With Midnight Madness not even a week behind us, we have entered my second favorite time of year - the beginning of the college basketball season. My favorite is of course March Madness, and so here is a short preview of what teams will still be standing at the end of the year.
The ACC is loaded this year, even by its sky-high standards. At the top is Wake Forest, which returns all five starters from last year. That includes sophomore point guard Chris Paul, the presumptive favorite for national player of the year and junior Justin Grey, who led the team in scoring last year.
The player to watch, however, is junior center Eric Williams. Williams played like an All-American at times last season, but struggled with consistency and foul trouble. If he plays up to his potential, Wake is a lock for the Final Four.
Georgia Tech, last year's national runner-up, is not far behind in the ACC. The Yellow Jackets return a talented and balanced team, led by guards Jarrett Jack and B.J. Elder. Seven-footer Luke Schenscher looks like he might be ready to break out inside, and Isma'il Muhammad and Will Bynum are two of the most explosive players in the country. Tech is big, deep, athletic and very well coached by one of the rising stars of college basketball, Paul Hewitt.
Rounding out the top of the ACC are the North Carolina Tar Heels, who give the conference three teams in the national top five. The Heels have underachieved the last few years but make no mistake - this is the most talented team in the nation. In Raymond Felton, Sean May, and Rashad McCants they have maybe the three best players at their respective positions in the country.
And this year they welcome blue chip recruit Marvin Williams into the fold, who toyed with the idea of turning pro after his senior year in high school. With a year in coach Roy Williams' system, this may be the team to watch in the nation.
With Duke, Maryland, NC State, and Florida State the ACC has seven top-25 quality teams. Expect at least six to make the ACC tournament, with one of the lower four being the surprise team of the year.
The other major player in college hoops this year, and for the foreseeable future, is the retooled Big East conference. Year-in and year-out they remain national power brokers. The league that produced the last two national champions is not going anywhere.
Connecticut, the defending national champion, is once again the team to beat despite losing NBA lottery picks Emeka Okafor and Ben Gordon. That's because the Huskies still have great depth with Rashad Anderson, Josh Boone, and Denham Brown. Charlie Villanueva has the versatile game to become the team's go-to player, Marcus Williams proved he could run the team from the point last year before becoming ineligible in the second semester, and Rudy Gay might be the national freshman of the year. Jim Calhoun is one of the best coaches in America and his teams always compete.
The Syracuse Orangemen return one of the top 1-2 punches in the country with Hakim Warrick and Gerry McNamara. Billy Edelin still presents a major distraction to the team, but if he ever gets it together, look out. With or without Edelin, Jim Boeheim once again has the talent to go deep in the tournament. Pittsburgh and Notre Dame round out the four top teams in the conference. Expect all four to make the Dance, joined by at least one other team, possibly Providence.
Kansas, Kentucky, Texas, and Michigan State are also teams with a very real chance of making the Final Four. Kansas combines senior stars Wayne Simien, Keith Langford, and Aaron Miles with a talented group of freshman and sophomores. Expect the Jayhawks to win the Big 12 and Simien to get his share of national POY noise.
Kentucky is once again the team to beat in what appears to be a down year for the SEC. Chuck Hayes should be the star of this team, but watch transfer guard Patrick Sparks.
Texas lost a lot over the last two years, but they welcome the best recruiting class in the country. Expect three freshmen to start right away for Rick Barnes and the Longhorns to play their normal terrific defense.
Michigan State will vie with Illinois for the Big Ten crown but give the nod to the Spartans, particularly if freshman point guard Drew Neitzel can step in and run the show right away.
There is no clear cut favorite heading into the year, but don't be surprised if we see a Final Four of Wake Forest, North Carolina, Kansas, and Syracuse. When it's all said and done, this very well could be the year that Roy Williams cuts down the nets for the first time in his career.
