| 20 January 2010
It’s hard to believe that we’re already 10 weeks into the college basketball season, and I’ve still yet to do a College Basketball Power Rankings.
It’s a terrible, inexcusable oversight on my part, and like Tiger Woods, I’m blaming my sex addiction for the hold up. Luckily, I’ve gone through a 28 day program, and my doctor's have cleared me.
So without any hesitation, here is the first, but most certainly not the last, College Basketball Power Rankings of 2010.
Enjoy!
Buyer, Beware:
No. 21B UConn
No. 21A North Carolina
Look, I could sit here all day and talk about UConn’s abysmal foul shooting or North Carolina’s turnover prone guards. But you’ve got better things to do, and me, well, the Price is Right is starting in 15 minutes, I’m on kind of a tight schedule myself.
So rather than rehashing the same tired arguments, let’s seriously get to the bottom of this. Because the problem for UConn isn’t foul shooting and the problem for North Carolina isn’t turnovers. Well it is, but, really the bigger problem is this: Neither team has any leadership. None, zero, zip, nada.
For the past three years both these teams have been blessed with mentally strong upperclassmen, and talented leaders, who cleaned up everybody else’s mess. Those same guys took big shots, defended the other teams best players, yelled in the huddle and even did some ass slapping when needed.
Now? You’ve got two teams with guys who’ve never been asked to lead before, that are being asked to lead. And it’s a mess.
The bright light at the end of the tunnel is that as bad as both these teams are playing, there are little signs of life. North Carolina staged a nice (albeit unsuccessful) comeback against Georgia Tech on Saturday, and for UConn, Kemba Walker (as erratic as he can be) at least tried to do something against Michigan over the weekend. Again, even though it didn’t work in either case, at least somebody was trying.
So while the rest of the college basketball world is giving up on these two teams, I’m not ready to. At least not yet.
The talent is there, but unfortunately, nobody’s head is. Time is running out to change that.
(**Authors note: I originally wrote this piece on Tuesday before the news of UConn coach Jim Calhoun taking an immediate medical leave of absence. However, regardless of how long their coach will be gone for, I stand by what I said about the Huskies.)
Fun, But Ultimately Non-Threatening:
20. Wisconsin: I’ve got an old rule: Whenever you only start one guy taller than 6’8, and he’s out indefinitely with a broken wrist, well that’s never a good thing. Don’t expect the Badgers to be in the Power Rankings the next time I do them.
19. BYU: A team full of religious, 6’4 white guys can’t possibly be this good? Can they be?
18. Clemson: Look, I know the win against North Carolina was nice (well at least until the Tar Heels lost to Georgia Tech three days later anyway), but haven’t we been down this slippery slope with Clemson before? These guys are the Jessica Simpson of college basketball: Sure they may look nice on the surface, but start peeling back layers, and there’s really not much there at all.
Now, can things change this year? Absolutely, I’m just not betting on it.
Wake me up when this team wins an NCAA Tournament game.
17. Gonzaga: So you’ve got a power forward from Germany, a center from British Columbia, a point guard from Texas and a shooting guard that looks like he’s right off the set of a Cheech and Chong movie remake. Really, all Gonzaga needs is Flava Flav to play power forward and Vanilla Ice off the bench, and we’ve got our next cast of the Surreal Life.
(Wait, what’s that? No, you’re right. I haven’t seen much of these guys since they played Duke a month ago. I know, I should probably wait before I pass judgment on them one way or the other. Let’s just move on…)
16. Temple: Hey, speaking of teams I haven’t seen much of… It’s Temple!!!! But they did beat Villanova, Seton Hall and Virginia Tech earlier in the season. That’s got to count for something right?
15. Pitt : Isn’t it nice to have Pitt back right where they belong: As a scrappy, hard-nosed team that has no real chance of doing damage in March?
Good to see you guys again, last year was just too weird.
