Sign In $

You must be a member to view this Article.

College Basketball Preview

by Ethan Haskell (Ethan) Last Updated 2012-11-08 21:27:55

cody zeller

With the college basketball season set to begin this week, it is the perfect time to break down all of the top players and teams heading into the 2012 season. There will of course be a ton of surprises throughout the year, but that’s what makes college hoops so great. In this article I put together a list of the Top-50 players in the country(as best I could) and collected starting lineups from some of the most exciting teams for the upcoming year.

Indiana comes into the season as the consensus #1 led by Cody Zeller. Kentucky has reloaded again and looks primed for another Final Four run. Then there are the veteran teams in Florida and Louisville who will be right in the mix come tournament time. I got a feeling this is going to be a special season of college hoops, led my an INCREDIBLE 2012 recruiting class across the board.

Player Rankings – Top 50

RANK Player Team Position Year
1 Cody Zeller INDIANA F SO
2 James McAdoo UNC F SO
3 Doug McDermott CREIGHTON F JR
4 Shabazz Muhammad UCLA F FR
5 Isaiah Canaan MURRST G SR
6 Nerlens Noel KENTUCKY C FR
7 Peyton Siva LOU G SR
8 Trey Burke MICH G SO
9 Tony Mitchell NTEXAS F SO
10 DeShaun Thomas OSU F SO
11 C.J. McCollum LEHIGH G SR
12 Rodney McGruder KANSST G SR
13 C.J. Leslie NCST F JR
14 Mike Moser UNLV C JR
15 Michael Snaer FSU G SR
16 Gorgui Dieng LOU C JR
17 Phil Pressey MIZZOU G JR
18 Mason Plumlee DUKE F SR
19 Kenny Boynton FLORIDA G SR
20 Le’Bryan Nash OKST F SO
21 Christian Watford INDIANA F SR
22 Jamaal Franklin SDST G JR
23 Adonis Thomas MEMPHIS F SO
24 Patric Young Jr FLORIDA F SO
25 Otto Porter GTOWN F SO
26 Trevor Mbakwe MINN F SR
27 Wayne Blackshear LOU F SO
28 Erik Murphy FLORIDA F SR
29 Myck Kabongo TEXAS G SO
30 B.J. Young ARK G SO
31 Alex Poythress KENTUCKY F FR
32 Kyle Anderson UCLA G FR
33 Andre Roberson COL F JR
34 Reggie Bullock UNC G JR
35 Ben McLemore KANSAS G FR
36 Keion Bell MIZZOU G SR
37 Solomon Hill ARIZONA F SR
38 Jarnell Stokes TENN F SO
39 Jeff Withey KANSAS C SR
40 Aaric Murray WVU C JR
41 Shabazz Napier UCONN G JR
42 Chaz Williams UMASS G JR
43 Isaiah Austin Baylor C FR
44 Tim Hardaway Jr MICH G JR
45 Seth Curry DUKE G SR
46 Brandon Triche SYR G SR
47 Allen Crabbe CAL G JR
48 Jack Cooley ND C SR
49 Brandon Paul ILLINOIS G SR
50 Kentavious Caldwell-Pope GEORGIA F SO

Starting Lineups And Notes

Below you will find some projected starting lineups and notes for some of the most exciting teams (in my eyes) in the country.

They are numbered 1-25 but that is not related to their preseason ranking, more just to keep order to the article.

#1 INDIANA HOOSIERS

Cody Zeller returns as an almost unanimous preseason All-American to an Indiana team that gets all 5 starters back from the Sweet 16 squad in 2011-12. Zeller is the least experienced starter for the Hoosiers who will rely heavily on PG Jordan Hulls to control games.

cbb%201

#2 KENTUCKY WILDCATS

Kentucky once again hits it big with a massive recruiting class. Nerlens Noel highlights the class as a Top-5 recruit. He will replace Anthony Davis in the middle but will likely be daily fantasy irrelevant because his defensive abilities far outweigh any offensive talent. SF Alex Poythress will likely be the best DFS option from this squad.

