It's been a dramatic start to the early season so far: four players we thought would be on the roster this summer aren't around. There have been big losses and strong wins, big performances, players who have come up short. And we're only just getting started -- after the holidays comes the Big Ten slate, and the real tests for a Gophers team that is still trying to prove it has more umph than last year's squad that fell short of the NCAA tournament.

Bring your questions about all things Minnesota basketball -- and any other food, whiskey or bigfoot queries you can rummage up -- at noon. I'll be at the link below, live chatting.