College Basketball's 5 Most Important Storylines So Far

I'll be the first one to say that the beginning of college basketball—and in reality, most sports—typically doesn't mean very much.

There are usually very few highly anticipated matchups during the first month, and most teams are attempting to adjust to their new rosters.

Coaches are working out the kinks of their rotations before conference play begins, where the games really start to matter.

However, this doesn't mean that the first month of the season is completely worthless. Certain players and teams have jumped out for good or bad.

Here are a couple things that won't be highlighted but should be mentioned:

1. Duke is as good, if not better, than last year. They trounced a good Kansas State team and completely shut down All-American Jacob Pullen (1-of-12 FG, four points). They are still the favorite to win it all.

2. Baylor star LaceDarius Dunn and Kansas freshman stud Josh Selby ARE eligible. Dunn debuted a couple nights ago, and Selby will be playing shortly. These two phenomenal players had major eligibility questions, but now Baylor and Kansas are absolutely Final Four contenders.

3. Kentucky freshman big man Enes Kanter IS NOT eligible. Luck was not on Kanter's side, as he was ruled permanently ineligible (Kentucky is appealing). This probably takes Kentucky from possible Final Four contender to a Sweet 16 team. Still not bad, but it's not what John Calipari was signed on to accomplish.

Kenneth Faried Is the Next Great Mid-Major Player

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DAYTON, OH - MARCH 20: Kenneth Faried #35 of the Morehead State Eagles drives to the hoop against the Louisville Cardinals during the first round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the University of Dayton Arena on March 20, 2009 in Day

I wrote way back in the summer that Morehead State big man Kenneth Faried could be the "next" Stephen Curry. That is, a player who comes out of a small school to take the college basketball world by storm for a year and leads his team to some upsets.

While the Eagles have yet to upset anyone, Faried is clearly a monster. In his last two games against powerhouses Florida and Ohio State, Faried posted the following numbers. Keep in mind that Florida's strength is its frontcourt and Ohio State possesses possibly the best big man in the country in Jared Sullinger.

Vs. Florida: 20 points on 10-of-17 shooting, 18 rebounds, seven offensive, two blocks. The Eagles lost by only six, 61-55. Florida coach Billy Donovan said after the game that Faried "totally destroyed our frontcourt.... That was definitely an incredible performance by a terrific player."

Vs. Ohio State: 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting, 12 rebounds, five offensive, five steals, two blocks. The score, 64-45, was closer than it shows, as the Buckeyes did not pull away until the last six minutes, when Faried picked up his fourth foul.

If I was a Duke or another top-level team looking to get a No. 1 seed, I would be praying that Morehead State doesn't make it into the NCAAs, because this kid can go for 20-10 every night.

Ohio State Is a Better Team This Year

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GAINESVILLE, FL - NOVEMBER 16: Guard David Lighty #23 of the Ohio State Buckeyes drives upcourt against the Florida Gators November 16, 2010 at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

There was a ton of speculation in Buckeye Land as to whether the basketball team could actually be better than it was last year after losing the player of the year in Evan Turner.

Well, it certainly looks like it.

This team has completely changed its identity from last year, and it has paid off. Last year, it was Evan Turner, Evan Turner, three-point shot, Evan Turner, Evan Turner.

Now? This team has looked like the most balanced team in the country. The trio of William Buford, David Lighty and Jared Sullinger has picked up the massive amount of production left by Turner. Lighty has increased his scoring load, Sullinger is a double-double machine down low and Buford has more or less taken over the role of bringing the ball up.

Then there's sharpshooter Jon Diebler still stroking it from deep and one of the best scoring sixth men in the country in freshman DeShaun Thomas coming off the bench for an easy 10 points and five boards every night. Don't forget about bruising big man Dallas Lauderdale, who makes drivers hesitant about coming into the paint.

The biggest surprise on this team has been freshman point guard Aaron Craft, who was regarded as an afterthought compared to Sullinger and Thomas. Watching them eventually dismantle Florida (at Florida, which is always a tough environment), Craft shocked me with his poise and excellent decision-making. He doesn't force anything and is good enough offensively to make shots if defenders don't respect him.

