2012-13 College Hoops Preview!

Greetings! This may be the fastest "league" preview I've ever written, so bear with me... and I know that there were games played on Friday night, so I'm officially late. Alas, here we go! Conference-by-conference first...

ACC

• Champion - Duke
• Sleeper - Florida State
• All-Conference Team (POY in italics) - Lorenzo Brown (NC State, G), Michael Snaer (Florida State, G), James Michael McAdoo (North Carolina, F), CJ Leslie (NC State, F), Mason Plumlee (F), 
• Tourney Locks - Duke, NC State, North Carolina, Florida State

Big East

• Champion - Louisville
• Sleeper - Syracuse
• All-Conference Team - Michael Carter-Williams (Syracuse, G), Shabazz Napier (UConn, G), Otto Porter (Georgetown, F), Chane Behanan (Louisville, F), Gorgui Dieng (Louisville, C)
• Tourney Locks - Louisville, Syracuse, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh

Big 10

• Champion - Indiana
• Sleeper - Michigan State
• All-Conference Team - Trey Burke (Michigan, G), Aaron Craft (Ohio State, F), Deshaun Thomas (Ohio State, F), Trevor Mbakwe (Minnesota, F), Cody Zeller (Indiana, C)
• Tourney Locks - Indiana, Michigan, Ohio State, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Minnesota

Big 12

• Champion - Kansas
• Sleeper - Texas (despite Rick Barnes)
• All-Conference Team - Pierre Jackson (Baylor, G), Le'Bryan Nash (Oklahoma State, G), Rodney McGruder (Kansas State, G), Aaric Murray (West Virginia, PF/C), Jeff Withey (Kansas, C)
• Tourney Locks - Kansas, Texas, West Virginia, Baylor, Kansas State, Oklahoma State

Pac 12 (*- Muhammed is ineligible at the moment)

• Champion - Arizona
• Sleeper - Stanford
• All-Conference Team - Mark Lyons (Arizona, G), Allen Crabbe (Cal, G), Shabazz Muhammed (UCLA, F)*, Kyle Anderson (UCLA, G/F), Andre Roberson (Colorado, F/C)
• Tourney Locks - Arizona, UCLA (yes, that's the full list)

SEC

• Champion - Missouri
• Sleeper - Florida
• All-Conference Team - Phil Pressey (Missouri, G), BJ Young (Arkansas, G), Archie Goodwin (Kentucky, G), Patric Young (Florida, F), Nerlens Noel (Kentucky, C)
• Tourney Locks - Kentucky, Florida, Missouri

Mid-Majors

• Top 25 Teams - Creighton, Memphis, UNLV, San Diego State, Gonzaga
• Tourney Teams - VCU, Butler, Temple, BYU, New Mexico, Northern Iowa, St. Mary's, New Mexico State, Murray State
• All-Mid-Major Team - Isaiah Canaan (Murray State, G), Matthew Dellavedova (St. Mary's, G), Mike Moser (UNLV, F), Doug McDermott (Creighton, F), Elias Harris (Gonzaga, F)

Moving on to the national picture...

My Top 5

1. Indiana - The fuss is warranted. Cody Zeller is the best big man (and the best player IMO) in the country, and he's surrounded by a nice cast. Christian Watford returns as a seasoned veteran (read: senior) that has gone through everything and is a top-50 player nationally. In addition, keep an eye on swingman Victor Oladipo who will be skying out of the gym nightly.
2. Ohio State - The Big 10 is pretty good (you'll see) this year and Ohio State is still loaded. Thad Matta is an elite coach at this point and he returns big-time talent. Aaron Craft and Deshaun Thomas are returning all-american type players and they are solid as a rock. Not flashy, but they'll defend like crazy and you'll see them at the end.
3. Louisville - Depth! Look at any "top 100" list this preseason and you'll see 4 Louisville players on them with some even with all 4 in the top 50. Peyton Siva (still in college!) is about as veteran as it gets at the point. Dieng is the best shot-blocker in the country. Wayne Blackshear and Behanen will man the wings, and the depth is really there as well. Add in Rick Pitino and go to work.
4. Michigan - More Big Ten you say? The best conference in the country this year has 3 reps in the top 5. Michigan returns All-American guard Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway, Jr. to form the nation's top returning backcourt. Add in top recruit Mitch McGary and returners like Jon Horford, with a big-time coach? Bingo.
5. Duke - My ACC champ lands at #5. It isn't the endless parade of NBA talent like it used to be, but Coach K still does work. Mason Plumlee is the anchor as a 4th-year starter, and guys like Ryan Kelly and Seth Curry are coming back as well. The real X-factor is probably Freshman Rasheed Sulaimon, who will challenge for PT right away, but I just can't see a dip here. They'll be in the mix.

All-Freshman Team

• G - Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State - Starting PG for OSU from Day one. Highly touted as a versatile defender, but the biggest edge he has is scoring. Easily the biggest lock for playing time. 
• G - Kyle Anderson, UCLA - You see "guard" by his name... but Anderson is 6'9. He's drawn Magic Johnson comparisons for his vision/passing and while that's likely ridiculous, there seems to be no doubt about his ability. He's a match-up nightmare.
• F - Shabazz Muhammed, UCLA* (ed: ineligible right now) - The consensus #1 Freshman in terms of talent. There are some eligibility issues around him, but he's the best scorer of this class, and is pretty much the go-to-guy for UCLA off the bat.
• F - Alex Poytharess, Kentucky - Combo forward who is probably an NBA lottery pick based on talent. Kentucky has a million guys, but he's the best bet (other than their center... who we'll get to) for big production.
• C - Nerlens Noel, Kentucky - Dominant shot-blocker/rebounder in the Anthony Davis mold. He'll obviously draw those comparisons, but he's not near the offensive threat that Davis was. Still unquestionably the leader in the clubhouse here, though.

All-Americans

• PG - Trey Burke, Michigan - Burke is the best point guard in the country and the only returning All-American from last year. He's got a big load on his shoulders as a sophomore, but he'll be an elite player. (Runner-up: Phil Pressey, Missouri)
• SG - Michael Snaer, Florida State - Terrific defender and that's why he gets my nod here, but he also made a huge number of big shots for FSU this year, and I think he leads them to a top-20 team. (Runner-up: Le'Bryan Nash, Oklahoma State)
• SF - Doug McDermott, Creighton - Can flat-out score and he gets his due this season. I see a fringe NBA lottery pick who can do everything but simply just lacks elite "burst" at the next level. For this year in college, however? I'm all-in. (Runner-up: Shabazz Muhammed, UCLA)
• PF - Mike Moser, UNLV - Relentless rebounder. Veteran presence. 20-point scorer. All of these things are Mike Moser. Done and done. (Runner-up: James Michael McAdoo, North Carolina)
• C - Cody Zeller, Indiana - As mentioned above, Zeller is the best player in America. He scores, he runs the floor, he protects the rim, and he rebounds. Did I mention that he can shoot, too? Easy choice. (Runner-up: Jeff Withey, Kansas)

Tourney Picks (as ridiculous as that is on November 10th)

• Sweet 16 - Indiana, Louisville, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio State, Duke, Florida State, NC State, Arizona, Michigan State, Missouri, Creighton, UNLV, San Diego State, Kansas, Minnesota
• Elite 8 - Indiana, Louisville, Michigan, Ohio State, Duke, Arizona, UNLV, Kansas
• Final 4 - Indiana, Ohio State, Duke, Kansas
• The Pick - Ohio State over Indiana (reverse jinx alert)

Enjoy it, everyone!