The Pinnacle of College Hoops

All Freshmen Team
Greg Oden- Ohio State
Tyler Smith- Iowa
Mike Conley Jr- Ohio State
Daequan Cook- Ohio State
Raymar Morgan- Michigan State

3rd Team All ACC
DeMarcus Nelson, Duke- Junior
Ben McCauley, NCST- Sophomore
Kyle Visser, WFU- Senior
Thaddeus Young, GT- Freshman
Toney Douglas, FSU- Sophomore

Player of the Year
Jared Dudley- BC

Coach of the Year
Seth Greenberg

Here is a list of the ten best and most balanced offensive teams in the country this year.  These teams can score at a high rate but more importantly they’re very efficient offensively and can attack teams from the interior as well as from the perimeter. 

#1-Florida
No team is perfect offensively but this Florida team is about as perfect as it gets.  They’re not only balanced offensively in terms of being able to score inside and outside but they’re also very balanced in terms of scorers.  All five of Florida’s starters are currently averaging double figures in points.
The Gators have one of the best interior duo’s in the country in Al Horford and Joakim Noah.  Both players are very good interior scorers and they force teams to collapse inside on them which in turn opens up the perimeter for Florida’s guards, Lee Humphrey and Taurean Green who are both dead eye outside shooters. 
Last but not least is Florida’s best all around player in Corey Brewer.  Brewer is Florida’s most athletic player and he’s very good at putting the ball on the floor and creating offensive for either himself or others.
Not every offense is perfect though.  Florida’s only real weaknesses on offense are that they don’t have a true go to scorer and they’re not a very good transition offensive team.  It’s very imporant to have a consistent and reliable go to scorer that you can go to in clutch situations at the end of games.  Taurean Green has the ability to be that guy but he’s not consistent enough or deadly enough to be that guy just yet.

#3-North Carolina
Potentially the most dominant offensive team in the country.  However, until their young and youthful guards start to play more consistently and with more poise they won’t able to garner the top spot on this list.  With that being said, their combination of Tyler Hansbrough and Brandin Wright is the better interior duo in the country that very few teams can match up with.  Also, this teams depth at just every position is very key as well.
In terms of being able to score inside and outside UNC is not as solid as either Florida or Arizona but that could change with the development of freshman guards, Tywon Lawson and Wayne Ellington, who are both very talented players.  The key to this teams offense though may end up being senior forward, Reyshawn Terry who has underachieved thus far this season but showed last year that he has the ability to score in a variety of different ways.

#5-Ohio State
Anytime you have Greg Oden on the interior and a plethora of talented perimeter players you’re going to have a very balanced offensive unit.  The Buckeyes clearly have a very solid interior player in Greg Oden who offensively is only going to get better, which is scary.  However, the only thing more scary than the deveopment of Greg Oden is that this teams strength on offense is not Oden but rather their perimeter offense.
OSU has five perimeter scoring threats on their team in Daequan Cook, Ron Lewis, Mike Conley Jr, Jamar Butler and Ivan Harris.  They key player is their poing guard, Mike Conley Jr because he sets up the offense and runs the show.  He’s very good at getting into the lane and creating offense for his teammates.  Which has certainly helped both Ron Lewis and Daequan Cook who are two of the most gifted wing scorers in the Big Ten.
This OSU offense has the potential to be very good come March but they don’t have a lot of depth behind Oden and sometimes they forget to dump the ball inside to Oden and rely too heavily on their perimeter players to score for them.

#10-Oregon
The Ducks are a very dangerous offensive team because they start four guards and spread defenses out.  The key is Marty Leunen who gives Oregon a capable post player who can also step outside and score when needed.  The architect of the offense though is piont guard Aaron Brooks who is probably the quickest player in the nation and has the ability to get by just about any defender whenever he feels like it.
Oregon also has a hoist of perimeter players that can either shoot the ball outside or attack the rim off the bounce in (slasher)Malik Hairston, (slasher)Bryce Taylor, (shooter)Tajuan Porter and (shooter)Chamberlain Oguchi.  The problem with the Ducks though is that they’re not very balanced offensively because they don’t have a true and consistent interior post scorer and get most of their offense from the perimeter.

