Final Four and More...

Watching these college bowls has me thinking about how much better college basketball has it, they actually have a playoff.  So because it’s never too early to talk about March, I am going to give you my early early Final Four picks and All-Americans.  Obviously I can’t tell you the actual Final Four yet because more than one of my picks could be in the same region.  Just note, I don’t necessarily think these are the best four teams yet, but by March they will have what it takes to make a long run.  So without further ado:

The easiest lock of the century: Kentucky.  What can I say about this team?  They have it all.  Shot blocker (Anthony Davis), guard/wing player who can create his own shot (Michael Kidd-Gilchrist), deadly 3 point shooter (Doron Lamb), glue guy (Darius Miller), a two guys who have the potential to be fantastic (Marquis Teague and Terrence Jones).  All of those guys are NBA guys.  Did I mention that they play great defense too?  The difference between this team and past Kentucky teams, this team can shoot to go along with their extreme athleticism.

The most slept on undefeated team: Baylor.  Man this is killing me to pick a member of the Big 12 not named Kansas to make the Final Four after already picking Kentucky.  But I don’t think even I can deny how great this Baylor team is.  They have such great length and shoot at such a high percentage.  They have possibly the number 1 pick in the NBA draft in Perry Jones III.  Two guys who can light it up from 3 in Pierre Jackson and Brady Heslip.  The biggest thing about them though is how deep they are.  They have 5 guys who score in double figures every game and 11 guys average over 10 minutes a game (that’s almost the whole team).  Look at this team to really dominate Big 12 play and cruise in March.

My two other teams: Marquette and Ohio State.  Both teams have a lot of similarities to me.  Both teams play great defense and are extremely tough.  Both teams are led by a great guard (Darius Johnson-Odom for Marquette and William Buford for Ohio St) and a great big guy (Jae Crowder for Marquette and Jared Sullinger for Ohio St).  Both teams have underrated coaches with Thad Matta of OSU and Buzz Williams for the Golden Eagles.  The one thing that puts these two just below Kentucky and Baylor is their 3-point shooting.  But, both teams are so efficient from two that it almost doesn’t matter.

Sleepers: Georgetown, Wisconsin, Indiana and Missouri.

All-Americans:

1^st Team

Guards: Jeremy Lamb (Uconn), William Buford (Ohio St)

Forwards: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (Kentucky), Thomas Robinson (Kanas)

Center: Jared Sullinger (Ohio St)

2^nd Team

Guards: Scott Machado (Iona), Darius Johnson-Odom (Marquette)

Forwards: Doug McDermott (Creighton), Harrison Barnes (UNC)

Center: Anthony Davis (Kentucky)

Posted in: Matt,NCAA