DCProf's Week Pre-Season Ballot

Rank	Team	Reason
1	Houston	Best blend of talent, coaching, and experience in my mind
2	Purdue	Defense being notch below the other top 5 teams is what keeps them out of #1 spot for me
3	UConn	Roster is better fit this year. Good blend of talent, experience, coaching
4	Duke	Boozer might be underrated and if so this ranking might be too low
5	Florida	Dominant front court trio. Not convinced backcourt will be as good as last year
6	Kentucky	Deep talented roster. Defense a concern and keeps them out of top 5
7	Louisville	I'm high on this roster as Final Four dark horse
8	St. John's	Great coaching and very talented roster but lack of PG concern
9	BYU	Figures to have elite offense but defense suspect
10	Illinois	I like the build of this roster with so many skilled Euro players
11	UCLA	Dent + Cronin's defense could push for top 10
12	Texas Tech	Well coached and Toppin a stud
13	Michigan	Well coached, I question UM's guard play so outside top 10 for me
14	Arizona	Talented roster but freshmen will be relied upon heavily
15	Arkansas	As usual Coach Cal has a very talented roster
16	San Diego State	Two future NBA players plus Reese Waters & good coaching & defense
17	Tennessee	Barnes will have the Vols good again
18	Alabama	Talented roster but lost a lot of experience from last season's team
19	Iowa State	Would have them a bit higher if Lipsey wasn't injured
20	Kansas	Self will have KU competitive again
21	Michigan State	And Izzo will have MSU competitive again
22	Gonzaga	Would have the Zags about 5 spots higher if Foster-Grant was eligible
23	USC	My sleeper team. Good defensive frontcourt combined with good scoring backcourt
24	George Washington	Class of the Atlantic 10 in my view
25	North Carolina	Unconvinced that this roster will work but too much talent and pedigree to not put on ballot

Overall Rationale

Others receiving consideration: Auburn, Baylor, Creighton, NC State, Oregon, Wisconsin