Small Forward
#1 Alando Tucker- Wisconsin
#2 Jared Dudley- Boston College
#3 Morris Almond- Rice
#4 Corey Brewer- Florida
#5 Reggie Williams- VMI
#6 Geary Claxton- Penn State
#7 Marcus Williams- Arizona
#8 Demetrius Nichols- Syracuse
#9 Nick Young- Southern California
#10 Chase Budinger- Arizona

Center
#1 Nick Fazekas- Nevada
#2 Tyler Hansbrough- North Carolina
#3 Greg Oden- Ohio State
#4 Aaron Gray- Pittsburgh
#5 Randolph Morris- Kentucky
#6 Aleks Maric- Nebraska
#7 Joakim Noah- Florida
#8 Herbert Hill- Providence
#9 Spencer Hawes- Washington
#10 Josh McRoberts- Duke

#1 Oklahoma State 15-1 (1-0)

Quality Wins
-Missouri State 73-70
-Syracuse 72-68
-Pittsburgh 95-89

Starting Lineup
C-Mario Boggan 6′7 245 SR
PF-David Monds 6′8 240 SR
SF-Marcus Dove 6′9 215 JR
SG-Terrel Harris 6′4 195 SO
PG-JamesOn Curry 6′3 185 JR

Quality Wins
-Florida 82-80
-Southern California 72-62
-Boston College 84-66

Starting Lineup
C-Darrell Arthur 6′9 225 FR
PF-Julien Wright 6′8 210 SO
SF-Brandon Rush 6′6 210 SO
SG-Mario Chalmers 6′1 185 FR
PG-Russell Robinson 6′2 185 SO

Bad Losses
-None

Starting Lineup
C-Antanas Kavaliauskas 6′10 250 SR
PF-Joseph Jones 6′9 250 JR
SF-Josh Carter 6′6 180 SO
SG-Dominique Kirk 6′3 185 JR
PG-A.C. Law 6′3 190 SR

Starting Lineup
C-Damion James 6′8 225 FR
PF-Kevin Durant 6′10 205 FR
SF-Justin Mason 6′3 205 FR
SG-A.J. Abrams 5′9 155 SO
PG-D.J. Augustin 6′1 180 FR

Team Breakdown
Welcome to the Big 12’s youngest team.  With four freshman in the starting rotation and only two regular’s not being freshmen, this team is one of the youngest in the history of college basketball.  However, they do have a player that is worthy of being considered among the elite of college basketball in Kevin Durant.  It’s safe to say that Kevin Durant is the most talented player in the Big 12 and Texas will go as far as he’s able to take them this year, which could be pretty far.  Durant(22.7ppg) is a 6′10 athlete who is a rare breed of players because he can handle the ball, shoot, pass and make quick decisions like a guard but can also defend and rebound like a center.  He’s truly an amazing basketball player who get’s overshadowed by Greg Oden but at this stage in the game is a better all around basketball player.
Texas not only starts four freshmen but they also start three guards and are a very perimeter oriented basketball team.  With A.J. Abrams(16.5ppg), D.J. Augustin(13.6ppg) and Justin Mason(9.5ppg) all starting together, Texas has three solid perimeter players that can all handle the basketball and shoot the rock from the outside.  That makes Texas difficult to defend on the perimeter because you always have to be worrisome about their shooters.  It also helps because teams are unable to effectively pressure Texas because their ball handling ability.  Where it hurts Texas though is defensively and on the boards.
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Quality Wins
-Arkansas 71-56 on the road
-New Mexico 70-68
-Kansas State 62-52 on the road

Bad Losses
-None

Starting Lineup
C-Leo Lyons 6′8 205 SO
PF-Marshall Brown 6′7 200 JR
SF-Matt Lawrence 6′7 195 SO
SG-Stephon Hannah 6′1 185 JR
PG-Jason Horton 6′1 175 JR

