Jayhawks earn top spot in Examiner preseason men's basketball Top 25

November 4, 9:38 AMUSC Trojans ExaminerNeal Leitereg

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John Calipari is loving his new freshman John Wall
(A/P Photo)

With Sports Examiners throwing their hat into the ring of Top 25 college football projections, we thought it would be a good idea to give college basketball rankings a shot as well. Welcome to our 2009-10 men's college basketball rankings.

I was not bold enough to vote for the USC men's basketball in my Top 25; however, I do think that the Trojans, under new head coach Kevin O'Neill, will be a lot better than people expect.

Now, on to the Examiner.com preseason men's college basketball rankings. You can find Examiner's Top 25 HERE.

Below is how I voted in our preseason poll (including one player to watch on each team this upcoming season):

1. Kansas (Everybody already knows what Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich can do for the Jayhawks, but watch for freshman guard Xavier Henry Rivals 8^th rated prospect)
2. Kentucky (John Calipari thinks that freshman John Wall is more advanced at this stage than Derrick Rose and Tyreke Evans. Wall will be making waves this season, no doubt about it)
3. Villanova (This will be Scottie Reynolds year to shine)
4. Michigan State (Raymar Morgan will be top dog on the Spartans this season)
5. North Carolina (Coach Roy Williams has reloaded yet again. It could very well be the Ed Davis show for most of the season)
6. Texas (Freshman guard Avery Bradley is a lethal scorer and the top Big 12 recruit)
7. Purdue (Purdue brings back its top six guys, C JaJuan Johnson will follow up on his First-Team All-Big Ten nod)
8. Washington (Two words, Abdul Gaddy)
9. West Virginia (Juco transfer, Casey Mitchell will slide right into the starting position at guard and provide the Mountaineers with a sweet shooter)
10. Duke (Freshman Mason Plumlee will step right in as the starting center. Blue Devils will rely heavily on its younger players this season)
11. Tennessee (Forward Tyler Smith should take over in his senior season for Tennessee)
12. Connecticut (I look for Kemba Walker and his tremendous athletic abilities to blow up the competition this upcoming season)
13. California (Cal is an incredibly deep team except at center. 7-3 C Max Zhang is the wild card for the Golden Bears)
14. Butler (Look for forward Matt Howard to pick up where he left off after a huge sophomore season)
15. Michigan (DeShawn Sims could put it all together for the Wolverines in his senior year. If he does, watch out)
16. Louisville (Extortion plot or not, Pitino will have his guys ready to roll. Can Reginald Delk, nephew of former 3-point extraordinaire Tony Delk, be the next Stephon Curry?)
17. Ohio State (Do-it-all guard Evan Turner could be the player to watch in the Big Ten this season)
18. Georgia Tech (Incoming freshman center Derrick Favors could be one and done for the Yellow Jackets, but that one season alone is going to incredibly fun to watch)
19. Mississippi State (Renardo Sidney was originally headed out to California to play for USC but changed his mind and will anchor the Bulldogs in what will probably be his only collegiate season)
20. UCLA (Got to give the Pac-10 some love. UCLA loses a lot but still retains enough pieces to make things interesting this year. Incoming freshman Tyler Honeycutt is scary good and will step in right away)
21. Georgetown (Mark my words, it will be the Greg Monroe-show for the Hoyas this season)
22. Dayton (Forward Chris Wright has the potential to be a John Wooden Award winner)
23. Illinois (Kentucky-transfer Alex Legion should finally show up for the Fighting Illini this season)
24. Arizona (Nic Wise could very well be the best point guard in college basketball this year, Sean Miller & Co. will surprise some people)
25. Florida (Gators are a surprise pick in cracking my Top-25. Billy Donovan should have the ship righted this season and a lot of that will count on freshman guard Kenny Boynton. Boynton is Rivals 12^th rated prospect and should have a huge year for the Gators)