The Rest of The Best

11. Texas Longhorns: If the ‘Horns can solve the woes at the point presented by D.J. Augustin’s absence, they could surprise critics that have dismissed them…much like last year after Kevin Durant’s departure,

12. Oklahoma Sooners: Maybe someone else can confirm or deny this for me in my area, but Blake Griffin has flown under the radar in the Hansbrough love-fest that is ACC country (and this coming from a Tar Heel fan). I don’t think that will last long.

13. Marquette Golden Eagles: This isn’t a bad gig for Buzz Williams’s debut at Marquette, with three guards that started the past three seasons. This team lacks a post presence…and experience with Coach Williams, of course.

14. Tennessee Volunteers: An influx of new talent could make Bruce Pearl’s team the class of the SEC this season.  Let’s just hope he keeps his shirt on at women’s hoops games.

15. Miami Hurricanes: If you’re looking for the ACC’s best shooter, you’re going to have to go a little further south than you might expect (see McClinton, Jack). The ‘Canes made the NCAA Tournament last year after being projected to finish last in the conference, and it might just get better this year.

16. Arizona State Sun Devils: Returning every player with playing time worth mentioning from a team that should be furious about barely missing the NCAA Tournament last season make the Sun Devils a sexy sleeper for the season.

17. Memphis Tigers: The defending national runners-up lost a lot of talent, but they also bring in a top five recruiting class. Reminds me of a chemistry experiment…no one’s quite sure how it will end, but it could be an A+ and a pat on the back by the teacher or a catastrophic explosion that everyone that survives will remind you about at the class reunion.

18. Villanova Wildcats: Everybody with significant playing time on last year’s Wildcats return. Jay Wright’s squad will likely reach the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, but are they too small to pose a threat beyond that?

19. Georgetown Hoyas: Yet another Big East team in the preseason fold. The Hoyas return three starters and introduce a recruiting class taht includes Greg Monroe (likely to start from the onset of the season), but replacing Jonathan Wallace and Roy Hibbert will be no easy task.

20. Florida Gators: Billy Donovan was rather disgusted at times with his baby Gators of lastseason. He’s had an offseason to work with them, however, and a top ten recruiting class is ready to claim minutes should Donovan go beyond “rather disgusted’ this season. A slow start is to be expected, but this could be a sneaky team in the latter half of the season.

21. Wake Forest Demon Deacons: The Deacs are big and deep; they kept all their scholarship players, and the three recruits (Al Farouq-Aminu, Tony Woods, Ty Walker) for this year’s class that originally committed to Wake while the late Skip Prosser was coach remained committed to Dino Gaudio’s program.

22. Wisconsin Badgers: The Badgers are plenty experienced, which will make losing Brian Butch and Michael Flowers more tolerable. Oh, and Bo Ryan is the head coach.  They aren’t the class of the Big Ten this season, but they’ll still make their presence known.

23. Davidson Wildcats: Everyone knows why Davidson is on this list: Stephen Curry, sliced bread himself. Although we shouldn’t overlook the loss of big man Andrew Lovedale, the Wildcats can win almost any game if Curry is hitting his shots, as we saw last March.

24. Kansas Jayhawks: A la the Memphis Tigers, the defending champions lost the core of their squad from last year. Don’t expect a collapse like last year’s Florida Gators, especially when the talent pool in the nation as a whole is down, but don’t expect another April game or two, either.

25. UNLV Runnin’ Rebels: Lon Kruger has transformed this program into a perennial NCAA attendee. Now, it’s time to make the Rebels a perennial top 25 team, and Kruger and Wink Adams with are just the people for the job

Quick Drags…

REACHING OUT: The major rule change for this season that has everyone buzzing is the lengthening of the three-point line from 19 feet, 9 inches to 20 feet, 9 inches, hoping to create more floor space and discourage mediocre shooters from attempting threes. True shooters likely won’t be affected by this change, which is a good thing if your team happens to have one of those (see Curry, Stephen).

THE MOST IMPORTANT PLAYER REGARDING THE FUTURE OF COLLEGE BASKETBALL…: ...is playing in Europe this year. Brandon Jennings spurned the Arizona Wildcats for a gig for Lottomatica Virtus Roma overseas. If this translates to a successful draft next year for Mr. Jennings, more players who would be considered guaranteed one-and-doners in college basketball may adopt this “foreign policy,” sparing us of being teased by them for a season before losing them to the Association…in turn diminishing the talent level of college basketball as a whole, of course. Something to keep an eye on, to say the least.

TO BORROW A TERM FROM BILL SIMMONS…: July 14, 2008 was Curmudgeon Liberation Day in the world of sports, and college basketball in particular, when the cancer of broadcasting that was Billy Packer either resigned or lost his job, depending on who you believe. I can sleep at peace without wondering which regional ACC game Mr. Packer will have the honor of commentating once winter rolls around, not to mention the calm that will surely come over this great nation in March when he’s not around to verbally destroy any team in his given regional.

