Kentucky Wildcats and the Top 10 Programs That'll Be Forced To Rebuild in 2011

After a great season of college basketball, it's time to start looking forward to next year.  

The UConn Huskies came out on top this year in what was a great tournament run, one of the best in college basketball history.

Unlike the NBA, college basketball players come and go every four years, or in some cases, less (cough, cough Kentucky). 

Here are 10 programs that will be forced to rebuild for the 2011-2012 season.

James Evens serves as a National Featured Columnist for college football and basketball, as well as the FC for the Purdue Boilermakers.     Follow him on Twitter or like him on Facebook.

Kentucky

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HOUSTON, TX - APRIL 02: Doron Lamb #20 of the Kentucky Wildcats goes to the hoop against Kemba Walker #15 of the Connecticut Huskies during the National Semifinal game of the 2011 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship at Reliant Stadium on April

Obviously, Kentucky will need to rebuild next season.  Following Terrance Jones leaving for the NBA as well as Brandon Knight, the Wildcats will need to rebuild for next season.

This is nothing new for Kentucky however, as they did just fine this season after losing all five starters to the NBA last year.

Coach Cal is a fierce recruiter and has a great class coming in for next season as well.  

The Wildcats will be just fine in 2012.

Duke

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ANAHEIM, CA - MARCH 24: Kyrie Irving #1 of the Duke Blue Devils draws contact against Kyryl Natyazhko #1 and Lamont Jones #12 of the Arizona Wildcats during the west regional semifinal of the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament at the Honda Center on M

Although the Plumlees are returning next season, it will still be a rebuilding process for Duke. Losing Singler and Smith will be huge losses especially on the leadership front.

Those two guys did what it took to win, and Nolan Smith was a game changer.

Duke will be just fine, however. With a great class coming in including Austin Rivers, it will be easy for Coach K to get the pieces back together.

Expect the Blue Devils to be title contenders once again but with new characters. 

Purdue

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CHICAGO, IL - MARCH 20: JaJuan Johnson #25 of the Purdue Boilermakers shoots against the Virginia Commonwealth Rams in the first half during the third round of the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament at the United Center on March 20, 2011 in Chicago, Il

Purdue is a team that will return many veteran pieces but are losing two of their key players from last season, JaJuan Johnson and E'Twaun Moore.

Purdue will need to learn to score without these guys and will have to figure out how to get it done without 25 and 33 out on the floor for 40 minutes.

With the return of Robbie Hummel off a knee injury, this transition should be smoother, but at the beginning of the season, things could be a bit bumpy for the Boilermakers.

UConn

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HOUSTON, TX - APRIL 04: Kemba Walker #15 of the Connecticut Huskies goes to the basket against Shelvin Mack #1 of the Butler Bulldogs during the National Championship Game of the 2011 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at Reliant Stadium on Apri

Let's face it, UConn was a young team this season, but their team consisted of Kemba Walker doing work every game, and they were successful. 

A player like Walker is irreplaceable, but so is the experience gained by the younger players winning the national title this season.

Either way, UConn is going to have to change some things up in order to make up for the absence of Walker.

St. Johns

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NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 10: Dion Waiters #3 of the Syracuse Orange handles the ball against Dwight Hardy #12 of the St. John's Red Storm during the quarterfinals of the 2011 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament presented by American Eagle Outfitters at Madi

The Red Storm took the nation by storm this year. While they were hot, they were one of the best teams in the nation.

They beat UConn and Duke this season.

They had a ton of seniors on their roster, however and are going to have to start fresh. Good thing for them that they have one of the top recruiters in the country who has secured the nation's No. 1 recruiting class for next season.

Butler

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HOUSTON, TX - APRIL 04: Matt Howard #54 of the Butler Bulldogs walks off of the court after losing to the Connecticut Huskies in the National Championship Game of the 2011 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at Reliant Stadium on April 4, 2011 in

If Shelvin Mack leaves, it could be bad for Butler.

Either way, they are going to have to rebuild and try to do something about the void that Matt Howard is going to leave when he graduates.

Trying to find a way to even replace his presence a little will be difficult, but surely, Brad Stevens will have an answer; it's hard to see Butler falling.

Brigham Young

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HOUSTON - APRIL 03: Jimmer Fredette of BYU received the 2011 Naismith Trophy Presented by AT&T at the NABC Guardians of the Game Awards Program on April 3, 2011 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)

Let's face it, this team was basically a one-man wrecking crew.

Jimmer was the face of this team, and the only one who is anything near professional caliber. 

It's going to be tough for BYU to ever be as good as they were this season, and it's doubtful they can get back to the national scene for a few years.

Jimmer is a huge loss, and it's time to rebuild.

San Diego State

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ANAHEIM, CA - MARCH 24: Jamaal Franklin #21 of the San Diego State Aztecs reacts after a play against the Connecticut Huskies during the west regional semifinal of the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament at the Honda Center on March 24, 2011 in Anaheim

Although they return some key players next season, the Aztecs will need to rebuild after some key losses.

They will be losing Thomas, Gay and White.

These guys were key to this teams success this season. They were the teams second, third and fourth leading scorers and made up a key part of this teams integrity. 

The Aztecs will need to rebuild to replace these guys in the future, maybe someone will step up, until then, it will be tough.

Notre Dame

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CHICAGO, IL - MARCH 20: Derwin Kitchen #22 of the Florida State Seminoles reaches for the ball against Ben Hansbrough #23 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the second half during the third round of the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament at the United

This is an obvious one. The Fighting Irish started five seniors this season and will have to be very patient next season.

It's going to be tough to have a team that is able to compete in the Big East while losing all of that experience with very little underclassman play this season.

It is going to be very tough for the Fighting Irish to rebuild, but surely, they will eventually.

Illinois

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TULSA, OK - MARCH 20: Demetri McCamey #32 of the Illinois Fighting Illini walks off the court in the final moments of their 59-73 loss to the Kansas Jayhawks during the third round of the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament at BOK Center on March 20, 2

The Fighting Illini had a rough season and did not live up to expectations. 

After a season of frustration and chemistry problems, maybe it's a good thing they have to rebuild next year.

They will miss McCamey on the court but will not miss him off the court.

The fact is Bruce Webber better find a way to win with this new cast of characters, because his championship game run is wearing in the minds of Illinois patrons.