Yesterday Dickie V. unveiled his pre-season top 40 teams for the upcoming college hoops campaign.

1. North Carolina. With Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green all returning, the Tar Heels are the clear-cut preseason numero uno.

2. Louisville. Rick Pitino’s squad is a legitimate Final Four contender. The addition of Samardo Samuels up front is a big plus.

3. Connecticut. Hasheem Thabeet will be a major force up front for Hall of Famer Jim Calhoun. Look for big things from A.J. Price in the backcourt.

4. UCLA. Coach Ben Howland is happy to have Darren Collison returning to the backcourt. The Bruins have one of the premier recruiting classes coming in.

5. Texas. A.J. Abrams and Damion James provide a solid 1-2 punch for the Longhorns. D.J. Augustin is gone, but this will still be a very dangerous team under Rick Barnes.

6. Notre Dame. Luke Harangody and Kyle McAlarney lead an experienced Irish team.

7. Michigan State. Tom Izzo will miss Drew Neitzel, but the Spartans will be among the best in the Big Ten.

8. Gonzaga. Watch out for Mark Few’s team. The return of Jeremy Pargo is a big plus.

9. Duke. The Blue Devils lost DeMarcus Nelson, but Kyle Singler, Greg Paulus, Gerald Henderson & Co. have something to prove.

10. Pittsburgh. DeJuan Blair will be tough to stop up front and the Panthers should enjoy another solid season.

11. Purdue. Matt Painter’s team sneaked up on a lot of people last season. With Robbie Hummel leading the way, the Boilermakers have high hopes.

12. Marquette. Tom Crean is gone, but Buzz Williams has the top-flight trio of Dominic James, Jerel McNeal and Wesley Matthews back.

13. Memphis. No Derrick Rose, no Chris Douglas-Roberts, no problem. John Calipari has a lot of talent returning plus several standout recruits.

14. Tennessee. Bruce Pearl will rely on Tyler Smith inside to key his SEC challenger.

15. Georgetown. Adding Greg Monroe up front will make this a team to keep an eye on in the rugged Big East.

16. Villanova. Jay Wright has his key players returning, led by Scottie Reynolds.

17. Florida. Billy Donovan’s Gators will return to the Big Dance, keyed by Nick Calathes.

18. Arizona State. James Harden will be one of the premier players in the Pac-10. The Sun Devils will go from surprise team to conference challenger.

19. Davidson. Stephen Curry will carry this team to another big season. Forget about the Cinderella tag this season.

20. Virginia Tech. Seth Greenberg’s team fell short of the Big Dance last season. That won’t be an issue this time around.

21. Miami-Florida. Jack McClinton is one of the best players that America has not heard enough about. Frank Haith does a fine job with the Hurricanes.

22. Wisconsin. Bo Ryan will always have the Badgers in the hunt in the Big Ten.

23. Arizona. The return of Chase Budinger makes Lute Olson very happy. If Brandon Jennings didn’t go to Europe, this would be a top-10 team.

24. Kentucky. When Patrick Patterson is healthy, watch out. Billy Gillispie’s club will be returning to prominence.

25. Kansas. Bill Self lost five players to the NBA draft. He has a young but talented team that should still make noise.

26. Syracuse. In a different league, the Orange would be a contender. In the Big East, it is so, so tough…

27. Oklahoma. I know people are talking about football down in Norman. Jeff Capel’s club, led by Blake Griffin, will give fans something else to cheer about.

28. West Virginia. Bob Huggins will have his team battling, scrapping and clawing again.

29. Wake Forest. This young team is talented. You will hear a lot about super sophs Jeff Teague and James Johnson.

30. Baylor. Scott Drew has rebuilt this program in a short time. Remember the name LaceDarius Dunn!

31. USC. Even without O.J. Mayo, the Trojans will be a tough team. Taj Gibson & Co. will not be an easy touch.

32. Clemson. Oliver Purnell lost a lot of senior talent, but K.C. Rivers is back.

33. St. Mary’s. As long as Mr. Mills comes back to school, this team will make noise in the WCC.

34. Alabama. If Mark Gottfried gets back a healthy Ronald Steele, the Tide can reverse last season’s misfortune.

35. UNLV. Lon Kruger has won 91 games in his four seasons with the Runnin’ Rebels.

36. Mississippi State. If Jamont Gordon had stayed in school, this team would be in the top 20.

37. UAB. Robert Vaden is back. He flirted with the NBA draft but withdrew before the deadline.

38. Ohio State. A lot will depend on the big diaper dandy, B.J. Mullens. Thad Matta is a flat-out winner, my friends.

39. San Diego. Last season was not a fluke … just ask Connecticut.

40. Xavier. Sean Miller’s team lost a lot of talent, but the newcomers will make a difference.

My college basketball forecasting self esteem took a serious nose dive when I saw the list and not only was Oklahoma absent from the top 25, but Gonzaga checked in at #8. It’s not like I haven’t had a couple Wilson Sandwich’s back in the day, and recently too, but to get disrespected on the interweb like this before it’s even October is sufficient enough reason to make me pitch my Dickie V bobblehead and T-shirt into the garbage. Does Dick not think enough of my analytical prowess to at least contact me and seek out my advice?

