Allen Moll is an avid NBA and College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen is a regular columnist for thehoopdoctors.com, Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, and his own blog, Hoops Haven.
For the past few seasons, college basketball’s best conference has been the Big East. Last season’s NCAA Tournament had 3 Big East teams as #1 seeds(Louisville, Connecticut, and Pittsburgh), 4 teams make it to the Elite 8, and 2 teams in the Final Four. The conference has regularly produced some of the best NBA caliber talents like Patrick Ewing, Ron Artest, and Dwayne Wade. With so many of these players flocking to the professional ranks, especially this offseason, is it possible that some of college’s other power conferences like the ACC, Big 10, SEC, PAC-10, or SEC, are catching up?
’09-’10 Conference Power Rankings
1) Big 12 – In my opinion, the Big 12 has been nipping at the Big East’s heels (along with the ACC) for years. Even though the conference has lost a number of talented underclassmen like Blake Griffin, Michael Beasley, and Kevin Durant, to the NBA in recent seasons, the Big 12 will be loaded with teams with NCAA Tourney aspirations. It should be a great battle for the top spot with seemingly everyone’s preseason #1, Kansas having there hands full with a resurgent Texas, a rebuilt Oklahoma, upstart Baylor, always tough Oklahoma State, and Kansas State. Kansas, Texas, and OU could be Top 10 in the polls all season long. The conference will have plenty of elite players like Willie Warren and “Tiny” Gallon(OU), Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich(Kansas), Damion James and Avery Bradley(Texas), Wally Judge and Denis Clemente(Kansas St), and LaceDarius Dunn(Baylor). I wouldn’t be surprised to see two Big 12 teams in the Final Four in ’10.
2) ACC – Last season’s National Champion UNC Tarheels lost a ton of talent to the NBA, but they don’t rebuild, they reload. If their young recruits mesh with returning veterans like Ed Davis, the Tarheels could once again make a deep run in March. Duke may finally have a young frontcourt to match is usually outstanding guard play and will also be good. After the usual UNC and Duke, the rest could be a toss up, but a few teams under the right conditions could contend. Georgia Tech is stacked due to an elite group of incoming freshmen, Gary Williams, newly extended, always gets the most out of his players at Maryland, Wake Forest, after sending 2 players to the NBA could surprise with an underrated frontcourt. Florida St, Clemson, and Virginia Tech could also find themselves flirting with the Top 25. The conference always boasts some of the nation’s best talent like Ed Davis(UNC), Kyle Singler and Jon Scheyer(Duke), Al-Farooq Aminu(Wake), Derrick Favors and Gani Lawal(GT).
3) Big East – A slip to #3 is primarily because of the heavy losses due to graduation and the NBA draft. The only possible NCAA title contender is Villanova who return many pieces from last season’s Final Four team along with a 4 player, top 5 recruiting class. The return of pg Scottie Reynolds for his senior year along with Duke transfer, Taylor King and two incoming frontcourt freshmen will try to offset the loss of Dante Cunningham to the NBA. West Virginia may challenge Villanova within the conference behind one of the country’s best backcourts. UCONN should take a step back with the loss of three starters, but could surprise with their talented replacements. Georgetown looks to rebound after a dissapointing last season with three McDonald’s All Americans on the roster, Louisville could surprise with a talented bevy freshman recruits. Top Big East performers include Reynolds(VU), Stanley Robinson and Kemba Walker(Conn), Greg Monroe(G-Town), Luke Harangody(ND), Jeremy Hazell(Seton Hall), Samardo Samuels(Louisville), and Devin Ebanks(W Virginia).
4) Big 10 – Michigan State will again be a title contender since they return everyone besides Suton and Walton. After State, should be Purdue and Ohio State respectively. Both should be in the Top 15-20 teams in the country. After that, it’s anyone’s guess since Michigan is improved, Tubby Smith will have his young core in Minnesota ready to finish top 4 in the conference. Illinois, behind some talented juniors, Wisconsin, and yes………even Northwestern could have March Madness within their sights. Top players include Talor Battle(Penn St), Kalin Lucas(Mich St), Evan Turner(Ohio St), Robbie Hummel(Purdue), and Lawrence Westbrook(Minn).
5) SEC – Although down in recent years, the SEC is rapidly improving. The infusion of top tier coaches (Bruce Pearl and John Calipari) along with top recruits(John Wall and Renardo Sydney) has the conference headed in the right direction. If everything falls into place and Kentucky lives up to the hype, the Wildcats should be back among the nation’s elite. Mississipi State could be a Top 10 team if their super frosh Sydney is cleared to play. Bruce Pearl should have last season’s underachieving Tennessee squad back near the top of the conference. Florida, LSU, Vanderbilt, and South Carolina as a sleeper could push for a final tourney spot. Top players include everyone in Kentucky’s starting lineup, Jarvis Varnado(Miss st), Tyler Smith(Tenn), Devan Downey(S. Carolina), and John Jenkins(Vandy).
6) PAC-10 – It could be the conference’s worst season in years since the usual top tier programs(Arizona, UCLA, and USC) are riddled by scandal and in rebuilding mode. The top could be a two team race between California and Washington, but neither can be considered contenders. With UCLA rebuilding, the conference is up for grabs. The rest of the group consisting of Oregon State, Washington State, and Oregon just aren’t very good and should occupy the middle of the pack. The conference is devoid of star power with the departure of John Brockman from Washington to the NBA. Trying to fill his shoes will be Brockman’s teammate, Isaiah Thomas, Nic Wise(Arizona), Tajuan Porter(Oregon), Jerome Randle(Cal), and Klay Thompson(Wash St).
