NCAA Tournament 2012: 10 Teams That Could Make the Final Four in New Orleans
After three weeks of close calls and thrilling upsets, the 2011 NCAA tournament has regrettably come to a close, with Kemba Walker and the Connecticut Huskies ousting Shelvin Mack and the Butler Bulldogs in a tournament final game that can only be described as a clunker.
The win gives UConn its third national title in school history, though like any and every Division I coach, Jim Calhoun won't wait long before turning his attention eagerly to next season.
OK, so maybe Calhoun won't be all that enthused, given that his best player (Walker) is likely headed to the NBA while his program may be in store for some serious NCAA sanctions in the not-so-distant future.
Regardless, coaches, players and fans elsewhere have already turned their attention to next year's Final Four in New Orleans, and so have we.
In that spirit, here's a look at 10 teams primed to go deep in the Big Dance in 2012.
For the sake of argument, I will assume that the top NBA draft prospects who haven't already stated outright that they'll be returning to school will make the jump to the pros this summer.
Kentucky Wildcats
1 of 10
We begin with a team that played in this year's Final Four—Kentucky.
It's quite likely that Brandon Knight and Terrence Jones, the team's two best players, will be off to the NBA draft as potential lottery picks. The Wildcats will also be without senior center Josh Harrellson, who played an enormous role in UK's hustle to Houston.
That being said, there will be no shortage of talent on John Calipari's roster come spring of 2012, as he and his staff have already inked four 5-star prospects, three of whom—power forward Anthony Davis, point guard Marquis Teague and small forward Mike Gilchrist—are the best at their respective positions according to Scout.com.
Those youngsters will be able to rely on the veteran talents of players like Darius Miller, DeAndre Liggins, Doron Lamb and Eloy Vargas, each of whom played a significant part in getting Big Blue back to the big time this season.
Florida Gators
2 of 10
Elsewhere in the SEC, the Florida Gators will look to regroup after reaching the Elite Eight but failing to advance past national runner-up Butler.
And, like Coach Cal, Billy Donovan will have plenty of talent with which to do so in Gainesville next year.
The loss of senior forwards Vernon Macklin, Alex Tyus and Chandler Parsons—the SEC Player of the Year—will certainly sting, though the pain should be eased significantly by the expected return of principles like Kenny Boynton, Erving Walker, Patric Young and Erik Murphy.
Joining that solid core will be highly-touted freshman guard Brad Beal, a McDonald's All-American who was just named the 2011 Gatorade National Player of the Year.
That glut of quality guard play, which is the crucial ingredient to any deep tourney run, could keep the Gators chomping into April.
UCLA Bruins
3 of 10
For the third time in five years, Florida had the distinct duty of knocking UCLA out of the NCAA tournament.
Should the two teams meet in next year's edition of March Madness, the tables may finally be turned the Bruins' way.
Assuming Malcolm Lee decides to return for his senior season, coach Ben Howland will have only the departure of talented but inconsistent sophomore forward Tyler Honeycutt to concern himself with, as his roster was without a single, solitary senior this past season.
That lack of senior leadership—an obvious weakness of this year's young and immature Bruins—will become a strength next season, with the likes of Lee, Jerime Anderson and Lazeric Jones stepping in as experienced seniors to guide a roster that might be Howland's deepest since his arrival in Westwood.
Aside from the additions of freshman high-flier Norman Powell and JC transfer De'End Parker, UCLA will welcome the Wear twins, David and Travis, onto the court for the first time since the two transferred from North Carolina.
And with the likes of Reeves Nelson, Joshua Smith and Tyler Lamb expected back, the Bruins could be on their way to their fourth Final Four in six years come spring of 2012.
Duke Blue Devils
4 of 10
Cliche as it may seem, it's tough not to look to college basketball's blue bloods for the next crop of national title contenders.
Despite the graduation of stalwarts like Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith, as well as the seemingly inevitable departure of freshman phenom Kyrie Irving, the Blue Devils will be in prime position to send Mike Krzyzewski to his 12th Final Four.
There will be no shortage of talent returning to Durham next season, including the likes of Seth Curry, Andre Dawkins and Ryan Kelly.
Throw in a stacked recruiting class, highlighted by top-ranked shooting guard Austin Rivers—son of Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers—5-star point guard Quinn Cook and seven-foot center Marshall Plumlee, and Duke will be stacked with plenty of Plumlees and a plethora of talent at Coach K's disposal.
North Carolina Tar Heels
5 of 10
Just across Tobacco Road, North Carolina will have something to say about its arch rival reaching the national semifinals.
There is still plenty of uncertainty surrounding the status of Tar Heel stars Harrison Barnes, John Henson and Tyler Zeller. None of the three has yet to make an official announcement either way, though rumors out of Barnes' home state of Iowa have him returning to Chapel Hill for his sophomore season, despite the likelihood that he would go within the first five picks of the 2011 NBA Draft.
Should that trio return, Roy Williams would have himself a seemingly endless well of talent to pull from, particularly in the backcourt, where Barnes would be joined by Dexter Strickland, Leslie McDonald, Reggie Bullock and, most notably, Kendall Marshall, whose increased role on the team coincided with the Heels' run back to the top of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
As always, Coach Roy has another haul of standout high schoolers coming in to the Dean Dome, with two 5-star prospects—shooting guard P.J. Hairston and small forward James McAdoo, the nephew of NBA Hall-of-Famer Bob McAdoo—to lend a helping hand or two, with or without anyone entering the NBA draft early.
