College Basketball: Predicting the All-America First Team for the 2012 Season

It's about that time again, as college basketball tips off in less than a week. This fantastic sport has a ton of great players, so picking just five players is an extremely hard task. 

This class is very loaded with a lot of returning talent and loads of freshmen that will eventually be taking over college hoops.

So without no more introduction, here are the five players that will make the All-America first team once the season is over with. 

Randy Chambers is a B/R Featured Columnist that covers College Football and the NFL. You can contact him @Randy_Chambers or [e-mail]

Wisconsin Guard Jordan Taylor

Jordan Taylor was pretty much unknown coming into his junior season last year, but after averaging 18 points a game and shooting 43 percent from the field, that's no longer the case.

He earned second All-American honors last season.

Taylor will be asked to do a lot more on this Wisconsin team after losing players like Jon Leuer and Keaton Nankivil, but he's capable of filling in that void. He only turned the ball over 8.5 percent of the time last season and averaged four rebounds and four assists.

He isn't freakishly athletic, but can do a little bit of everything, and a case can be made that he's the best point guard in the country.

Connecticut Guard Jeremy Lamb

We all saw what Jeremy Lamb could do last season in the NCAA tournament, as he played a huge part in the Huskies championship run. Now we get to see what he can do as the leader of the team with Kemba Walker in the NBA.

Lamb averaged 11 points and shot 48 percent from the field last season, but really stepped it up during the postseason hitting clutch shot after clutch shot.

Heading into this season, he has the confidence and the experience to be even better and help lead Connecticut to a possible repeat. It also helps having freshman Andre Drummond in the paint to take some of the pressure off.

Ohio State Forward Jared Sullinger

As a freshman last season, Sullinger was one of the top players in the country, averaging 17 points per game and 10 rebounds. He was guaranteed to be a top five pick in last year's NBA draft, but decided to return to Ohio State to try and win a championship.

Sullinger has put a ton of work in during the offseason, including trimming his weight down. He should be even better this season, which is scary for the Big Ten and the rest of the country to imagine.

He should not only keep the Buckeyes in the National Championship conversation all season, but also be a top pick in next year's draft if he decides to come out.

North Carolina Guard Harrison Barnes

Barnes got off to an extremely slow start last season but picked things up later in the year to help the Tar Heels win the ACC title. 

He is a 6'8, 210-pound forward with a smooth game that averaged 15 points and five rebounds last season, his freshman year. He shot a solid 42 percent from the field last year, and those numbers should increase even more with all of the weapons that are around him on this team.

Barnes is the best player on arguably the best team in the country; he has to be on the All-America list. 

Vanderbilt Guard John Jenkins

Jenkins is the best shooter in the country that averaged 46 percent from the field, 41 percent from three and 89 percent from the free throw line a year ago.

He averaged 19.5 points last season.

Jenkins should get a ton of attention on a solid Vanderbilt team that is ranked highly and is returning their entire team. The Commodores are not only a favorite to win the SEC, but are a legit Final Four team, and a lot of that has to do with Jenkins and his lights out shooting.