2011-2012 College Basketball Preview

Teams on the rise: Mizzou, Xavier, Cincy

Mizzou has veteran guards Kim English and Marcus Demmon, who will light it up from beyond the arc. Losing PF Laurence Bowers is something that can't be overlooked. Xavier has the best mid major player and All American Tu Holloway to lead an always solid team lead by Coach Mack. Brad Releford coming back from injury will be a huge life to to Xavier, and Kenny Frease in the middle will bring down his fair share of boards. Cincy hasn't be talked about at all this offseason, and they will definitely surprise people in the Big East this year. Yancy Gates is a scorer down low, and the Bearcats return their entire back court.

Mid Majors to watch: Harvard, Creighton, Gonzaga

Keith Wright is an absolute monster. Tommy Amaker has done a terrific job rebuilding this program. He is also recruiting nationally, making this program better for the future. Creighton has Doug Mcdermont, a shooting forward who can light it up on any given night. The Missouri Valley Conference will have multiple teams competing for bids. Zaga has always produced solid teams. Veterans Harris and Sacre have a chance to go far with all their guards and shooters spotting up, while they're down low.

All Frosh team

Rivers, Duke

Davis, UK

Beal, Florida

Nash, OKST

Drummond, Uconn

3 to watch: Hood Mississippi St, Dawson MSU, Pangos, Zaga

8 players to breakout

Wright, Harvard

Paul, ILL

Snaer, FSU

Smith, UCLA

Behanan, Louisville

Brown, Texas

Mbakwe, Minnesota

W Barton, Memphis

All Americans

Davis, Uk

Sullinger, OHST

Jones, UK

Barnes, UNC

Holloway, XU

Evaluating the Unbeatens

6 teams are still perfect heading into week 10. We take a look to see who has an easy road, or who might face a setback and suffer their first loss of the season.

(Capital= home team)

LSU

alabama, WESTERN KENTUCKY, ole miss, ARKANSAS

Obviously, the big game this weekend will decide which SEC team will probably end up in the title game. The intriguing game to me is Arkansas at home. If LSU loses to Bama, and Arkansas keeps winning, both teams will have only lost to the Crimson Tide and set up a play in game for Sugar Bowl.

Bama

LSU, mississippi state, GEORGIA SOUTHERN, auburn

Well once again the game of the college football season is Saturday and title hopes lie in Tuscaloosa. If Bama wins, it still has a somewhat challenging schedule, starting with a road game against Mississippi St, which Saban and the Tide can't take lightly. And there's always the Iron bowl to end the season vs Auburn, and you can bet last years defending champs will be sending the house to try and upset the Tide.

Oklahoma St

KSU, texas tech, iowa st, OKLAHOMA

Most of the nation can't wait for the December 3 showdown between the Cowboys and the Sooners. But OSU can't overlook all three of its opponents beforehand. Sure, their offense can run and gun with anyone in the country, but if Weeden and Blackmon are off, can the D make a stop during the crucial stretch in the season? We'll find out.

Stanford

oregon st, OREGON, CAL, ND

The big thing for the Cardinals is the three home games to close out the season, which will be huge if they fall into one of the final 2 BCS spots. The Ducks is the premier game, as the PAC 12 championship is also on the line. Cal and the Irish will be upset minded, but Luck and his vast amount of TE's and RB Taylor will start to wear down those teams.

Boise St

unlv, TCU, sdsu, Wyoming, NM

The Broncos need some blue magic, as at least 3 teams have to lose plus they need some generous help from the BCS computers. Their final "challenging" game left is against TCU, but the Horned Frogs haven't been anywhere near as good as they have the past 2 years, so an easy win for the Broncos is likely.

Houston

aub, tulane, SMU, tulsa

The Cougars still have an outside shot for a Fiesta Bowl Bid. Casey Keenum is a worthy Heisman Candidate, but a weak conference and schedule doesn't help his case or his team's for a BCS bid

NBA Possible Trades

If the NBA ever gets underway this year, it will be an interesting and flustering season of trades, with another huge offseason of free agency about to hit 2012. 3 trades to keep an eye on developing this season.

Dwight Howard to the Bulls- Howard will be rumored to tons of teams this year, a la Carmelo last year. Howard and Rose would be a viscous alley hoop threat and be the key addition to help get past the Heat in the East. Asik, Gibson, Korver/ Brewer and picks would all be involved. Salary will be very hard for these two teams to make a deal, so definitely look for another team to get involved.

Rumors still are swirling about the Hawks trying to dump Josh Smith. Orlando may try to land him in an attempt to try and build around Howard or the Lakers may make a play in order to gain some young athletic ability to gear up for a championship run.

The Spurs desperately need to get younger and trading a corner stone like Tony Parker is something that may be happening soon. Trading Parker and either Richard Jefferson or Manu will leave the Spurs with enough cap room to pursue Chris Paul, someone who can really help Duncan out in the end of his career.

