Going Deep
College Basketball - Ranking the Top Five Teams
College basketball season is in full swing and, in that case, so is the aggressive mind wandering. How will the deeper 3-point line affect the game? Who will be this year's Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley? Which surprise school will make a run in The Big Dance and become this year's Cinderella story? Who will be the biggest impact freshmen? But, the real question is this: Will anyone stand in the way of North Carolina this year?
Here are my top five teams in men's college basketball this season:
1. North Carolina (last year: 36-3, 14-2 ACC; lost in Final Four to Kansas)
It's no wonder why everybody is picking the Tar Heels to win it all this season. Seven of the top eight scorers from last year's Final Four team are back, and one of them is named Tyler Hansbrough. The 6-foot-9 forward, who swept the voting for national player of the year last season, is back for his senior year. And with North Carolina's top three perimeter scorers from last season - Wayne Ellington, Ty Lawson and Danny Green - also returning, Hansbrough should get plenty of space to operate in the paint and lead the Tar Heels to a championship.
2. Louisville (27-9, 14-4 Big East; lost in Elite Eight to UNC)
The Cardinals got a nice treat this off-season when versatile 6-foot-9 forward Earl Clark decided to forego the NBA Draft because of a shot to win a championship with Louisville. Turns out Clark was on to something. Under legendary coach Rick Pitino, the Cardinals sport one of the deepest teams in all of college basketball. Here's a peek: senior 6-foot-6 swingman Terrence Williams is one of the better on-ball defenders in the Big East; Andre McGee and Edgar Sosa are two very solid point guards; 6-foot-8, 240-pound freshman Samardo Samuels looks to be a force inside; senior guard Jerry Smith is a career 42 percent shooter from 3-point land; and Mississippi State transfer Reginald Delk can stroke it, too. As for Clark, he was almost a surefire first-round pick last year, and could be a lottery pick in the 2009 NBA Draft.
3. UCLA (last year: 35-4, 16-2 Pac-10; lost in Final Four to Memphis)
While the Tar Heels will be great because of the players they have returning, UCLA is going to dominate because of the new players it has coming in. You might think after losing Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook and Richard Mbah a Moute to the NBA Draft, the Bruins would be in a rebuilding year. But with a five-star, five-player recruiting class, UCLA is going to be just fine - and then some. Shooting guard Jrue Holiday leads that pack and should give defenders fits with his ability to score with either hand, and look for classmates Malcolm Lee (guard) and J'Mison Morgan (center) to also turn some heads. The Bruins will also get back a couple of senior double-digit scorers in Darren Collison and Josh Shipp.
4. Connecticut (24-9, 13-5 Big East; lost in first round to San Diego)
After three years when A.J. Price didn't live up to his billing, the 6-foot-2 point guard seemed to come into his own last season when he averaged nearly 15 points per game and was second in the Big East in assists per game at 5.9 before suffering a torn ACL in the playoffs. Now, Price is back for his fifth season and looks to be quicker than ever. And he'll have a bit more help this year with touted freshman guard Kemba Walker. On top of that, the Huskies will also return three other starters in Jerome Dyson (12.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg last year), Jeff Adrien (14.8 ppg, 9.1 rpg) and Hasheem Thabeet (10.5 ppg, 7.9 rpg).
5. Purdue (25-9, 15-3 Big Ten; lost in second round to Xavier)
Four of the five starters are back from a Boilermakers team that surprised everybody last year by coming within one win of a regular-season title. Going into this season, we know Purdue can do two things very well: shoot and defend. The shooting will be done by Keaton Grant, E'Twaun Moore and Robbie Hummel, all of whom shot better than 43 percent from 3-point range last season. Chris Kramer, the reigning Big Ten defender of year and a great distributor at the point-guard position will lead the defense.
Where do the Gators fall?
During last season's 24-12 (8-8 SEC) year, which ended in a semifinal loss to Massachusetts in the National Invitation Tournament, two big weaknesses hurt the Gators: youth and size. Though most of Florida's players can chalk up one more year of experience going into this season, size will likely not be an improvement, as the Gators saw its only presence in the paint last season, Marreese Speights, jet to the NBA. Nick Calathes is going to have a monster year, and true freshmen Eloy Vargas and Kenny Kadji can fill some void left by Speights, but an early exit from the NCAA Tournament - the Gators should be back - and second place in the SEC East to Tennessee - which will be led by stud forward Tyler Smith - looks to be the best-case scenario at this point. §
Alden Gonzalez is a freelance writer and associate reporter for MLB.com, living in Miami.
He may be contacted at Alden@towerpublications.com.
