Drywall and home improvement...Tell me about this?

I want to put drywall up in my basement...Yet I have no idea how to go about this. The basement wall is cement, and there are some small cracks in a few places. There is also a hole in the wall that I'll need to fill. Temperature/moisture wise, everything seems okay. Can someone tell me how I should do this...without expensive, professional help, as bad as that sounds?