I think Arizona has the most returning players. If Gooden stays, then Kansas will be up there. If Butler stays, then UCONN will be a contender. But, Arizona will probably be the preseason favorite. Call me crazy, but I think Duke could be contending next year as well. They're possibly getting the best freshman class ever at Duke with a full team: PG,SG,SF,PF,C. The <i>Doughnut</i> will be no more since three of the players are 6'9"-215 and 6'10"-240 and 6'11"-255. Next season they'll probably play the two freshman at PF and C, which means they can move Dunleavy to SF, Ewing to SG, and Duhon as the PG. The other three freshman should give them the depth that they didn't have the last couple of years. But still, my money is on Arizona.
Arizona Here's my preseason Top 5 (assuming Gooden, Wilcox and Caron Butler come out): 1. 'Zona 2. Oklahoma 3. Duke 4. Pitt 5. Michigan State (assuming Taylor stays)
As an Arizona fan I know them pretty well. I would not put them pre-season #1. They still need more athleticsm in the forward spots both to improve wing defense and to provide a dynamic multithreat scorer. If Hassan Adams is as good as advertised and the fresh post-people steadily improve they have a chance, but I am not convinced yet. We will have to see who comes out. If Butler or Gooden stays you have your #1 team there without question. I think Kansas will be close to the #1 team even w/o Gooden. For sure Collison, Hinrich and the 3 soon to be excellent and experienced sophs will be back--that is a very good nucleaus. If Jeffries stays Indiana will be awefully good too. Oklahoma will be very good but MacGhee will be hard to replace. They will need someone else to demand doubles underneath and they don't have that player as far as I can see. I don't see Duke there yet. They lose their best playmaker and their best inside player. I don't believe Dunleavy will ever be the leader or playmaker of JW, Battier or Hill and it is highly unlikely even a great fresh can come in and dominante on the inside offensively. Just having a bunch of good outside shooters will not get it done. I'll wait until all underclassmen have had final decisions to make my top5.
Taylor from MSU is already coming out...it's official. http://espn.go.com/ncb/news/2002/0326/1358604.html
Could Texas be in the top ten? All of the guys returning. Buckman and Paulino are the incoming freshmen. Both are studs, supposedly.
Preseason Final Four: Arizona, Duke, Florida, Georgia Most improved team: North Carolina Surprise teams: Notre Dame, Minnesota, Georgia Tech, Ball State
Yeah, I can see Stevie Blake leading Maryland to a repeat championship...WHEN PIGS CAN FLY!!!! I agree about North Carolina. I really hope they turn it around. College basketball just doesn't seem as good without a good Carolina team. Their incoming class looks very promising.
I just wish my Ags could put together a competetive basketball team. God, they're so bad. But eventhough they had the worst record in the big 12 they somehow managed to recruit a guy who is rated one of the 3 top small forwards in the entire country and top 10 overall. That's a VERY good sign.
I think the UConn Huskies will win it all. They were a young team that improved rapidly towards the end of the season. Caron Butler, Emeka Okafor, and Ben Gordon will be a potent threesome.
UT UT UT UT UT UT UT UT UT UT UT UT UT UT UT UT UT UT UT TJ and James T will take them ALL THE WAY!!!!!!!
Well, from what I've seen from Jefferies and Gooden in the tournament. Those two guys BOTH need more time in college. They really didn't impress very much. A guy like Wilcox could get by in the NBA with his physical attributes, but Gooden and Jefferies are going to have to rely more on skill, and frankly I don't think they've got much of it. Definitely not enough to contribute at the NBA level. Obviously they have talent, but I don't see either of them being great NBA players. Wilcox, on the other hand, would be stupid not to leave, because there's a chance Maryland's not going to be very good next season, and he probably won't get the same kind of exposure he did this season.