Dangerous Under the Right Circumstance:
14. Georgetown: Uh oh, don’t look now…but here’s comes Georgetown! After all, if Greg Monroe’s 29 point, 16 rebound 
performance against Villanova taught us anything, it’s… Wait a second, that’s right, it actually taught us nothing!!!
Honestly, Monroe is a 6’11 center who was guarded the entire game by the 6’8 Antonio Pena and the 6’8 Taylor King, who also happens to move like my 12-year-old dog Oscar, who has two bad hips. Shouldn’t future NBA lottery picks be putting up 29 and 16’s all the time against that competition?
And besides Monroe’s random outburst, Georgetown only gets scoring from Austin Freeman and Chris Wright. And I’m sorry, but you don’t win in March with only three guys who can score the basketball.
So for all you Georgetown fans, I’m sorry but I’m just not drinking the Kool-Aid. Let’s see what happens the rest of Big East play before we get too excited. Ok?
13. Georgia Tech: Tech has secretly, inexplicably turned into my favorite team to watch this season. Shhhhh, don’t tell anybody.
Now, are they safe to put money on? Hell no, they’re way, way too erratic. Honestly, I’d feel more comfortable betting on the next Wrestlemania than any of their upcoming games.
But from a puppy off the leash, I have no idea what they’re going to do next standpoint, there isn’t a team more exciting in college basketball. Not even close.
I’ve seen them make every bone-headed play in the book: Throw alley-oop passes over the backboard, try dunks from the foul line, blow huge leads, you name it. Yet, they’re also talented enough to have beaten Duke, Clemson and North Carolina in the last two weeks. Go figure.
In my eyes, of every team in college basketball, they have the widest margin of expectation come March. They could lose in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, they could go to the Final Four or do anything in between, and nothing would surprise me.
Whatever does happen, I’ll be watching the whole way.
12. West Virginia: I’ve watched this team a bunch. Early on I thought they were legit Final Four contenders, now I’m not so sure they’re good enough to even make the Sweet 16. It just seems like when they play really, really good teams, they struggle to score. And even though everyone says that defense wins championships, you’ve still got to be able to put up more than 60 points against good teams. I’m not sure West Virginia can do that right now.
Also, I hate to bring up such a touchy subject, but has anyone seen Bob Huggins’ tournament resume lately?
Maybe we should just keep going…
Coming on strong:
11. Ohio State: If I was one of the elite teams in college basketball, Ohio State might be the last team I’d want to see right now. They had a huge comeback against Purdue last week, and dominated Wisconsin and Northwestern in their last two outings. All three are likely NCAA Tournament teams.
The Buckeyes can play any style and are versatile enough to matchup with basically anybody. And to go into my best Hubie Brown voice, “Evan Turner is the single biggest difference maker we have in our sport right now.” He’s 6’8, handles the ball like a point guard, rebounds like a center and runs the floor like a small forward. In other words, he’s really, really good.
Add in Jon Diebler and William Buford on the perimeter, and David Lighty who does just about everything, and this team is really scary.
Even scarier, is that the latest rumor coming out of Columbus is that former All-State hoops star Terrelle Pryor (who you may be more familiar with as a Rose Bowl winning quarterback) wants to walk-on to the basketball team for the second half of the year, and would most definitely add another big body down low…
Ok, I definitely just made that last part up, but I had you going for a second, didn’t I?
10. Tennessee: This Tennessee team reminds me of the 2008 UConn team. For those of you who don’t remember (and quite frankly, I have no idea why you would), Jerome Dyson and Doug Wiggins got suspended midseason, UConn was left for dead, and just when everyone gave up on them, they ripped off about 10 wins in a row and ended up as a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Now because this Tennessee team is a little more talented, and their competition a little weaker, their ceiling is a little higher. A No. 2 or No. 3 seed is most definitely a possibility.
The biggest key going forward is how Cameron Tatum and Melvin Goins handle coming back from suspension. The team was playing well without them, and as the team continues to win, these two should be role players only. Coach Bruce Pearl didn’t play them Tuesday night, and as of right now, he has no plans to going forward.
