Wednesday, November 10, 2004

Sleepers

Memphis: It pains me to say nice things about John Calipari, but he’s put assembled an intriguing collection of talent at Memphis. Sean Banks is one the twenty best players in the nation; Rodney Carney, Anthony Rice, and Jeremy Hunt are all rangy, athletic, useful wings; if Darius Washington can adequately replace Antonio Burks at the point and Waki Williams adds some quality post play to the mix, Memphis could be scary good.

Oklahoma: Last year was a mess in Norman, but Drew Lavender is now a sophomore point guard, Kevin Bookout has two healthy shoulders, and Taj Gray is everyone’s pick for Big 12 Newcomer of the Year. Fourth place is definitely up for grabs in the Big 12, but if Kelvin Sampson finds enough defensive-minded role players to complement his three best players he could again suppress opponent’s scoring sufficiently to challenge the young Texas team for third place.

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