Oklahoma at #27?

I have the Sooners at #4. That’s quite a discrepancy. Quite a spread. Odd.

Apparently Dickie V forgot that OU is returning just about everybody from last year’s NCAA tourney team. Add freshman guard Willie Warren and some intriguing transfers to Blake Griffin’s squad and what do they get?

Shit.

Am I missing something here?

Dick, Gonzaga at #8?

What is that?

Come on, unless Blake Stepp still has some elgibility left or Matt Bouldin is actually Adam Morrison 2.0, this ranking is quite optimistic.

I mean, I like Jeremy Pargo and Austin Daye too, but what did Gonzaga do to warrant this type of Dickie V slobber?

And how in the name of Awesome diaper dandies did Duke not somehow still get the benefit of the doubt and get a position in front of the Zags?

I’m also surprised that he has refrained from nominating Kyle Singler for Player of the Year.

But this is just pre-season, take it for what it’s worth.

By November Duke will be top 5 material in Dick’s eyes.

And for the record, the Vitale bobblehead is not for sale.

Post from: EveryJoe

Dickie V BABY!

ESPN’s Dick Vitale gives his Top 5 teams for the 2008-2009 season.

Post from: EveryJoe

Dickie V gives his Top 5 teams for next season

You’re still recovering from all the basketball you watched this past week…

What better way to start your week off is there than a little Dickie V!!!

Post from: EveryJoe

Dickie V previews the Final Four

The list was pretty good, and I wholeheartedly agreed with some of the entries.

For example, Duke basketball. I absolutely, unequivocally hate Duke basketball. Bobby Hurley. Christian Laettner. Cherokee Parks. Those freaking Cameron Crazies. You can stop jumping around now. Please stop jumping around.

Maxim also mentioned distracting opposing players while shooting free throws. Another very overrated part of the game. Do you actually think waving your arms back and forth during a shot will distract anybody? Please…

While their list was pretty good, I believe it was incomplete. There are lots of other things that are lame about college basketball. Here are a few more…

The post-season NIT Tournament – once upon a time, in a college basketball world far, far away, the post-season NIT tournament was THE only post-season tourney in town. It actually meant something. Now, it is an afterthought, a tournament for mediocre teams that weren’t good enough to get into the Big Dance. And please don’t even get me started on the new College Basketball Invitational presented by something called The Gazelle Group.

Bobby Knight press conferences – yes, the General’s pressers can great places to get sound bytes. Yes, it is always enjoyable to watch light into an unsuspecting SID. But, to be honest, his schtick is old. The profanity-laced tirades are old. His sarcastic and condescending attitude towards many in the media is old. Just old.

Jim Nantz and Billy Packer – I have never liked Billy Packer as an announcer. He might as well come out dressed up in a superhero costume, because he is the true Captain Obvious. And Nantz tries to paint every single game like it is the game of the century, every play is the best thing he’s ever seen. Jimmy – save that syrup for your clubhouse chats at Augusta in April.

Now I’d like to hear from you, the readers. What have we left off our lists?

What are the lamest things in college basketball? What do you absolutely hate about the game? What drives you absolutely crazy?

(Sorry – Dick Vitale was already listed on the Maxim list…try again).

Post from: EveryJoe

What’s lame about college basketball

Will the lack of depth hurt UNC?

The announcing crew is  Mike Patrick and Len Elmore. Let’s get to the opening tip…

