College Basketball's 5 Dark Horse National Title Contenders
When discussing the upcoming college basketball season, names like Duke, Michigan State and Pittsburgh inevitably come to the surface when conversing about national title contenders. But these days, college basketball has just gotten so difficult to predict and handicap.
The landscape of the current game is ripe for teams like Butler and other relative “dark horses" to emerge from the shadows to become major players on the scene while traditional big name powers falter and stumble as we saw with North Carolina last season.
At this point last year, we had teams like Connecticut, North Carolina and Michigan ranked as top fifteen caliber teams.
Each of them ended up having underwhelming campaigns with all three failing to reach the NCAA Tournament.
Who knows, maybe we could see a team like the No. 7 ranked Kansas Jayhawks take a Tar Heel like tumble this season after losing so much important talent from last year’s squad.
Remember, when it comes to college athletics, anything is possible.
Here’s a look at five teams that didn’t make the initial top ten of the first USA Today Coach’s Poll but still have the the type of talent to make a run towards a national championship this season.
1. Missouri Tigers
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The state of Kansas seems to be getting a lot of the preseason love, seeing as both the Jayhawks and Wildcats are ranked in the top ten to start the season. But it could be the state’s next-door neighbor that might be the real home to the Big 12‘s true top team.
The Missouri Tigers come into the season looking like the conference’s best defensive team after allowing an impressive 66 points a game last year.
Coach Mike Anderson has his group focused and prepared to play suffocating, stifling defense night in and night out, and their conditioning and grind it out style of play routinely gives them an extra edge over the competition.
The unquestioned leader of the Tigers is guard Kim English, a 6‘6 junior. English led the team with 14 points a game last year and is the type of steady, dependable player Missouri needs.
English will be joined in the backcourt by fellow junior Marcus Denmon, the team’s top three point shooter.
In the frontcourt, the return of Justin Safford, the team’s only senior, from an ACL injury is a major boost and 6'8 junior forward Laurence Bowers, who averaged 10 points a game last year, is emerging as a valuable offensive contributor.
The one factor that could push Missouri over the top is if superstar recruit Tony Mitchell is granted eligibility. The 6‘8 forward has one and done type potential and would provide a huge boost to the Tigers’ frontcourt. But it remains to be seen if the NCAA will clear him for the season or not.
With or without Mitchell, this team is primed for a rise to the top of the Big 12 as long as they buy into Anderson’s philosophy and keep up the defensive ways that last year’s squad was known for.
2. Georgetown Hoyas
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The Big East isn’t necessarily considered to be wide open this season as the Pitt Panthers come into the year as the consensus favorite to win the conference crown. But there’s certainly room for other contenders to emerge.
One of those teams is the Georgetown Hoyas.
Yes, the Hoyas lose their best player from a year ago, imposing center Greg Monroe, who was selected with the seventh pick by the Detroit Pistons in the 2010 NBA Draft. But this was far from a one band.
Georgetown returns one of the best and most productive backcourts in the country with seniors Austin Freeman and Chris Wright along with junior Jason Clark. The trio averaged a combined 41 points per game last year.
Wright looks to be one of the top point guards entering the season and his distribution and scoring ability really makes the Hoyas offense go.
The 6‘3 Freeman, who led the team with 16 points a game last year, is one of the best offensive players the Big East has to offer this year.
6‘9 Forward Julian Vaughn, who started every game last season, will likely step into the center position as a fill-in for Monroe which means there has to be somebody that joins the party at the four spot.
Candidates include Henry Sims, Jerrelle Benimon and intriguing freshman Nate Lubick.
There’s no doubt Monroe will be missed - you don’t lose 16 points and nine rebounds a game and not feel it. There’s a gaping seven foot hole in the frontcourt that needs to be filled but coach John Thompson III we’ll find a way. He did it when Roy Hibbert left, when Patrick Ewing Jr. left and now he’ll figure out a way to make up for the loss of Monroe.
The Hoyas’ backcourt will have to carry them during the early stretches, but as long as the frontcourt is playing at a satisfactory level once conference play rolls around, this is a Georgetown team that has the capability to roll up a lot of wins this season.
After an embarrassing and uninspired loss to Ohio in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last year, it will be interesting to see how big the chip on Georgetown’s shoulder is this season.
