Preseason Conference Predictions

ACC
1. North Carolina State
2. Duke
3. North Carolina
4. Florida State
5. Miami
6. Clemson
7. Maryland
8. Virginia Tech
9. Virginia
10. Wake Forest
11. Boston College
12. Georgia Tech

All-ACC
Lorenzo Brown, North Carolina State [jr]
Michael Snaer, Florida State [sr]
P.J. Hairston, North Carolina [soph]
C.J. Leslie, North Carolina State [jr]
James Michael McAdoo, North Carolina [soph]

Awards
Player of the Year: Michael Snaer, Florida State
Top Defender: Michael Snaer, Florida State
Best Freshman: Rodney Purvis, North Carolina State

Big East
1. Louisville
2. Syracuse
3. Notre Dame
4. Cincinnati
5. Georgetown
6. Marquette
7. Pittsburgh
8. South Florida
9. St. John's
10. Rutgers
11. Connecticut
12. Seton Hall
13. DePaul
14. Providence
15. Villanova

All-Big East
Vincent Council, Providence [sr]
Sean Kilpatrick, Cincinnati [jr]
C.J. Fair, Syracuse [jr]
Jack Cooley, Notre Dame [sr]
Gorgui Dieng, Louisville [jr]

Awards
Player of the Year: C.J. Fair, Syracuse
Top Defender: Gorgui Dieng, Louisville
Best Freshman: Steven Adams, Pittsburgh

Big Ten
1. Indiana
2. Ohio State
3. Michigan
4. Michigan State
5. Wisconsin
6. Minnesota
7. Illinois
8. Northwestern
9. Purdue
10. Iowa
11. Penn State
12. Nebraska

All-Big Ten
Aaron Craft, Ohio State [jr]
Trey Burke, Michigan [soph]
Deshaun Thomas, Ohio State [jr]
Trevor Mbakwe, Minnesota [sr]
Cody Zeller, Indiana [soph]

Awards
Player of the Year: Cody Zeller, Indiana
Top Defender: Aaron Craft, Ohio State
Best Freshman: Sam Dekker, Wisconsin

Big 12
1. Kansas
2. Baylor
3. Oklahoma State
4. West Virginia
5. Kansas State
6. Texas
7. Oklahoma
8. Iowa State
9. TCU
10. Texas Tech

All-Big 12
Myck Kabongo, Texas [soph]
Pierre Jackson, Baylor [sr]
Rodney McGruder, Kansas State [sr]
Le'Bryan Nash, Oklahoma State [soph]
Jeff Withey, Kansas [sr]

Awards
Player of the Year: Pierre Jackson, Baylor
Top Defender: Jeff Withey, Kansas
Best Freshman: Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State

Pac-12
1. Arizona
2. UCLA
3. Washington
4. Stanford
5. Colorado
6. California
7. Oregon
8. Oregon State
9. USC
10. Washington State
11. Arizona State
12. Utah

All-Pac-12
Chasson Randle, Stanford [soph]
Allen Crabbe, California [jr]
E.J. Singler, Oregon [sr]
Andre Roberson, Colorado [jr]
Brock Motum, Washington State [sr]

Awards
Player of the Year: Andre Roberson, Colorado
Top Defender: Aziz N'Diaye, Washington
Best Freshman: Shabazz Muhammad, UCLA

SEC
1. Kentucky
2. Florida
3. Missouri
4. Tennessee
5. Arkansas
6. Mississippi
7. Alabama
8. Texas A&M
9. Auburn
10. LSU
11. Georgia
12. Mississippi State
13. Vanderbilt
14. South Carolina

All-SEC
Flip Pressey, Missouri [jr]
Michael Dixon, Missouri [sr]
B.J. Young, Arkansas [soph]
Kenny Boynton, Florida [sr]
Jeronne Maymon, Tennessee [sr]

Awards
Player of the Year: Flip Pressey, Missouri
Top Defender: Laurence Bowers, Missouri
Best Freshman: Alex Poythress, Kentucky

2012-13 Preseason All-Americans and Award Predictions

First Team
Isaiah Canaan, Murray State [sr]
C.J. McCollum, Lehigh [sr]
Jamaal Franklin, San Diego State [jr]
Doug McDermott, Creighton [jr]
Cody Zeller, Indiana [soph]

*Zeller is the only player from a Power Six conference on the first team.

