Preseason NCAA Top 10

By Greg Bergman
Love of Sports Correspondent

The NBA Draft is less than a week away. That means the top NCAA players are deciding on their future.

On to the NBA, or stay in school? It changes the whole landscape of the college basketball world.  The deadline passed this last Monday, and we now know who is staying and who is going.

Let’s look at which teams made the jump to the elite and which dropped out of the Top 10 based upon returning players and recruiting classes.

Expect surprises, anger, and to call me idiotic. Just wait and see, and you’ll understand, possibly even fear, the knowledge I put forth.

PRESEASON TOP 10

10. Duke Blue Devils

This pains me.  I am in no way a Dukie fan. Krzyzewski annoys me to no end with that rat face of his that proves his egotism. We always hate the best, don’t we? The Blue Devil on their chest screams, “I think I’m better than you.” Guess what? You haven’t been for years, Duke. However unfortunate it is this year, though, they return a great squad with sophomore sensation Kyle Singler, sharpshooters Greg Paulus and Jon Scheyer and a glue guy in Gerald Henderson. Coach K always seems to grab great recruits, and this year is no different, with Miles Plumlee at the forefront of the class. Plumlee will need to learn to play in the paint a little more, but other than that, he’s yet another bluechip recruit. The Blue Devils will always be in the NCAA Tourney, but don’t expect a run to the Final Four.

9. Gonzaga Bulldogs

I am in the majority, I believe, when you think about Gonzaga. They’re always overrated. They never play up to their potential. That’s just the thing, though; this list is all about potential. When point guard Jeremy Pargo decided to return to school to keep playing with Austin Daye and Josh Heytvelt, it’s necessary to put them in here as long as Heytvelt stays off the ‘shrooms, of course.

8. Kansas Jayhawks

Yeah, yeah, yeah, they lost almost everyone, save Sherron Collins. However, Bill Self is a great regular season coach, and he finally got over the hump last year. They have the second-best recruiting class in the nation coming in and return McDonald’s All-American Cole Aldrich, who looked like he’ll be a beast after seeing him play some good minutes in the Tourney. Also, being that they are the National Champs, they belong in the Top 10, although the national “pundits” will barely have them in their Top 25.

7. Connecticut Huskies

Just like the Jayhawks, they lost some good players. Hasheem Thabeet, A.J. Price (I’m assuming he’ll come back solid from the ACL tear) and Jeff Adrien all return. They have a great class coming in, with Kemba Walker (who’ll fill in just fine if Price isn’t 100%) and Ater Majok as major pieces. Really, though, can you count out a Jim Calhoun coached team? I say no, even though he always seems to get the most out of his players.

6. Davidson Wildcats

This may be high for the upstart Wildcats, but they had to be here. I started them out at #10 and just kept moving them up. After their performance in last year’s tournament, the return of Stephen Curry (the guy is lights out) and the trials and tribulations they went through last year, I see absolutely no reason why they won’t be a prominent team this coming year. But wait, you say, they play in the Southern Conference. They can’t possibly be a Top 10 team with all the other great major conference teams out there. Plus, they squeaked by the good teams in the NCAA Tournament. Well, my response to you is … it’s my list! Complain all you want! I watched them multiple times in the REGULAR season last year - and the tournament. They’re legit.

5. Memphis Tigers

Goodbye Derrick Rose, CDR and Joey Dorsey. Thankfully, Robert Dozier made a great decision to come back (he wasn’t ready for the NBA). I didn’t even want to put them in the Top 10, just as a few of the other teams in here, but by playing in the TERRIBLE Conference USA, they’ll most assuredly be ranked in the Top 5 all year based on their achievements the last few years. The rest of the squad is sort of a B Team of last year, but it helps to be undefeated most of the year. So, here you go Tigers fans. Don’t say I never did anything for you.

4. Louisville Cardinals

David Padgett was a monster for this Louisville team.  The offense ran through him, and when he didn’t play well, they seemed to stall. He’s gone, and I don’t care. Freshman Samardo Samuels is coming in, and he’ll take over where Padgett left off. Samuels is a true post player, whereas Padgett was more a jump shooter forced to play in the paint. With Edgar Sosa and Jerry Smith returning to a Rick Pitino coached team, I predict them to win the tough Big East this year, although there will be some growing pains early in the year, as there always is with Louisville teams.

3. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Yes, I picked Louisville to win the Big East. And yes, I have Notre Dame higher in my rankings. It may not make a lot of sense, but I think Louisville will end up on top and Notre Dame in second, but the Irish will have the better overall record when it’s all said and done. When you have Luke Harangody, the Big East Player of the Year, returning with a great shooter in Kyle McAlarney, things look good. Luke and Kyle - they just sound like they should be on a reality TV show, living life on the ocean and chasing after beach bunnies, right? That’s neither here nor there, but with Mike Brey leading the Irish, they’ll be in the thick of the race come March.

2. UCLA Bruins

If you know me personally, you’ll most likely get a good laugh out of having the Bruins here. I am a DIEHARD UCLA fan. Some may think this is WAY too high after the team lost three starters to the NBA. However, others out there are surely shocked I didn’t put them #1. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute made a HUGE mistake by staying in the draft. Losing Kevin Love and Russell Westbrook are monstrous losses as well. However, the Bruins have the #1 recruiting class in the nation, as J’mison Morgan and Jrue Holliday will be getting immediate playing time. Thanks to the return of point guard Darren Collison and the fact they play in a Ben Howland coached system, expect the Bruins in the Top 5 all year and back in the Final Four for a fourth straight time. Let’s see if Howland can finally get the proverbial monkey off his back as Bill Self did this past year.

1. North Carolina Tarheels

Let’s just put this out here. If ANYONE - and I mean it, ANYONE - doesn’t have the Tarheels in the #1 spot, they have absolutely no knowledge when it comes to college basketball. You have a Top 5 coach in Roy Williams (some say #1, but I don’t) and basically everybody is returning. The Player of the Year, Tyler Hansbrough, is back, alongside solid inside man Deon Thompson and shooters Wayne Ellington and Danny Green. They all made great decisions to stay in school, PLUS the return of what I thought was the glue to this team, point guard Ty Lawson. They have a legitimate shot at going undefeated this year. I just don’t see how this team can be beat, besides the obligatory, overused cliché of “barring injuries.” And that the ACC is always brutal.

Well, there it is. As you can tell, I based a lot of my picks on coaching. Coaching in college sports is more important than any other sport.

If I left your team out … sorry, too bad. Feel free to rip me and tell me I have no idea what I’m talking about. But just wait and see. Come the end of the season, you’re going to look back at say, “Wow, that guy really knows what he’s talking about.”

Discuss amongst yourselves.