uconnball17's Week Pre-Season Ballot
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Duke | Deepest roster in the country, I trust their backcourt more than Florida's, which is why I give them the nod. |
| 2 | Florida | The best frontcourt in the country, as noted I like Duke's guards more, however; need to see Fland be more consistent |
| 3 | UConn | Best starting backcourt in the country; Hines was a beast in the exhibition beatdown over 'Cuse |
| 4 | Arizona | Krivas is great but Kharchenkov is my real favorite player on the team. Maybe not quite the depth of last year but top-end talent is perhaps even better |
| 5 | Illinois | Ton of depth, just not personally all-in on Mirkovic and Ivisic after seeing UConn handle this team twice last year |
| 6 | Michigan State | Fears my top returner in the country, not sold on the frontcourt minus Kohler but I like the potential |
| 7 | Arkansas | Classic Cal; buying the stud freshmen and Billy Richmond, though intrigued if Cooper Bowser holds up at this higher level |
| 8 | Houston | Can't possibly pick against Sampson even if on paper roster's not as good as last year's, but ranking I'm probably the least sure on because it's my most vibes-based |
| 9 | Texas | Johnson's a stud transfer and I like the potential of the freshmen; Punch I think is a hair overrated but he's still an excellent player |
| 10 | Virginia | De Ridder's awesome, he and Grunloh might be the nation's most underrated starting frontcourt; Mallory the x-factor |
| 11 | Louisville | Probably a touch lower on UL than the national consensus, just don't buy Flory as having the offensive game to be the AA so many think he will be |
| 12 | Kansas | Bumped up a couple this morning after the TKR news; pissed at Self for wading into those waters, but Stokes is a stud regardless; would have them 15-16ish w/o TKR |
| 13 | Alabama | Love the guards, but wish they'd kept Sherrell, gonna be a lot of pressure on Fielder to be him in the paint |
| 14 | St. John's | Enigmatic roster; not an Ian Jackson believer but do believe in Tounde - most important player is Ellis and he looks the part so far |
| 15 | Michigan | Perhaps a touch bitter still after last year's natty, but I just don't get the Cadeau hype; he's a top 40 player in the country, not top 10; really like McKenney and Thiam on the other hand |
| 16 | USC | Lowkey a pretty stacked roster; everyone knows about the frontcourt and the freshmen but the backcourt of Arenas, Rice, and the transfers excites me too |
| 17 | Tennessee | Dropped them about five spots after getting thrashed by Xavier; Juke's great but I've just got questions on the frontcourt |
| 18 | Villanova | Probably a little higher here but Crawford and Royal I think are both underrated, as is Tyler Perkins; Suigo get's the headlines, but those are their three best players |
| 19 | Vanderbilt | Tyler Tanner is awesome; intrigued to see how the revamped frontcourt looks, needs to be better than last year |
| 20 | Gonzaga | Not about to pick against Mark Few; Fogle's an obvious pick for a breakout season and I think he does it |
| 21 | Indiana | Really interesting rebuilt roster; knew Lindsay was an underrated newcomer and he popped off in the UNC exhibition; also an Aiden Sherrell fan |
| 22 | Kentucky | Think Milan is a touch overrated but do love his game; like the backcourt of Diallo/Wilkins but team fate will likely be decided by Moreno |
| 23 | Marquette | Nigel James is a beast and Fru gives them some frontcourt muscle to build around; not betting on Shaka having another down year |
| 24 | Miami (FL) | Henderson's a bulldog and I love getting Lewis and Cyril in the portal; excited to see what Caleb Gaskins is made of |
| 25 | Xavier | Nudged in after they beat Tennessee in Knoxville; probably some slight Big East bias but I did already like the roster, and 3MW's Big East preview also gassed them up |
Overall Rationale
First, my next five: 26. Ohio State, 27. UCLA, 28. North Carolina, 29. VCU, 30. Baylor (after seeing them beat UF; had a thought of jumping them all the way into my poll but held off). Now for my overall rationale. Except for noted instances where I am placing my trust moreso in the coach (Houston, Gonzaga, Marquette), I do my best to assess how I personally feel about each roster (tricky with fifth years), combining star power, depth, and continuity/familiarity. How I approach preseason rankings is usually very different from how I approach rankings during the season, once we have actual results. However, I have let some exhibition results influence my rankings, and I imagine more results might lead me to make further tiny tweaks (i.e., if Michigan St. beats UConn this week, 3-6 for me might become like 3. Arizona, 4. MSU, 5. UConn, 6. Illinois). Even though they're scrimmages, so I don't give total weight to it, on-court results are the most important data points when making assessments.