Did your DVR look like this Friday?

Preaseson Top 5

Respect the Line First Annual All-American Preseason Teams

Honorable mention: Kyle Anderson, Sean Kilpatrick, Glen Robinson III

The Associated Press Preseason Top 5

PG – Marcus Smart – Oklahoma St.

SG – Russ Smith – Louisville

SF – Andrew Wiggins – Kansas

PF – Doug McDermott – Creighton

C – Mitch McGary – Michigan

*Editor’s Note:  I’m not sure how Mitch McGary gets more love than fellow-Wolverine Glen Robinson III.  I also don’t understand how Andrew Wiggins makes the list before ever playing a collegiate game.  Smart, Smith and McDermott have earned their spots on the AP list.  I found guys who earned their spot on the first annual respecttheline.com Preseason Top 5.

  My first glance at the Gateway to the West was the type of moment when you ask yourself “why haven’t I ever seen this before?”  The city was so welcoming.  My big city experience is predominantly based in Manhattan.  Comparatively, the streets of Saint Louis felt like that scene from Inception.  The streets were oddly quiet and it seemed the infrastructure was solely designed for our enjoyment.  I ate the best burger of my life at Baileys’ Range.  We were elevated above the Mississippi in the hallmark Gateway Arch.  Looking down at the gorgeous city below, I could see the big picture so clearly, with one glaring exception.  How did Saint Louis suffer that disappointing loss to Oregon in the Big Dance?  After absolutely dominating the A-10 Tournament in Brooklyn, the Billikens didn’t book a flight to Indianapolis.  The good news is they still have a Jett onboard.

Jordair Jett headlines a senior class consisting of 42.9 points worth of returning offense.   Dwayne Evans is one of my favorite players in the nation.  He rocks out number 21 like Wilson Chandler.  Like Chandler, he scores in a variety of ways and appears like a raw talent while doing so.  Last season he sprinkle a jump-hook into his late-game production.  I will be watching his post-production carefully as he and New Zealander Rob Loe do work (although 6-11 Loe loves to step out from the basket).  Jordair Jett is the closest replica of Andre Miller’s game since he left Utah in the late 90s for the NBA.  He plays basketball like a fullback.  The sudden death of their former coach Rick Majerus is still fresh in players’ minds.  I am rooting for the 2013 storyline I envisioned to play out this March for the city of the Arch.

Another sight along our move to Kansas.

The SEC will be the best conference in college basketball this season.  That is my final verdict after assessing the “re-alignment” which takes effect this year.  Moving to Kansas, I cut across SEC country because Missouri is still a recently coined member.  The faultlines are moving elsewhere across the country in conference shakeups.  Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame are in the ACC.  This will only hyperventilate the misconception (Dicky V) that the ACC is always the nation’s best.   Duke lost a terrific senior class, North Carolina didn’t scare anyone last year, and finally NC State’s hype is over (though remaining player T.J. Warren should be one of the top 10 scorers in the nation).  Creighton, Butler and Xavier slid into their place in the Big East.  We’ll see if they maintain the quality, but the conference that has avoided headlines is the one worth reading the story.

The SEC has its Usual Suspects.  Of course, there’s Kentucky.  You know coach Calapari will have a young athletic group.  LSU got a lot of ink in its offseason for a good recruiting class.  Also, Anthony Grant has coached the Crimson Tide for enough years to get results he demands.  I feel the same way about Arkansas coach Mike Andrerson with his up-tempo Razorbacks bunch.

But the two teams that I am really interested to watch are Tennessee and Florida.   Have you heard about Jarnell Stokes?  The 6-8 260 pound junior graduated high school early to play with the Tennessee Volunteers.   I remember this because his birthday is a day before mine.  I watched his first game as his eligibility clicked on January 7, 2011.  Cuonzo Martin and the Volunteer bunch has had two years to build a team around Stokes and phase out the remnants of Bruce Pearl’s tenure (which ended with NCAA misconduct).  Watch Jarnell Stokes.  Compare him to Glen “Big Baby” Davis.  Stokes is a big man with delicate footwork.  I’d love to see him storm onto the scene come March the way that Davis did with LSU.

Florida returns another one of the nation’s most physical specimens:  Patrick Young.  Young’s story is a classic one.  He will either show NBA scouts this year that he has a polished offensive game, or he will be drafted early second round for his rebounding and defense.  I think the Gators struggled with point guard play in last year’s tournament.  (Scottie Wilbekin had his issues on the court and off).  It will be very interesting to see what top recruit Kasey Hill brings in his freshman year.  And don’t forget Yeguete, the frenchman who is somewhat of a garbage player on the boards.

He has hair and that same eerie glare.

Henderson was suspended indefinitely from the team shortly following last year’s exit from the tournament.  Having spent time in prison and making many stops in his NCAA career, I figured the 23-year-old was finished with college basketball.  His controversial theatrics on the basketball court obviously translate off-the-court (see his Tweets about “White Girl Wednesday”).  He is the college basketball version of Reggie Miller (see 8 points in 31 seconds, but not if your a Knicks fan).  This is a guy brave enough to mock the swamp with a gator chomp after knocking down a contested 3-pointer.  This is Marshall Henderson’s last chance.  I say Ole Miss is the seventh tourney team from this conference, the most nationally.  Keep this article and come see me in March.

I witnessed him with his coach welcoming him back for another season.