But with all the minutes everybody has played these last few weeks, they will be called on at some point.
How they handle it, and whether they can provide valuable minutes solely as reserves will be the biggest difference in how well this team plays going forward.
9. Kansas State: You want to know what the most inexplicable, unexplainable, bizarre part of Kansas State’s dismantling of No. 1 Texas was Monday night? (Well besides when Brent Musberger mentioned coach Frank Martin’s “Latin Eyes,” which was not only creepy, but also, surprisingly erotic.)
It was watching Curtis Kelly, a guy who couldn’t crack a 10 man rotation at UConn, a guy who I once saw dribble, pick up the ball, look around for a teammate, and dribble again (here in America we call that a double-dribble Curt), totally pick apart the best frontline in college basketball. I swear it was like seeing the Lock Ness Monster or Bigfoot. I tried to tell my friends about it afterward, but nobody believed me.
Anyway, after watching Kelly look like a mini-Olajuwon against Texas, it hit me, that is the legacy of this particular Kansas State team. While everyone talks about the back court of Denis Clemente and Jacob Pullen, it’s actually a totally underrated frontcourt of Kelly, Dominque Sutton and Jamar Samuels that makes this group go.
Now sure, part of Monday night’s success was the home crowd. And part of it was that Texas played the first half with about as much excitement as John Daly does when he’s got a 7:00 a.m. tee-time. But this is also a really good team. And one I wouldn't want to play going forward.
Sure, sure, sure…Unsure, unsure, unsure:
8. Purdue: Remember those old deodorant commercials: “Sure, sure, sure…Unsure, unsure, unsure, unsure…” That’s how I feel about this Purdue team.
On the one hand, they won their first 14 games. On the other, they’ve lost three of their last four.
On one hand they beat an undefeated, top five ranked West Virginia team. On the other, maybe West Virginia really isn’t that good.
On the one hand, they’ve got the most talented starting five in the Big 10. On the other, they still haven’t been able to find a replacement for injured point guard Lewis Jackson.
In other words, as sure as I am about these guys sometimes, I’m just as unsure about them at others. No one has left me more confused to date.
7. Michigan State: Speaking of sure, sure, sure…Unsure, unsure, unsure, it’s Michigan State!
Look, I know they’re 5-0 in the Big 10 and have won six in a row. But am I really supposed to forget about those two blowout losses to North Carolina and Texas?
Maybe, Juuuuuuust Maybe:
6. Villanova: Every Villanova fan I talk to insists that losing Dante Cunningham is going to catch up with this team at some point. Except, well, I just don’t see it.
I mean, it’s not that Villanova couldn’t use another few big guys, because they could. But isn’t this their inherent built-in strength every year? With their small lineup, they create mismatches by making your 6’8 power forward defend their 6’3 shooting guard, trading size for quickness. It’s what got Randy Foye and Allen Ray to the Elite Eight, and last year’s team to the Final Four.
Also, Villanova is one of the only two teams in college basketball (the other is Texas), that no matter who they’ve got on the court, always has five guys that can score. It’s their biggest advantage, and one they exploit by putting up almost 90 points per game.
It’s also the reason why they’re 16-1, and why I think they’ll be just fine without Dante Cunningham.
5. Duke: I hate to say this, but it’s true: Duke is actually really good. Like, really, reeeeeeeeeeally good. Please excuse me while I go have an alcoholic beverage, or eight, to forget what I just said…
…
Ok, I’m back.
Look, when it comes to this team, everyone talks about Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith being improved, and they are. But what nobody talks about is that Brian Zoubek (who knew growing that growing an ugly beard would do so much for his game) and Mason Plumlee are way better than last year too. For the first time since Shelden Williams was on campus, Duke has real, serviceable low post players.
And watching Duke play Wake Forest the other night, I don’t know that anybody plays better overall team defense. Wake Forest literally didn’t get an easy shot the entire game.
