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The Kansas Jayhawks head Coach must  be wondering if he should be lighting votive candles due to the fact that he has secured one of the top high school prospects in the country. After all the hoopla surrounding Xavier Henry, the young man finally made the decision to become part of the 2009 Kansas Jayhawks Men’s Basketball Recruiting class. Bill Self must be waking up with a smile on his face every single day. Many basketball experts feel that with the signing of Xavier Henry and the returning players that Self will have at his disposal, Kansas now positions itself as possibly the team to beat in the upcoming 2009-2010 NCAA basketball season.

 

2009 Kansas Jayhawk Recruiting – Xavier Henry’s Background

 

This native of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, played 4 years for the Putnam City Pirates winning 2 state championships in the process. When all was said and done, he had received every All State and All American honor that could be handed out. He ended with a scoring average of over 28 points per game and for the longest time was considered the top basketball recruit in the country. His ranking may have suffered due to an accident that left him with a broken cheekbone before the start of his senior season, but those who had the pleasure of watching him play knew what a talent this young man truly was. Many times it looked like a man playing against boys, yes, he was just that dominant. 

 

 

2009 Kansas Jayhawk Recruiting – Xavier Henry’s Skill Set

 

Let’s face it, the 6ft 6in. tall and a solid 225lbs. Henry should create match-up nightmares for the opponents of the Kansas Jayhawks in the upcoming 2009-2010 season. Although he is listed as a shooting guard, he has the athleticism and the strength, yes, a body of a tight end, to play down low if he so chooses. With his excellent size and strength, he has the ability to overpower smaller defenders and score easily jn the paint. With his long range shooting ability, he also can spread out the defense to create open lanes for his teammates. He has shown consistency from 3 point range but still needs to develop a midrange jumper to keep his opponents guessing. What he needs to work on is his ball handling skills so he won’t be prone to the quick hands of smaller defenders. With his size, Henry showed excellent rebounding ability on both ends of the floor and wasn’t hesitant to go coast to coast if the defense was caught sleeping. Overall this young man has a solid game both offensively and defensively and look for him to start contributing for the Jayhawks right from the opening of the 2009-2010 basketball season.

 

 

Refs:

 

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Xavier-Henry-1324/

http://collegebasketball.about.com/od/recruiting/p/xavier-henry.htm

http://www.maxpreps.com/athletes/bgnDhsZ70E2LiwfKd8p0Yw/basketball-winter-07-08/stats-xavier-henry.htm

http://insider.espn.go.com/ncb/recruiting/tracker/player?recruitId=43687&season=2009&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fncb%2frecruiting%2ftracker%2fplayer%3frecruitId%3d43687%26season%3d2009

 

Some big news since I released my June edition of the 2009 NCAA Preseason Basketball rankings was:

1 – Lance Stephenson finally signed with someone…Cincinatti

2 – Duke guard Elliot Williams, had to leave school to be closer to his Mom who is sick. Coach K released him and now Coach Pastner’s Memphis Tigers have one more missing piece for next season!

3 –  All of the Top 15 recruits in the 2009 NCAA recruiting class have signed with teams.

My next rankings update will come on 1 August 2009.

 

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 1 Kansas – Last Month: 1
Bill Self is heading into the 200910 season fully loaded with his talent from last year as well as another great recruiting class headlined by star shooting guard, Xavier Henry. Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich are back for another shot at the NCAA title, and the Jayhawks should repeat as Big 12 champions next season.

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 2 Kentucky Last Month: 2
Its debatable on what the impact of Jodie Meeks not coming back to Kentucky for the 2009-10 season is going to be. He led the Wildcats and the SEC in scoring last season, but if the number 1 recruiting class of 2009 performs as expected, Coach John Calipari will have the Wildcats heading deep into the 2010 NCAA tournament next year! The Wildcats will have one of the strongest front courts in the country with Patrick Patterson, DeMarcus Cousins, and Daniel Orton to go with the top rated point guard prospect in the country, John Wall.

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 3 Villanova Last Month: 3
Scottie Reynolds returning to Nova with a great recruiting class is making the Wildcats the Big East favorite and a threat for the 2010 NCAA title!

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 4 Michigan State Last Month: 4
The Spartans have three starters returning but will have a fight for the Big Ten title with Purdue and Ohio State.

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 5 North Carolina Last Month: 5

Ed Davis and Deon Thompson are back along with prize recruits John Henson and Leslie McDonald. This might be a bit high for the defending champs, but something tells me they’re going to be going deep again in the 2010 tourney!

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 6 Purdue Last Month: 6
Purdue will be challenging Michigan State for the Big 10 title. They have all of their starters back along with JaJuan Johnson and will be a regular in the Top Ten during the 2009-10 season.

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 7 Texas Last Month: 7
The Long Horns have a great recruiting class headed by Avery Bradley and Jordan Hamilton. They’re going to give Kansas a run for the Big 12 Title and will be a force to be reckoned with in the post season.

 

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 8 West Virginia Last Month: 9
West Virginia is led by point guard Joe Mazzulla and Devin Ebanks will be a first round pick in the 2010 or 2011 NBA draft. The mountaineers should go deeper in the post season in 2010 than last year and will be one of the powerhouses in the Big East in 2009-10.

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 9- Ohio State Last Month: 10
Ohio State lost B.J. Mullens to the 2009 NBA draft, but they have Evan Turner back as well as a number of other starters to go with David Lighty.

