College Hoops Video

The following is a guest post from Andy Charles who regularly contributes to Bet Fair.

Kentucky’s hopes of going a long way this season have been boosted by the news that point guard John Wall has been cleared to play by the NCAA.

Although Wall will have to sit out two games – only one of those a regular season outing – he will be eligible from their November 16 clash with Miami (Ohio) and gives the Wildcats a real prospect to work with.

Wall has long been considered one of the top high-school players in the country and Kentucky were desperate to get him on board for the season, coach John Calipari’s first in charge since his sterling efforts with the Memphis Tigers.

His status had been in doubt over a possible relationship with his AAU coach Brian Clifton, who is a certified agent, since any connection with him would have left his amateur status in tatters and probably meant a move to play professionally in Europe.

The freshman out of Raleigh, NC, joins a roster full of talent and including a pre-season All-American in Patrick Patterson, who averaged 17.9 points per game last season    on a team he and Jodie Meeks, now involved in the NBA Picks, dominated.

But in Wall the Wildcats have a far better (and less greedy) ball handler than Meeks and he could rival many of the recent star point guards in college, with Calipari already saying he was more advanced at this stage than either Derrick Rose or Tyreke Evans – high praise indeed.

Wall and Patterson’s talent mean it is imperative that Kentucky does not match last season’s failure to even make the NCAA Tournament in March – indeed failure to make the Elite Eight would be a disappointment given the resources at hand.

And Calipari will be aware that in both of the last two seasons, the Wildcats have suffered early shock defeats (2007 to Gardner-Webb and last year to Virginia Military) which put them behind the eight-ball before things had really gotten started.

As for pre-season top five basketball picks, there is no room for that kind of error, and Wall will have to get up to speed quickly with early December games against North Carolina and Connecticut on the slate and a tough SEC season to look forward to as well.

I, for one, can’t wait for the games to start!

Kentucky Coach John Calipari

Now that the majority of the 2009 NCAA recruiting classes are set and we know who is going into the 2009 NBA draft, I figured it was time to put out my pre-season Top 25. We’ll see a little movement over the next few months depending on what Lance Stephenson decides to do and where the USC recruits end up, but the 2009-10 NCAA basketball  season does prove to be an exciting one!

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 1 Kansas
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
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
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
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

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
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
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 Duke
Duke is bringing back a solid core from last season’s team. Gerald Henderson will be missed and they may have a bit of trouble at the point initially, but the Blue Devils will be a top ten team next season.

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 9 West Virginia
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. 10- Ohio State
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. 11- Washington
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. 12 Oklahoma
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. 13 Tennessee
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. 14 Cal
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. 15 Miss State
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. 16 Connecticut
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. 17 Dayton
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. 18 Minnesota
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. 19 Butler
Butler could easily be ranked higher. They have everyone back from last season to include star Matt Howard.

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 20 Oklahoma State
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. 21 Michigan
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. 22 Missouri
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. 23 Louisville
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. 24 Memphis
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!

2009 NCAA Basketball Rankings – No. 25 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.

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,

Jodi Meeks

Jodie Meek’s was one of the highlights for Kentucky Wildcat fans in the 2008-09 basketball season. His 54 points against Tennessee set a Kentucky record, and put Meeks on the map for the NBA draft and had him discussed in the same dialogue with Blake Griffin for the National Player of the Year Award last season. Jodie Meeks has declared for the 2009 NBA draft, but at the time of this writing had not hired an agent. With the 15 June 2009 NBA draft deadline quickly approaching, Meeks has gone on record stating he would remain in the draft if he get’s assurances that a team will pick him in the first round of the draft. Many Kentucky fans hope he comes back to join Patrick Patterson and the other star recruits heading to Lexington for a 2010 NCAA tournament run, however, Meeks will likely remain in the 2009 NBA Draft.

Jodie Meek’s Collegiate Career at Kentucky

In just one season, Jodie Meeks became one of the highest scoring Kentucky Wildcat’s guards in school history. Spending most of his sophomore season injured (many thought due to Coach G’s over-practicing of the team), Meeks started out the season scoring 39 points in a losing effort against VMI. He continued to heat up with 37 against Kansas State, and then lit up Tennessee for 54 points in January 2009. He was selected to the All SEC First Team and was a Second Team All American as voted by the AP, USBWA, NABC, and the SportingNews.com. Meeks finished the 2008-09 season averaging 23.7 points per game, 1.8 assists, and 1.3 steals per game.

Jodie Meek’s 2009 NBA Draft Prospects

Jodie Meeks is considered a bit short at 6’4″ to play the 2 guard role in the NBA, though the upside of his shooting ability and scoring instincts make him attractive for NBA teams to go ahead and take him in the 2009 NBA draft. Meeks is solid at 211 lbs, and has a solid frame to go with excellent 3 point and free throw shooting. On the down side, Jodie Meeks is only considered an average ball handler for the NBA and is criticized for being able to create separation with his defenders. Another knock on Jodie, is that he did not win at the college level, so his ability to be the difference maker for an NBA team has been put in question at times. He has been reported to be having good workouts for NBA teams, and the Detroit Pistons have expressed a potential interest in drafting Meeks with their first round pick. One consideration for Jodie Meeks is with the expected depth of the 2010 draft, should he just go ahead and take his chances this year while working on his ball handling and dribbling? With the talent coming in to Kentucky for the 2009-10 season, its doubtful he would get the touches to improve on his scoring average so Coach Cal can keep all of the 4 and 5 star prospects happy so his stock would have a potential to dip in the 2010 draft. The Detroit Pistons have expressed a potential interest in taking Meeks in the first round, and my guess is that we will see him stay in the 2009 NBA draft.

Refs:

http://www.everyjoe.com/expertfantasy/jodie-meeks-nba-draft-nba-profile/, http://www.collegehoopsvideo.com/2009/05/2009-kentucky-wildcats-basketball-recruiting-class/, http://www.predictify.com/q/where-will-jodie-meeks-be-picked-in-2009-nba-draft-2, http://www.nbadraft.net/node/4289, http://lesterslegends.com/?p=11597, http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=290132633, http://www.everyjoe.com/expertfantasy/jodie-meeks-nba-draft-nba-profile/, http://thehoopdoctors.com/online2/2009/02/mock-draft/, http://dcprosportsreport.com/mockdraftdatabase/nba.html,