Ohio State Buckeyes
6 of 10
Millions of tournament brackets were busted when UNC reached the Elite Eight but didn't end up finding Ohio State there.
The Buckeyes were knocked out of the running by Kentucky on a brilliant yet heartbreaking shot by Brandon Knight, sending the tourney's No. 1-overall seed packing far earlier than most expected.
That defeat left seniors like Jon Diebler, David Lighty and Dallas Lauderdale without that coveted and widely expected trip to the Final Four in Houston.
And though they will be sorely missed in Columbus, the folks in scarlet and grey will have plenty to cheer about once March Madness 2012 rolls around.
Freshman sensation Jared Sullinger will be back, as will fellow freshmen Aaron Craft and Deshaun Thomas. The return of William Buford is less certain, though he currently projects as a second-round pick, at best, in the 2011 NBA Draft.
That core will be bolstered by a host of 4-star recruits headlined by LaQuinton Ross, a wiry forward out of New Jersey with a questionable attitude and unquestionable talent.
Illinois Fighting Illini
7 of 10
The real dark horse in this collection of teams is Illinois, which struggled to a 20-14 record and a third-round loss to Kansas in the 2011 NCAA tournament.
That being said, Fighting Illini coach Bruce Weber has been building toward this very season ever since the banner year of Deron Williams and Dee Brown, and the subsequent recruiting strikeouts on local products like Sherron Collins and Derrick Rose.
The graduation of talented big men Mike Davis and Mike Tisdale and lead guard Demetri McCamey comes at something of an inopportune time, though the Illini will still have quite a bit of talent and experience to see them through to the next season.
Juniors-to-be Brandon Paul and D.J. Richardson will have to step up in a big way, as will rising sophomores Jereme Richmond, Meyers Leonard and Tyler Griffey.
However, these youngsters, with the help of a 4-star-studded recruiting class, should be willing and more than able to get Illinois over the hump and back on their way to Final Four consideration.
Texas Longhorns
8 of 10
Illinois might well have made something of a run in the tourney had it not run into No. 1 seed Kansas, which, in a tremendous display of "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon," skirted past Texas for the Big 12 tournament title.
Which may leave some wondering, shouldn't Kansas, and not Texas, be considered a threat to make it to New Orleans next year?
Well, sure, the Jayhawks are almost always a threat, per se, but will likely be much less so with the likely departures of the Morris twins, Marcus and Markieff, and Thomas Robinson, not to mention the graduation of role players like Brady Morningstar, Tyrel Reed and Mario Little.
Texas is also due for some significant losses, particularly with senior Gary Johnson having exhausted his eligibility and junior forward Jordan Hamilton projected to go in the first round of the 2011 NBA draft.
The biggest question mark, however, lies with freshman forward Tristan Thompson, who reiterated in mid-March his desire to return to school for his sophomore season, but he has reportedly hired an agent already.
Should he return to play with longtime basketball buddy and incoming freshman Myck Kabongo, along with holdovers like J'Covan Brown and Cory Joseph, head coach Rick Barnes' Horns should be able to hook themselves enough wins to make the short trip to New Orleans for the Final Four.
Louisville Cardinals
9 of 10
As disappointing as Texas' second-round exit was for bracketeers far and wide, perhaps no team drew as much ire in March as Louisville after the Cardinals succumbed to 13th-seeded Morehead State on the very first day of the NCAA tournament.
Rick Pitino led his fairly young team to the championship game of the Big East tournament, where the Cards fell to eventual national-champion UConn, and he might well have seen his squad make a much deeper run if not for the injury to leading rebounder Rakeem Buckles that precluded him from partaking in March Madness.
On the flip side, Buckles should be back at some point during the upcoming season, when he'll be joined by a group loaded with talent and experience that will likely have only one player to replace—departing senior and leading scorer Preston Knowles.
Leading the way will be a trio of seniors-to-be—Terrence Jennings, Kyle Kuric and Jared Swopshire—buttressed by rising juniors like Buckles, Peyton Siva and Mike Marra.
Toss in increased roles for last year's freshman class and a new group of recruits led by 5-star guard Wayne Blackshear, and you've got a dangerous recipe for March Madness success brewing in the Bluegrass State.
Syracuse Orange
10 of 10
To be fair to Louisville regarding its early exit from the tourney, the Cards were far from the only Big East team to sound nary a whimper before bowing out of the field of 68.
Take Syracuse, for instance, a team seeded third in the East bracket that had no trouble handling lowly Indiana State before losing in a nail-biter to conference-foe Marquette.
That finish, however, shouldn't have too much bearing on the expectations of Jim Boeheim and company for the next college basketball season.
After all, the Orange should be missing but one senior—center Rick Jackson—who, though undoubtedly a huge part of the team as evidenced by his averages of 13.1 points and 10.3 rebounds this past season, isn't exactly irreplaceable given the talent buried on Syracuse's depth chart.
The backcourt will be in good hands with Scoop Jardine, Brandon Triche and Dion Waiters doing the bulk of the ball-handling, leaving Kris Joseph and Mookie Jones to score from the wings and Fab Melo to do his best Rick Jackson impression up front.
Fab and his starting five will find plenty of support from a sturdy recruiting class anchored by top-ranked center Rakeem Buckles and 4-star guards Trevor Cooney and Michael Carter-Williams.
As such, 2012 looks like as good a year as ever for Syracuse to return to the Final Four for the first time since some other guy named 'Melo took them to the promised land as a freshman.
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