Team Breakdown
This Missouri basketball team has overachieved thus far and first year head coach, Mike Anderson deserves a lot of the credit.  He’s gotten this team to buy into his style and that’s a fast paced, full court, transition offense style of basketball.  The main reason it’s worked is because of Stephon Hannah who has stepped right in as the teams main scoring threat and ball handler right out of Junior College.  Hannah(16.1ppg) is a very quick guard who is good at getting into lane and finishing as well as dishing off to a teammate.  His 3.7 steals per game leads the Big 12.
Missouri is winning basketball games with tempo and defense.  They’re forcing their opponents to play at a hectic pace and not only making their opponents turn the ball over but they’ve been effective at forcing their opponents into poor shot attempts as well.  As always though with a small team that likes to get out and run they too will struggle with turnovers as well as rebounding.  This Missouri team turns the ball over a lot and they get outrebounded a lot as well.
Another key player outside of Hannah who has really picked up his play is Matt Lawrence(13.1ppg) who is shooting 51% from behind the arc and gives Missouri a consistent outside shooting threat to make up for their lack interior production.  Outside of Lawrence and Hannah this team has a bunch of other perimeter that can operate effectively in the open court in Jason Horton(3.6apg), Marshall Brown(8.9ppg), Keon Lawrence(8.0ppg) and J.T. Tiller(4.4ppg).
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Starting Lineup
C-Aleks Maric 6′11 265 JR
PF-Jim Ledsome 6′9 225 SO
SF-Sek Henry 6′3 185 FR
SG-Jamel White 6′2 185 SO
PG-Charles Richardson Jr 5′9 165 SR

Team Breakdown
This has been another surprising team in the Big 12.  Head coach Doc Salder has this team playing very crisp and efficient offense.  Aleks Maric(18.1ppg) has developed into arguably the Big 12’s most dominant interior offensive player and is shooting 64% from the floor.  With his size, strength, touch and finishing ability, Maric gives Nebraska offensive balance and a go to scorer.  Outside of Maric though this team is very limited on the interior and they are severely lacking in rebounding and interior defense. 
The rest of this teams offense comes from their periemter players.  Freshman, Ryan Anderson(13.3ppg) is a 6′4 guard who can shoot lights out from outside.  He’s been banged up recently though and is recovering from injuries.  With Anderson out, Sophomore guard, Jamel White(10.4ppg) has responded as the teams main scoring threat from the perimeter.  Once Nebraska gets Anderson back they’ll have two solid periemter scorers that can shoot from the outside. 
Senior lead guard, Charles Richardson Jr.(6.6apg) has been very effective at running the offense this year.  He has nearly a 3 to 1 assist to turnover ratio.  His experience and good decision making have been very important to Nebraska this year because this is a team that has struggled with turnovers all year.  Without Richardson Jr, this team wouldn’t be anywhere near 11-3 this year.

#8 Kansas State
#9 Baylor
#10 Oklahoma
#11 Iowa State
#12 Colorado

Honorable Mention
N.Iowa, Memphis, S.Illinois, Kentucky, Drexel, UNLV, So.Cal, Gtown, Arkansas, UConn

#1 Wisconsin 14-1 (0-0)

Quality Wins
-Florida State 81-66
-Winthrop 82-79(OT)
-Marquette 70-66
-Pittsburgh 89-75
-Georgia 64-54 on the road

