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I can't help but make my own Top 25 poll for the upcoming college basketball season. Here it goes:

1. North Carolina Tar Heels - After trying to find every excuse to disagree with the consensus, I found out it's impossible. A little hesitant only because of the 40-12 hole they fell into against Kansas in the tourney, but theres no team this year that has the all-around talent Kansas did last year. Tyler Zeller and Danny Green are on UNC's bench, enough said...those guys would be the best player on almost any team in the country and they are coming off the bench for UNC. Its not even fair really!

2. UCLA Bruins - They had a scare in their first game, but you'll have that with a team that focuses on defense. Darren Collison is the best PG in the country and Jrue Holiday gives them a true scoring option for the first time in a long time.

3. Connecticut Huskies - As long as AJ Price stays on the court, this team can beat any team in the country. You saw what Darrell Arthur did with Hansbrough in the tourney, Thabeet could certianly shut him down. Have to put them here instead of in the number one slot simply because of how they finished last year(1st round loss to San Diego) and the fact that I dont believe Price will stay healthy.

4. Louisville Cardinals - The only reason they aren't higher is because of their PG situation. If Edgar Sosa can improve and Terrance Williams proves to be the Point Forward he calls himself, they will be virtually unstoppable with Samardo and Clark in the frontcourt.

5. Pittsburgh Panthers - Yeah, the Big East is reeeaaalllly good. When your conference's third best team has legitimate title hopes, it's basically not fair, share the wealth!! Anyway, Lavance Fields will become an ever better PG this year and Gilbert Brown entering the starting lineup will be a great thing for the Panthers.

6. Tennessee Volunteers - Maybe a bit of a surprise picking them this high, but finally having a PG that is a passer first will prove to be extremely valueable. No knock on Lofton and they will miss his range, but I think Tennessee is actually better off as a team with Maze and Hopson in the backcourt. Wayne Chism is a potential sixth man of the year, if there is such an award in the NCAA.

7. Purdue Boilermakers - They have everything you want in a team: A defensive stopper, a great shooter, good ball movement, a strong post presence, and a scoring guard. The only problem is that there are a lot of teams that are faster and deeper. Keeping Scott Martin would've been great, but they'll move on.

8. Duke Blue Devils - Probably the most underrated team in the country, which is not easy for me to admit being a Duke-hater. They patched up their frontcourt hole and all their blue chippers are one year older and Coach K is one gold medal richer.

9. Michigan State Spartans - As long as they give Delvon Roe enough time to heal his knee, they will have one of the most talented teams in the country. The Lucas to Morgan Show will be extremely entertaining not mention effective. Hopefully Kalin Lucas wont have a mental breakdown when things go bad like Drew Neitzel did at times. Goran Suton might be the most underrated C in the country.

10. Notre Dame Fighting Irish - McAlarney will not shoot 44% from three again, too high of a percentage to maintain for two season, plus the line is moved back. Tory Jackson will have to improve his game even more and they will have to find more help of the bench other than just Luke Zeller. If they do those two things, I think they'll still be the behind UCONN, Pitt, and Louisville. Good team though...

11. Memphis Tigers - Willie Kemp is the key to this team's success. He doesn't need to be Rose, but he needs to take care of the ball and find the open guy, not too much to ask right? Antonio Anderson will thrive this year and we all know about Tyreke, but can Dozier and Taggert provide the muscle missing from Joey Dorsey's departure?

12. Texas Longhorns - Can AJ play the point? I think so. Texas will easily be the best team in the Big-12, sorry Oklahoma!

13. Villanova Wildcats - Scottie Reynolds is the truth at PG and I think Corey Fisher will be a breakout star this year, his shot is so purty, money from anywhere. They have a deep team and so what if their frontcourt isn't the best, they have three guards that will run by almost anyone in the nation...

14. Gonzaga Bulldogs - Maybe the most talented Gonzaga team ever. They have Heytvelt back and hopefully he can drop the Shrooms and dominate like he did two seasons ago. With a veteran PG with the ability to drive, shoot, and pass the rock running the show, this team has final four aspirations. Zags will go as far as Pargo takes them.

15. Georgetown Hoyas - This might be the most mysterious team of them all. I could see them being disappointing and falling out of the top 25 at some point and I could see them getting to the final four. The defense will still be topish in the nation and their new point guard is more of a leader and passer than Wallace was. Greg Monroe and DaJuan Summer might be the best frontcourt in the country.

