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John Wall was named the NCAA College Basketball Player of the Year by the Sporting News. Many fans had debated if he or teammate DeMarcus Cousins would win the award, but Wall ultimately won out. The other members of the first team announced by The Sporting News were Derrick Favors of Georgia Tech, Derrick Williams of Arizona, Xavier Henry of Kansas, and DeMarcus Cousins. Second team players were Elias Harris of Gonzaga, alec Burks of Colorado, C.J. McCollum of LeHigh, Kawhi Leonard of SDSU, and Hassan Whiteside of Marshall.

Of the frosh on the Sporting News first team, all but Derrick Williams are projected to be first round picks if they choose to go pro in the 2010 NBA draft.

This is the second straight year that one of Coach John Calipari’s players have won the award, with NBA sensation Tyreke Evans willing the award last year and being a first round lottery pick in the 2009 NBA draft.

 

Alphabetical Roster

No. Name Pos. Ht./Wt. Cl./Exp. Hometown (Last School) 24 Eric Bledsoe G 6-1/190 FR/HS Birmingham, Ala. (Parker) 15 DeMarcus Cousins F 6-11/260 FR/HS Mobile, Ala. (LeFlore) 3 Darnell Dodson G 6-7/215 SO/TR Greenbelt, Md. (Miami-Dade CC) 55 Josh Harrellson F 6-10/265 JR/1L St. Charles, Mo. (SW Illinois College) 5 Ramon Harris G/F 6-7/218 SR/3L Anchorage, Alaska (West Anchorage) 4 Jon Hood G 6-6/195 FR/HS Madisonville, Ky. (North Hopkins) 12 Mark Krebs G 6-5/208 SR/2L Newport, Ky. (Newport Central Catholic) 34 DeAndre Liggins G 6-6/202 SO/1L Chicago, Ill. (Findley Prep) 1 Darius Miller G 6-7/223 SO/1L Maysville, Ky. (Mason County) 33 Daniel Orton F 6-10/255 FR/HS Oklahoma City, Okla. (Bishop McGuiness) 54 Patrick Patterson F 6-9/235 JR/2L Huntington, W.Va. (Huntington) 21 Perry Stevenson F 6-9/207 SR/3L Lafayette, La. (Northside) 11 John Wall G 6-4/195 FR/HS Raleigh, N.C. (Word of God)     2009-10 Kentucky Basketball Coaches and Staff   John Calipari – Head Coach John Robic – Assistant Coach Orlando Antigua – Assistant Coach Rod Strickland – Assistant Coach Todd Forcier – Strength Coach Martin Newton – Dir. of Basketball Operations Chris Simmons – Athletic Trainer

Over the past ten years, college basketball has evolved to consider all mini-tournaments that occur before conference play begins as “pre-season” tournaments. Most college coaches use the November and December schedule to build team confidence as well as strategically play ranked and strong mid-major opponents in order to build a better RPI strength of schedule and a subsequent more impressive resume for the NCAA tournament selection committee. The following are what I hold to be the “Top 10″ pre-season tournaments to check-out for some great basketball. My choices were made based off of the 2009-10 pre-season rankings and overall team matchups. A bit for fans of all major conferences. If you have others that you think belong, please leave in the comments.

Top 10 Pre-Season Collge Basketball Tournaments

#1 Pre-Season College Basketball Tournament – ACC/Big Ten Challenge

Dates: Nov. 30-Dec. 2

Nov. 30: Penn State at Virginia

Dec. 1: Maryland at Indiana; Michigan State at North Carolina; Northwestern at N.C. State; Virginia Tech at Iowa; Wake Forest at Purdue

Dec. 2: Boston College at Michigan; Duke at Wisconsin; Florida State at Ohio State; Illinois at Clemson; Minnesota at Miami

#2 Pre-Season College Basketball Tournament – Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series

Dates: Nov. 29-Dec. 22

Nov. 29: Nebraska at USC

Dec. 3: Washington at Texas Tech; USC at Texas; Baylor at Arizona State

Dec. 4: Colorado at Oregon State

Dec. 5: Oregon at Missouri; Iowa State at California; Washington State at Kansas State

Dec. 6: Kansas at UCLA; Arizona at Oklahoma

Dec. 16: Oklahoma State at Stanford

Dec. 22: Texas A&M at Washington

#3 Pre-Season College Basketball Tournament – SEC/Big East Invitational

Dates: Dec. 9-10 at Madison Square Garden (New York)

Dec. 9: Georgia vs. St. John’s; Kentucky vs. UConn

Dec. 10: DePaul vs. Mississippi State; Syracuse vs. Florida

#4 Pre-Season College Basketball Tournament – Legends Classic

Dates: Nov. 18-22 (campus sites); Nov. 27-28 (semifinals and final in Newark, N.J.)
Teams: Michigan State, Florida, Rutgers, UMass

Michigan State: Valparaiso, Toledo
Florida: Georgia Southern, Troy
Rutgers: Vermont, Drexel

UMass: Cornell, one TBD

#5 Pre-Season College Basketball Tournament – Cancun Challenge

Dates: Nov. 18-25 (Nov. 24-25 in Cancun, Mexico)
Teams: Kentucky, Stanford, Virginia, Cleveland State, Oral Roberts, Sam Houston State, Rider, Florida A&M

Nov. 24: Stanford vs. Virginia; Kentucky vs. Cleveland State

Nov. 25: Championship and Consolation

#6 Pre-Season College Basketball Tournament – Puerto Rico Tip-Off

Dates: Nov. 19-22 in San Juan, Puerto Rico
Teams: Dayton, George Mason, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Kansas State, Villanova, Boston University, Ole Miss

Nov. 19: Dayton vs. Georgia Tech, George Mason vs. Villanova, Indiana vs. Ole Miss, Boston University vs. Kansas State

#7 Pre-Season College Basketball Tournament – Paradise Jam

Dates: Nov. 20-23 in Virgin Islands
Teams: Boston College, DePaul, East Carolina, Northern Iowa, Purdue, South Dakota State, Saint Joseph’s, Tennessee

Nov. 20: DePaul vs. Northern Iowa; Tennessee vs. East Carolina; Boston College vs. Saint Joseph’s; Purdue vs. South Dakota State

Maui Invitational

Dates: Nov. 23-25 in Maui, Hawaii
Teams: Arizona, Gonzaga, Cincinnati, Maryland, Vanderbilt, Wisconsin, Colorado, Chaminade

Nov. 23: Colorado vs. Gonzaga; Cincinnati vs. Vanderbilt ; Maryland vs. Chaminade; Arizona vs. Wisconsin

#8 Pre-Season College Basketball Tournament – 76 Classic

Dates: Nov. 26-27, 29 in Anaheim, Calif.
Teams: UCLA, Clemson, Butler, West Virginia, Minnesota, Texas A&M, Long Beach State, Portland

Nov. 26: West Virginia vs. Long Beach State; Clemson vs. Texas A&M; Butler vs. Minnesota; UCLA vs. Portland

#9 Pre-Season College Basketball Tournament – Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase
Date: Nov. 17 in St. Louis, Mo., at Scottrade Center
Teams: Kansas, Memphis, Louisville, Arkansas, Central Arkansas, Oakland, Tennessee Tech (on Kansas-Memphis side), Appalachian State, East Tennessee State, Morgan State (on Arkansas-Louisville side)
Games: Louisville vs. Arkansas; Kansas vs. Memphis

#10 Pre-Season College Basketball Tournament – Wooden Classic

Date: Dec. 12 in Anaheim, Calif.
Games: Mississippi State vs. UCLA; Washington vs. Georgetown