Well hoops fans I must apologize, I didn't even realize how long my top 5 preview was until I went back and read it myself. Sorry, but when I get on a roll I'm harder to stop than a John Wooden team in the late 60's-early 70's. Never the less we will try to keep the rest of the top 10 a little bit shorter, but no promises can be made. With my disclaimer out of the way, here is what we are looking at to round out the preseason top 10.
6. Purdue
7. Kentucky
8. Tennessee
9. West Virginia
10. Duke
No need for pointless rambling here, lets get right down to it...
6. Purdue- Michigan State's only real roadblock to the Big 10 championship. After high expectations Purdue saw their season start to go downhill after being embarrassed in a non-conference contest at Duke (they lost 76-60) and around the same time star Robbie Hummel started having health problems that would plague him all season. However, this year Hummel is back and healthy and coupled with E'Twaun Moore (13.8 ppg) and JaJuan Johnson (13.4 ppg) the Boilermakers are locked, loaded, and ready to live up to their expectations this season.
Strengths: Experience. Purdue is returning the core of its team from last season, a team that pulled it together at the end of the season to win the Big 10 tournament. In fact, the Boilermakers only lost 12.7 ppg in their 4 graduating seniors. Much like Michigan State, Purdue will reap the benefits of spending all season battling Big 10 teams that are surrounded by question marks.
Weaknesses: Last season, with nearly an identical team (aside from the unhealthy Hummel) the Boilermakers were full of inconsistency. When Purdue was truly tested, especially on the road, they lost and more often than not by a considerable margin to Duke, Illinois, and Michigan State by 16, 2o, and 11 respectively. After squeaking by Washington in the 2nd round of the NCAA's, The Boilermakers suffered another double digit loss to UConn in the Sweet 16. Purdue needs to find a way to play good basketball as a team night in and night out, at home and on the road, if they plan on staying in the top 10 and on the heels of the Spartans this season.
7. Kentucky- Oh Kentucky, Kentucky Kentucky. No team has been surrounded by more off season buzz than the Kentucky Wildcats (well except maybe Memphis, Mr. Calipari are you ready for your close up?). John Calipari has been brought into Lexington in hopes of digging the Wildcats out of the basement of the SEC and back to the glory days of Adolph Rupp, Rick Pitino, and Tubby Smith, but he's going to have to find a way to do it without leading scorer Jodie Meeks.
Strengths: Well with Calipari at the helm, the Wildcats have went out and hired a coach that can make up for the failed Billy Gillispie experiment. Although losing Meeks is a huge blow for Kentucky, they will have the luxury of returning second leading scorer, and now team leader, Patrick Patterson (17.9 ppg). Calipari also brought along with him a slew of talented freshman that either made Kentucky their school after he got the job or broke their commitment to Memphis when he left. Looks like everyone is a winner in this situation. (Memphis fans may wish to disregard that last sentence)
Weaknesses: Where do I begin? Yes, returning Patterson is a great for the Wildcats but lets be real folks, Jodie Meeks was Kentucky's team last season. This team looked to Meeks to be the play maker and game changer, and now they will take the court without him. John Calipari was a great coach in Memphis...once he had good players and was able to develop them. Although Calipari has brought his army of young talent with him to Lexington, Rome wasn't built in a day. There is no doubt in my mind that Kentucky is on their way back up, but this is not the year. I think they are over rated and will fall from this spot early. Tune in December 5th when they battle UNC to watch the Wildcats try to prove me wrong.
8. Tennessee- The SEC East this season will be Bruce Pearl's Volunteers against Calipari's Wildcats. Tennessee returns their leading scorer from last season, Tyler Smith (17.4 ppg), which is always a plus starting a new season. The Volunteers also have a star studded sophomore class that will play a huge part in the success of this team. The true test whether or not this team is for real will come on Jan. 10th when they play host to Kansas.