MID-SEASON TOURNAMENT THAT HAS ME AMPED: Call me biased, but this year’s Maui Invitational field is exceptional. North Carolina, Texas, and Notre Dame will be there, so the possibilities are endless. Too bad it is sponsored by EA Sports, who will undoubtedly put out a crap-tastic college basketball video game this year after manhandling the far-superior 2K Sports offering out of the market.  Makes me sick…

OTHER STORIES RECEIVING VOTES: Tom Crean’s first full season at Indiana; The likely end of the career of Kenny George, “The Eighth Wonder of the World;” The Lute Olsen circus in Tucson that cost that team a slot in my top 25, if nothing else; Which no-name team will pull a Gardner-Webb this season?

Good News: Sam Young, Levance Fields, and DeJuan Blair. Get to know them, because there are few guard-forward-center trios more dangerous in the game right now.

Bad News: The loss of three guards (Mike Cook, Keith Benjamin, and Ronald Ramon) will challenge the depth of the Panthers’ backcourt. Coach Jaime Dixon recruited a solid core of guards, but how quickly can they become effective? That’s not mentioning this team’s habit to never get past the Sweet Sixteen, especially in years where I put too much faith in them when filling out my brackets in March (not that I’m holding a grudge or anything).

Random TTR: I had to do some intense googling for this one, but apparently the city of Pittsburgh has a Major League Baseball team. I had no idea, either! They’re called the Pirates.  See, you’ve already learned something today! 

Outlook: The Big East is vicious this year. The Panthers should be plenty strong enough to hang with the league’s elite, but will they have enough in the tank to finish the deal? Who knows, they might actually make the Elite Eight this year!

7 – Purdue Boilermakers (25-9 overall, 15-3 Big Ten)

Good News:  Last season’s Boilermakers were burdened with underclassmen, but Coach Matt Painter put together a 25 win season, an NCAA Tournament win, and returned seven of his top eight scorers from that team.

Bad News: Scott Martin transferred to Notre Dame. Not much other than that.

Random TTR: The official mascot for Purdue is actually a train built on an automobile chassis, named The Boilermaker Special. Maybe they should use trains as mascots at amusement parks to bowl over some of those really annoying slow-walking people.

Outlook: This could be the first time since 1996 that Purdue has won the Big Ten Plus One. Some people like Michigan State more out of this conference, but don’t count me in their numbers.

8 – Duke Blue Devils (28-6 overall, 13-3 Atlantic Coast)

Good News: The Devils only lose two players from a 28 win team, as defensive standout DeMarcus Nelson graduates and freewheeling small forward Taylor King transfers to Villanova. Also, “Coach K” landed Miles Plumlee late in the recruiting process, as Trent Johnson’s departure was a turn-off of sorts for the 6-10 forward sure to help a weak frontcourt in Durham.

Bad News: Then again, we’ve heard this story before. Brian Zoubek and Lance Thomas were going to be the frontcourt’s salvation after Shelden Williams graduated, but Zoubek has been plagued with injuries and Thomas…well, he just hasn’t been that impressive, to put it nicely. Kyle Singler’s arrival last year was a step in the right direction, but the lack of depth tired him by season’s end. For Singler’s (and the Blue Devils’) sake, Plumlee better not be a bust.

Random TTR: In the last four NCAA Tournaments, Duke’s record has been 5-4.

Outlook: Any night that the Dookies are hitting their threes is going to be a strong outing for them. However, for this team to turn the corner and reclaim some of the glory it is famous for, the frontcourt is going to have to step up, especially in March.

9 – Michigan State Spartans (27-9 overall, 12-6 Big Ten)

Good News: The Spartans retain All Big-Ten big man Raymar Morgan and bring in a top 25 recruit in Delvon Roe, providing a solid frontcourt for one Coach Tom Izzo who loves to have his players crash the boards.

Bad News: Everybody in The Great Lakes State knew that Drew Neitzel would have the ball late when the Spartans needed the basket. However, he’s gone now, and someone will have to take his place.

Random TTR: Michigan State has participated in the most highly attended basketball game (a 79-74 loss in 2003 to Kentucky at Ford Field, 78,130 spectators) and hockey game (a 3-3 tie against Michigan at Spartan Stadium in 2001, 74,554 spectators). I didn’t even realize there were 74,554 hockey fans in the United States.

Outlook:  Coach Izzo wants more toughness from this year’s team.  If he gets his wish, the Spartans might be taking a short bus ride to Detroit in April, making their first Final Four appearance since 2005.

10 – Gonzaga Bulldogs (25-8, 13-1 West Coast)

Good News: Jeremy Pargo withdrew from the NBA Draft, and Austin Daye didn’t tear his ACL as was feared over the summer. All told, four starters from last year’s ‘Zags are back.

Bad News: The Josh Heytvelt of last season was nothing like the Josh Heytvelt of his sophomore season. And after St. Mary’s guard Patrick Mills’s performance for the Australian team in Beijing, the WCC is no longer a polite formality.

Random TTR: Bing Crosby went to Gonzaga! I’m sorry, but how many universities can say “Bing Crosby was a student here?” Given, that’s a loaded question, just like only one can say “Zach Evans is a student here,” regardless of how my life turns out. But still…that’s just awesome!

