Top five revisited
Now that we know who's leaving and who's staying in NCAA hoops, it's a little easier to project which teams will rule the college basketball landscape in 2002-2003. But stayed tuned, October 15 is still three months away.
By John McManus Sports Central Columnist
It's time to revisit my college basketball top five now that we know who's leaving and who's coming back to school. My top five back in April were:
1. Kansas 2. Duke 3. Arizona 4. Connecticut 5. Florida
Things have changed since then and several adjustments have to be made now, and likely more before October 15. However, if the season were to start today, these teams stand as the cream of the crop:
1. Kansas: I might be crazy to not pick Arizona for the top spot as everyone else is doing, but KU is just as stacked. With all the defections to the NBA Draft, Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich will inevitably become superstars on the national scene. Wayne Simien and junior college transfer Jeff Graves will fill in nicely for Drew Gooden.
2. Arizona: The Wildcats move up to No. 2 with the departure of Mike Dunleavy from Duke. Arizona is loaded with talent led by seniors Luke Walton, Jason Gardner, and Rick Anderson.
3. Oklahoma: This is another 2002 Final Four team that returns most of its nucleus including seniors Hollis Price, Quannas White, Ebi Ere, and junior Jabahri Brown. They have also added top recruits DeAngelo Alexander and Kevin Bookout.
4. Florida: It is time for Brett Nelson, David Lee, and James White to truly shine. Matt Bonner has done his part and this team is deep again, as usual. Billy Donovan hasn't done much to prove himself as an elite coach since taking the Gators to the National Championship game in 2000. Another early exit from the NCAA Tournament with this squad and the term "bozo" may fit.
5. Duke: Don't sell Mike Krzyzewski short. He was in the same position in 1999-2000, having lost his best players to the NBA, when he reloaded and had Duke ranked No. 1 in the country heading into the NCAA Tournament. With Dunleavy, Jay Williams, and Carlos Boozer gone, Chris Duhon will be the leader of a team with five highly-touted incoming freshmen. Duke will also have a luxury they didn't enjoy even when they won it all in 2001, depth.
Article courtesy of Sports Central.
It's time to revisit my college basketball top five now that we know who's leaving and who's coming back to school. My top five back in April were:
1. Kansas 2. Duke 3. Arizona 4. Connecticut 5. Florida
Things have changed since then and several adjustments have to be made now, and likely more before October 15. However, if the season were to start today, these teams stand as the cream of the crop:
1. Kansas: I might be crazy to not pick Arizona for the top spot as everyone else is doing, but KU is just as stacked. With all the defections to the NBA Draft, Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich will inevitably become superstars on the national scene. Wayne Simien and junior college transfer Jeff Graves will fill in nicely for Drew Gooden.
2. Arizona: The Wildcats move up to No. 2 with the departure of Mike Dunleavy from Duke. Arizona is loaded with talent led by seniors Luke Walton, Jason Gardner, and Rick Anderson.
3. Oklahoma: This is another 2002 Final Four team that returns most of its nucleus including seniors Hollis Price, Quannas White, Ebi Ere, and junior Jabahri Brown. They have also added top recruits DeAngelo Alexander and Kevin Bookout.
4. Florida: It is time for Brett Nelson, David Lee, and James White to truly shine. Matt Bonner has done his part and this team is deep again, as usual. Billy Donovan hasn't done much to prove himself as an elite coach since taking the Gators to the National Championship game in 2000. Another early exit from the NCAA Tournament with this squad and the term "bozo" may fit.
5. Duke: Don't sell Mike Krzyzewski short. He was in the same position in 1999-2000, having lost his best players to the NBA, when he reloaded and had Duke ranked No. 1 in the country heading into the NCAA Tournament. With Dunleavy, Jay Williams, and Carlos Boozer gone, Chris Duhon will be the leader of a team with five highly-touted incoming freshmen. Duke will also have a luxury they didn't enjoy even when they won it all in 2001, depth.
Article courtesy of Sports Central.
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