NCAA Men's College Basketball Review: 6 Weeks In

First of all, I'm going to name some awards I think some players will win by year's end.

Best National Recruiter:
Billy Gillespie, Kentucky
Al Skinner, Boston College

Sleeper Team:
Arkansas
Davidson

Player of the Year:
Tyler Hansbrough, UNC

Freshman of the Year:
O.J. Mayo, USC
Eric Gordon, Indiana

Best Player You've Never Heard Of:
Brian Roberts, Dayton
Kentrell Gransberry, South Florida
Jaycee Carroll, Utah State

Final Four:
Kansas
UNC
UCLA
Georgetown

National Champion:
UNC

All-American Team:
Tyler Hansbrough, UNC
Brandon Rush, Kansas
Roy Hibbert, Georgetown
Chris Lofton, Tennessee
Drew Neitzel, Michigan State

All-Freshman Team:
Michael Beasley, Kansas State
O.J. Mayo, USC
Eric Gordon, Indiana
Kevin Love, UCLA
Patrick Patterson, Kentucky

Now, I'm going to do an analysis on the Top 5 teams:

1. North Carolina (Last Season=31-7; Elite Eight)
Deon Thompson has a bit of a weight problem- the guy once scraped 300- so he's sensitive about being called "soft". The 6'8" sophomore is down to a svelte 240 now, but that didn't stop alumni Sean May and Marvin Williams from ragging his meek post moves during a summer run. He let undersized guys alter his shot. At the Under 19 Worlds, Thompson attacked the rim, averaging 10 points and 6 rebounds. After UNC's meltdown against Georgetown in March and Brandan Wright's early departure, coach Roy Williams needs Thompson to be the heavy.

2. Memphis (Last Season= 33-4; Elite Eight)
Those consecutive Elite Eight losses have the Tigers on the cusp-to win it all or to become one of those teams that always falls short and can't win the big one. For now, let's go half full. Seven of coach John Calipari's top eight scorers are back, so points will come easily. Last season, big man Joey Dorsey girded a stealth defense (12th in field goal percentage and blocks) until being dominated by Greg Oden- after calling the Buckeye "overrated"- in that NCAA loss. But the Conference USA's top defender is now locked in. One way or another, he's going to make a lasting impression.

3. Kansas (Last Season= 33-5; Elite Eight)
Coach Bill Self may be sick and tired of yet another Elite Eight crash, but some of the greener cogs in his squad might have been happy just to get that far.The guard-led troop that put up 78.4 points per game was no match for grinding defenses. Instead of schooling Darrell Arthur and Company on half-court sets, Self wants to be sure the pace isn't easily slowed. In camp, 12 guards duked it out. A little ripening will help the Hawks past the awkward stage.

4. Georgetown (Last Season= 30-7; Final Four)
Georgetown's tallest government major desperately wanted to land an off-season gig on Capitol Hill. But after Roy Hibbert (7'2", 278 pounds) spurned all that lottery dough for another shot at a title, he realized he needed to rethink his summer plans. So instead of getting coffee for congressmen, he manned up against Hoya alums Dikembe Mutumbo and Alonzo Mourning. That summer schooling has Roy Hibbert in the best shape of his life and that will help his output (12.9 points per game) rise. That's a good thing now that do-it-all Jeff Green is gone. But he'll never be too busy for his other hobby. As soon as he gets a chance. he'll be posting a photo of himself and Barack Obama on Facebook.

5. Texas ( Last Season= 25-10; Second Round)
Any team with Kevin Durant has the balance tipped in its favor. But when he leaves? Doesn't seem that way so far. Without their, Player of the Year, the Horns have had to dust off and realign a perimeter-heavy rotation to one more weighted to the blocks. Two tough freshmen, Alexis Wangmene and Gary Johnson (who is out for now with a heart ailment), add post depth that will increase for the rebounding margin in UT's favor and give the guards more pick and roll options. D.J. Augustin and some other guys are lighter after summer workouts, so the Horns have been quicker, too.