Oh yeah! The college basketball season is upon us and that means preseason predictions on who has the best squad. Below is the AP preseason top 25 poll with our thoughts beside each team. Tell us what you think!
1. Florida (63) 0-0 1,788 – too much pressure and too many teams gunning for them. The Gators could make the Final Four again, but that is where it ends.
2. North Carolina (9)0-0 1,704 Loaded, loaded, loaded. If there are no major injuries and the young nucleus gels then this is your National Champion.
3. Kansas 0-0 1,636 Top seven scorers returning and two new blue chip prospects. Bill Self will give it his all, but I think this team is still too young.
4. Pittsburgh 0-0 1,407 Aaron Gray and Ronald Ramon are back, but the Panthers will really miss Carl Krauser at the point position. I don’t see this team finishing in the top 10.
5. LSU 0-0 1,399 “Big Baby” is fun to watch, but the departure of Tyrus Thomas and Darrel Mitchell is huge! SEC competitors will be ready to knock this team down the poll
6. UCLA 0-0 1,394 Howland is one heck of a coach and even though they lost Farmar, Bozeman, and Hollins the Bruins are still loaded.
7. Ohio State 0-0 1,391 The Buckeyes were neck and neck with the Tarheels for the best recruiting class, but in my mind there is no doubt 7-footer Greg Oden is the best in the country. It is such a shame he is out till January coming off wrist surgery. Look for this team struggle a bit early on, but once Oden is inserted in the lineup and meshes with the team…watch out!
8. Georgetown 0-0 1,271 Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert are key returners to the team and will make the Hoyas contenders in the Big East.
9. Wisconsin 0-0 1,197 The Badgers are led by Alando Tucker, but also return 91.2 percent of their scoring from last year. This team will be rock solid, but are an Elite Eight team at best.
10. Arizona 0-0 1,157 I think this team is underrated. Hassan Adams and Chris Rodgers are gone and that is a good thing for Arizona because they were bad influences. Mustafa Shakur, Marcus Williams and Ivan Radenovic should lead the Wildcats far this year.
11. Alabama 0-0 1,106 They always seem to have all the hopes in the world, but quickly they come crashing down. They do return Ron Steele, Jermareo Davidson and Alonzo Gee.
12. Duke 0-0 1,051 The Blue Devils will be a solid squad, but you do not recover in one year from losing the likes of J.J. Redick, Shelden Williams and Sean Dockery.
13. Texas A&M 0-0 868 Coach Billy Gillespie returns his top six scorers including Acie Law and Joseph Jones. The Aggies will be in the mix, but a Sweet Sixteen is a long shot.
14. Memphis 0-0 811 Calipari has the Tigers competing every year and they will be fun to watch again this year. His players tend to leave early because of their talent, but it only takes one year for the stars to align.
15. Boston College 0-0 772 Craig Smith where are you? Jared Dudley and Tyrese Rice will be big, but the Eagles will can only hope for third place in the ACC.
16. Marquette 0-0 554 Tom Crean is an excellent coach and even though they lost Steve Novak the Golden Eagles will be a top 25 team all year.
17. Washington 0-0 487 I’m sorry, but without Brandon Roy I just don’t see the Huskies as a top 25 team. I hope Ryan Appleby and gang prove me wrong.
18. Connecticut 0-0 399 They lose Rudy Gay, Rashad Anderson, Marcus Williams, Denham Brown, Josh Brown and Hilton Armstrong so it should be over right? Well, they have 7’3 Hasheem Thabeet, A.J. Price and a solid freshman class so you just never know.
19. Creighton 0-0 384 Nate Funk returns after only playing six games last year and many think he is the best in the MVC. The Bluejays also return four other solid players so they look to be the Bradley of this year.
20. Syracuse 0-0 367 Roberts, Watkins, and Nichols return, but they will miss McNamara so bad!
21. Texas 0-0 366 I don’t think they will be a Top 25 team, because they are too inexperienced. The Longhorns lost Aldridge, Tucker, Gibson, Buckman and Paulino along with two other transfers.
22. Kentucky 0-0 332 Randolph Morris could be good and they have other solid players, but this isn’t your Kentucky of old!
23. Georgia Tech 0-0 262 I guess they are going to improve this much over last year, but I still have to see it to believe it.
24. Nevada 0-0 212 Fazekas is a stud and they also return Marcelus Kemp, but they won’t make alot of noise this year.
25. Tennessee 0-0 203 Sharp shooting Chris Lofton along with Major Wingate and Dane Bradshaw will compliement one of the top recruiting classes this year. I see the Volunteers at least playing better then the Kentucky Wildcats