Second Team
Aaron Craft, Ohio State [jr]
Trey Burke, Michigan [soph]
Deshaun Thomas, Ohio State [jr]
Tony Mitchell, North Texas [soph]
Mike Moser, UNLV [jr]

*The first man out is senior Matthew Dellavedova of Saint Mary's, one of the Gaels' Australian imports.

All-Defense
Aaron Craft, Ohio State [jr]
Fuquan Edwin, Seton Hall [jr]
C.J. Aiken, St. Joseph's [jr]
Gorgui Dieng, Louisville [jr]
Jeff Withey, Kansas [sr]

*Indiana junior Victor Oladipo gets beaten out for the final spot by Seton Hall's Fuquan Edwin, who was second in the nation in thefts per contest during the 2011-12 campaign.

All-Freshman
Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State
Rodney Purvis, North Carolina State
Shabazz Muhammad, UCLA
Alex Poythress, Kentucky
Nerlens Noel, Kentucky

*UNLV's Anthony Bennett, who will be joining forces with Mike Moser in Las Vegas, is the sixth man on RBP's All-Freshman team.

Player of the Year: Cody Zeller, Indiana
The youngest of the Brothers Zeller was the single biggest reason for the Hoosiers' remarkable turnaround from Big Ten doormat just two seasons ago to the preseason pick to win the title according to both the AP and Coaches' polls.

Top Defender: Aaron Craft, Ohio State
If you have read RBP before, then you know how I feel about Mr. Craft.

Best Freshman: Alex Poythress, Kentucky

Poythress edges North Carolina State's Rodney Purvis for the preseason honor but could end up being only the third best freshman to suit up for the Wildcats this year.

RBP 2012-13 Preseason Rankings

1) Louisville: The best defensive team in the country is also one of the most talented, but I'm not sure the Cards can shoot from outside.

2) Indiana: The Hoosiers are more skilled and have better shooters than Louisville but are not as athletic or as tenacious on the defensive end.

3) Syracuse: I'm predicting a breakout season for junior forward CJ Fair.

4) Kentucky: The inexperienced Cats may take their lumps early, but Coach Cal will have this team ready to make a third straight trip to the Final Four by March.

5) Ohio State: If the supporting cast, especially on the frontline, steps up, the Buckeyes have a chance to win a national championship.

6) Kansas: The gap between the Jayhawks and the rest of the Big 12 seems like it has never been larger.

7) Michigan: Trey Burke is college basketball's version of Chris Paul.

8) North Carolina State: If Lorenzo Brown and Rodney Purvis can share the ball without incident, the Wolf Pack could have a special season.

9) Florida: The Gators will score points in bunches, but the national title contenders are ranked 1-8 on this list.

10) San Diego State: You would be hard-pressed to find a better perimeter trio than Xavier Thames, Chase Tapley, and Jamaal Franklin.

11) Duke: If the Blue Devils hope to make a deep run in March, freshman Rasheed Sulaimon will have to step into the role of go-to scorer vacated by Austin Rivers.

12) Michigan State: I have questions about Keith Appling as a floor general, but I resolved to stop doubting Tom Izzo's Spartans.

13) Notre Dame: Jerian Grant and Jack Cooley give the Irish an extremely productive inside-outside combo.

14) North Carolina: Lots of talent on Roy Williams' roster but not a lot by way of killer instinct.

15) Cincinnati: Mick Cronin's Bearcats have taken the title of the nation's grimiest team from the Pitt Panthers.

16) Wisconsin: As long as Bo Ryan is grinding meat in Madison, the Badgers will have a spot in RBP's  Preseason Top 25.

17) Memphis: After losing the hugely underrated Will Barton, the pressure is on junior point guard Joe
Jackson to fulfill his considerable potential.

18) Creighton: Doug McDermott and Gregory Echenique give the Bluejays a frontline that can play with teams from the Power Six conferences.

19) Missouri: Top ten-type talent in Columbia, but Frank Haith has his work cut out for him in terms of getting a bunch of new faces to play together.

20) Arizona: Sean Miller has done an excellent job of recruiting talent to Tucson, but I'm worried chemistry issues will plague this program for a second straight season.

21) UNLV: Dave Rice's squad is the second of three Mountain West teams on this list, as the MWC will once again outclass the Pac-12 as the premiere conference on the west coast.