16. Arizona State Sun Devils - JAMES HARDEN WILL WIN P.O.Y. this year. Okay, I admit, that'll probably be Hansbrough again, but only because of the media bias...haha Anyway, Harden was the most underrated freshman last year and you combine that with a great post presence(pendergraph), two legitimate defenders, and a good passing PG, the Sun Devils have a high ceiling.

17. Marguette Golden Eagles - A Lack of height, the erratic play of James, and Crean not being around will give them trouble this season, but they still have a lot of talent and should be a team ready for a tourney run by the time March comes around.

18. USC Trojans - Hackett, Gibson, and superfreshman Demar DeRozan will be more than enough to contend in the Pac-10. They have some holes, but none that Lil' Romeo can't fill...just kidding

19. Oklahoma Sooners - Blake Griffin's good...blah blah...boring team, maybe they'll lose to another Indiana team in the tourney.

20. Wake Forest Demon Deacons - Al-Farouq Aminu is all you need to know about this team...He's my pick for Freshman of the Year honors. There's probably no one in the ACC that can guard him.

21. Miami Hurricanes - McClinton can't carry them by himself but he might have to at times this season. That and their size issues will keep them from making a deep run in the Tounrnament.

22. Baylor Bears - They return four starters that averaged double figures last season, if they can play any defense this year, they could be a surprise team this season.

23. Florida Gators - Calathes and Erving Walker will lead this talented but young team to the Big Dance.

24. Davidson Wildcats - They lost two starters and Curry is moving to PG. I don't think they will match last years success by any stretch of the imagination, but Curry will certainly still be the electric player everyones talking about. I think they will lose to NC State, West Virginia, Purdue, but beat Stanford in the non-conference. If they advance to play the Sooners in the NIT tip-off, that will be the most anticipated matchup of the early season.

25. VCU Rams - VCU, Creighton, and Siena will be fighting to be this year's breakout mid-major. VCU has one thing all of them don't, a true point guard. Eric Maynor will have serious All-American chances this season and their great defense will carry the Rams to another Colonial title...but VMI, who just beat Kentucky in lexington, will be righ ton their heels.

Honorable Mention: 

- Creighton Bluejays - P'Allen Stinnett is the best guard no one knows about...he put up 30 points in his season debut against New Mexico and it won't stop there. With the bluejays fast paced sharp shooting style and aggrivating defense, the BlueJays could make noise in March.


- San Diego Toreros - All five starters return from the team that beat St. Mary's, Kentucky, UConn, and Gonzaga last season. They just lost to UNLV, but they were without their standout forward I LOVE ESPN Pomare. When he comes back they will be a team on a mission.

- St. Mary's Gaels - The Aussies are taking over. With Patty Mills running the point theres no limit to what they could do. They need to get Indiana transfer Ben Allen involved in the post if they expect to have a chance to advance to the sweet sixteen/elite eight.

- Syracuse Orange - They had injuries last year and still almost found their way into the Big Dance, this year with Eric Devendorf back, they should have an easy time getting a bid.

- UNLV Runnin Rebels - One of the teams to look out for this season. They have great talent and an even better coach. They could knock off some teams in the tournament.

- Siena Saints - We'll find out if the hype is real with this team pretty early when they play Tennessee, Pitt, and Kansas.

- Temple Owls - Fran Dunphy has turned this program around and Dionte Christmas will challenge Terrell Holloway for A-10 player of the year.

- Kansas Wildcats - You know what they do...they still have the glue that held the title team together, Sherron Collins, and probably has the best recruiting class coming in this year. Don't sleep on ‘em

Season Awards: 

P.O.Y. - Stephen Curry, Davidson: yeah, I know Hanbrough and I wanna pick James Harden, because he's the only true scorer on ASU's team, but I think with the hype Curry produced in the NCAAs, he will ride that and his new position to a POY award.

F.O.Y. - Al-Farouq Aminu, Wake Forest: He'll be the number one scoring option and has a chance to lead upsets agains two top ten teams. If he helps Wake beat UNC or Duke, he'll win F.O.Y. for sure. Demar Derozan would be my number two for this award.

Coach of the Year - Trent Johnson, LSU: After winning Pac-10 COY honors with Stanford, he will lead LSU back to the tourney with at least 20 wins and earn COY nationally