Fox Sports has just released their 2010 men's basketball preseason rankings and I am sure there will be more of these polls to follow soon as the actual season is arriving shortly. And, not shockingly, Duke is ranked #1 as the defending champs. Kyle Singler is returning for his senior year and the Plumlee brothers should be a force in the middle. Gag.
The Cats are ranked in the middle at #15, a far cry from the preseason #5 they were last season in some polls. The departure of 5 guys in the first round in the NBA draft is the main culprit for such a mid level ranking. Also, they do not have a returning stud like Patrick Patterson to boost the youngsters that are coming in. The key returnees will, however, be key in making the young studs feel comfortable in Cal's system. Liggins and Miller will be looked upon as leaders and I think they fill the role nicely. Look for both of these guys to redefine themselves as players and take their game to the next level.
There are 6 new Cats in the line up and I think that Jeff Goodman, the author of the poll, is hesitant to put the Cats in the top 10 due to their youth and the questions around Enes Kanter's eligibility. If he was a sure thing on the roster then I think the Cats get bumped into the top 10.
There are some surprising teams ranked ahead of Kentucky, one in particular: Florida. Florida does not have a top 10 recruiting class but they are returning 6 key players. This team will be UK's biggest challenge in the SEC East.
Coach John Calipari has said that this current team is ahead of last year's team as far as progress with the dribble drive. This is surprising coming from a coach that said last year's undefeated Cats were terrible and should have had 5 losses. I'm excited about this young group and I think they will finish much higher than 15 when all is said and done.
GO CATS! FREE ENES!!
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