February 1, 2025

Preseason NCAA Basketball Poll

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

Red Auerbach Has Passed Away

Red AuerbachThe nine time NBA champion coach died today at the age of 89. He also was the general manager of the Boston Celtics in the 70s and 80s and they won seven more titles. It is always sad when icons pass away, but they are also never forgotten.

Breaking news: Red Auerbach

Paul Pierce Signs Extension with Celtics

Paul PiercePaul Pierce signed a $59 million dollar extension with Boston yesterday. This extension in theory will keep him a Celtic through 2010-2011, but wasn’t it just last year he was in all the major trade talks? I also remember hearing rumors this summer of him being part of a big trade with the 76ers for Allen Iverson. Call me silly, but I don’t think Paul Pierce will take the Celtics to the promise land and I sure wouldn’t have locked him in for another three years at that price point.

Bulls Continue Offseason Makeover

Tyson ChandlerTwo days after the huge announcement that “Big Ben” Wallace will be a Bull next year comes the news of a Tyson Chandler trade to the New Orleans Hornets. Chandler who has 5 years and $50 million remaining on his contract was traded for P.J. Brown and J.R. Smith to help ease the Bulls payroll now that Wallace is aboard. Many analysts already felt the Bulls could win the East with the addition of Wallace so I wonder how they feel after this most recent move? My personal opinion is this trade further improved the Bulls, but they are not ready to step up and win the Eastern Conference this coming year.  I do feel the moves are setting things up for a legitimate shot in two to three years.

NBA Draft Review

This is what I remember from last night, and why I no longer watch ESPN.

Stephen A Smith Blah Blah Blah…..I’m Captain Obvious….. Blah Blah Blah…..I’m loud and obnoxious……. Blah Blah Blah….. Blah Blah Blah….. Blah Blah Blah….. Blah Blah Blah….. Blah Blah Blah….. Blah Blah Blah….. Blah Blah Blah….. Blah Blah Blah…..I have the intelligence of a rock…… Blah Blah Blah….. Blah Blah Blah….. Blah Blah Blah….. Blah Blah Blah….. Blah Blah Blah…..Can I have a cookie?…. Blah Blah Blah….. Blah Blah Blah….. Blah Blah Blah….. Blah Blah Blah….. Blah Blah Blah…..Do I ever shut the hell up?….. Blah Blah Blah….. Blah Blah Blah….. Blah Blah Blah…..Will I ever have a coherent thought?….. Blah Blah Blah….. Blah Blah Blah….. Blah Blah Blah…..NOOOOO!…. Blah Blah Blah….. Blah Blah Blah….. Blah Blah Blah….. Blah Blah Blah…..

And Stuart Scott, will you stop, JUST STOP with the SLANG! OR just use it right! Or better yet, act like you have a real vocabulary and stop with the “It’s just my baby daddy” shit! Holy crap. I heard someone else say it and it needs repeating…Stuart Scott has the street cred of Carlton Banks

New York Knuckleheads

Larry BrownThe saga continues with the New York Knicks and Larry Brown and it probably won’t subside for quite some time.  As we all know by now, he was fired yesterday and replaced by Isiah Thomas after a 29-53 record in his first year with the Knicks.  New York had a payroll of close to $125 million yet there team was full of has-beens and washed-up rejects.  The Knicks have also stated they will not pay the $40 million remaining on Brown’s contract because they fired him due to just-cause.  Knicks management feels strongly they will win because Brown supposively didn’t hold up his end of the contract in many ways.  My, my, my, this is going to get real ugly and then we can look forward to an even uglier Knicks season this coming year! 

Wade Gets Wacky Again

Dwyane WadeDwyane Wade is averaging 40.3 points in the last three games of the NBA finals and each of these games the Heat have won. After being down 2-0 and looking quite helpless things have changed in a hurry for the Miami Heat due to Wade. Last night Wade scored 43 points the final one was a crucuial free throw with 1.9 seconds left in overtime after Josh Howard asked for a timeout the Mavs didn’t have to use. The Heat won 101-100 over the Mavericks and now have a lot of mojo heading back to Dallas. Dallas is quickly falling into a downward spiral with aggression towards NBA superiors for the suspension last game to Stackhouse and for what they feel are bogus calls by the refs. As I mentioned roughly two weeks ago, Mavs vs Heat, this series was going to be a special one.

Michael Jordan is Alive

It was no more than two days ago me and my homey G-Unit were talking about how Michael Jordan had fallen off the face of the Earth.  Then news came today Michael Jordan is now part-owner of the Charlotte Bobcats.  Wha-wha-what?  I might be out of it, but I sure didn’t see that coming.  Jordan is now second in control behind only Robert Johnson who is the owner of the Bobcats and paid $300 million for the team in 2002.  Jordan will be the managing member of basketball operations after today’s deal.  I think this is an excellent fit all the way around and it will be very interesting to see if Jordan will succeed.  In my mind it never hurts to have the best player to ever play the game on your side even if he is in management.

NBA Finals Game 3 Preview

Shaquille O'Neal

The first two games have pretty much boiled down to the Mavericks playing exceptionally well and the Heat playing like S#%T. It really amazes me how out of sync and weak Miami’s superstar Shaquille O’Neal has played in the first two games. The second game he scored a putrid 5 points and didn’t even play the final 15 minutes of the game. In case Shaq isn’t aware, if he doesn’t play at the top of his game then the Mavs will absolutely turn the Heat off. Miami must play a lot better defensively against the perimeter play of Dallas and they have to get the ball in low and score effectively. Miami does have three games in a row now at home and they must win this one, but are they thinking in the back of their head only Boston in 1969 and Portland in 1977 have rallied from an 0-2 deficit to win the finals? We should find the answer to this question in quarter one.

JJ Redick Busted for DUI

Excuse me, but what the hell is JJ Redick doing less than a month, 2 weeks actually, from the NBA Draft, drinking and driving!??! I….I mean….What do you……That’s just stupid! I hereby declare that we will be awarding a SU.com Dumbass of the Week award. The problem here is, who gets it this week? Obviously, Redick would be choice #1, but then you remember just yesterday Ben “Kneival” Roethlisberger demonstrating his human torpedo act. Some folks just aren’t very smart. Leave us a comment and tell us who ought to be the winner this week!