Jesus' Preseason Top 25 (plus 5 to keep your eye on)
The 2010-11 NCAAB season is finally upon us. After last season's great tournament that had a mid-major crashing the National Championship (sadly losing to the Dookies) and some terrific tournament upsets, we've been patiently waiting for this season to roll around.
Many teams held their Midnight Madness sessions Friday night, some of which aired on ESPNU. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFTJhmBNN0o
ESPN is fucking lame and disabled embedding. God forbid anyone share your video and give you more publicity. (I never understand this. I didn't pay for it to begin with.)
Any way...a few comments about that video and then we'll get into the Top 25.
1) Did you see the Duke guy riding the unicycle? Hahaha That seems about right.
2) Kentucky promoting Enes Kanter like that is laughable, considering many believe he won't play at Kentucky due to issues with his amateur status.
3) Geno Aurriemma has more charisma on the mic than Coach K who can give Bill Belichick a real run for his money in boring interviews and monotonous voice.
Ok...here goes. I've also mixed in some highlights of 2010's best recruits, since I failed to do my big recruiting article this summer. Have a look.
I'll count backwards to leave a little anticipation for #1.
25) N.C. State
Head coach Sidney Lowe always seems a bit outmatched in the ACC to me, but perhaps he finally brought in a group of players that will make that ugly red jacket look pretty good. He has a Top 5 recruiting class led by PF CJ Leslie and PG Ryan Harrow. I'll just let you watch this video of Harrow highlights. By the way...he's 5'11"!!
24) Marquette
The Golden Eagles also boast a great recruiting class for 2010. They lost their best players from last season, and look to welcome in the next era in Marquette Hoops. This is another of my votes for the coach as much as the team. I love the energy of Coach Buzz Williams, and I think he will get a lot out of this young group. The usual Big East powers, UConn, Syracuse, Villanova, Louisville, Georgetown and West Virginia are all perhaps a bit down from last season. The Big East should still be very good, but is perhaps as wide open as we've seen in some time. Look for Marquette to make a run at filling that void.
23) San Diego State
Kawhi Leonard might be the best player you've never heard of entering 2010. He led the Aztecs to a 26 win season a year ago, and they're the favorites to run away with the Mountain West this season. Don't be surprised if Leonard and company are wearing a glass slipper or two come next March.
22) Virginia Tech
The Hokies really got hosed last year by having to go to the NIT. That shouldn't happen again this season. Led by guard Malcolm Delaney, the Hokies look to make a serious run in the NCAA tournament. The ACC, like the Big East could be wide open, as the last few years have not been as kind to the conference that was once basketball's powerhouse. Duke and UNC should be very good, but VaTech is right in the mix of that next group, along with Miami, GA Tech and Florida State.
That said, I'd just like to remind Hokie fans that URI pwned them in their own building in last year's NIT. So there.
21) Tennessee
Of the great 2008 recruiting class, only Scotty Hopson remains in college. He'll look to lead the Vols back to the tournament and beyond this season. Head Coach Bruce Pearl has recently come under scrutiny for recruiting. Coupled with the action of last year's squad it is safe to say the Pearl could be on the hot seat at Tennessee. Tobias Harris leads the new crop of ballers to hit Knoxville, and Pearl hopes he can help people forget about some of the off-court issues.
20) BYU
Jimmer Fredette. Jimmer Fredette. Jimmer Fredette.
'Nuff said.
19) Georgia
The Bulldogs have been down for a while now, basically since Tubby was there. But new head coach, Mark Fox has fans down in Athens believing he can lead them back to prominence. The Bulldogs finished last season with wins over Illinois, Georgia Tech, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, South Carolina and Florida. Not to mention, tight losses at Kentucky and Mississippi State. This year they're hoping for more wins and more national attention. Trey Tompkins, Travis Leslie, Tenn. State transfer Gerald Robinson and incoming frosh, Kentavious Caldwell should help the Bulldogs do just that.
