…for a team that just lost its senior leader and has a significant number of question marks. We have a young core of players returning but we only saw flashes of brilliance throughout the course of the season. Alabi will be dominant, especially now that he has put one some weight. Our Sophomore class has a year of legitimate playing time in Hamilton’s system and we are adding one of the best players in the country to a highly talented roster.

But, who is going to step up and take control of this team? Ryan Reid, our only Senior? Derwin Kitchen? Alabi? Singleton? Snaer? Apparently the practices that have occurred so far this year have an entirely different quality, intensity and purpose compared to last year. A year ago, these guys were learning where to stand, how to do this, how to do that….Now they are running the offense and getting good reps, working on the important subtleties.

I think a top 25 ranking is merited, but I was a little surprised to see Dick Vitale so high on our team. I’ll take all the press and recognition we can get. Brandon Knight, are you reading this?

the entire scope of what a coach has to perform. The recruiting, ego management, and getting the players to concentrate on defense. Also the last Cowboys title showed if you put enough talent on a team a bad coach can win the Super Bowl. The NFL version of Barry Switzer was the original Larry Coker. Coaching makes a difference in the NBA on standard teams, as a coach like Flip Saunders is going to cost his team some games every single year. For example if you swap Mike Brown and Phil Jackson do you doubt that Cleveland is a better team and the Lakers are worse?