont are already riding high from great news elsewhere on the recruiting front. Louisiana’s Greg Monroe trimmed his list of schools today, and Texas remains a part of the exclusive club.

Monroe, ranked as the #1 recruit by Rivals.com, narrowed his list of schools to five, all of whom will receive a visit. The Greg Monroe tour starts next weekend with hometown school LSU, considered one of the two favorites in the recruiting chase. The following weekend, Georgetown hosts the high school star, and most think the Hoyas are leading the hunt. Connecticut and the Dukies join Texas in the final five, although the Huskies and Horns have not yet scheduled visits with Monroe.

Meanwhile, the Horns will be pushing hard for Taylor, a Swedish national and son of a former Texas Tech guard. Jeff played his high school ball back in the States, having lived in New Mexico with his uncle the last few years. Both Tech and New Mexico are working their ties to try to land the kid, but Mark Few and Gonzaga are still recruiting Taylor, who spent his summer playing for the U18 Swedish national team.

If you happen to see Jeff on campus this weekend, be sure to shout out a quick hello. It certainly can’t hurt to have him already feeling like the Big Man on Campus.

Sylven Landesberg isn’t officially announcing his decision until tomorrow afternoon, but message boards across the country are quickly spreading the news that the guard will be playing ball for the Virginia Cavaliers. The quoted sources claim that tonight Landesberg called coaches at St. John’s, Georgia Tech, and Virginia to inform them of his decision.

LRT regulars will remember that on Monday night we posted a reader tip that Sylven had joined a St. John’s Facebook group encouraging him to play for the Johnnies. Coupled with tonight’s news, it’s now painfully clear that I’m the only asshole who actually declines group and friend requests. Now stop sending me invitations for your Zombie Chomp application.

Dexter Pittman has been seen around campus wearing the stylish kind of boot that Matt Hill was sporting for most of last season. No word yet on whether or not he’ll be available in time for the season opener on November 12th.

But don’t get your panties in a twist quite yet if your visions of a more physical Texas team are disappearing from your mind’s eye. Longhorn fans may remember that A.J. Abrams spent most of the 2006 summer semester on crutches, and then dropped 28 points in the second game of the season.

So, here’s to optimism. And whether the news be good or bad, you’ll find it here as soon as we know more.

Sylven Landesberg, a 6-foot, 6-inch guard from Queens had been on Texas’ recruiting radar for much of the summer. In early August, whispers from sources on campus said that the Horns had backed off of Landesberg and were looking harder at other ’08 targets.

In recent weeks, Sylven trimmed Billy Gillispie’s Kentucky Wildcats from consideration, leaving only UVA, G-Tech and the hometown Red Storm of St. John’s in the running. But this weekend, LRT reader JCole hooked us up with a tip from the ever-evolving world of social networking that seems to confirm Landesberg is staying home.

Students at St. John’s started a group on Facebook to urge the young star to play for the Johnnies. Titled “Sylven Landesberg…Stay home, and bring the city’s game back to St. Johns!,” the group has 187 members, including Landesberg himself.

In the grand scheme of things, this could mean absolutely nothing. But in a world where every high school athlete has a MySpace page or a Friendster account, it’s certainly an interesting bit of news.