Championship Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich himself serving burgers and Dream Shakes at the new Rudy T's diner concession stand at Toyota Center for opening night. Tomjanovich has his diner hat and red Rudy T's apron on to the delight of the fans.

The H-Town Basketball Tipoff, which @PaperCityMag first broke the news of, is already up to tables sold for nearly 550 people for its inaugural event next Wednesday afternoon. Houston coach Kelvin Sampson, Fran Fraschilla and every Houston area college coach (both men's and women's) are slated to be there. Along with the Top 15 boys and girls high school basketball players in the Houston area. PaperCity has learned that a new Coach of the Year Award and a new Girls High School Player of the Year Award will be revealed at this first of its kind H-Town basketball extravaganza too. "I grew up in Big 5 country where you have Temple, St. Joe's, Villanova, Penn and Drexel all playing each other," H-Town Basketball Tipoff orchestrator Mike Pede tells PaperCity. "Playing together. . . Basketball just doesn't get enough love. No one really thinks about basketball until January 1st. "So I'm trying to get them to think about basketball in October."

Oklahoma State coach Eric Morris on Houston coach Willie Fritz: "Just a ton of respect for how he does it. Just reminds me of my dad - a little bit of an old school coach - just growing up like that. He's a guy that sticks to his guns. "(Fritz)'s teams are tough. They're gritty. They know what their plan is and they go out there and they execute. Really well coached on all three sides of the ball." Eric Morris' dad is longtime Texas high school basketball coach Ray Morris who retired with nearly 600 wins and won the state championship in 2004 with Eric Morris as one of his star players. Morris was responding to a @PaperCityMag question on Fritz.

One of the best postgame moments of Houston's win over Oklahoma State was UH wide receiver Koby Young running up the stairs into the stands to celebrate with the student section. Young even borrowed a few students' phones and filmed videos of him and the college kids having fun, leaving some unforgettable memories on those devices. "He's a special dude," UH quarterback Conner Weigman says of Young. "Special personality. Special talent. I can't say enough good things about Koby. He was a captain for us this week. What an honor it was for him when he got named the captain. "I don't think he stopped smiling for 30 minutes." It turned out to be a special night for Young in many ways. And he made sure the UH students felt like a big part of it.

Oklahoma State coach Eric Morris on Houston QB Conner Weigman: "I thought he was phenomenal tonight. . . I thought he was phenomenal. I thought he put it in some tight windows, man to man coverage, put it on some spots that gave his players the chance to make plays. . . "I just think he's improved so drastically over the course of the last year and a half."

Oklahoma State coach Eric Morris on the atmosphere at Houston's TDECU Stadium: "Yeah, it was awesome. Back in the day this was my first job (as a grad assistant under Kevin Sumlin and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury). It wasn't in this stadium, but over st old Robertson Stadium. I played in some great atmospheres here. Enjoyed it. "That's what college football should be. That's what this town, they should come out and support this team. They've got a really good team here. And they're well coached. And they play extremely hard. That's great entertainment for everybody."

University of Houston president and chancellor Renu Khator tells @PaperCityMag she's confident that UH's Saturday night football game will be a packed house. "Football is gong to be very exciting versus Oklahoma State. The stadium I know is going to be full. Everyone wants to go. And hope to have a really, really good game. "I want everybody to be out there."

Houston transfer guard Chendall Weaver's been told he cannot play in Thursday night's exhibition game opener as his eligibility remains stuck in the fifth year limbo. It being an exhibition game does not change anything and Weaver will not be able to play until he gets a favorable ruling. @PaperCityMag