National Scouting Report

Top Point Guards

1. Daniel Gibson, 6-2, Texas: Carried the load as a freshman; will have help with P.J. Tucker back this year.

2. Dee Brown, 6-0, Illinois: Only a broken foot kept the senior from playing in the NBA this season.

3. Rajon Rondo, 6-1, Kentucky: Coach Tubby Smith says the Wildcats will run more with ultra-quick sophomore leading attack.

Top Big Men

1. Shelden Williams, 6-9, Duke: One-man force in the post should get help from freshmen this season.

2. Craig Smith, 6-7, Boston College: Senior averaged 18 points and 8.5 rebounds last season in Big East Conference.

3. Taj Gray, 6-9, Oklahoma: The inside-outside threat led Sooners in scoring (14.6 ppg), rebounding (8.2 rpg) and blocked shots (1.8 bpg) last season.

Best Freshmen

1. Josh McRoberts, 6-10, Duke: The former Indiana high school star will do more than spell Shelden Williams.

2. Tyler Hansbrough, 6-9, North Carolina: Defending national champions counting on rookie to help replace Sean May.

3. Mario Chalmers, 6-1, Kansas: The Anchorage native should start at point guard for Jayhawks.

Three Impact Transfers

1. Lewis Monroe, 6-5, and Marco Killingsworth, 6-7, Auburn to Indiana: The pair should lead the Hoosiers back to the NCAA tournament and save Coach Mike Davis's job.

2. David Padgett, 6-11, Kansas to Louisville: He started 19 games as a freshman for Jayhawks; must recover from foot injury.

3. DeAngelo Alexander, 6-5, Oklahoma to Charlotte: Athletic wingman will help 49ers' transition from Conference USA to Atlantic-10.

Top Shooters

1. J.J. Redick, 6-4, Duke: Hard to imagine the reigning ACC player of the year can be better this season.

2. Gerry McNamara, 6-2, Syracuse: Senior will have to do it without Hakim Warrick this season.

3. Ben Jacobson, 5-11, Northern Iowa: Best player you've never heard of averaged 17.9 points per game last season.

Coaches on the Rise

1. Mark Fox, Nevada: Wolf Pack hasn't missed a beat since Trent Johnson left for Stanford.

2. Mick Cronin, Murray State: If Racers are good again, he could replace Bob Huggins, his former boss, at Cincinnati.

3. Dereck Whittenburg, Fordham: Former North Carolina State star keeps rebuilding mid-major programs.

Coaches on the Hot Seat

1. Mike Davis, Indiana: He needs to get Hoosiers back to NCAA tournament and win a couple of postseason games.

2. Quin Snyder, Missouri: Former Duke assistant has struggled to survive this long.

3. Tommy Amaker, Michigan: Another former Blue Devils aide who has flopped so far; Wolverines went 12-20 in Big Ten games the past two seasons.

Bracket Busters

The nation's best mid-majors:
1. Northern Iowa: Panthers are class of deep Missouri Valley Conference.

2. Old Dominion: Australian Alex Loughton (above) returns to lead Monarchs back to NCAAs.

3. Davidson: Wildcats won't lose in Southern Conference tournament again this season.

Five Things to Watch

1. Big East vs. ACC: College basketball's new power conference against the sport's elder statesman; Big East will win first round with as many as 10 NCAA bids.

2. The General chases the Dean: Texas Tech's Bob Knight needs only 26 victories to surpass North Carolina's Dean Smith as winningest coach in history.

3. Traditional powers struggle: Because of personnel losses, NCAA tournament staples Florida, Georgia Tech, Kansas, North Carolina and Oklahoma State will have to fight for bids this season.

4. Death of the SEC: Football conference might receive as few as three NCAA bids in 2005-06 after sending only five teams last season.

5. Cincinnati circus: Interim coach Andy Kennedy might have enough talent to compete in Big East and keep the job.

Preseason Top 25

1. Duke: Coach Krzyzewski has four seniors, led by guard J.J. Redick and forward Shelden Williams, and a boatload of talented freshmen.

2. Texas: Longhorns have one ingredient Duke doesn't: Daniel Gibson, a silky smooth point guard.

3. Michigan State: Four starters back from last season's Final Four squad; center Paul Davis must continue to improve.

4. Connecticut: Huskies had a laundry list of offseason off-court issues, including loss of point guards A.J. Price, who was dismissed for stealing laptops, and Marcus Williams, out until January for same offense.

5. Gonzaga: Bulldogs have to get better on defense, especially after losing center Ronny Turiaf to graduation.

6. Oklahoma: With Taj Gray, Terrell Everett and Kevin Bookout back, this might be Coach Kelvin Sampson's best team yet.

7. Villanova: Final Four was a possibility for Wildcats until forward Curtis Sumpter suffered another knee injury.

8. Stanford: Cardinal's success depends on health of swingman Dan Grunfeld.

9. Louisville: Francisco Garcia and Ellis Myles are gone, so Coach Rick Pitino is counting on freshmen.

10. Arizona: Guards Hassan Adams and Mustafa Shakur must play bigger roles for Wildcats.

11. Kentucky: Wildcats really need center Randolph Morris, who might not be eligible after entering NBA draft and then pulling out.

12. Boston College: With Craig Smith and Jared Dudley, Eagles might be Duke's biggest challenger in their first ACC season.

13. Memphis: With Louisville leaving for Big East Conference, Tigers are class of Conference USA.

14. UCLA: Former Pittsburgh coach Ben Howland is leading a Bruins' renaissance, but they're still very young.

15. Illinois: Point guard Dee Brown's bad luck will keep Illini near top of Big Ten Conference.

16. Syracuse: Coach Jim Boeheim redesigned offense around guard Gerry McNamara and unproven shooters.

17. Maryland: Terrapins will be very dangerous if D.J. Strawberry provides consistency at point guard.

18. West Virginia: Four starters back from last season's Cinderella team, including sharp-shooting center Kevin Pittsnogle.

19. Alabama: Crimson Tide must get major contribution from freshman forward Richard Hendrix.

20. Iowa: Time for Hawkeyes to starting living up to expectations under Coach Steve Alford.

21. North Carolina State: Herb Sendek is perhaps the most underrated coach in the country.

22. Indiana: Coach Mike Davis can't get a break; star forward D.J. White out six weeks because of a broken foot.

23. Wake Forest: If Justin Gray can replace Chris Paul at point guard, the Demon Deacons will be a threat in ACC.

24. Texas Tech: Red Raiders have eight newcomers so Coach Bob Knight will have to be patient -- yeah, right.

25. Northern Iowa: Panthers have five starters back from last season's NCAA tournament squad.