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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!

I have to admit, I thought Patrick Patterson would go pro in the 2009 NBA draft when he started being projected to be a first round pick. He stayed in college for one more year to finish his degree and spend a year under new Kentucky Coach, John Calipari’s tutelage to help enhance his “away from the rim” skills. Patterson may see his overall numbers dip a bit now that the Wildcats have a few more options than have Jodie Meeks shoot the 3ball and Patterson shoot it inside, but he enters the 2009-10 season as one of the best inside-men in college basketball. The defending champion North Carolina Tar Heels, however, have Ed Davis coming back to help lead their national title defense. Two freshmen make my “top ten ” of power forwards based on their pedigrees entering their freshman seasons: Kentucky’s DeMarcus Cousins, and Georgia Tech’s Derrick Favors. Yes, Cousins would be labeled a center at most colleges, but don’t be surprised to see him listed as a second PF on the lineup. Favors will get more touches at Tech, and look out for these two highly touted Frosh.

Top 10 2009-10 NCAA Basketball Power Forwards

#1 2009-10 NCAA Basketball Power Forward - Patrick Patterson, Kentucky

Now that Kentucky has two big time post players to complement Patrick Patterson in DeMarcus Cousins and Daniel Orton, we’ll finally get a chance to see what Patterson can do this season. Not that his 17.9 points per game last season were any small effort, but by making Patterson free to not have to guard the opposing center every game, Patterson could quickly become one of the Naismith Player of the year candidates this season at Kentucky. Expect to see him go high in the 2010 NBA draft.
#2 2009-10 NCAA Basketball Power Forward -Ed Davis, North Carolina
For the Tar Heels to have a decent shot at defending their 2009 NCAA Tournament title, Ed Davis will need to have a huge year. He’s capable of doing so, and now that he’ll be one of the primary focuses of the North Caroline offense, regular double-doubles out of Davis may become the norm when watching the Tar Heels play this season.

#3 2009-10 NCAA Basketball Power Forward -Al-Farouq Aminu, Wake Forest
It was surprising to see both Aminu and Patterson pass up a chance to go to the NBA in the 2009 draft. WIth Aminu returning for another season at Wake, expect to see his numbers increase and for Wake Forest to be in the thick of the ACC race.
#4 2009-10 NCAA Basketball Power Forward -Devin Ebanks, West Virginia

Devin Ebanks really started to grow-up as a basketball player last season at West Virginia. Over the last third of the Mountaineers season, he averaged more than 10 rebounds a game. He’ll be playing a key role in West Virginia’s Big East title hopes this season.
#5 2009-10 NCAA Basketball Power Forward -Craig Brackins, Iowa State
Craig Brackins has continued to increase his scoring and rebounding production over the past two seasons. Now he just needs to show he can help his team win more ball games this coming season.
#6 2009-10 NCAA Basketball Power Forward -Derrick Favors, Georgia Tech
One of two incoming frosh on my top ten. It was a toss-up to me on whether to list Favors or Cousins in this spot, but since Favors figures to get more touches on offense, at first glance it apears as though his numbers will be higher this season than Cousins.

#7 2009-10 NCAA Basketball Power Forward -DeMarcus Cousins, Kentucky
If you keep up with Kentucky basketball news, then you’ll know that Coach Cal has nothing but great things to say about Cousin’s inside game. Since it doesn’t seem to be “en vogue” to be listed as a center now-a-days if you’re under 7′ tall, expect to see Cousins listed as a second PF on Kentucky’s roster this season next to Patterson in the starting lineup.

#8 2009-10 NCAA Basketball Power Forward -Trevor Booker, Clemson

If Clemson can reliably get him the ball game in and game out, we’ll see a huge season out of Booker this year in the ACC.

#9 2009-10 NCAA Basketball Power Forward -Lance Thomas, Duke
I know, if you’re not a Duke fan you might be like ? Well, Lance Thomas didn’t crack the 6 ppg mark last season, but he nailed over 60% of his field goals and now that he’s entering his senior year, he’s primed to have a big season for the Blue Devils at the PF position.

#10 2009-10 NCAA Basketball Power Forward -Lazar Hayward, Marquette
Hayware averaged 16.3 points per game last season without ever really being the primary focus for the offense. Expect a big year from him this season.

Close to Making my list:

Renardo Sidney, Mississippi State - If we ever get to see him play alongside Vernado, then he enters the top 10 somewhere near Favors and Cousins….but we’ll just have to wait and see.
Daniel Orton, Kentucky – Its just not right to list 3 bigs from the same team. I don’t see Cal getting all three of his premiere bigs enough touches this season to list Orton, Cousins, and Patterson on the same list. It won’t surprise me, however, to see some big games out of Orton this season.