#3 LOUISVILLE CARDINALS

The Cardinals rolled to the Final Four last year as the second consecutive Big East team to get hot in the Big East tournament and ride that momentum to the Final Four. Gorgui Dieng will be a shot blocking monster and Peyton Siva will probably be high up in the PPG category. Losing sharpshooter Kyle Kuric hurts but Wayne Blackshear could have a breakout year.

cbb%202

#4 KANSAS JAYHAWKS

A lot of unknowns for a Kansas team that could be either really good or flop out. They lost a ton and will rely heavily on Elijah Johnson to carry the scoring. Sophomore PG Naadir Tharpe, whom I played with in high school(aka he dunked in my grill), will bring the ball up and was a Top-5 prospect from 2010. Jeff Withey will be a great DFS option as he’s likely to average a double-double.

#5 MISSOURI TIGERS

Missouri climbs the Top-25 rankings on the back of Alex Oriakhi, who transferred from UCONN after realizing the debacle that is taking place there. The headline player on this squad will be Phil Pressey who is an absolute animal at the PG position. He’ll be a Top-10 DFS player all season long.

#6 UCLA BRUINS

UCLA lands Shabazz Muhammad and Kyle Anderson as top recruits who may be able to return the Bruins to their past glory. Muhammad is going to be a one and done and it looks like Anderson will be as well. Regardless, Muhammad is LEBRON JAMES TALENTED. I’m not exaggerating when I say he has the talent to be the best college player since Carmelo Anthony or Kevin Durant. So will he live up to it or will he be the next Harrison Barnes? UCLA hopes it’s the first option.

#7. N.C. STATE WOLFPACK

C.J. Leslie returns for NC State in a surprise move that keeps the Wolfpack as a top-10 team for 2012-13. Leslie will be a monster DFS choice on any given night. They are my early favorite to take the ACC but with Duke and UNC looming that’s always risky.

cbb%203

#8 FLORIDA GATORS

Florida is going to be REALLY good this season. They come off a year where they fell 8 minutes and an 11 point lead away from a Final Four berth. They lose Erving Walker and Bradley Beal, which certainly leaves holes in their backcourt. Kenny Boynton is still one of the premiere shooters in college basketball though. Look for Erik Murphy to be another solid daily fantasy option on the cheap early in the season. He caught fire last season in the SEC and NCAA tournament and will play big minutes. I also played with and against him in high school A LOT, and he’s got Top-50 player potential(although his brother at Duke might be better as a freshman).

#9 SAN DIEGO STATE AZTECS

The San Diego State Aztecs will be one of those fun teams to have in daily fantasy if your site includes non-big six teams. SDST will be led by highlight reel scorer Jamaal Franklin at the SF spot. Xavier Thames will have the duty of pushing the ball up the court quickly so the Aztecs can score plenty of points.

cbb%204

#10 DUKE BLUE DEVILS

Duke lost some talent in Austin Rivers and Miles Plumlee to the draft as well as having Andre Dawkins red-shirt due to some personal issues. But they are still stocked up with good players. Red-shirt freshman Alex Murphy(younger brother of Florida PF Erik Murphy) will play the SF spot and should fit well in the Duke system. And of course the other Plumlee brothers will hold down the center spot. Last, Seth Curry could have a breakout year as a lights out shooter(much like his bro) at SG.

h2 . #11 MICHIGAN WOLVERINES

#12 NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS

#13 SYRACUSE ORANGE

#14 MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS

#15 BAYLOR BEARS

#16 WISCONSIN BADGERS

#17 OHIO STATE BUCKEYES

#18 CINCINNATI BEARCATS

#19 NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH

#20 MEMPHIS TIGERS

#21 MARQUETTE GOLDEN EAGLES

#22 GONZAGA BULLDOGS

#23 UNLV REBELS

#24 CREIGHTON BLUEJAYS

#25 MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS

About the Author

Ethan
Ethan Haskell (Ethan)