Outlook:  This is the most talented Gonzaga team in, well, ever. Are they talented enough to challenge the powers of the major conferences? The first solid assessment of this team will come on December 20, when they host Connecticut. Until then…

TOP TEN TEAMS

1 – North Carolina Tar Heels (36-3, 14-2 Atlantic Coast)

Good News: The Tar Heels cemented their place as the consensus preseason favorite on June 16, when Wayne Ellington, Danny Green, and Ty Lawson announced they would return for another year of college basketball. Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams will have the pleasure of coaching all five starters from last year’s Final Four team (sans Marcus Ginyard until December),senior leaders Bobby Frasor and Danny Green, and three of the top 100 freshmen in the country. Wait, did I mention last year’s National Player of the Year, Tyler Hansbrough?

Bad News: The question with any team this talented is the battle of self vs. team…who will get minutes, who won’t, and how will they accept their roles? A more persistent concern with Roy Williams-coached UNC squads over the years has been defensive play, so that poses a greater threat in my opinion than a potential internal fight.

Random Thought from Tobacco Road (TTR): This video of Hansbrough and Frasor playing ping-pong during their freshman year has more than 257,000 hits on YouTube. Not sure what that says about society, but that’s 1,332 times more hits than the two videos I’ve hosted combined have mustered.

Outlook: Call me biased, but the road to the national championship will pass through the Tar Heels.

2 – Louisville Cardinals (27-9, 14-4 Big East)

Good News: Louisville returns four starters from last year’s Elite Eight team, a great omen for a Rick Pitino coached squad.

Bad News: However, they lose three key forwards (David Padgett, Derrick Caracter, and Juan Palacios).

Random TTR: Keanu Reeves’s character in The Replacements is based on former Louisville quarterback Ed Ruppert, who won three games for the Washington “Scabskins” during the 1987 NFL season.

Outlook: This is my pick to claim the conference championship in a loaded Big East (literally and figuratively…whoever thought sixteen teams in one conference was a good idea?). If Edgar Sosa can step up, expect the Cardinals to return to the Final Four for the first time since 2004-05, behind the leadership of Earl Clark and Terrence Williams.

3 – Connecticut Huskies (24-9, 13-5 Big East)

Good News: Hasheem Thabeet and Jeff Adrien compose the most dangerous frontcourt in the nation. The scary thing is, Coach Jim Calhoun says Thabeet has ”...improved more than any player I’ve had in 36 years in a two-year period. A.J. Price could lead the backcourt…

Bad News: ...If his knee holds up. Price underwent surgery for a torn ACL suffered during UConn’s loss in the NCAA Tournament to San Diego. Calhoun recruited a strong class, including Kemba Walker at point guard, to provide depth, but Husky fans certainly wouldn’t want them thrown into the fire if they can help it. Also, UConn was a .500 team away from Storrs.

Random TTR: In a season preview I posted elsewhere last year, I said the Kansas Jayhawks could put together a deep run in the big dance, given Brandon Rush recover from his injury well. Certainly, Connecticut fans will be hoping for a little deja vu.

Outlook: This team’s stock drops some with the loss of freshman Nate Miles (expelled by the university), but it could always be worse. Expect the Huskies at least challenge for a third national championship in ten years.

4 – Notre Dame Fighting Irish (25-8, 14-4 Big East)

Good News: There’s only one departure for an Irish team that tied for second in the Big East during the regular season. The stars among the returnees? A preseason All-American (Luke Harangody) at power forward and a 44.1% three-point shooter (Kyle McAlarney). This team, according to Coach Mike Brey, ”...[has] learned to win and play together.” No kidding.

Bad News: Gone are the days where the Irish could sneak up on an opponent looking ahead to a big game on the conference schedule.  With new expectations comes new challenges, not the least of which will be a Big East completely aware of how good Notre Dame will be.

Random TTR:  I guarantee if I started humming the “Notre Dame Victory March” to ten people on the street, at least four would claim it was their high school’s fight song. I know my high school borrowed it.

Outlook I never thought I would see the day where a top five team isn’t guaranteed talk amongst its own conference’s elite, but here it is. Don’t sleep on the Irish this season, though. This team is too balanced and experienced to suffer too many setbacks.

5 – UCLA Bruins (35-4, 16-2 Pac-10) 

Good News: The Bruins retain Darren Collison, arguably the best guard in the nation (I only say arguably because of the double-decker bus I like to call the Stephen Curry bandwagon), bagged the top recruiting class in the nation.

Bad News: They’re going to need every hand on deck after losing four players (three of which, Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook, and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, were starters bolting for the NBA).

Random TTR: If UCLA athletes represented their school/alma mater at the Beijing Olympics, the Bruins would have matched Brazil’s medal count (15).

Outlook: The Pac-10 is a much weaker conference this season, so the Bruins should have no trouble in claiming the conference championship. Reaching the Final Four for a fourth straight year?That could be a little harder to come by.