2007-08 College Hoops Preview

It's time for my semi-detailed look at the college basketball season, with some predictions. I know I am late posting it but here are my thoughts.

Conference Outlook ACC Winner: North Carolina ACC Player of the Year: Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina

Comments: North Carolina looks as if its ready to just run away in the ACC, as they are led by their star players, Tyler Hansbrough, Tywon Lawson, and Wayne Ellington (pictured). They should be challenged by Duke who does lose Josh McRoberts but still has plenty of young freshman, Taylor King and Kyle Singler, to work with. North Carolina State, Virginia Tech, and Maryland should also challenge the Tar Heels for the ACC crown. For the Player of the Year race, I think Hansbrough is far and away the conference's best player.

' Big 12 Winner:' Kansas Big 12 Player of the Year: Michael Beasley, Kansas State

Comments: Kansas, with their trio of trio of Mario Chalmers, Brandon Rush, and Darrell Arthur , might be the most talented team in the country. As long as Rush can remain healthy than the Jayhawks should easily grab the Big 12 title. Right behind Kansas, is their in-state rivals, the Kansas State Wildcats. The Cats have one of he best one-two punches in the country in freshman forward Michael Beasley and sophomore guard Bill Welker. In the end, Kansas has more depth an experience than does Kansas State. Watch out for Beasley though, I wouldn't be surprised if he becomes the freshman of the year. .He's my pick for POY in the Big 12 too.

Big East Winner: Marquette Big East Player of the Year: Roy Hibbert, Georgetown

Comments: Once again, the Big East should be one of the most exciting conferences in the country with Georgetown, Marquette, and Louisville all expected to compete for the title. While Georgetown appears to be the early favorite, I like Marquette here. They have the best backcourt duo in the entire country with Dominic James and Jered McNeal. Last year McNeal was hurt down the stretch and his absence really hurt the Eagles' chances of advancing deep into March. The Rick Pittino led Louisville Cardinals have an exciting young team and if they can mature quickly, they should prove capable of being a real threat come March. Expect Georgetown's Roy Hibbert to take home player of the year when the award is given out. He wil create plenty of matchup problems this season.

Big Ten Winner: Indiana Big Ten Player of the Year: Drew Neitzel, Michigan State

Comments: In my humble opinion, this should come down to two teams: Indiana and Michigan State. Both the Hoosiers and Spartans are led by sensational guards in Erik Gordan and Drew Neitzel and have two of the country's best coaches in Kelvim Sampson and Tom Izzo. With these pieces both teams are legitimate threats to advance deep in the NCAA tournament. The talent level takes a big drop off after these two teams. However, Purdue could be a serious challenger as Matt Painter has recruited a nice collection of young talent. Former Big Ten champions, Illinois, Iowa, and Ohio State, all appear to be a year away from seriously contending. For player of the year, look for Neitzel's experience and knack for the big play land him the player of the year award.

[1] Pac Ten Winner: UCLA Pac Ten Player of the Year: O.J. Mayo, USC

'Comments: With the influx of young talent, this will arguably be the nation's most exciting conference. The LA teams, UCLA and USC, should be the class of the conference as they have two of the nation's top players, freshmen Kevin Love and O.J. Mayo. The Bruins and Trojans also have some great returning talent as well. UCLA returns pint guard Darren Collison who distributes the ball as well as anyone in the country. Guard Daniel Hackett and Forward Taj Gibson should also help the Trojans compete for a Pac Ten title. Arizona, Stanford, and Oregon, should all will be very competitive in Pac Ten play. For POY, I really like USC's O.J. Mayo. In high school, Mayo put up a bunch of points and I look for him to be the same. ' SEC Winner: Tennessee SEC Player of the Year: Chris Lofton, Tennessee

Comments: With Chris Lofton returning the Volunteers should once again be one of the SEC's best teams. They play an uptempo style that will allow them to score a bunch points. Bruce Pearl is an excellent coach and he should once again lead them into March. Kentucky could also surprise some people with new coach Billy Gillepsie at the helm. Chris Lofton is one of the best point guards in the country, so he gets the POY nod.

All-American Team

Tyler Hansbrough, UNC: Putting Hansbrough here is a no brainer, as he plays on one of the nation's most talented teams and has two years of experience now. Look for the junior to put up great numbers once again.

Roy Hibbert, Georgetown: With Jeff Green now in the NBA, Hibbert should get the ball even more this season. His touch is beginning to develop nicely around the rim and expect him to be even better this season.

Chris Lofton, Tennessee: Lofton is by far the best shooter in college basketball, and he should get plenty of shots in the Volunteers' uptempo style of offense.

Darren Collison, UCLA: In terms of a pure point guard, Collison might be the nation's best. He's capable of distrusting the ball to all of his playmakers, defending any guard in the country, and knocking down an outside jump shot.

OJ Mayo, USC: Mayo is going to play tons of minutes, get tons of shots, and put up lots of points. The Trojans should be a pretty good team as well.

Final Four

UCLA: While they do lose Arron Afflalo, the Bruins now have a legitimate lost post scorer in Kevin Love. They are good enough to make their third straight trip to the Final Four.

North Carolina: Once again, the Tar Heels will be really talented, deep, and tough to prepare for and beat. Roy Williams should get this team to the Final Four.

Memphis: For the past two seasons, they have really close to cracking the Final Four. This year might be their best chance at doing with the addition of freshmen sensation Derrick Rose. Their tough non-conference slate will keep them up to par with the Major conference teams in their drive to San Antonio.

Kansas - The Jayhawks have plenty of young, talented players. As a result, Head Coach Bill Self should finally reach the Final Four

National Championship

North Carolina over Memphis The Tar Heels have some really talented players, experience, and a great coach in Roy Williams. Look for North Carolina to be dancing come March.

Enable Comment Auto-Refresher

KelsdadAll-Star

315 days ago

Score 0

Nice work, Beast. I do have to disagree with you on Memphis, however. I saw them play last week against UConn and they are really weak upfront and off the bench. The two guards are awesome but they'll both have to average 20 points a game for the Tigers to have a shot at the tournament, much less the Final Four.

Permalink | Reply

NejoshiDiv-I Stud

315 days ago

Score 1

A shot at the tournament? Really? Memphis is clearly one of the top five teams in the nation and will be right there when it's all said and done. If any team looks vulnerable early in the season, it's UNC. I think UCLA has been the msot impressive team, winning a pretty solid tournament without their starting point guard, Darren Collison. Russell Westbrook looks ready to take the next step and become a solid contributor to a team that already has Kevin Love, Collison, and Josh Shipp.

Permalink