Oh, my: Where did 2006 go so
quickly?
As 2007 prepares to descend upon us
on Monday, let’s pause and reflect upon everything that has happened in the
world over the past 12 months.
Nah, on second thought, I’m not
that ambitious.
Instead, here are the players, and
coaches, who have impressed me the most over the first two months of the college
basketball season:
Frankhoops.com Early-Season
(November/December) All-Americans
POINT GUARD
Dominic James (5-11, So.,
Marquette)
Runners-up: Acie Law (6-3,
Sr., Texas A&M) and Mustafa Shakur (6-3, Sr., Arizona)
Just missed: Darren Collison
(6-0, So., UCLA)
Frank Says: There were a
slew of candidates here. But the nod goes – barely – to James, in large part
because of his tremendous back-to-back performances against Texas Tech and Duke
in Kansas City in November. Three SEC players, Ronald Steele (Alabama),
Taurean Green (Florida) and Tre Kelly (South Carolina), could all
be in the mix in March as well.
SHOOTING
GUARD
Arron Afflalo (6-5, Jr.,
UCLA)
Runners-up: Chris Lofton
(6-2, Jr., Tennessee) and A.J. Graves (6-1, Jr., Butler)
Just missed: Torrell Martin
(6-5, Sr., Winthrop)
Frank Says: Lofton is a
phenomenal long-range jump shooter – arguably, the best in college today. And
Graves has been a standout for the surprise team in the country. But Afflalo
earned a slight edge for his tremendous play at both ends of the floor for the
top-ranked team in the country.
SMALL
FORWARD
Alando Tucker (6-5, Sr.,
Wisconsin)
Runners-up: Kevin Durant
(6-10, Fr., Texas) and Jared Dudley (6-7, Sr., Boston College)
Just missed: Morris Almond
(6-6, Sr., Rice)
Frank Says: Tucker was a
lock for this spot after his performances in impressive victories over Marquette
and Pittsburgh. Durant and Dudley will be nipping at his heels for the
first-team AA spot come March, though.
POWER
FORWARD
Mario Boggan (6-7, Sr.,
Oklahoma State)
Runners-up: Tyler Hansbrough
(6-8, So., North Carolina) and Julian Wright (6-8, So.,
Kansas)
Just missed: Al Horford
(6-9, Jr., Florida)
Frank Says: Boggan’s play
has elevated him to very strong “Big 12 Player of the Year” candidacy. His
performances against Tennessee and Pittsburgh were overwhelming.
CENTER
Nick Fazekas (6-11, Sr.,
Nevada)
Runners-up: Randolph Morris
(6-10, Jr., Kentucky) and Aaron Gray (7-0, Sr.,
Pittsburgh)
Just missed: Richard Hendrix
(6-8, So., Alabama)
Frank Says: Fazekas has an
opportunity to make this pick look exemplary with a strong performance Saturday
against another of the nation’s best post players, Josh Heytvelt of
Gonzaga. By March, junior Joakim Noah (Florida) will be in the mix, as
will freshmen Greg Oden (Ohio State), Brandan Wright (North
Carolina) and Spencer Hawes (Washington), and sophomore Josh McRoberts
(Duke).
TOP PLAYER
Alando
Tucker
Runner-up: Mario
Boggan
Frank Says: Tucker and
Boggan are easy 1-2 choices here. Most of the guys who got All-American mention
above are all capable of closing in on Player of the Year honors in
March.
TOP COACH
Todd Lickliter
(Butler)
Runners-up: Ben Howland
(UCLA) and Sean Sutton (Oklahoma State)
Frank Says: He doesn’t have
a player who is taller than 6-7 and his team was picked by some to finish sixth
in the Horizon League. Yet Lickliter’s Bulldogs are 12-1 with victories over
Notre Dame, Indiana, Tennessee, Gonzaga and Purdue. That’s why he’s the
Frankhoops.com pick for top coach for the November/December portion of the
season. Sutton, replacing his father, has the Cowboys 12-1 with wins over
Missouri State, Syracuse and Pittsburgh. Howland’s program lost three starters
who are on NBA rosters. But the Bruins are 12-0 and No. 1 in the
country.
This Weekend’s Games to
Watch
FRIDAY
Illinois at
Xavier
Frank Says: The Musketeers
(8-4) haven’t turned in the kind of non-conference resume that would almost
assuredly help give them an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. A win over one
of the Big Ten’s top five teams would certainly strengthen that
resume.
SATURDAY
Nevada vs. Gonzaga (in
Seattle)
Frank Says: Has anyone
played a tougher non-conference schedule that have Mark Few’s Bulldogs?
They’ve played five games against teams currently in the Frankhoops.com Top 25.
Connecticut at West Virginia
Frank Says: The oh-so-young
Huskies, after an 11-0 non-conference start, will find out what life is like
outside of their state and within the Big East Conference. The Mountaineers are
10-1, despite heavy personnel losses from last season. But they haven’t exactly
played a Gonzaga-like non-conference schedule, either.
Northern Iowa at Wichita State
Frank Says: The Shockers
suffered back-to-back losses in Las Vegas last weekend, their first of the
season. And things aren’t going to get any easier, even at home, when they open
Missouri Valley Conference play against a team that has lost just twice (at
Washington and Loyola-Illinois).
Missouri State at
Creighton
Frank Says: The host
Bluejays, with a disappointing 5-4 non-conference record, open MVC play and will
have to compile a strong conference mark to get themselves into at-large bid
territory if they don’t win the conference tournament.
Stanford at
Arizona
Frank Says: In all
likelihood, the Wildcats can’t afford more than one loss at home in order to
keep themselves in strong contention for a title in what figures to be an
extremely competitive Pac 10 race. They’ll be facing a very young team, with
twin freshmen seven-footers Brook and Robin Lopez liable to cause
them some problems since they only have on “true” post on the floor most
times.
Washington State at
USC
Frank Says: The Cougars came
ever-so-close to stunning UCLA in Pauley Pavilion Thursday night while the
Trojans knocked off Washington in double overtime to demonstrate why they will
be in the hunt for an upper-division Pac 10 finish. WSU junior point guard
Derrick Low is one of the most underrated, nationally, players in the
country.
Oregon at Oregon State
Frank Says: The Ducks will
take one of just four unbeaten records in the country into their Pac-10 opener
in Corvallis. Look for the Beavers to try to slow down the rapid pace that the
Oregon offense has been able to operate at so far this
season.
SUNDAY
Washington at
UCLA
Frank Says: The Huskies
handed the Bruins two of their three Pac-10 losses last season. They could sting
Ben Howland’s team in Pauley Pavilion again. But they’re going to have to
avoid the foul issues that derailed them at USC Thursday night. And they’re
going to have to knock in the jump shots that figure to come their way when
Spencer Hawes is frequently double teamed by UCLA.
Wisconsin at
Georgia
Frank Says: The 13-1 Badgers
should be tested in their final game before opening Big Ten play against
Minnesota on Jan. 6. And it’s their first trek outside of their state in
December.
Inducted into the USBWA Hall of
Fame in April, 2005, Frank Burlison is Scout.com’s national basketball expert and is
also a columnist for the Long Beach (Calif.) Press-Telegram. He can be reached at
frank.burlison@presstelegram.com. Read more of Burlison’s pieces at
www.frankhoops.com