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 10- Washington Last Month: 11
Washington was able to sign the second best point guard in the 2009 NCAA basketball recruiting class in Abdul Gaddy who will complement Thomas at the 2 guard position while leading Washington in the 2009-10 season.

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 11 Oklahoma Last Month: 12
Oklahoma had a strong recruiting year in 2009 and with Willie Warren coming back they will push Kansas, Texas, and Oklahoma State in the Big 12.

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 12 Tennessee Last Month: 13
With Tyler Smith returning, Bruce Pearl has an experienced team heading in to the 2009-10 season. The Vols will be looking to keep Kentucky from going undefeated in SEC play next season and will be a top 15 team heading into the season.

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 13 Cal Last Month: 14
The Cal Bears will be competing with Washington for the PAC-10’s top spot next season. UCLA could come into the mix as well depending on how quickly their 2009 recruiting class performs as well.

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 14 Miss State Last Month: 15
If Renardo Sidney can gain his eligibility, Mississippi State will be a Top 20 team all season and will be trying to give Kentucky a run for their money for the SEC overall and tournament titles.

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 15 Connecticut Last Month: 16
Stanley Robinson, Ater Majok, and Kemba Walker will be leading the Huskies to another season atop the Big East and a national ranking.

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 16 Dayton Last Month: 17
Dayton almost has their entire team back from last season’s that won 27 games and a NCAA tournament game. They will be vying for the A-10 championship and we’ll see them ranked the majority of the season.

 

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 17 Minnesota Last Month: 18
Former Kentucky Wildcat coach Tubby Smith has his starters returning with a decent recruiting class. He’ll have a tough time trying to get past Ohio State, MSU, and Purdue, but the Gophers will be in the thick of the Big 10 race for the majority of the season.

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 18 Duke Last Month: 8
Duke still has a solid core returning from last season, but the unexpected loss of Elliot Williams due to medical issues with his Mom means that the Blue Devils are going to have some gelling to do next fall. As a result, I still think they’re worthy of being ranked, just closer to Nr 20 now heading in to the season vice Nr. 10.

 

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 19 Memphis Last Month: 24
Coach Josh Pastner has been putting together a pretty impressive recruiting class after taking over from Coach John Calipari. Many have counted the Tigers out, but with their current recruiting crop, look for them to win more than 25 games next season! The unexpected addition of Elliot Williams makes Memphis a Top 20 team if he’s given permission to play immediately by the NCAA. If not, then they’re still worthy of being ranked, just much closer to Nr. 25.

 

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 20 Butler Last Month: 19
Butler could easily be ranked higher. They have everyone back from last season to include star Matt Howard.

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 21 Oklahoma State Last Month: 21
OSU has a great 2009 basketball recruiting class inbound in Travis Ford’s run and gun offense. They’ll score a lot of points, have fun, and just might pull some upsets along the way!

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 22 Michigan Last Month: 21
DeShawn Sims and Manny Harris will be two of the leaders on the Wolverines squad next season. They could play up in the rankings once the season gets going.

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 23 Missouri Last Month: 22
The Tigers have a deep bench and will be dangerous again next season. Look for the team to take a bit time to gel after losing Leo Lyons and DeMarre Carroll, but will be clicking by tournament time.

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 24 Louisville Last Month: 23
Samardo Samuels and Terrence Jennings are going to be the “go to” players for Coach Rick Pitino next season. They have to perform to keep the Cards afloat in the Big East and the 2010 NCAA tournament.

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings –No. 25 Cincinatti Last Month: Unrankedguard Deonta Vaughn (15.3 ppg) and forward Yancy Gates (10.6 ppg, 6.1 rpg). Point guard Cashmere Wright will be back next season after missing 2008-09 with a torn ACL and Oklahoma State transfer center Ibrahima Thomas will be eligible in mid-December.
 
Cincinatti has now catapuluted themselves into potential contention for the Big East title next season with the signing of star New York Guard, Lance Stephenson. He joins the returning roster of:

Dropped From Rankings:

Siena – Siena has a majority of their core players coming back from last season. Losing Kenny Hasbrouck drops them a bit, so they eeked by Illinois to make Nr 25 on my rankings in June. With Cincinatti signing Lance Stephenson, someone had to drop out and it was Siena.

 

Close to Being Ranked:

Florida State – Solomon Alabi, Jordan Mercy, and Chris Singleton lead the Seminole front court along with incoming recruit Michael Snaer.

Illinois – The Fighting Illini have a great 2009 recruiting class. They just missed being in the top 25, but can quickly find themselves there once the season gets moving.

Georgetown – Georgetown was one of the disappointing teams of last season. With Greg Monroe back, the Hoyas should be able to build on the 2008-09 season and make it to the NCAA’s at the end of the year.

 

Refs:

http://kenpom.com/rate.php, http://www.latimes.com/sports/college/basketball/la-sp-renardo-sidney5-2009jun05,0,7406854.story, ttp://beyondthearc.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/04/17/1897733.aspx, http://bleacherreport.com/articles/162509-the-return-of-marcus-ginyard-your-2009-10-north-carolina-tar-heels, http://www.collegesports-fans.com/basketball-previews/2008-2009-previews/kansas-jayhawks-preview.html, http://www.zimbio.com/Chante+Black/news/PDWD71712ST/2009+Duke+Blue+Devils+Basketball+Recruiting, http://www.secsportsfan.com/2009-2010-kentucky-wildcats-basketball-preview.html, http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/articles/?p=28408, http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/decock/story/1590418.html, http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/team/west-virginia-basketball/