With most basketball teams working hard in their practice gyms, the new season is right around the corner. Some of the teams—even those which had done pretty well in March this year—are facing tough challenges ahead.
A few of the teams lost key players to the NBA draft. Others are simply due for rebuilding. The ability to adjust to the changes will determine the fate of the team in the upcoming season--even for the reigning champion on the list.
1. North Carolina
The Tar Heels lost four of their starters to the NBA draft, including the former Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough. Usually, that kind of loss would result in a team taking years to rebuild. Fortunately for North Carolina, the recruits this year are strong as usual, including the ESPNU’s No.2-ranked freshman John Henson, as well as twin forwards David and Travis Wear from Santa Ana, California.
Expectations are high for the Tar Heels, yet there is no guarantee that what happened last season will transfer over to this year. With the veterans gone for the pros, North Carolina would just have to tutor the young kids as soon as possible.
2. Duke
Gerald Henderson decided to go pro, and Elliot Williams transferred to Memphis. So the prospects of the Blue Devils are anything but promising. The somewhat comforting news is that Duke managed to recruit John Wall, arguably the best point guard in his batch. On top of that, Andre Dawkins opted for an early graduation from high school and brought more depth to the guard position. Yet Coach K’s commitment to the program at Durham still remains in doubt, as he renewed his obligations with Team USA. The Blue Devils better hope that their head coach holds their college in similar esteem as their country.
3. Connecticut
The 7-foot-3 center Hasheem Thabeet was drafted at the second pick by Memphis Grizzlies. Cornerstone players including Jeff Adrien, Craig Austrie and A.J. Price left for good. With three new players entering the starting lineup, the Huskies are seriously downsized as compared to the last season. Fortunately, with one of the country’s top-ranked freshman class joining the squad, Connecticut has the potential to take over the Big East again—provided that the chemistry between the old and new players clicks.
4. Maryland
The Terps have been stumbling ever since they won the national championships in 2002. Head coach Gary Williams’ failure to bring in big-time recruits has been held as the main reason of Maryland’s perennial underperformance. Although the Terps did manage to secure a NCAA spot last season, they could not get any further than the second round.
With point guard Greivis Vasquez staying for another year and ACC rivals such as UNC and Duke all losing major players, the odds are slightly tilted in favor of Maryland, whose roster has mostly been kept intact. Lacking the help from any top-tier rookies, the Terps would just have to rely on the returnees a lot more.
5. Oklahoma
College News cover boy Blake Griffin is gone. For good. Now is the time for the Sooners to get back to kind of game they played in the pre-BG era. With the departure of the National Player of the Year, Coach Jeff Capel plans to tune his offense a little bit more up-tempo.
The 22.7-ppt deficit left behind by Griffin would be filled up by faster turns of the ball. Willie Warren—the top scorer among Big 12 freshmen last year—and Tony Crocker—one of the best defenders in NCAA—would do their best to prevent a post-BG slide. Conference rivals such as Kansas and Texas have finished rebuilding. Whether the young Sooners could handle the pressure will determine Oklahoma’s fate comes March.