22) Florida State: The Noles return one of the nation's best backcourts in Ian Miller and Michael Snaer.

23) Lehigh: After shocking Duke in the NCAA Tournament, the Mountain Hawks return their top four scorers and will "upset" Baylor on November 9 in Waco.

24) UCLA: This program is a mess, and the Bruins' ranking assumes Shabazz Muhammad will be cleared to play.

25) New Mexico: Lots of questions on the interior for the Lobos, but juniors Kendall Williams and Tony Snell provide plenty of perimeter firepower.

2011-12 NCAA Honors & Awards

First Team All-American

Isaiah Canaan, Murray State

Draymond Green, Michigan State

Thomas Robinson, Kansas

Jared Sullinger, Ohio State

Anthony Davis, Kentucky

Second Team All-American

Damian Lillard, Weber State

Marcus Denmon, Missouri

Doug McDermott, Creighton

Cody Zeller, Indiana

Tyler Zeller, North Carolina

All-Defensive Team

Aaron Craft, Ohio State

Kent Bazemore, Old Dominion

C.J. Aiken, St. Joseph's 

William Moseley, Northwestern State

Anthony Davis, Kentucky

All-Freshman Team

Trey Burke, Michigan

Austin Rivers, Duke

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kentucky

Cody Zeller, Indiana

Anthony Davis, Kentucky

Player of the Year: Anthony Davis, Kentucky

Top Defender: Anthony Davis, Kentucky

Best Freshman: Anthony Davis, Kentucky

Coach of the Year: Bill Self, Kansas

*And that wraps up the 2011-12 season.  2012-13 Preseason Top 25 is on its way.

2011-12 Conference Honors & Awards

After the 2011-12 season ended, I started working on conference-by-conference "Honors & Awards" posts.  I ran out of steam, having only finished the ACC and Big East posts.  Because I want to turn to the 2012-13 season (preseason Top 25, conference projections, All-American teams, etc.), I am posting the six power conferences all at once.

All-ACC

Kendall Marshall, North Carolina

Harrison Barnes, North Carolina

Mike Scott, Virginia

John Henson, North Carolina

Tyler Zeller, North Carolina

Player of the Year: Tyler Zeller, North Carolina

Top Defender: John Henson, North Carolina

Best Freshman: Austin Rivers, Duke

Coach of the Year: Leonard Hamilton, Florida State

All-Big East

Darius Johnson-Odom, Marquette

Jason Clark, Georgetown

Kris Joseph, Syracuse

Jae Crowder, Marquette

Kevin Jones, West Virginia

Player of the Year: Jae Crowder, Marquette

Top Defender: Gorgui Dieng, Louisville

Best Freshman: Moe Harkless, St. John's

Coach of the Year: John Thompson III, Georgetown

All-Big Ten

Aaron Craft, Ohio State

Jordan Taylor, Wisconsin

Draymond Green, Michigan State

Jared Sullinger, Ohio State

Cody Zeller, Indiana

Player of the Year: Draymond Green, Michigan State

Top Defender: Aaron Craft, Ohio State

Best Freshman: Cody Zeller, Indiana

Coach of the Year: Tom Crean, Indiana

All-Big 12

Tyshawn Taylor, Kansas

Marcus Denmon, Missouri

Royce White, Iowa State

Thomas Robinson, Kansas

Jeff Withey, Kansas

Player of the Year: Thomas Robinson, Kansas

Top Defender: Jeff Withey, Kansas

Best Freshman: Quincy Miller, Baylor

Coach of the Year: Bill Self, Kansas

Pac-12

Jorge Gutierrez, California

Devoe Joseph, Oregon

Jared Cunningham, Oregon State

Terrence Ross, Washington

Andre Roberson, Colorado

Player of the Year: Jared Cunningham, Oregon State

Top Defender: Jorge Gutierrez, California

Best Freshman: Tony Wroten, Washington

Coach of the Year: Tad Boyle, Colorado

SEC

John Jenkins, Vanderbilt

Jeffery Taylor, Vanderbilt

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kentucky

Arnett Moultrie, Mississippi State

Anthony Davis, Kentucky

Player of the Year: Anthony Davis, Kentucky

Top Defender: Anthony Davis, Kentucky

Best Freshman: Anthony Davis, Kentucky

Coach of the Year: John Calipari, Kentucky