2006-07 Preseason Hoops Top 10

Ok, here's my preseason top 10 for next year. Next year should be better in terms of quality of play. A lot of teams will get everyone back with a year of experience to go along with the talent the players already had.

1. Florida. How can the Gators not be #1? They lose 1 of their top 12 (their 8th man) and everyone else only gets a year older. How do you defend their balance??? Maybe they get overconfident, but it didn't seem to affect them in the Tournament. Being the hunted instead of sneaking around the chicken coop may be the biggest difference they have to deal with. And coaches have all summer to try and figure out how to stop them.

2. North Carolina. Their only significant loss is David Noel with everyone else coming back, plus a great recruiting class. Even though they played well, Carolina's guards can improve upon their play more and become more consistent.

3. Kansas. Everyone will be back (it seems) except seniors Jeff Hawkins and Christian Moody, who contributed streaky shooting and minutes resepectively. Brandon Rush could be a superstar with his offensive capabilities and Julian Wright could be the next Joakim Noah if he gets a little stronger.

4. UCLA. Losing Cedric Bozeman and Ryan Hollins will hurt a little bit, but UCLA has enough depth to make up for their losses. UCLA might've fared better if Josh Shipp was available for the title game; he'll be ready for the start of next season. Luc Mbah A Moute has a lot of potential.

5. LSU. The Tigers only lose Darrell Mitchell, but he's a significant loss since he was their only perimeter threat. Big Baby and Tyrus Thomas will lead the way at both ends, but LSU needs to find another perimeter threat.

6. Memphis. Losing Rodney Carney is big, but the rest of the rotation is back, led by Darius Washington Jr. and Shawne Williams. This team needs another perimeter threat as well in order to take the next step.

7. Pittsburgh. Carl Krauser is gone, but I think the Panthers will be better off. Krauser was undoubtedly the leader of the team, but he was still somewhat inconsistent and sometimes let his emotions get out of control. Aaron Gray was the most improved player in the country, Antonio Graves and Ronald Ramon are good shooters, something Pitt has lacked, and Levance Fields was a good-looking freshman, I was impressed with him when I watched Pitt at the Palace.

8. Ohio St. With the highly touted freshmen set to descend on Columbus, I think they'll have a similar year to the one the Fab 5 had in their first year. They'll start out a little slow but hit their stride in the middle of the year. I don't think they'll all start at once, Jamar Butler is a solid point guard and Ron Lewis will start at the 2. Watch out for Daeqan Cook and Greg Oden, they are worth the price of admission, especially Cook who is a little under the radar.

9. Villanova. They'll undergo the same transition Illinois went this past year. The Wildcats will go from a guard-oriented to an inside focused game. Mike Nardi and Kyle Lowry will handle the ball, Curtis Sumpter will be back, along with the rest of Villanova's frontcourt contributors. If Lowry can add the outside shot to his game and Nardi get more consistent, the Cats will be very tough to beat.

10. UConn. Josh Boone has declared, but I think he'll be back. I'm not sure about Marcus Williams and Rudy Gay, it'd be in their best interest to come back. But Jim Calhoun gets Jeff Adrien back, plus another great recruiting class is coming in.

Also receiving consideration: Duke (when are they not in the top 10), Texas, Alabama, Indiana (not kidding, DJ White will simply replace Marco Killingsworth, everyone else is back)

It should be a thrilling Sunday at the Masters, with the 3rd round finishing up in the morning followed by the afternoon final round. All of the big names have a chance and the course will be its usual Sunday test.