Team Breakdown
There are not many teams in the country that have a better resume on paper than that of the Wisconsin Badgers.  They’ve beaten five quality opponents this year with their lone loss of the season coming at the hands of Missouri State in what was a very close game throughout.  The Badgers are led by one of the best players in the entire country in Alando Tucker(20.3ppg).  He’s a big game player who is one of the most effective and efficient scorers from the field.  He’s strong, experienced and tough as nails.  His ability to get past defender and into the lane is nearly impossible to guard on the college level and he’s one of the best interior finishers as well as mid range shooters in the country.
Wisconsin wins basketball games by playing hard noised defense and rebounding the basketball.  Anytime you can defend at a high level and hold opponents to one shot you’re going to win a lot of basketball games and that is just what Wisconsin has been doing.  They’re also a very deep team that can match-up with just about any team in the country defensively.  If they need to defend a big team they can go with their two twin towers and if they need to defend a smaller and quicker team they have excellent bench players in Joe Krebbenoft(5.5ppg), Marcus Landry(5.1ppg) and Jason Bohannon(5.0ppg).
On the offensive end Wisconsin relies very heavily on Alando Tucker to score for them and that’s not exactly a bad thing.  However, in order for Wisconsin to be a consistent top five team this year they’ll need players like Kammron Taylor(12.5ppg) and Brian Butch(11.2) to step up and become reliable scorers.  Taylor gives Wisconsin an accurate three point shooter(48%3pt) while Butch is a very skilled and polished offensive post player that can score inside and outside and is the only McDonalds All-American on the team.
This is not a team that is going to beat you with their talent, however, they are a smart and well coached basketball team.  They don’t turn the ball over, they play sound defend, they rebound the basketball and they take good shoots within the floor of their offense.  When you add Alando Tucker to the equation you have a top ten caliber team.  The question now becomes whether or not they have enough fire power to become a final four caliber team come March.
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Bad Losses
-Florida 60-86 on the road

Starting Lineup
C-Greg Oden 7′0 255 FR
PF-Ivan Harris 6′8 210 SR
SF-Ron Lewis 6′4 205 SR
SG-Jamar Butler 6′1 185 JR
PG-Mike Conley Jr 6′1 175 FR

Team Breakdown
How good is Ohio State?  That is yet to be determined.  As for now they’re a very talented team that appears to have all the pieces to be a final four caliber team come March.  The problem though is that they’ve really only played two top 25 caliber teams and they lost to both of those teams.  Granted, those games were on the road against the #1 and #2 teams in the preseason top 25 and one of the games was without Greg Oden.  Speaking of Greg Oden, he is the real deal.  Defensively, he’s one of the best defensive centers in the world, not just college basketball.  Offensively, he’s still a little raw and rough around the edges but his size, athleticism, determination and intelligence are second to none on the college level.  The sky truly is the limit for this youngster.
This teams biggest strength though is not on the on the interior with Greg Oden.  It’s on the perimeter with Mike Conley Jr(6.6apg), Daequan Cook(15.6ppg), Ron Lewis(13.4ppg) and Jamar Butler(4.2apg).  Ohio State has two very solid lead guards that take excellent care of the basketball in Conley and Butler.  They make good decisions and have the ability to get into the lane and creates shots for teammates.  While Lewis and Cook give Ohio State two perimeter scoring threats that can shoot from the outside as well as put the ball on the floor and attack off the dribble.  This is a very difficult team to defend because they can score inside and outside and they have good ball handlers. 
Defensively, this team is going to get better and how much better they get will determine whether or not this team lives up to it’s lofty expectations.  With Oden in the middle, Ohio State should be able to pressure the basketball on the perimeter and force teams into bad decisions and hurried shots.  The main weakness this Ohio State team has outside of their own youth is the fact that they are not a good rebounding team and anytime Oden gets into foul trouble they became extremely vulnerable on the interior and on the glass.
As long as Oden stays healthy and out of foul trouble Ohio State has the talent to compete with the elites of college basketball.  Offensively, they have plenty of perimeter firepower and plenty of players that can generate offense.  The key will be defense, rebounding and experience.  People need to realize that this is an awfully young team that is still trying to find it’s identity and until they do find their true identity they should not be put amonst the elites of college basketball.
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Quality Wins
-Missouri 73-70
-Bradley 75-71