Strengths: The most important thing for the Volunteers is returning Tyler Smith. Without Smith Tennessee struggles to even crack my top 25. However, what a lot of people are overlooking between Smith coming back and the huge class of sophomores, is the fact that Tennessee is also returning their second leading scorer and possibly their best man on the glass, Wayne Chism. His offense, defense and senior leadership, when coupled with Smith, may prove to be just as valuable, if not more so, than Smith's return.
Weaknesses: A lot of people in the hoops world preach its importance and I am no different, free throw percentage. Last season the Volunteers shot a dismal 67% from the free throw line. Now some people may say that if that is their only weakness, then the are in good shape. I would strongly disagree. Tennessee is going to find themselves in a lot of trench battles in the SEC East this year. Their inability to shoot from the charity stripe could swing many of their close games to the loss column. The Volunteers are also green when it comes to March play, after a first round exit from the tournament last season. It will be a very interesting battle between Tennessee and Kentucky for the SEC crown this season.
9. West Virginia- I personally ranked the Mountaineers this high based on the strength of their conference. Although they will tangle with Villanova this season, which I feel the Wildcats will handle them easily, that is all they have to deal with. Da'Sean Butler and Devin Ebanks will be the anchors of this team, combining for 27.6 ppg last season. Bob Huggins's squad, in my mind, is a lock for runner-up in the big east.
Strengths: Just like Villanova, the Mountaineers will cash in huge on a depleted Big East conference this season. Ebanks in my opinion is even more important to West Virginia than Butler is. With the numbers Ebanks put up as a freshman last season against the most powerful conference in the nation, Huggins should be expecting him to move mountains (no pun intended) this season. This years Mountaineers team also runs very deep, making them a threat come tournament time.
Weaknesses: Although Butler and Ebanks are back, the Mountaineers lost senior Alex Ruoff, and the 15.7 points a game that he brought along with him. While some people may view an easy schedule as a strength for a team, I would argue that it hurts a team. Besides their 2 games with Villanova and a non-conference clash with Purdue, West Virginia is playing a pretty easy schedule. This has the potential to make their team soft and send them into the NCAA tournament untested and prime to be upset by a more hardened, battle tested team.
10. Duke- With the way the Blue Devils have been dying out early in March the last few seasons (and yes the Sweet 16 is early for Duke), I considered dropping them down much lower than the preseason poll had them. Then I remembered who their coach was and quickly dismissed that absurd notion. Duke is back on the rise after a few disappointing seasons, and Kyle Singler will lead the way for the Devils this year. Combine him with Jon Scheyer and the Blue Devils will once again be battling the Tar Heels for ACC supremacy.
Strengths: Returning Singler and Scheyer means the Blue Devils have one of the best 1-2 punches in the nation. When Scheyer is on from beyond the arc he is lights out and Singler is a nightmare to defend, being able to step out and shoot or bang bodies down in the post. Aside from Gerald Henderson and Greg Paulus, the Devils return the meat of their squad and add on a solid group of freshman to boot.
Weaknesses: The Devils gave up a lot of points in a lot of games last season, and then again in some games played rock solid defense. Duke is going to have to bring some defensive consistency to their squad this season if they want to compete for an ACC title. Not to mention as good as Kyle Singler may be down low, Duke needs another big man, whether that be Lance Thomas or Brian Zoubek, to step up this season and do something in the paint. The point guard position was also a revolving door for the Blue Devils last year, with Paulus and Nolan Smith splitting time, and neither of them getting it quite right. Smith needs to step up and run a solid point for Singler, Scheyer and company if they want to return to some of the post season success that the Blue Devils had become accustomed to.
Well there you have it, 6-10 in the books. I am now realizing that I clearly did not stick to my words, as this is just as long as the last post, but hey things happen. I will say that from here on out the previews should get shorter (and I mean it this time) as I have less to say about teams that I feel can not legitimately compete for a national championship. Look forward to hearing everyone's thoughts and stay tuned for 11-15!,
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