Confrence Previews 2008-2009

Big East Preview Conference Rank: 1 Overview: Since merging with C-USA a couple years back its been highly debated whether or not the Big East is the best conference in college basketball. The conference has produced more berths than any other conference in division I basketball since the merger but has not produce an NCAA champion, will this year be any different? Player Spotlights: Luke Harangody- By the looks of him, Gody looks like he's more suited to play football, the stats, however tell a different story though. Dominic James- A four year starter for the Golden Eagles, this 5'11" PG has hops like Nate Robinson, but has a jump shot that can be as shaky as Rajon Rondo's Joe Mazzula- Had a real breakout game against Duke in March, which opened a lot of eyes. Maybe, he's the next Jason Kidd. Team Spotlights: Louisville- The Cardinals will be loaded with athleticism, skill, and depth at every position, but this formula doesn't always turn out successfully, just ask last years team. Syracuse- The Orange have missed the Tourney two years in a row and they have no one to blame but themselves. Jim Bohiem is seat is warming up and he better hope the return of Eric Devendorf can save him. Notre Dame- A surprise team last year, the Irish will be no surprise this time around especially with Luke Harangody (20 ppg.) and Kyle Maclardy and Tory Jackson leading a seasoned back court, with this team the Irish won't need any luck. Coach Spotlight: Rick Pitino (Louisville)- Pitino is a very good coach who is now coach his former schools arch rivals (old news) but he has run into some trouble ever since the 2002 Final 4 run that the Cardinals had. He's had character issues, personnel issues and just hasn't quite been able to recapture the magic. He's not on the hot seat but he's still a coach to keep your eye on. Pac-10 Preview Conference rank: 2 Overview: The Pac-10 has been some what of a hidden gem the world of college basketball, sure everyone knows about UCLA but what about the other teams? Most Pac-10 conference games tip off at 8, 9, even 10 and 11 P.M. eastern time making them really hard games to catch on week nights and even weekends. Well, fear not my fellow basketball fan because this will have your informed and I will follow-up with analysis during the entire college basketball regular season. Player Spotlights: Darren Collison- He's been the starting PG for UCLA for 3 1/2 seasons, and he's one of the best defenders on one of the best defensive teams in the nation. He should also be one of the top candidates to take home the bob Cousy Award. James Harden- Last year as a freshman Harden put together a massive stat line (17,5 and 3) and guided the sun devils to 19 wins, but he withdrew his name from the NBA draft, saying he wanted to make a serious impact on a program. Now, he has the chance to do just that. Jon Brockman- One of the early favorites to lead the nation in rebounding, this 6'8" 240 work horse is doing all he can to put Washington back at the top of the Pac-10. Team Spotlights: UCLA- Two strait final 4's and nothing to show for it (tisk, tisk). So what is next for UCLA? Most likely another final 4 with the roster they have, which includes seasoned veterans (Josh Shipp, Darren Collison and Lorenzo Mata) and Talented Freshmen (Jrue Holiday, J'Mison Morgan and Malcolm Lee). With that being said, the Lakers Couldn't do it for LA maybe the Bruins can. Arizona St.- James Harden will be one of the nations top players and Herb Sendek is one of the nations top coaches, so what's not to like? Did I mention that the Sun Devils play killer D? Washington- The sleeper team in the Pac-10, the Huskies could finish as high as 3rd or as low as 7th. Quincy Pondexter is the X-factor, this energetic 2-guard can be the Huskies best and worst player in the same game. Coach Spotlights: Herb Sendek- I still can't figure out why NCST didn't want to keep this guy, it took him just one year to make people forget about the past 65+ years of ASU basketball, getting the schools first McDonald's All-American (J. Harden) and sweeping Arizona. The Sun Devils where one questionable over the back call from playing in the NCAA's, and in my opinion he's the best coach in the Pac-10. ACC Preview Conference Rank: 3 Overview: Once the prime conference in college basketball, UNC and Duke have stayed at the top, but the rest of the league has plummeted. Here are a few examples.... Georgia Tech (2005 Final 4, didn't make the NIT last year), NCST (was once serious completion for Duke and UNC, was beaten by 30 something last year), and Virginia (the last team to have a player win back-to-back POY awards was horrific in ACC play.) So whats in store for this year? Duke and UNC dominance, a rising Wake Team, and mediocre at best rest of league. Player Spotlights: Tyrese Rice- This 6' 0" PG was the Allen Iverson of the ACC last year scoring over 20 ppg. and he dropped 46 on UNC, yet Boston College only won 14 games last year. Tyler Hansbrough- Hansbrough is the first national POY to return to college since Ralph Sampson of Virginia did it in the 70's. Now, he will try to be the first to win it twice since Sampson. Grevies Vasquez- This 6' 5" Spainard has excellent size for a PG and is definite NBA sleeper, but it will stay that way if the Terps don't start winning. Team Spotlights: UNC- The