Team Breakdown
The #3 spot in the Big Ten is pretty much wide open right now but this Illinois has the best combination of players, balance and experience out of everyone else so they’re getting the nod for now.  This team doesn’t really have any marquee victories at all and they don’t really have a go to scorer but they also don’t have any siginicant weaknesses or poor losses as well.  This is probably the deepest team in the Big Ten and they have ability to use a number of different lineups depending upon what it is that they need.  The problem with their depth though is that they don’t have a single player that can be considered their go to scorer.
The Illini’s leading scorer is Warren Carter(13.9ppg) but Jamar Smith(13.5ppg) is probably their most explosive scorer.  With Shaun Pruitt(11.3ppg) on the interior, Illinois has good offensive balance inside and out.  Chester Frazier(5.8apg) runs the offense and he’s done a very admirable job of playing under control and has handled the point guard duties fairly well to this point.  However, his inability to shoot from the perimeter makes him very one-dimensional.  This team may not currently have a go to scorer but they do have a number of different players that have the ability to step up and the lead team in scoring on any given night.  Players like Brian Randle(6.9ppg) and Rich McBride(8.4ppg) were starters last year and while McBride has struggled and is currently coming off the bench, both of these players are capable of stepping up and leading the team in scoring.
Defensively, this team is not as solid as Illini teams of the past but they’re not bad either.  They have good defensive forwards in Warren Carter and Brian Randle that have size and athleticism.  The perimter defense hasn’t been as solid and in order for Illinois to be considered a top three team in the Big Ten their overall team defense must improve.  This team is big though and they do rebound the basketball fairly well.  Carter, Pruitt and Randle give Illinois size, experience and rebounding in the front court.
Finally, this is a very balanced team but they’re almost too balanced.  They don’t have a lot of glarying weaknesses but they also don’t have a lot of strengths that they can go into a game and expect to dominant with.  The key is defense because this team has the tools and the athletes to be a good defensive team but they don’t have the offensive firepower to outscore elite teams.

Starting Five
C-Goran Suton 6′11 240 SO
PF-Marquise Gray 6′8 210 SO
SF-Isaiah Dalhman 6′6 175 FR
SG-Drew Nietzel 6′1 185 JR
PG-Travis Walton 6′2 190 SO

Team Breakdown
This could be the best defensive team in the Big Ten this year.  They have good athletes and smart basketball players and they’re very well coached.  Their win over Texas was very impressive because they were seriously outmanned in terms of talent but they played their style which is tough half court basketball.  It’s not pretty basketball but it’s effective and it’s worked well for MSU thus far.  The key player has been Drew Neitzel(18.4ppg).  He’s the only current player that is averaging double figures but he’s doing it in a very efficient manner while still creating shots for teammates(4.8apg) and running the offense.  It’s very unlikely that Neitzel will be able to continue to keep this pace up once Big Ten play gets underway though.
There is simply too much pressure and too much responsbility on Neitzel’s shoulders right now.  MSU needs some other players to step up and score but with freshman Raymar Morgan out with an injury there just simply is not enough offensive talent on this roster.  Neither of MSU’s starting big men, Goran Suton(9.6ppg) and Marquise Gray(8.1ppg) are reliable post options so the offense has had to come from the perimeter but the only perimeter scoring threat this team has is Neitzel.  Travis Walton might be the best defensive lead guard in the Big Ten and he’s a good setup lead guard but he’s extremely limited offensively and has absolutely no periemter shooting ability.
Obviously, this team is going to need to win with defense and rebound and that is just what they’ve done thus far.  However, outside of Texas they really haven’t played a lot of offensive teams so it’s hard to tell just how good defensively this team is and whether or not they’re good enough defensively to make up for their offensive shortcomings.  One thing is for sure though and it’s that MSU will rebound and play tough, hardnoised basketball.  Whether or not that will prove to be enough this year is hard to tell.  My bet is that it won’t be enough and MSU will likely finish the hovering around or below .500 in the conference.
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Starting Lineup
C-D.J. White 6′9 245 SO
PF-Lance Stemler 6′8 205 JR
SF-Roderick Wilmont 6′4 195 SR
SG-A.J. Ratliff 6′2 180 JR
PG-Earl Calloway 6′3 170 SR