This team can absolutely beat anyone in the country, and I wouldn't be shocked if come April they were playing for the national championship.

North Carolina Continues to Struggle

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CLEMSON, SC - JANUARY 13: Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels against the Clemson Tigers at Littlejohn Coliseum on January 13, 2010 in Clemson, South Carolina. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

You're going to see a lot of North Carolina coach Roy Williams looking like this for a while.

North Carolina has struggled out of the gate, losing to Vanderbilt and Minnesota. While the Tar Heels are far more talented than either of those teams, they still have not put all the pieces together.

Junior guard Larry Drew has not improved that much from last year, and it wouldn't be surprising to see freshman guard Kendall Marshall take over the point guard spot. As a whole, the team is turning the ball over way too much, and if that doesn't change, the Tar Heels are going to struggle throughout the season.

Freshman phenom Harrison Barnes has yet to break out and take over this team. It looks as though no one on the Tar Heels has made it apparent that he is the "alpha dog" the way Tyler Hansbrough did a few years back. Barnes is the prime candidate to take this role.

The good news is that it is still very early and those losses probably won't mean much in the end, as both Vanderbilt and Minnesota should be pretty good this year, meaning they won't be bad losses. The Tar Heels have two very tough tests coming up at Illinois and home against Kentucky. Should they play well, not necessarily win, that will be a great sign that the Tar Heels will return to the Dance after a sabbatical.

UConn Guard Kemba Walker Is the Most Improved Player in the Country

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LOUISVILLE, KY - FEBRUARY 01: Kemba Walker #15 of the Connecticut Huskies dribbles during the Big East Conference game against the Louisville Cardinals on February 1, 2010 at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

I know it's only been four games, but what junior guard Kemba Walker is doing right now hasn't been seen since Kevin Durant was destroying teams at Texas.

There had been rumors about Walker's summer where he shined at the LeBron James and Adidas camps. He also played well as part of the group of college players that played against the USA squad before they went to the FIBA championships.

Well, Walker is averaging 30 points, including a 42-point game with five rebounds, and is shooting 52 percent from the field.

This hasn't been against totally weak opponents, as the Huskies beat No. 2 Michigan State last night (Nov. 23) behind Walker's 30 points on 10-of-19 shooting. They also beat a good Wichita State team as Walker put up 31 points in just 23 minutes en route to an 83-79 victory.

Mr. Walker is almost singlehandedly making UConn look like an automatic tournament team, and him playing this well gives the Huskies the ability to beat anybody.

Is he going to run out of gas and come back down to earth? Probably, but hopefully it takes him a while. If he doesn't, this is the Player of the Year, and it isn't close.

Freshmen Are Making Major Impacts

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LEXINGTON, KY - NOVEMBER 12: Terrence Jones #3 of the Kentucky Wildcats celebrates during the game against East Tennessee State Buccaneers at Rupp Arena on November 12, 2010 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Out of the current Top 25 teams, 15 of them currently have freshmen playing major minutes. The top three teams (Duke, Michigan State and Ohio State) have a total of six freshmen making huge contributions.

Kyrie Irving is starting for Duke and made Jacob Pullen look like a high school freshman when the Blue Devils dominated Kansas State.

Michigan State is bringing big man Adreian Payne and guard Keith Appling off the bench.

Ohio State has the best freshman big man in the country, Jared Sullinger, starting and is bringing big time scorer DeShaun Thomas and steady point guard Aaron Craft off the bench.

Then there's Kentucky, where the bunch who replaced John Wall and Co. is excelling, led by Brandon Knight and Terrence Jones (pictured).

Add in freshman starters Fab Melo (Syracuse), Josh Selby (soon to be at Kansas), Perry Jones (Baylor), Joe Jackson, Chris Crawford and Tarik Black (Memphis), Cory Joseph and Tristan Thompson (Texas), Tobias Harris (Tennessee) and Harrison Barnes (North Carolina), and this freshman class may very well decide who makes it far come March.

At the very least, the race for Freshman of the Year will be very cluttered and should come down to the wire.