2009-10 College Basketball Preview

KENTUCKY WILDCATS

Cal working to restore UK swagger

At one stop on John Calipari's travels throughout Kentucky this year, a fan asked the new University of Kentucky basketball coach a question: Did he remember the Wildcats' comeback victory against LSU?
• John Clay: Look for star cluster to sparkle
• Mark Story: Buzz meter humming
• Analysis: Chemistry test awaits
• UK player pages | Roster | Schedule
• Calipari has UK basketball buzzworthy again
• Cats' revival SEC's biggest story
• UK's non-conference opponents
• Q&A: A lighter look at the Cats off the court

LOUISVILLE CARDINALS

Knowles' niche: 'Best sixth man in college basketball'

Through two seasons on the University of Louisville basketball team, Preston Knowles has started four games. The 6-foot-1 junior guard is the hybrid weapon in Coach Rick Pitino's bag of tricks, though.

• Pitino, Cardinals ready to move forward
• Roster
• Schedule

KENTUCKY WOMEN

Newcomers blending in quickly

Kentucky has so many new players this year, even Coach Matthew Mitchell might need them to wear blue and white "Hello, My Name Is ... " tags for the first few weeks.
• Meet the UK women

AP Pre-season Top 25

Team (1st place)	Record	Pts.	Last yr.
1. Kansas (55)	27-8	1,612	14
2. Michigan State (5)	31-7	1,515	8
3. Texas (1)	23-12	1,397	NR
4. Kentucky (3)	22-14	1,372	NR
5. Villanova	30-8	1,347	11
6. North Carolina (1)	34-4	1,320	2
7. Purdue	27-10	1,284	17
8. West Virginia	23-12	1,115	NR
9. Duke	30-7	1,064	6
10. Tennessee	21-13	897	NR
11. Butler	26-6	864	22
12. Connecticut	31-5	844	5
13. California	22-11	800	NR
14. Washington	26-9	776	15
15. Michigan	21-14	578	NR
16. Ohio State	22-11	465	NR
17. Oklahoma	30-6	410	7
18. Mississippi State	23-13	393	NR
19. Louisville	31-6	335	1
20. Georgetown	16-15	326	NR
21. Dayton	27-8	318	NR
22. Georgia Tech	12-19	301	NR
23. Illinois	24-10	282	NR
24. Clemson	23-9	217	24
25. Minnesota	22-11	172	NR

Others receiving votes: Maryland 171, Siena 112, Notre Dame 107, Florida State 92, Vanderbilt 90, Syracuse 83, Oklahoma State 65, UCLA 63, Florida 53, Wake Forest 50, Xavier 42, Gonzaga 37, South Carolina 28, Kansas State 24, BYU 21, Northern Iowa 16, Tulsa 16, Ole Miss 15, Texas A&M 10, Missouri 8, Boston College 6, Pittsburgh 4, Utah State 2, VCU 2, Western Kentucky 2, Holy Cross 1, Old Dominion 1.
• Coaches' poll • Division II • Division III • Women

John Clay's pre-season top 25

1. Kentucky
Start of the year, you pick Kansas for the top spot. But they don't give out the NCAA championship trophy at the beginning of the year.

2. Kansas
Bill Self has quite the collection of top-notch talent out in Lawrence. Now if he can just keep his basketball players from fighting the football players.

3. Michigan State
Can we please stop debating about whether Mike Krzyzewski or Rick Pitino or Roy Williams or Ben Howland is the best college hoops coach and admit that Tom Izzo has them all beat?

4. Purdue
Yes, Purdue. Matt Painter has been building for this moment, and a veteran Boilermakers bunch has the talent and the savvy to make it to Indianapolis for the Final Four.

5. West Virginia
Bob Huggins' biggest off-season coup was convincing Devin Ebanks to return to Morgantown. That might even be good enough to get Huggs back to the Final Four.

6. Villanova
How can someone as good-looking as Jay Wright also be such a good basketball coach? Plus, he's got a senior point guard in Scottie Reynolds. Sometimes, life isn't fair.

7. North Carolina
The defending champions lost some talent, yes, but Ed Davis is perfectly capable of putting Blue Heaven on his shoulders and giving UNC another superior season.

8. Texas
If freshman Avery Bradley is all he is expected to be, Rick Barnes could take the Longhorns a long way on the range. Maybe all the way to Indy.

9. Duke
If the Blue Devils had point guard Kyrie Irving, who'll join the team next year, they could make some real noise. But they don't. And they won't.

10. Georgetown
After a so-so freshman season, center Greg Monroe needs to spread his wings and carry the Hoyas to greater heights.

11. Tennessee
Worst news on Rocky Top was that John Calipari got the Kentucky job. Best news was that Tyler Smith decided to stick around for another season.

12. Butler
Gordon Hayward might be the best player you've never heard of.

13. Washington
Lorenzo Romar has the Huskies in position to take the Pac-10, thanks in part to Isaiah Thomas — the one Magic Johnson doesn't say bad things about.

14. Mississippi State
If fab freshman Renardo Sidney gets his off-the-court issues buttoned up, Rick Stansbury has the makings of a top-10 team down at Starkvegas.

15. California
It hasn't taken long for Pac-10 veteran Mike Montgomery to bring the Bears back.

16. Notre Dame
Best non-football news is that Player of the Year candidate Luke Harangody is back for the Irish. Now if Mike Brey can find a supporting cast.

17. Connecticut
The Huskies have talent because the Huskies always have talent. But can Jim Calhoun get the chemistry to match? Jerome Dyson is the key.

18. Dayton
Flyer fans are all worked up over Chris Wright, who threw down 27 points on West Virginia in last year's NCAAs. But it's the Dayton defense that gives opponents fits.

19. Wake Forest
This could be the year that sophomore Al-Farouq Aminu shows his stuff. And if he does, the Deacons will be downright devilish to deal with.

20. Maryland
Garry Williams has no doubt been sweating through several suits in an effort to get the Terps back in the national spotlight. He's almost there.

21. Illinois
Demetri McCamey leads an Illini team hoping to grab back some national headlines, but some others — Alex Legion? — must come through to lift Bruce Weber's team.

22. Clemson
We all know Clemson's M.O., by now. The Tigers tear off to a great start, then hit the ACC schedule and do a slow fade. Don't expect this year to be much different.

23. Michigan
It's been a slow, tough road for John Beilein, but the Michigan coach about has the Wolverines in position to challenge for a Big Ten title.

24. Xavier
It's a little surprising that more so-called analysts aren't including the Muskies in the pre-season top 25. Coach Sean Miller left, but not the X-men's talent.

25. UCLA
The cupboard isn't totally bare, but the Bruins are in a rare underdog role this season. Somehow, there is something about that Ben Howland just might like.