Team Breakdown
Here is another typical Big Ten team that rebounds and defends the basketball at a high leevl but just doesn’t appear to have enough scoring power to be considered among the elites of college hoops this season.  They also only have one significant victory thus far over Southern Illinois.  Kelvin Sampson has brought about more toughness to this team though and they’re playing with a much different swagger than in years past.  This team really gets after you defensively and they work really hard on the glass to rebound the basketball.
Outside of D.J. White(13.1ppg) though this team doesn’t really have a lot of consistent offensive options.  They are a decent perimeter shooting team though with Roderick Wilmont(10.3ppg), Lance Sempler(9.7ppg), Armon Basset(8.4ppg) and Joey Shaw(6.1ppg).  All four of these players have enough range on their jumpers to keep defenses and out of the lane for D.J. White to operate on the interior.  The problem with team offensively is that they don’t get a lot of ball movement on offense.  Their offensive is very stangnet and they don’t have a lot of playmakers.  Earl Calloway(3.7apg) is the teams best playmaker but he’s really only a mediocre overall playmaker in terms of points guards and until this team finds better ways to manufacture offense in the half court setting they have to continue to rely on holding teams to low scoring totals.
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#7 Michigan
#8 Iowa
#9 Penn State
#10 Minnesota
#11 Northwestern

#1 North Carolina 13-1 (0-0)
My top 25- #2
RPI- #5

Team Breakdown
UNC picked up three marquee victories over Kentucky, Tennessee and Ohio State before heading into ACC play.  The highly regarded and very talented young freshmen have gelled very well with the returning players from last year.  Three freshmen are now starting and are playing very key roles.  That can be looked upon as a good thing and a bad thing.  It’s a good thing because they’re very talented and they’re playing very good basketball.  It’s a bad thing though because it means that UNC is relying heavily on young and unproven players.
Offensively, this is one of the highest scoring teams in the country and that’s not likely to change once ACC play starts.  This team can score as well as any team in the country.  With Hansbrough(18.1ppg) and Wright(15.7ppg) on the interior UNC has two of the most talented post players in the country.  Both can score with their back-to-the-basket and they give UNC good balance offensively.  On the perimeter UNC has a lot of options and very good depth.  Wayne Ellington(12.9ppg) has stepped up as the teams main perimeter scoring threat while fellow freshman Tywon Lawson(5.7apg) has become the teams quarterback and main playmaker.  Both are very talented players but at the same time both are very young and untested in ACC play.
This teams ability to score inside and outside is very difficult for teams to match-up with.  However, they also can score in transition as well.  UNC loves to push to the tempo and try and force turnvoers on defense.  In terms of rebounding the basketball this team is as good as it gets as well.  UNC’s half court defense has been fairly solid but not as great as it could be though.  Brandan Wright gives UNC an athletic shot blocker down low while their perimeter players love to pressure the basketball and force turnvovers.
This is one of the best all around teams in the country with very few weaknesses.  They can score the basketball and defend the basketball at any tempo and against any style.  They can also score inside and outside and have good ball handlers and rebounders.  What’s not to like, right?  They’re young and still fairly unproven as a unit.  That’s about the only knock you can give this UNC team right now and that’s not really much of a knock at all.