18) Syracuse
Gone is Wesley Johnson, and in is Fab Melo, the Brazilian Banger. Syracuse looks to stay in the national spotlight a year after losing one of the nation's top players. They've brought in a nice recruiting class which should help them do so. Also, I never bet against Coach Boeheim.
Here's Fab.
17) Temple
Temple should be atop the A10 this year, led by star guard and Team USA representative Lavoy Allen. Coach Dunphy has done a nice job filling in the shoes of legendary Coach John Chaney. The Owls have all their best players back from a team that won 29 games last season. Wins against Maryland, Georgetown and Villanova would do wonders for this team which is already ranked in most preseason polls.
16) Missouri
Perhaps the most boring team on this list. I'll be honest. I don't know much about this squad, but every article I read had them in the top 25, many even higher than this...so I figured I'd toss 'em in there. I do know that Coach Mike Anderson runs a nice defensive oriented system that usually has his squad right in the thick of things in the Big 12, and led them to a NCAA appearance last season, before losing to eventual Final Four team, West Virginia.
15) Purude
I rode the Purdue horse last season until it was dead when Hummel went down with a knee injury, then I rode it a little more just for spite. They return all three of their best players in E'Twaun Moore, Jajuan Johnson and a healthy Hummel. Any of those three can make a solid argument for First Team All-America, and this should be another fun season for Boilermaker fans. P.S. The Big 10 is loaded this year, and Purdue could very well be the best of the bunch.
**UPDATE** Just before this posting, news broke that Hummel has again torn the ACL that sidelined him last season. He will miss the entire season.
This is sad. I had Purdue at #3, but I have now dropped them out of the top 10, and they may very well fall more than that. They should still be very good with Moore and Johnson, but this is a huge blow.
14) Kansas
All thi big names are gone, from Fog Allen Fieldhouse last season. But, this new group of players is looking to do something last year's group couldn't - make a deep run in the tourney. There are issues surrounding the eligibility of Josh Selby, but if he plays Bill Self will have one of the more explosive guards in the country. Take a look.
13) Kentucky
Ol' Calipari is at it again, with another Top 5 recruiting class. God, he's such a used car salesman...but I'll be damned if he's not the best in the world. The Gordon Gecko of college basketball. Anyway, yes he lost a boat load of talent to the draft, and yes Kentucky will be good this year regardless. However, a huge part of that recruiting ranking is Enes Kanter, the big man from Turkey. There are issues regarding his eligibility due to reportedly being paid to play on a club team in his native land. If he plays, Kentucky could be Top 5 good, if not they're still probably a top 20 team with upside.
Smells like cabbage!
12) Gonzaga
Gonzaga. They've become a standard now in the top 25, which is pretty impressive for a small school in Washington playing in the WCC. They lost Matt Bouldin after graduation, but return Steven Gray, Elias Harris and Robert Sacre to form a core nucleus of what should be another solid Bulldogs squad.
11) Memphis
Josh Pastner brought in the top recruiting class in the nation, landing the country's top recruit, Will Barton. It seems the young grasshopper has learned well from the ol' snake charmer. Memphis should make a splash on the national scene this year led by a group of players destined for the NBA. Their out of conference schedule isn't all that tough and if they can steal a win against Tennessee or Kansas that will help come tourney time after they've feasted on Conference USA.
10) Baylor
Star guard, Lacedarrius Dunn, was recently allowed back into the classroom at Baylor, despite ongoing investigations into his alleged domestic dispute. Maybe he did, maybe as DP says, Hoes Be Trippin'...but either way Coach Scott Drew has to be happy he's back. They lost Ekpe Udoh to the draft but replace him with Perry Jones, who many think could be the nation's best big this season. He's just as athletic as Udoh, but WAY more offensive minded. This video makes him look freakin' reidiculous!
9) Illinois
Coach Bruce Weber brought in a great class for 2010, including Illinois top recruit Jereme Richmond.
