Kentucky and Kansas loaded with talent -- and expectations

Nineteen months after meeting in the 2008 national championship game, Bill Self and John Calipari again are in a class by themselves: Both have assembled teams whose talent surplus is dwarfed only by the oversize expectations of their fans.

All across the country there is the usual fan excitement that accompanies the start of the college basketball season. Then there is the level of fervor raging these days at Kansas and Kentucky, where fan bases of two storied programs are expecting nothing short of near perfection.

"Things are different here," said Calipari, who was hired at Kentucky in March after nine seasons at Memphis.

The fates of KU and UK, two programs that have won a combined 10 national championships, will be among the most compelling threads to this season. Both teams return preseason all-Americans. Both signed their share of elite prospects. And fans of each expect their team to throw a national championship celebration in Indianapolis the first Monday in April.

At Kentucky, expectations are lofty largely because of newcomers, namely a six-man recruiting class that is regarded as one of the strongest since Michigan's famed "Fab Five" 18 years ago. Kentucky begins the season ranked fourth nationally despite missing the NCAA tournament last season.

At Kansas, the bar is high largely because of those who returned, namely the top nine scorers and more than 90 percent of the scoring and rebounding from the team that reached the round of 16 last season. The Jayhawks received 55 of 65 first-place votes in the preseason Associated Press top 25.

"Whether we play to that ranking remains to be seen, but the target is good," Self said, "We could be an opponent that is circled for everybody."

Self has reloaded his team faster than even he envisioned after winning the national championship two seasons ago. Kansas became the favorite to win this season's title in the spring, when guard Sherron Collins and center Cole Aldrich decided to postpone NBA careers.

Collins, who is hoping to win his fourth Big 12 regular season title, likely will finish his career as the school's all-time winningest player. And Aldrich, who was among the nation's most improved players last season, has blossomed into one of the nation's premier front court performers.

Add to the mix a recruiting class that includes the most touted prospect Self has ever signed, guard Xavier Henry.

Self has also tried to temper hyperbole because this season's team has yet to accomplish anything. The team that defeated Memphis for the national title, he noted, was battle-tested and hungry. This season's team has more size and depth, he said, but lacks the speed and athleticism that defined the title team.

"This team is not ready to beat that team," Self said at Kansas's media day. "It would not even be a contest as of today. That team did not rely on newcomers to get them to where they wanted to go, and this one is going to have to rely on newcomers. There are some unproven pieces, but there are a lot of similarities from a talent standpoint."