pre-season favorites to take home the chip shouldn't face too many challenges in a weak ACC (I think they will only get 4 bids) but there's always that game at Cameron. Duke- They will start out right behind UNC in the ACC, but they better watch out for Wake, because right now Duke is a just good team with some holes (Post presence, true PG play, and a vocal leader) that need filling. It doesn't help that Coach K is spending his off-season with team USA instead of his dukies. Wake Forest- This is the wild card team in the ACC. The Demon Deacons are very young, very athletic, and very talented but, these things don't always add up. We'll see if Dino can lead this group to the top of the ACC. Coach Spotlight: Mike Krzyzewski (Duke) - Is Coach K's magic coming to an end? Over the past three years Duke has only won three NCAA tournament games. Over the past TWO years UNLV has won just as many games. Now I'm not say that just because coach K hasn't been able to win in the tournament, that that makes him a bad coach, but now he's coaching team USA and unless they fill their holes (see above) it could be another disappointing March for the Blue Devils. SEC Preview Conference Rank: 4 Overview: The SEC has struggled to find an identity in the post Florida era, and last year the SEC got only one team to the sweet sixteen. Now the leagues is searching for its next star and its next dominant team.... Player Spotlights: Jarvis Varnardo- The best shot-blocker in the nation last year had a breakout season and has enough athleticism to be a lottery pick, but he must improve offense dramatically now that Jamont Gordon is gone Chris Warren- Speedy Quick 6' 0" PG who was the SEC freshman of the year averaging an impressive 17 ppg. and 5 apg. now he will have to elevate his game to another level if he wants to take an under talented Ole Miss team. A.J. Ogilvy- This 6'11" Aussie was a full time starter and contributer for Vanderbilt, he struggled with athletic players on both Offense and Defense. He's shown flashes of being the next Andrew Bogut but he has areas he needs to improve on. Team Spot Lights: Tennessee- Bruce Pearl has quickly turned the Vols into national contenders and even beat #1 Memphis and had Tennessee ranked #1. They add a nice mix of incoming players most notably Scotty Hopson, a high scoring wing just and just like last year the Vols will be the class of the SEC. Florida- After winning back to back national titles, the gators where eliminated by UMASS in the NIT semi-final, what a difference a year makes! Well its another year now and the gators are back even with the departure Maresse Spieghts the will have a excellent back court lead by 5' 10" PG Jia Lucas, who's dad was a #1 pick and Nich Calathes a Multi-Dimensional 6' 5" Greek SG, and lets not forget that they still have Billy Donovan as their head coach. Alabama- The term underachiever could be used to describe many things concerning Alabama basketball over the past couple of years, but things have changed now thanks to the return of RS-Sr. PG Ronald Steale, who was once considered one of the top PG's in the nation before a slew of injuries hit him. Now, it will be interesting to see if the Tide can cruise to the top of the SEC or will they drown at the bottom and if so will Mark Godfried go down with his team or will he remain the coach of the Tide. Coach Spot Light: Billy Gillespie (Kentucky)- He came to Kentucky after turning two irrelevant programs, in UTEP and Texas A&M into consistent winners now he is head coach at one of the nations most demanding basketball programs. In his first year his team was a largely hold overs from Tubby Smith and in an injury riddled season he still took the wildcats to the NCAA's, but now Ramel Bradley and Joe Crawford are gone and Derrick Jasper and Alex Legion have transfered. Now its year two and the pressures on in Lexington. Big 12 Preview Conference rank: 5 Overview: Now that Kansas won its first title in 20 years, where will the league go from here? Well they'll take a step back thats for sure losing 9 players to the NBA and other key players to graduation, but the league won't plummet to the bottom, thanks to the Big 10. Player Spotlights: AJ Abrams- This tiny sharp shooter scored almost 20 a game last year, now he will try to make the transition to playing some Point. Sherron Collins- With 6 key players from last years championship team (5 to the NBA Draft) a lot is going to be put on this Chicago native to score and lead the team. Blake & Taylor Griffin - The Griffin brothers should lead the most successful Sonner team (post Kelvin). Both Play Hard, Rebound, and D up, but Blake is the more talented of the two and might be the #1 pick . Team Spotlights: Kansas- They should suffer worse than Floridia after the second championship, unless Cole Aldrich turns into Maresse Speights. Baylor- This should be a very interesting team to watch, with a loaded back court and a down Big 12 they could make a serious push. However this also going to be a very un-predictable team that could finish anywhere from 1st and 7th. Texas- The pre-season favorites to win the 12, the longhorns don't boast an overwhelming roster but its the best in the Big 12, look for AJ Abrams to crack 25 ppg. Coach Spotlight: Travis Ford (Oklahoma St.)