College Basketball Predictions:The 6 Most Overrated Players Heading into 2011-12

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Every year, each team works hard to get ready for the upcoming season.  Constant conditioning, lifting and playing basketball on repeat until the season starts. 

Meanwhile, the media prepares for the start of the season by naming preseason All-Americans and trying to project who are going to be the best players next season. 

These six players' hype has carried over from the end of last year, and I think they aren't going to produce as well as they did last year.

This isn't saying that they aren't good players; they just aren't as good as everyone is projecting them to be in the 2011-12 season. 

6. Lamont "Momo" Jones, Point Guard (Iona)

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Enough said that he is now going to Iona.  He was hyped a lot out of high school and to transfer after the one of the best players in the nation leaves for the draft, good luck scoring ten points a game next season. 

5. Marshall Plumlee, Center (Duke)

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Marshall Plumlee has bust written all over him.  I know that both of his brothers are on the Duke team, but I think that Marshall is getting over hyped because of his brothers’ success. 

I think that he will be a good player that doesn’t make it to the NBA.  I think that his brothers took a long time to mature into their bodies, and I think Marshall Plumlee will be the same. 

He shouldn’t have been invited to the McDonald's All-American game as well.  I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t see playing time for the next couple of years. 

4. Josh Smith, Center (UCLA)

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I think that Josh Smith has a lot of potential to be very good.  I don’t think that that this next year will be what everyone is expecting, though. 

With the loss of a very good defender in Tyler Honeycutt, Josh Smith will need to step up on defense.  As a true freshman, he had 11 points and six rebounds, and if he wants to live up to his potential, he will definitely have to step up his post game. 

I think this next year he will struggle, and then his junior season, he will finally get it right and have a breakout season.

3. Kenny Boynton, Point Guard (Florida)

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Kenny Boynton will end up becoming a first round draft pick when he enters the draft.  I think that Boynton will be overrated this upcoming year. 

Many people have him projected to become a first or second team All-American, and I just don’t see it.  He did average 14 points a game, but without Chandler Parson, he will be the defenses main focus. 

I think that this extra attention will make it hard for Boynton to succeed the way he did last year.  I think he will have a down year this year and hopefully return to Gainesville for his senior season. 

2. Jared Sullinger, Center (Ohio State)

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He is an amazing player that will be a good NBA player, but next year, he will struggle after losing three seniors.  David Lighty, Dallas Lauderdale and John Diebler all graduated, forcing Jared Sullinger to step up even more. 

He was at his best in the one on one matchups in the post because the defense had to respect the range of David Lighty and John Diebler. 

John Diebler is the Big Ten’s all time leading three point scorer and will be missed greatly.  I expect Jared Sullinger to leave for the draft after next season, but he will not have the first team All-American performance that he had as a freshman. 

1. Austin Rivers, Point Guard (Duke)

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He has so much to live up to being in the media spotlight his entire senior season of high school that I just don’t think he will have as good of a year as everyone thinks he will. 

Don’t get me wrong, I think he will average 15 points and five assists, but I think without a Nolan Smith to learn from, he will struggle as a true freshman. 

I expect Austin Rivers to stay for his sophomore season and eventually become a first round draft pick.