Signs of the upcoming college basketball season are popping up everywhere.

Preseason top 25 polls are coming out.

Leagues around the country are holding media days.

Social media is abuzz with college basketball chatter.

At the national championship headquarters in Storrs, UConn is making plans to hand out title rings to the team and raise a banner.

The Huskies will hold a couple events in the build-up toward the regular season opener on Nov. 6 against Northern Arizona.

First up, the annual First Night festivities, involving both the men’s and women’s programs, will take place Friday at Gampel Pavilion. It kicks off with a block party on Jim Calhoun Way at 5 p.m., followed by the doors opening at 6 p.m.

Following player introductions, there will be a series of competitions between the Blue and White teams. A draft took place earlier this week to select the teams.

It is a fun night for students and a chance to impress any recruits on hand. Friday’s special guest will be prime recruiting target Patrick Ngongba, a highly-regarded 6-foot-11 center from Fairfax, Va. He’ll be on his official visit this weekend.

On Wednesday, Oct. 25, the defending champions will host a Blue-White Night that will be open to the public. The Huskies will run a practice starting at 7 p.m. at Gampel.

Coach Dan Hurley believes the Huskies are ahead of schedule compared to last season in the preseason workouts due to a summer foreign tour.

There’s enough talent on the roster to compete for a Big East title and perhaps make a run at repeating as national champions.

“All the analytics say we have enough in that room, but we’ve got a lot of work to do,” Hurley said recently. “I love the way the team looks.”

Still, many questions need to be answered about the Huskies.

The losses of the big three of Andre Jackson, Jordan Hawkins and Adama Sanogo will impact the team in several areas.

“Obviously, there’s leadership questions,” Hurley said. “There’s bench depth questions. We’re more traditionally, like back in the day, reliant on a number of freshmen to play where the majority of the other teams are older through the portal.”

At First Night and Blue-White Night, Husky fans will get a good look at the top five nationally-ranked freshman class of Stephon Castle, Jaylin Stewart, Jayden Ross, Solomon Ball and Youssouf Singare as well as graduate transfer Cam Spencer.

As newcomers, they’re leaning on each other while learning to live up to the demands of the Hurley Way.

“It’s been great because you see four other people right beside you going through the same things,” Ball said. “This stuff is hard. A lot of people would be quitting but we don’t quit. This is what we do day in and day out and this is a part of our life. This is what we love.”

All the newcomers have had standout moments during workouts, especially Castle, an impressive 6-foot-6 point guard with NBA draft potential.

“We feel great about where all the freshmen are right now,” Hurley said. “They all have to play important roles on the team, if not maybe starting or at least giving us the type of bench that we had last year that really put us over the top.”

The Huskies are without sophomore center Donovan Clingan (foot injury), but he’s expected to be ready for the season opener.

g.keefe@theday.com