- The newest addition to the Big 12, strait from UMASS Ford where Ford had good/moderate success, he now is face the challenge of restoring a program that has recently played in the Final 4. Big 10 Preview Conference Rank: 6 Overview: The Big Ten has been synonymous with bruising forwards, 3 point shooting and having the same teams in the league for....forever. So whats going to change this year? Not, much except Indiana. Player Spotlights: Robbie Hummel- The Purdue fan favorite this 6'8" SF can shoot the 3 and post-up smaller guards. Kevin Coble- This Northwestern (yes, Northwestern...) forward was a true heartfelt story in the first part of last season as he left the team to aid to his ailing mother. He is however, not just a good person, but a good player too (18 ppg.) Lawrence McKenzie: This former Oklahoma Sooner is leading Tubby Smith's rebuilding project and is the best PG returning in the Big 10. Team Spotlights: Ohio St.- Rebuilding post Greg Oden will be lead by another enormous center in BJ Mullens (7'1" 260) and David Lighty. Indiana- 2 returning scholarship players and a new coach should make for quite a circus where a once proud program once stood. Wisconsin- A team that has simply been consistent year after year, we'll have to see how they do this year after losing more than ever before. Coach Spotlight: Bo Ryan (Wisconsin)- One of the best coaches in the Big 10, and the nation, he has constantly lead his "under talented" Badger squads to the NCAA tournament. West Coast Conference Preview Conference Rank: 7 Last year was one of the most successful seasons for the WCC ever. They sent 3 teams to the NCAA's and combined for wins over Oregon, Texas Tech, Seton Hall, Kentucky, UCONN, and others. Now there back for more and believe it or not they could have an even more successful 08-09 champaign. The WCC is lead by outstanding PG play, and with Jeremy Pargo (Gonzaga), Patrick Mills (St. Marys), and Brandon Johnson (San Diego) all of these teams could find themselves in winnable games come March, and for Gonzaga maybe even April. Atlantic 10 Conference Preview Conference Rank: 8 The A-10 like the MWC has sufficient credentials as a mid-major conference and has consistently turned its top players pro, most notably David West (Xavier, 2008 NBA All-Star). Now the new generation of A-10 players has arrived lead by two incredibly athletic forwards, Chris Wright (Dayton) and Derrick Brown (Xavier). But let's not forget Dionte Christmas (Temple 20 ppg.) or Rick Majerus and his St. Louis Bilikens or the powerful inside presence of Adham Nivins (St. Joes) or the sharp shooting Jimmy Baron of Rhode Island. The point is that the A-10 has plenty of star power for a mid-major conference and after Xavier advanced to the Elite 8 deep tournament runs are possible Conference USA Preview Conference Rank: 9 Conference USA has had its ups and downs, from having 5 of its major teams leaving for the big east, to having Memphis reach the national title game. This year C-USA hopes to regain the power that it had back when Louisville, Cincinnatti, Depaul and others where a part of the league. Memphis has dominated C-USA like no one else has ever dominated any confence, they haven't lost a C-USA game since October 2005 and despite losing Rose, CDR, and Dorsey to the NBA they aren't losing much steam. With a freshmen class lead by Tyreke Evans and Angel Garcia and with key returnees like Shawn Tagart, Robert Dozier, and Antonio Anderson the Tigers will again be a top ten team. This time around they will have more challengers though, UTEP, UAB, and Tulsa should all be in contention for a NCAA bid and should most certainly at least make it to the NIT. UTEP and UAB are both lead by high scoring shooting guards Robert "Darth Vaden" Vaden (UAB 21ppg.) and Stephon Jackson (UTEP 21ppg.) both should have epic scoring battles and don't be surprise to see a UTEP-UAB game on ESPN or to find a UAB-Memphis game return to college game day. Tulsa is the dark horse in this race, they got all the way to the C-USA final last year before getting clobbered by Memphis. Now, they return a nice core + Jerome Jordan a 7 foot Jamaican product who is as of now effectively the next JaVale McGee and could get drafted as high as the lottery. Mountain West Confrence Preview Conference Rank: 10 The mountian west has good credentials for a mid-major conference. Its produced a national champion (UNLV 1990), a #1 draft pick (Andrew Bogut 2005) and has earned multiple NCAA bids every year of its existence. This year UNLV will be back on top of the MWC, with all-conference PG Jo'Von "Wink" Adams returning and a couple of new comers like Tre'Von Willis (transfer from Memphis) and Beas Hamga (7'0" 18 year old red shirt freshman) added to the mix the rebels should run and gun all the way to march. BYU has also made the tournament the last 2 years and in their 22,000 Mariot Center they haven't lost since Dave Roses first game as the head coach against Loyola Marymount. The U also will feature the most versatile player Lee Cummard and one of the leagues best shooters Jonathan Tavenari (7 3's Vs. Louisville) But BYU and UNLV aren't the only teams in the MWC, New Mexico with Steve Alford and one of the top recruits in league history Phillip McDonald the Lobos could be a sleeper team in the MWC. San Diego St. With Steve Fisher as Coach always has a talented squad and Utah has a big Aussie inside with 7'1" Luke Nevil.