Preseason Top 25
1) Kentucky (#4 Javon White, #10 Lorenzo Simon)
2) Syracuse (#8 Devonte Campbell, #45 J.P. Webber)
3) Duke (#2 Damir Clayton, #6 Mookie Flowers, #20 Kris Clemons, #28 Corey Williams)
4) USC (#42 Reece Akua, #43 Levi Hopkins)
5) Michigan (#31 Chris Wilson)
6) Washington (#17 Marquez Bowman)
7) Florida (#7 Quin Young, #14 Tyreke Atkins, #32 Gerald Williams)
8) Kansas (#47 Shelvin Ellis)
9) Michigan State (#25 Trent Porter Jr., #29 Dom Newton, #39 Travis Nichols)
10) Texas (#30 JaCorey Davis)
11) North Carolina (#1 Derrick Mercer, #33 Corey Tucker)
12) Wisconsin
13) Ohio State (#18 Justin Harper, #23 Lorenzo Banks, #44 Russell Wingate)
14) Illinois (#5 Dominique Kilpatrick)
15) UCLA (#38 K.T. Madison)
16) Virginia (#36 Terrence Lyons)
17) Notre Dame (#22 Cameron Nixon)
18) Northwestern
19) St.Johns (#11 Chris Iverson)
20) Xavier (#40 Drue McAllister)
21) Washington State
22) Oregon (#24 Wesley Bell)
23) LSU
24) Louisville (#3 Vic Reed, 21 Rasheed Morris)
25) Oklahoma State (#48 Martell Beasley)
Receiving Votes: Cincinnati (#34 R.J. Wilkerson), Maryland (#44 Calvin Page), Texas A&M, Rutgers (#50 Jamerson Novak), Villanova, Wake Forest (#49 Tahj Rawlings), Georgia (#27 Phillip Morrison), Iowa State (#37 Steven Cardinal), Nebraska, Marquette, SMU, Baylor, California (#15 Tyler Ware), Pittsburgh, Creighton
Biggest Preseason Question: Why isn’t Duke #1?
A program with high prestige and the largest amount of players on the preseason big board (all in the top 28), Duke for some reason is only sitting at #3 in the preseason poll. While they are expected to be a dominant team like they typically are there are reasons to doubt the hype.
Duke is bringing in three 5*s and returning a great sophomore in Corey Williams but that may not be enough. In the past several years we have seen Duke head into the season with some of the nation's top prospects but falter come March with the lack of a deep bench. Some teams can get by with only playing 7, but that hasn’t worked out too well for Duke as they haven’t reached the final four in the past six seasons. Many of the AP Poll members factored this in when making their votes as Duke will once again look towards a smaller rotation which may hurt when the season starts to wind down.
While Duke does bring in 3 great freshmen none of them are complete players. Dukes top recruit and the #2 ranked player in his class, Point Guard Damir Clayton excels on offense with his speed and ability to make players while driving but his jumper needs some work and his 3pt shooting is almost nonexistent. College ball is all about the 3-Ball so this may hurt the Duke offense when they face top competition. Duke also signed another star recruit in the #5 prospect, Power Forward Mookie Flowers. Flowers isn’t your new age big man. Even though he has a decent shot he excels more down low. In college, he will have to play center, but in the NBA he will probably end up at PF because of his height. His athletic ability may limit him at the next level.
Now let's take a look at the team that took the top spot from Duke. Kentucky is also headlined by a couple of star freshmen, but they also have some depth to help out when needed. Kentucky’s highest rated freshman who is expected to be a top 5 pick is Small Forward Javon White. Unlike Damir Clayton and Mookie Flowers, White is more of a complete player who can score with his jumper or on the drive. White was also a monster in high school on defense as he averaged 5.3 steals a game. The other top freshman for UK is Power Forward Lorenzo Simon. Simon has great athleticism for his height and weight which should help him transition well to college and the NBA. Last season highly ranked freshman Malachi Higgins tore his ACL just a week into the season and he is due back around the start of conference play and could make a big impact as a sixth man. Kentucky also returns a two year starter in Jr Center, Blake McLaughlin who knows the Calipari system very well and has developed into a leader on the court.
Family Rivalry
A few years ago we saw an insane Kentucky team led by freshman Tyshaun Atkins take home both the SEC and National Championships. Ever since then Wildcat fans have been waiting for his younger brother, Tyreke Atkins, to come to Lexington. Finally, signing day approached and the top 10 recruit had to make a decision to stay within the family tree and head to Kentucky or take his own route and choose Florida. And here is how that played out…
AtkinsBrosTweets.jpg
I think it's safe to say that Christmas dinner at the Atkin’s household might get a little interesting this year.
Can Texas Repeat?
No, and it's pretty simple why. Texas has been a very underwhelming team in recent history, but last year was the exception as now NBA rookie, Damon Lewis broke out for an incredible sophomore campaign and now senior, JaCorey Davis led an upperclassman heavy team to a Big 12 regular season title and eventually to a National Championship victory against a great Kentucky squad. With Lewis now in the NBA and many moving on because of graduation the Longhorns are left with holes that they failed to fill at a high enough level in recruiting. Many have high hopes for the Longhorns though as JaCorey Davis will get his chance to be the sole star of the team and maybe lead Texas to be a surprise team this year.
While this year may be a waste for Texas they still have potential for the future though as they already have signed 5* guard Antwan Young. With JaCorey Davis graduating after this year the Longhorns have already filled that hole and after winning the championship they should be able to bring in more top tier talent to put beside Young. The Longhorns look to be a team to watch out for in the future.
Next Update: Season Update and Maybe a Mock Draft or Something Else
10-27-2020, 02:17 AM
