November 9, 2009

Rivals.com
Rivals.com College Basketball Staff

The season gets under way tonight - seriously, tonight - and we asked writers Jason King and Mike Huguenin for their thoughts about the potential "fatal flaws" of our preseason top-five teams:

JASON KING'S RESPONSE

1. Kansas: Sherron Collins is arguably the top point guard in the country, but sometimes he tries to do too much. Last season Kansas lost games to Syracuse, Michigan State and Massachusetts mainly because Collins was forcing ill-advised shots and not involving his teammates. Unlike last season, Collins will be surrounded by plenty of talented pieces in 2009-10. He needs to use them.

2. Kentucky: The biggest concern with the Wildcats is the potential lack of leadership. Other than junior Patrick Patterson - who is quiet and soft-spoken - Kentucky's top players will be freshmen. Who is going to take command in the huddle when things get tough? Who is going to deliver the fiery locker-room speeches after a bad practice? It's tough to depend on guys who haven't "been there" - no matter how talented they are.

3. Michigan State: The Spartans enter the 2009-10 campaign with loads of expectations following last season's march to the NCAA title game. In some ways, if they don't make it back, the season will be considered a failure. That's a lot of pressure to put on a team that, talent-wise, isn't as good as schools such as Kansas, Kentucky, Texas and North Carolina. The Spartans will have to outwork everyone to make it to Indianapolis.

4. Villanova: The graduation of Dante Cunningham, Dwayne Anderson and Shane Clark has left the Wildcats thin in the frontcourt, where Antonio Pena is the only returnee with significant experience. Pena averaged 5.1 points off the bench last season. Villanova is hoping for big contributions from 6-foot-10 freshman Mouphtaou Yarou, who is expected to start at center.

5. Purdue: The Boilermakers are extremely well-coached, and they defend as well as anyone in the country. Those factors alone will make them contenders in the physical, rugged Big Ten. The problems for Purdue will occur when it faces an up-tempo team that's more athletic.

MIKE HUGUENIN'S RESPONSE

1. Kansas: The Jayhawks don't look to have a flaw. But you look a little closer, and there are some small cracks. KU was sloppy with the ball last season; they led the league in turnovers per game. They were able to get away with it, for the most part. But national titlists don't usually commit 14.5 turnovers per game. Another issue: How well will touted freshman Xavier Henry fit in the locker room? Henry is a supremely talented player joining a team in which the holdover players have set roles. Will there be friction?

2. Kentucky: This is a supremely talented team. Will this also become a "I want mine" team? There are three key freshmen, and I would bet two of them - guard John Wall and big man DeMarcus Cousins - enrolled with the idea of being a one-and-done. Can those two co-exist? And will junior forward Patrick Patterson - by far the most talented of the holdovers - get the ball enough to be productive? In short, talent isn't the biggest issue. Cohesiveness is. Three-point shooting also is something to watch. Jodie Meeks will be missed in that regard.

3. Michigan State: The Spartans are going to miss Goran Suton's leadership and toughness up front. Without him, coach Tom Izzo is counting on freshmen and seldom-used junior Tom Herzog - who played all of 32 minutes last season - to play in the low post. As for leadership, there is just one senior, Raymar Morgan, and for a variety of reasons, he has lacked consistency. The Spartans also need more consistency from shooting guards Durrell Summers and Chris Allen.

4. Villanova: If coach Jay Wright could enact a rule saying teams can't have anyone taller than 6 feet 4, I'd bet he would do it. The Wildcats will have one of the best - if not the best - backcourts in the nation. But the frontcourt is a monster question. If some freshman big men don't come through, the Wildcats will finish third or fourth in the Big East.

5. Purdue: I'm not sold on the Boilermakers' depth. I also wonder about their outside shooting. And there's also Robbie Hummel's health. Other than that ...