Now is this team still susceptible to athletic teams and super quick point guards? Of course. But for once they might actually have the guys to fight through it. And they may end up in the Final Four because of it.
4. Syracuse: For the first 10 weeks of the season, I just couldn’t figure these guys out. Then I watched them Monday night and realized, that basically, the Orange are the best “team,” in college basketball. Not the most talented or the favorites to win it all. Just that nobody has guys who compliment each other so well.
Think about it: You’ve got Brandon Triche, the penetrating point guard. Andy Rautins is their outside shooter. Arinze Onuaku and Rick Jackson provide the bulk inside. Wes Johnson does a little bit of everything. And Kris Joseph provides a comical French-Canadian accent off the bench. Again, everybody compliments everybody else.
I don’t know what it is about the Orange, but they keep winning, and I finally see what the fuss is about. And in a year where everybody has major warts, why can’t the Orange get to the Final Four?
Co-Favorites: 
3. Kansas: Mark my words, losing to Tennessee was the best thing that ever happened to these guys. They’re relaxed, composed and played their best basketball the other day against Texas Tech.
Maybe my favorite thing about this team, is that while everybody deferred to Xavier Henry early, Sherron Collins is back calling the shots now that the games mean more. He didn’t have a single 20 point game their first 14, and has now scored at least 20 in three of their last four.
Add in Cole Aldrich (a totally underrated rebounder and defender), the Morris twins, Brady Morningstar and everybody else, and this team is finally starting to play the way we expected coming into the season.
2. Kentucky: I continue to watch Kentucky, and I’ve got to admit, something just isn’t right with them. At least not right now. John Calipari said it better than I could the other day, when after Texas beat Texas A&M in overtime to remain undefeated, he said, “It’s for the best. We’re not ready to be the No. 1 team in the country.” Well then.
Look, Kentucky has a lot going for them: They’re deep. They’re athletic. Eric Bledsoe is coming along. DeMarcus Cousins may be the most entertaining player in college basketball, whether he’s dunking on 6’2 point guards or pouting on the bench like Calipari just told him he couldn’t have dessert at the post-game dinner.
And we all know about John Wall. He’s one of the only two guys in the game (Evan Turner is the other) who can completely dominate a game, without scoring a single point. You need great players to win championships, and Kentucky has plenty of them.
But like Kansas, I think that right now, the best thing for this team might be to just lose a game. The problem is, that the SEC is so weak it, might not happen any time soon.
So until then, the pressure is on. And with Texas losing Monday night, this will be the No. 1 team in the country come Monday. Whether they’re ready for that challenge or not, well you’d have to ask their coach.
The Favorite:
1. Texas: Let’s do a quick Reader’s Digest breakdown of the Longhorns, the team that I still think is the favorite as we get closer to March:
What’s to like: They literally go two deep at every position, and have 11 players who can contribute; they have the best low post combination in college basketball; for my money they have the guy- Damion James- who should be National Player of the Year, sorry John Wall fans; When Avery Bradley gets hot he’s a terrifying scorer; Dogus Balbay has that Pau Gasol, “After the game I’m going to the coffeehouse to sip on espresso and smoke unfiltered cigarettes,” look that I cherish in my European born players; Because they have so many guys who can score, no deficit is too much.
What’s not to like: Their offense consists of grabbing rebounds, running up the court as fast as they can, and trying to get easy layups. That’s it. I’ve probably watched 10 of their games this season, and have yet to see them run one set play, not one. Which, needless to say, is not good.
But whether you love the Longhorns or hate them, Texas does have one thing going for them above everybody else: History.
If you look back at the past decade, virtually every year the most talented team in the country has won the National Championship. Whether it was Duke in ’01, UConn in ’04, Florida in ‘07 or North Carolina last year, it’s undeniable, having the most talent is the best precursor to determining who the champion will be.
So love the Longhorns or hate them, but they’re still my team.
At least until the next Power Rankings that is.
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