Freshman Under the Radar

We all know that Anthony Davis and Austin Rivers will be impact players this season, but what about other top Freshman that are getting over looked?

Adonis Thomas Memphis- Now Thomas was ranked in the top 10 for his class, but he is not even close to receiving as much hype as other guys in the top 10. Adonis is a great wing player with great speed and leaping ability to go along with just a decent jumper. He is going to fit in great with a veteran Tigers team that should find themselves in the top 20 for most of the year.

Amir Williams Ohio St- The Big Man on Campus is Sullinger and always will be Sullinger this year, but he is going to have a great front court teammate with him this year in Williams. Amir is just another big body opponents will have to worry about. His low post scoring and free throw shooting isn't there yet, but the Buckeyes will be fine as long as he grabs his fair share of boards with Sully.

Chasson Randle Stanford- Randle went with Stanford instead of staying in state and playing for U of I. He has a chance to be the Cardinal's starting point, as he brings a lot to the table. Chasson has a great body for a point guard and plays hard defensively. He runs the break well and can finish with both hands.

Heisman 2011-2012

Marcus Lattimore RB South Carolina- Lattimore was tremendous last year as a true freshman and this year he and his fellow Gamecocks look to build on it. If Stephen Garcia can stay out of trouble and on the field, Marcus will have lots of room to run if the passing game is on.

Andrew Luck QB Stanford- The favorite heading into this season, Luck has all the tools. He can run a pro style offense, he can audible efficiently, he can use his legs to escape pressure and has a rocket arm attached to his body. Luck has it all, but can his receivers give him some help instead of just his tight ends?(see the Orange Bowl)

Trent Richardson RB Bama- The loss of Mark Ingram isn't that tough with Richardson now the starter. He has gotten plenty of reps in his first 2 years, and he starts this year as a Heisman hopeful on a top 5 team.

Kellen Moore QB Boise State- Moore was a finalist last year as a junior, but he will be missing his 2 favorite targets this year. Boise has tough tests against TCU and Georgia, but winning them will surely help increase Moore's chances of leaping to the top of the vote charts.

2 players who could possibly pull a Cam Newton( not the scandal, i mean coming out of nowhere) and lead their team into the polls.

Geno Smith WVU QB- Its been a bad off season in Huntington, but Smith and his legs can turn that frown around come kickoff.

Dan Persa QB NW- Persa and the Wildcats face a tough challenge against BC in the opener. NW needs to get off to a good start to help Persa's campaign for the trophy.

NBA Draft Day

Lots of activity and rumors are swirling around on D-day. Couple of thoughts:

• With the looming CBA lockout approaching, look for more European and International players to be picked so teams can keep cap space and store them in Europe for a couple of years.
• Trades: I think there will be one major deal that's get done, and i think it will probably include the Suns, Lakers, or the Spurs. The Lakers and Spurs are desperately trying to get a little younger and althetic on the wings. The Suns have tons of value in Arizona product D Williams, but the twolves taking on Nash seems unlikely. Gasol should be staying put also, but Odom should be a little worried.
• Barring a trade, the fun starts after the 2nd pick. The Jazz might trade out, or take Kanter or Knight.
• Players that are rising quick, Klay Thompson and Chris Singleton, who teams might trade up to get.
• AHHH Jimmer! I think a team will get tempted and take him in the lottery. I've also heard the Knicks might try to trade up and get him.
• Kenneth Faried, Kemba Walker, and Kawhi Leonard. Solid players that aren't generating alot of buzz. The latter two are top 10 picks.
• Here's some players that could go from early teens all the way to the mid 20's: Jimmer, Burks, Morris twins, Jordan Hamilton and Jonas Valanciunas. Jonas is projected top 5, but his contract in Europe may have teams take a pass on him.
• Finally, every pick except 1 has been rumored to have trade implications, so look for lots of chatter with each pick. 7-11 should be a really coveted spots as teams will try to add a Klay Thompson or Jimmer or an international big.

NBA Mock Draft 2.0

The order has been determined, and Cleveland comes out a big winner, getting the 1st and 4th picks. The number 1 selection seems certain, but it might get crazy for the rest of the lottery leading up to the June 23rd draft. Top 12 picks coming at you:

1 Cleveland- Kyrie Irving

2 Minnesota- Enes Kanter

3. Utah- Brandon Knight

4. Cleveland- Derrick Williams

5. Toronto- Jonas Valaciunas

6. Wizards- Chris Singleton

7. Sacramento- Kemba Walker

8. Detroit- Tristan Thompson

9. Charlotte- Marcus Morris

10. Milwaukee- Jimmer Fredette

11 Golden State- Kenneth Faired

12 Utah-Bismack Biyombo