3. Villanova and Kansas could field their best teams
Kansas and Villanova were the other two teams that cracked the top four. While they have impressive recruiting classes of their own, their teams are more traditional in nature. Both programs pride themselves on developing players and bear the fruits of that labor year after year. Opponents of the increasingly popular one and done player in college basketball will find solace in the play of the Wildcats and Jayhawks this year.
Villanova silenced those who doubted their ability to succeed in March last year under coach Jay Wright when they went out and won the NCAA Tournament in spectacular fashion. Though they lost starting point guard Ryan Arcidiacono and post Daniel Ochefu to graduation, the Wildcats should be loaded again this year.
Josh Hart, the leading scorer and second leading rebounder on last year’s team, is back. Kris Jenkins also returns with Hart on the wing, and he will look to improve on his averages of 13.6 and 3.9 rebounds per game. 6’7″ sophomore wing Mikal Bridges made his mark on the defensive end last year and will improve given more minutes this year. Sophomore point guard Jalen Brunson is well regarded and could break out this year with an expanded role. Post play remains a question mark for the Wildcats, but their talent is undeniable.
Kansas has won the regular season Big 12 title in each of the last 12 seasons and is heavily favored to win a 13th. Their team is well balanced and definitely deserves to be considered in the class of the other teams in the top four.
They bring back senior Frank Mason at point guard who averaged 12.3 points along with 4.6 assists and 4.3 rebounds last year. Devonte’ Graham will be back in Lexington’s backcourt as well after averaging 11 points and propelling himself into first round draft consideration last year. 6’8″ wing Josh Jackson is the favorite to go first in the 2017 NBA draft and should be the best freshman in Kansas since Andrew Wiggins—and possibly longer.
Junior guard Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk has been on NBA radars for years and should be a good shooter for the Jayhawks. As a former Scout.com No. 2 overall player for the class of 2015, Mississippi State transfer Malik Newman shouldn’t be forgotten either.
6’10 Carlton Bragg Jr. didn’t play much as a five-star freshman but should be ready to break out. He will be joined in the post by Landen Lucas, Udoka Azubuike, Dwight Coleby and Mitch Lightfoot. The amount of wing talent Kansas possesses is astounding, and overall the Jayhawks are as dangerous as ever.