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First off, I would like to say welcome to the new site. This will be our first real article on the new site. I would also like to point out that this new site is now the official home of "The Sports Flow" and will be referred to as The Sports Flow. On blogspot we will now refer to it as "The Sports Flow Blog". Just thought I would clear that up so there isn't too much confusion.
Today begins our College Basketball Conference Preview. We will preview the major conferences right here and some mid-major conferences at "The Sports Flow Blog". Predicted Order of Finish 1. UCLA
After back to back Final Four berths, UCLA once again returns bunches of talent. They do lose their leading scorer in Arron Afflalo, but they return 4 other starters in Darren Collison, Josh Shipp, Lorenzo Mata, and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. The Bruins are now looking for a national championship and they no doubt have the talent and experience. I think what they lacked was a big-time presence in the paint and now they have it in Kevin Love, one of the top recruits in the country.
2. Washington St.
The Cougars are looking to prove last year was no fluke. They return a strong nucleus which they should be able to make an even bigger run. Derrick Lowe and Kyle Weaver return at the guard positions and Dave Harmeling and Robbie Cowgil look to anchor the forward spots. Center Aron Baynes is looking to be the fith starter and has looked very impressive in the off-season, getting a lot stronger and slimmer. Washington St. should not be a one-hit wonder and is very viable at making an Elite 8 run. 3. USC
USC lost some key players from last years Elite 8 team. Gabe Pruitt, Nick Young, and Lodrick Stewart will be missed dearly but the Trojans still have the talents of Taj Gibson and Daniel Hackett. Also, they had one of the best in-coming recruiting classes with the heralded O.J. Mayo and Davon Jefferson joining forces. USC should be tested early with big December games against Kansas and Memphis. 4. Arizona
Welcome Jerryd Bayless, one of the top freshmen point guards in the country is looking to take over for Mustafa Shakur. Arizona lost some key players but there is no shortage of talent on this team. They still have Chase Budinger, who is arguably one of the best sophomores in the country. Jawann McClellan also returns and they still have two good posts in Kirk Walter and Jordan Hill. One cause for concern will be their bench. 5. Stanford
The Cards were pretty young last season and suprised some peopl with impressive wins. Back are 5 starters which includes twin tower sophomores in Brook and Robin Lopez. This team can score but after their 1st round tourney loss to Louisville, they need to prove they defend against a more talented and faster team. 6. Oregon
The Ducks also surprised quite a few people and return 4 starters. Taj Porter is one of those returnees and will be looked to as their major scoring threat as Aaron Brooks is now graduated. This team can make a run again and they no doubt can shoot the ball, but if they want to repeat last years run then they need to get some help off the bench. 7. Washington
Washington kind of underachieved last season. With the talent they had I thought they would have made the NCAA Tournament. They do return 4 starters, led by Jon Brockman, they can make a run for March. 8. California
Cal is another team that returns all or nearly all of it's starters, all 5 return for the Golden Bears. Cal had injury problems last season and if they can stay away from that, they may, just may crack the upper half of the conference standings. 9. Arizona St.
ASU returns 5 starters from a team that desperately needs to improve it's shooting. They shot an ungodly 41.2% from the field last season. 10. Oregon St.
OSU is the only team in the conference that returns less than 3 starters. One new addition is C.J. Giles, who transfered from Kansas. He should be a big part of this squad for obvious reasons. Player of the Year: Darren Collison, G- UCLA
Freshman of the Year: O.J. Mayo, G- USC
Three Big Games: Washington St. at Gonzaga- Dec. 5, USC at UCLA- Jan. 19, UCLA at Washington St.- Feb. 7 Readers have left 4 comments.
They are my pick to win it this year!!
 the tarheels are nowhere in sight...what gives? I agree with most of those picks except the fact that the tarheels dont even crack the top 10
That's the Pac 10 there bud.
I'm really excited to see what OJ Mayo will look like in a USC uni and what that team can do. They're going to be young and athletic and a lot of fun to watch. |