He also returns a nice crop, that underachieved a bit in '09. Look for a solid season from The Fighting Illinis, but I don't think they'll overtake the other teams ahead of them in the Big 10. 2011, though is looking pretty good.
8) Washington
The Pac-10 is weak, very weak compared to where it was in the early part of this decade. The Huskies, however, may be the one shining light in the conference. They feature arguably the best backcourt in the land with three great guards in Isaiah Thomas, Lavoy Overton and Abdul Gaddy, a former top recruit. They play at warp speed and should rack up plenty of wins in the Pac-10, boosting their ranking and possibly seeding in the tournament.
7) North Carolina
Are we really expecting Roy Williams to have two bad seasons in a row? I'm not. He's too good a coach and his players are too talented for that to happen. Last year was an embarrassment for Roy and UNC. However, this year I think they'll begin to realize more of that talent and put themselves back on the map of contenders. They return a number of talented players, and this year's crop of freshmen is even better, led by Harrison Barnes the #2 ranked player on rivals.com. Dude is a man among boys.
6) Florida
This should be a rebound year for Billy Donavan and the Gators. They finally snapped a spell of NIT bids last year with a run to the NCAA tournament before Jimmer Freddette killed them. Chandler Parsons leads a group of 5 Gator starters returning from last year, hoping to get Florida back on the national stage. Normally, in college hoops if you can return 5 starters, let alone 5 this talented, that equals good things. With the SEC maybe a bit down this year, look for Florida to make a run at the conference crown.
5) Ohio State
They lost Evan Turner, considered by many to be the best player in the land last year, but some writers are saying they'll be even better this year without him. I'm not so fast to make those claims, but I will say that Thad Matta is one of the best coaches going and the addition of athletic big man Jared Sullinger and a top 5 recruiting class.
Ohio State may be the third ranked team in the Big 10 here, but don't be shocked if they finish the season atop the conference.
4) Kansas State
Frank "The Marine" Martin has had this team in the top 25 since Day 1, and this year should be no different. They did lose one head of their two-headed backcourt monster in Clemente, but Jacob Pullen returns to man the point. Bigs, Kelly and Samuels return for another year as K-State looks poised to make a run at the Big 12 crown.
3)Pittsburgh
The Panthers are my first out of many in this column that are getting a vote as much for their coach as they are for their team. They're not loaded with talent that anyone outside of Pittsburgh will know of, but Jamie Dixon is as good a young coach as there is and this team is gritty, tough and very deep. His teams always play hard-nosed, defense first ball, which keeps them in just about every game in the monstrous Big East. This year, they should be one of, if not the best team in the conference. I really hope Rhode Island can steal a win against them in the opener.
2) Duke
The reigning National Champs from a season ago, in my opinion had a bit of an easy road the way things shaped up in the tournament. That being said, they are very talented and return everyone except Scheyer, Zoubek and Lance Thomas. Basically, all the best players are back and they added Seth Curry (Steph's little bro). Newcomer Kyrie Irving should be an upgrade over Scheyer at point, who never looked comfortable there to begin with. This squad has accomplished a lot in their time on campus, and most have them as the top squad in the country. But repeating in NCAAB is very difficult, especially in today's one-and-done era when teams can suddenly jump out and be awesome for a year. Not saying, Duke can't do it...just saying I hope they don't.
1) Michigan State
The Spartans have all the key elements from last year's team, including a healthy Kalin Lucas. They've also added recruits like Keith Appling to the fold. I really liked their chances last season had Lucas been healthy throughout the tournament, which he was not. He says he is now, and I have a hard time betting against them and Coach Izzo.
Izzo turned down the Cavs in the off-season, and don't think for a minute that he would have done that did he not have a great shot at another Final Four in East Lansing. I'll put them just slightly ahead of Coach K's boys, the defending champs based on athleticism and the fact that they weren't riding unicycles at Midnight Madness.
5 to Keep Your Eye On (In no particular order)
Villanova, Richmond, Arizona, Wisconsin, UNLV