3. Florida Gators
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After winning consecutive national championships in 2006 and 2007, Florida coach Billy Donovan looked like he was the king of the college basketball universe.
Donovan turned down an opportunity to coach an up and coming Orlando Magic team in the NBA in order to return to Florida and savor in the dynasty it looked like he was creating in Gainesville.
Looking back on the last three years, it’s hard to say that was the best decision.
John Calipari has restored Kentucky as the “it" team in the SEC while Donovan’s Gators have fallen back to the pack.
Last year, the Gators finally found their way back into the tournament after a two year absence, but all they had left to show for it in the end was a first round double overtime loss to BYU.
After three campaigns that haven’t come close to living up to Florida’s championship years, this season looks to be a great opportunity for Donovan to bring his program back to glory.
Florida returns all five starters from last season’s squad including three that are seniors.
Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton, the team’s leading scorer from a year ago, make up one of the most talented and versatile backcourts in the confrence. But it's 6‘9 forward Chandler Parsons who could be the most intriguing player on the team.
Parsons averaged 12 points and seven rebounds a game last season in a year where he improved his game dramatically from the beginning of the season to the end.
Parsons will join Vernon Macklin, a former Georgetown transfer, along with 6‘8 Alex Tyus to make up a very formidable frontcourt that’s capable of getting it done on both ends of the court.
In the end, there’s no doubt that Florida’s experience will be a huge benefit to them in the SEC East, where traditional contenders like Kentucky and Tennessee are trying to break in new key players.
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4. Illinois Fighting Illini
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Demetri McCamey, Mike Tisdale and Mike Davis.
Those are the three names every Illini fan is banking on to have huge years this season. The talented senior trio gives Illinois and coach Bruce Weber a legitimate shot at winning a Big Ten title if all breaks well.
It all starts with McCamey, a 6‘3 point guard who led the team in points, assists and minutes last year. The senior may have first round pick buzz going into the season, but he’ll have to improve on some key areas if he wants to make that a reality.
McCamey led the Big Ten Conference with nearly seven assists a game last season, but he also turned the ball over far too much.
His passing skills and court vision are both top notch but there are times when the mental part of his game lapses and he gets frustrated.
It’s up to the other senior leaders on this team, Davis and Tisdale, to make sure McCamey keeps his focus and his composure.
Davis, a 6‘9 forward, could be the league’s best rebounder, but he could stand to diversify his game a bit and improve on the nuances of being a big man such as becoming a better free throw shooter.
Tisdale, who averaged nearly 12 points a game last year, is a vital part of the offensive game and has the shooting touch to create mismatches when the ball is in his hands.
The other name to watch is sophomore guard D.J. Richardson, who is coming off a strong freshman season in which he averaged 10 points a game.
Bruce Weber and his team were left on the outside of the tournament looking in last season even though the Illini had a pretty strong 21-15 resume. With this type of senior leadership, it looks like Illinois has what it takes this year to not only return to the NCAA field, but to actually make a pretty deep run once they get in.
5. Washington Huskies
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After last season’s pitiful showing, it looks like the Pac-10 conference is on life support and in need of a savior.
That savior could be the Washington Huskies.
The Huskies, who finished 26-10 and reached the regional semifinals last year, have a lot of important pieces coming back this season.
Their one key loss is Quincy Pondexter, who led the team in scoring and rebounding last season and ended up being a first round draft choice in the 2010 NBA Draft.
Replacing Pondxter’s 19 points and seven rebounds a game won’t be easy but coach Lorenzo Romar has some quality talent at his his disposal.
The player that has to make the biggest leap in production is point guard Isaiah Thomas. The 5‘8 junior is one of the most skilled players in the conference but he has to become a better decision maker and distributor.
Another player that has to continue to improve is Thomas’ backcourt mate Abdul Gaddy, a former McDonald’s All American who failed to make the impact many expected from him last season.
There's talk of Gaddy's NBA potential but he has to provide this team with more than four points a game.
If Gaddy and Thomas can work together consistently, there is enough talent in the frontcourt with guys like Matthew Bryan-Ameaning taking up space for this team to really make some headway in the conference.
The talent is there for a big run, now it’s up to coach Romar to motivate and manage them to the success they’re capable of.
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