 Time for the October 2009 edition of the 2009 preseason college basketball rankings. I’ve expanded the rankings to be a “Top 30″ this month plus 1 so Texas A&M Fans wouldn’t feel left out. The biggest change from the September edition besides adding six teams is I dropped Mississippi State significantly until we know for sure if Sydney is going to play this season or not. Anyway, preseason practice is just around the corner and we’re almost to the kick-off month of the 2009-10 NCAA basketball season. The following is how I hold the top-30 NCAA basketball teams heading into October.

2009 Preseason College Basketball Rankings 1-30

2009 Preseason College Basketball – No. 1 Kansas – Last Month: 1

Cole Aldrich and Serron Collins put the NBA Draft off for a year and lead the Jayhawks heading into the 2009-10 College basketball season. Kansas also brings in former Calipari-recruit Xavier Henry, and has Tyshawn Taylor and the Morris twins who are expected to significantly contribute this season.

2009 Preseason College Basketball – No. 2 Kentucky Last Month: 2

Coach Cal has been the biggest thing in Kentucky Basketball since…well, er Rick Pitino! Patrick Patterson put off the NBA one more year to return to lead the 2009-10 cats along with Coach Cal’s star recruiting class. Big things are expected out of freshmen John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Eric Bledsoe, and Daniel Orton this season by Cats fans.

2009 Preseason College Basketball – No. 3 Villanova Last Month: 3

Scottie Reynolds coming back meant Nova enters the season as the Big East favorite. If the Wildcats frontcourt performs, look for the Wildcats to make a deep run in the 2010 NCAA tournament.

2009 Preseason College Basketball – No. 4 Michigan State Last Month: 4

Kalin Lucas leads the Spartans heading into the 2009-10 season. Coach Izzo will be relying on Delvon Roe and Raymar Morgan to be big contributors this season while State tries to make it back to the Final Four in 2010.

2009 Preseason College Basketball – No. 5 North Carolina Last Month: 5

Ed Davis is expected to have a big year for Coach Roy Williams. Other teams that lost the likes of Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, and Wayne Ellington would be rebuilding this year. With the crop of McDonald’s All Americans that have been “waiting their turn”, the Tar Heels will see their usual high 20’s/low 30’s win total this season.

2009 Preseason College Basketball – No. 6 Purdue Last Month: 6

Purdue has a lot of talent to challenge Michigan State this season. If they can keep Robbie Hummel healthy, they just might have a shot at the Big 10 title and beyond.

2009 Preseason College Basketball – No. 7 Texas Last Month: 7

Damion James and Avery Bradley will be leading the Longhorns in their battle to up-end Kansas this season.

2009 Preseason College Basketball – No. 8 West Virginia Last Month: 8

The Mountaineers have Devin Ebanks and Da’Sean Butler to lead them in their quest for the Big East title this season.

2009 Preseason College Basketball – No. 9- Ohio State Last Month: 9

Evan Turner is one of the best players in the Big Ten. If the State rookies perform, they will be one of the contenders for the conference title and beyond.

2009 Preseason College Basketball – No. 10- Washington Last Month: 10

Abdul Gaddy is one of the best point guard recruits to come out of the 2009 NCAA recruiting class. Look for him to lead Lorenzo Romar’s club this season to a PAC-10 title.

2009 Preseason College Basketball – No. 11 Oklahoma Last Month: 11

2009 Preseason College Basketball – No. 12 Tennessee Last Month: 12

2009 Preseason College Basketball – No. 13 Cal Last Month: 13

2009 Preseason College Basketball – No. 14 Connecticut Last Month: 15

2009 Preseason College Basketball – No. 15 Duke Last Month: 16

2009 Preseason College Basketball – No. 16 Dayton Last Month: 17

2009 Preseason College Basketball – No. 17 Minnesota Last Month: 18

2009 Preseason College Basketball – No. 18 Louisville Last Month: 19

2009 Preseason College Basketball – No. 19 Butler Last Month: 20

2009 Preseason College Basketball – No. 20 Missouri Last Month: 21

2009 Preseason College Basketball – No. 21 Miss State Last Month: 14

2009 Preseason College Basketball – No. 22 Michigan Last Month: 22

2009 Preseason College Basketball – No. 23 Kansas State Last Month: 23

2009 Preseason College Basketball –No. 24 Georgetown Last Month: 24

2009 Preseason College Basketball – No. 25 Sienna Last Month: 25

2009 Preseason College Basketball – No. 26 Illinois Last Month: N/A

2009 Preseason College Basketball – No. 27 Florida State Last Month: N/A

2009 Preseason College Basketball – No. 28 Syracuse Last Month: N/A

2009 Preseason College Basketball – No. 29 Georgia Tech Last Month: N/A

2009 Preseason College Basketball – No. 30 Florida Last Month: N/A

2009 Preseason College Basketball – No. 31 Texas A+M: Last Month: N/A

Dropped From Rankings:

N/A

Conference Pre-Season Rankings:

Overall NCAA Conference Rankings

Big East Preseason Rankings

Big 12 Preseason Rankings

SEC Preseason Rankings