By now you would have thought there might have been a piercing scream heard from the North Shore.

It has been more than 24 hours since the Division IJ Bulletin announced Brigham Young University-Hawai'i as its preseason Division II No. 1 men's basketball pick, time enough for Seasiders coach Ken Wagner to get off an anguished utterance or at least a gnashing of the teeth.

Being tabbed No. 1 even a month before the season is an honor to be sure, especially here where no basketball team has gone into the season ranked tops in its division in the country. But it also means a big, bold target on the back that most coaches would just as soon avoid when starting the season, particularly with their top player out for a while.

Curiously, BYUH's Ken Wagner is not one of them. He is embracing the ranking rather than fleeing from it, which, while perhaps contrary to convention, is refreshing.

The Seasiders are gladly taking on any challenges, as evidenced by opening the season with a Nov. 5 exhibition against UH-Manoa at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Wagner is, of course, well aware that starting a season as No. 1 no way guarantees the Seasiders will finish it that way. For the Seasiders, it could even be viewed as a pointed reminder of what they didn't accomplish seven months ago when the regional championship game against Cal Poly Pomona slipped away in a 59-58 Cannon Activities Center loss.

While the Seasiders had to live with that disappointment during the offseason, the Broncos went on to the national championship game, a 56-53 overtime loss to Findlay.

But by virtue of having four starters returning from a 27-2 team and three leading recruits, including two that had originally signed with Division I teams, Wagner said "I would pick us (as preseason No. 1)."

The Division IJ Bulletin agreed. "It was a difficult decision but we felt BYU-Hawai'i has the talent to carry onto the national stage," Bulletin publisher Gary Rubin wrote.

All-American Lucas Alves (19.8 points per game) is expected to miss the first month recovering from off-season knee surgery, BYUH said.

As for opponents out to make a name for themselves by taking down the Seasiders, Pac West rivals especially, that has been the case for a while now. Notes Wagner: "I don't think it changes a whole lot."