Quality wins
-Air Force 71-56
-Beat Indiana 54-51
-Beat Georgetown 61-52
-Beat Gonzaga 61-54

Starting Five
C-Josh McRoberts 6′11 245 SO
PF-David McClure 6′6 215 SO
SF-DeMarcus Nelson 6′3 210 JR
SG-Jon Scheyer 6′4 185 FR
PG-Greg Paulus 6′2 190 SO

Bad Losses
-None

Starting Lineup
C-Ekene Ibekwe 6′9 220 SR
PF-James Gist 6′8 215 JR
SF-D.J. Strawberry 6′5 205 SR
SG-Mike Jones 6′5 200 SR
PG-Greivis Vasquez 6′4 185 FR

Team Breakdown
Maryland hasn’t beaten anyone this year that is currently ranked in the top 25, however, they do have three quality victories over Michigan State, Illinois and Winthrop.  They started off ACC play with a loss at Boston College though.  This is arguably the most experienced and veteran team in the ACC with three senior starters.  D.J. Strawberry(15.9ppg), Mike Jones(13.8ppg) and Ekene Ibekwe(10.9ppg) are all seniors and they give Maryland a good amount of experience that could prove to be vital once ACC gets fully underway.
Even though this is an experienced team they are young at the point guard position with two freshmen in Greivis Vasquez(4.1apg) and Eric Hayes(4.3apg).  Hayes started the year out at the point but Vasquez has moved into the starting rotation because he gives MD more athleticism, size and all around ability.  With Hayes and Vasquez running the point this Maryland team finally has enough players makers to effectively generate offense and run the team within the half court setting.  Both have done a good job of taking care of the basketball but they are both freshmen and as a whole this is still a very turnover prone Maryland team.
Where this team has been most successful though is on the defensive end.  They start three athletic perimeter players who are all above 6′4 and have two very athletic shot blockers on the interior in Ibekwe(3.1blk) and Gist(2.5blk).  Statistically, Maryland is playing better defense than just about any team in the country according Kenpom’s defensive ratings.  They love to use their press and force turnovers as well and they can get away with being overaggressive on the perimeter because of their shotblockers in the middle.
This Maryland team is good enough to reach the NCAA Tournament this year and they’re experienced and athletic enough to make a decent run come March.  This team has the scorers, the athletes, the shooters, the playmakers and the complete defense to compete with any team in the ACC.  However, they are undersized, tend to struggle rebounding the basketball and are a very turnover prone team.  
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Quality Wins
-Beat Purdue 79-61
-Beat Memphis 92-85
-Beat Georgia 78-69

Team Breakdown
The Yellow Jackets have been rather inconsistent all season but that was to be expected from a team that started out the year with three freshmen in their starting rotation.  They have three good victories over Memphis, Purdue and Georgia but also stumbled out of the gates in their ACC opener against lowly Miami and looked overwelmed defensively against Vanderbilt.  However, this is a very talented team with a lot of ability and if they can gel enough together to find their own identity this will be a very dangerous team come March.
In terms of balance offensively this team is as good as it gets in the ACC.  They have proven post players in Ra’Sean Dickey(8.1ppg) and Jeremis Smith(9.8ppg) to go along with good perimter scorers in Thaddeus Young(14.5ppg), Lewis Clinch(14.2ppg) and Javaris Crittention(13.3ppg).  Anytime you have a team that can score inside and outside like this GT team does you have the ability to hang out just about any team in the country.
Where this team has issues is on defense as well as at the point guard position.  Defensively, GT has the athletes and size to be an effective defensive team but they’ve been inconsisent all year defensively and have allowed opponents to shoot high percentages from the field against them way too much.  This team also lacks ball handling at the point guard postition.  Even though Crittention(5.8apg) is a great playmaker and scoring threat he is not a true point guard and turns the ball over roughly four times a game.  That’s way too much.
Both Young and Crittention are NBA caliber talents and they have enough experience returning in Anthony Morrow, Mario West, Ra’Sean Dickery and Jeremis Smith to make a serious run in the ACC this year.  Offensively, this team is sound because they have good outside shooters, interior scorers and athletes all over the court.  They’ll need to find their way defensively though and their ball handling issues will likely be a problem all year as well.
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Starting Lineup
C-Uche Echefu 6′9 230 SO
PF-Al Thorton 6′7 210 SR
SF-Jason Rich 6′3 185 SR
SG-Isaiah Swann 6′1 200 SR
PG-Toney Douglas 6′1 185 SO

The second half of the conference will come later tonight…