• Kent State comes out in an extremely aggressive man-to-man defense – lots of pressure up top on the guards, overplaying the passing lanes – and it results in an early backdoor dunk by Tyler Hansbrough.
• Another easy dunk by Hansbrough – the Golden Flashes are trying to single team Hansbrough, and it isn’t working – UNC up 8 to 4 early on.
• Note to Kent State head coach Jim Christian – Hansbrough is a Player of the Year candidate for a reason – he can finish around the basket. You might try a few double teams here and there. Just a thought.
• The Golden Flashes, who only average 11 turnovers a game, already have 3 – and we’re only 5 minutes into the game.
• Pretty top-of-the-key jumper off a curl by UNC’s Wayne Ellington – very pretty stroke. UNC up 10 to 4 at the first T.V. timeout.
• Kent State is very deliberate on offense – lots of movement, off-the-ball screens, backdoor cuts and slashes to the basket. They are 10-2 for a reason. Very sound fundamentally.
• Kent State decides to triple team Hansbrough on the low post, who proceeds to kick the ball out to Danny Green who nails a deep three. You need to double team Hansbrough and make the Tar Heel outside shooters beat you.
• Hansbrough puts up an ugly shot out of the double team – very poor decision. If Kent State can rattle Hansbrough enough, this game might be interesting.
• Long range three by Mike Scott brings the Flashes to within 4.
• UNC up 19-13 with 11:21 to go in the half.  Kent State cannot afford to get into a track meet with the Tar Heels, and they are doing a good job at slowing the game down.
• Lawson comes back into the game after a long breather – not having Frasor around definitely hurts the Tar Heels point guard play.
• UNC is now up 24-13 – the Heels are coming up with every loose ball.
• Hansbrough is absolutely mugged on a breakaway dunk attempt by Al Fisher, who is called for the flagrant foul. Fisher is 6′1″… Hansbrough is 6′11″. You’ve got to give Fisher credit for not being afraid of the big man. Hansbrough hits the two foul shots to push the lead to 26-13.
• Lawson hits another three after a nice kick-out pass from Green. Hansbrough forces a traveling call on Haminn Quaintance – #8 for the Flashes – and the game is starting to slip away from Kent State. UNC up 29-13. Somewhere in Florida, Dick Vitale is whispering (no yelling yet Dick) “Take a T.O. baby!!!!!” Christian somehow hears Vitale and calls timeout.
• UNC is shooting 52% from the field so far, Kent State is shooting 42%.
• Ellington swoops in from the right side for an easy layup – UNC up 37-19 at the 3:42 mark.
• Kent States is running some good sets, but they are missing some easy shots.
• Fisher hits a trey off a Quaintance screen to bring the Flashes within 13 with under a minute to go.
• Williams calls a timeout with 35.5 seconds left after Quaintance hits an easy lay-up – UNC up 41-30.
• Ellington hits a three from downtown Charlotte to push lead to 44-32. UNC had allowed an easy alley-oop dunk before Ellington’s long range bomb. Williams cannot be happy with their letdown on the defensive end of the floor. Once you have an opponent down, you need to go for the jugular, and UNC took their foot off the pedal.

2nd half

• UNC comes out with two quick turnovers. You can actually see Roy Williams’ hair turning more gray with each turnover.
• Quaintance with a nifty block on Lawson’s dunk attempt leads to an easy layup for the Flashes. UNC up 53-38 with 15:56 to go.
• Deon Thompson with a nice turnaround J from the low left block – Thompson has been very quiet this game, and with his size and athleticism, UNC needs to feed him the ball more.
• Kent State with another extra pass to free up Fisher for the backdoor layup. Kent State hanging around at 57-42.
• UNC forces a turnover off their midcourt trap that leads to a Hanbrough flush – Carolina now up 19.
• With Quaintance on the bench, UNC is looking to Hansbrough more, and he’s coming through with some good shots. Carolina up 63-42 with 11 minutes left.
• Ellington with yet another bucket from the elbow off a screen – he is an absolute pure shooter.
• Lawson penetrates and hits the up-and-under layup to push the lead to 23. Both teams are getting a little sloppy on both ends of the floor, and UNC is getting the better of it.
• Hansbrough bullies his way through two Kent State defenders for the basket and foul.  UNC up comfortably 72-48 with 7:47 left.
• UNC is shooting 71% in the 2nd half, but they are still allowing some defensive lapses that need to be corrected.
• Give Kent State credit – even though they are down big, they are staying within their offense and are not forcing shots. They are getting some good looks, but can’t seem to find the bottom of the net.
• Mike Scott just came flying through the lane, grabbed a rebound with his right hand and sent it home with authority. “That was awesome, baby!!! Scott is a high-flyer!!!”. Unfortunately, it was only worth two points.
• Hansbrough leaves the game at the 5:00 minute mark with 25 points. Ellington follows him to the sidelines with 17 points. Looks like its garbage time.
• Final score: UNC 90-61.

Kent State showed everybody the blueprint for beating UNC – take away the Tar Heels transition game and force them to run their half court sets. Carolina was much less effective in the half court game and showed some vulnerabilities.

Unfortunately for the Golden Flashes, they didn’t have the depth to hang with Carolina for the full 40 minutes.

With athletes like Lawson, Green and Thompson, UNC is deadly when they push the tempo. And if you choose to single team Hansbrough, you might as well not even show up.

Post from: EveryJoe

1/2 – Kent State versus North Carolina – as it happens