Saw this on the UL board and had to chuckle:
[b]Bartow's Top 10 players by position for the upcoming 2004-05 ***Projections based more on how players will accel in the upcoming season and not simply on past achievements. Players are listed by the position they play in college, not by pro projection.Centers
Honorable Mention: Elton Brown, 6β9ββ, Sr., Virginia; Torin Francis, 6β10ββ, Jr., Notre Dame; Jason Fraser, 6β9ββ, Jr., Villanova; Paul Davis, 6β11ββ, Jr., Michigan State; Mike Wilkinson, 6β8ββ, Sr., Wisconsin; LaMarcus Alridge, 7β0ββ, Fr., Texas; Martin Iti, 7β0ββ, Soph., UNC-Charlotte; Rob Little, 6β10ββ, Sr., Stanford; Amit Tamir, 6β11ββ, Sr., Cal; Glen βBig Babyβ Davis, 6β8ββ, Fr., LSU.
10. Luke Schenscher, 7β1ββ, Sr., Georgia Tech - His development gives the perimeted-oriented Yellow Jackets some type of offensive balance. Should form a nice inside duo with incoming recuit, RaβShaun Dickey.
9. Eric Williams, 6β9ββ, Jr., Wake Forest - Animal on the boards if he can keep weight down and out of foul trouble. Will be top post player on one of the nationβs elite teams.
8. Matt Nelson, 7β0ββ, Sr., Colorado State - Will be a treat to watch late Monday nights.
7. Josh Boone, 6β10ββ, Soph., UCONN - Energetic, skilled force on the boards. Will backbone the Huskies attempt to defend their title.
6. Channing Frye, 6β10ββ, Sr., Arizona - Where did he go last year? Was a double-double machine as a soph. Needs to bounce back for Arizona to matter again.
5. Chris Taft, 6β10ββ, Soph., Pitt - Pitt will again roll to an outstanding record, much in part to his progress!
4. Randolph Morris, 7β0ββ, Fr., Kentucky - Could have the biggest - literally - impact of any freshman in the nation!
3. Sean May, 6β8ββ, Jr., North Carolina - Has focused on improving his strength, conditioning and speed! Results have already shown as he averaged a double-double in leading the USA to a gold medal in the 21-and-under games.
2. Shelden Williams, 6β9ββ, Jr., Dook - βShe-Willβ is a force on the blocks. Will get 17 ppg and 9 rbp game. The only thing holding him back is Dookβs launch-it style.
- Ronny Turiaf, 6β10ββ, Sr., Gonzaga - Few in the country play with more passion or more efficiently. Will get even more touches and should put up some monster numbers!
Power Forwards
Honorable Mention: Jawad Williams, 6β8ββ, Sr., North Carolina; Charlie Villanueva, 6β10ββ, Soph., UCONN; Dennis Latimore, 6β8ββ, Sr., Notre Dame; Roger Powell, 6β6ββ, Sr., Illinois; Linas Kleinza, 6β8ββ, Soph., Missouri; Brad Buckman, 6β8ββ, Jr., Texas; Kevin Bookout, 6β8ββ, Jr., Oklahoma; Jason Maxiell, 6β7ββ, Sr., Cincinnati; Andrew Bogut, 6β10ββ, Soph., Utah; Odartney Blankson, 6β7ββ, Sr., UNLV; Leon Powe, 6β8ββ, Soph., Cal; David Lee, 6β9ββ, Sr., Florida.
10. Brandon Bass, 6β8ββ, Soph., LSU - Made a wise decision not to leave early. Will be the backbone of one of the naitonβs elite frontcourts in Baton Rouge.
9. Vytas Danelius, 6β9ββ, Sr., Wake Forest - My call for βcomebackβ player of the year after a dissapointing Jr. campaign filled with inconsistency, injury and fouls.
8. Craig Smith, 6β7ββ, Jr., Boston College - A load that will have to carry his teamβs scoring like Danya Abrams of yester-year.
7. Marvin Williams, 6β9ββ, Fr., North Carolina - He is good. Actually he is really, really good. A solid-character kid that can score from all over.
6. Chuck Hayes, 6β6ββ, Sr., Kentucky - The heart and soul of the Wildcats.
5. Ike Diogu, 6β8ββ, Jr., Arizona State - Should return to the dominant flashes he showed as freshman!
4. Ryan Gomes, 6β7ββ, Sr., Providence - Will be the focal point of every defense he faces! Can he possibly repeat the great year he had a year ago?
3. Hakim Warrick, 6β8ββ, Sr., Syracuse - Few players get more touches throughout a game and few others make dunking look so effortless. His return puts the Orange back in the top 10.
2. Lawrence Roberts, 6β9ββ, Sr., Mississippi State - SEC player of the year - again!?!?
- Wayne Simien, 6β9ββ, Sr., Kansas - Absolute force on the mid-to-low blocks. Makes Selfβs high-low system thrive.
Wing Forwards
Honorable Mention: Chevon Troutman, 6β7ββ, Sr., Pitt; Curtis Sumpter, 6β7ββ, Jr., Villanova; Alan Anderson, 6β6ββ, Sr., Michigan State; Alando Tucker, 6β5ββ, Soph., Wisconsin; Antoine Wright, 6β7ββ, Jr., Texas A&M; Demario Eddins, 6β7ββ, Jr., UAB; Dijon Thompson, 6β7ββ, Sr., UCLA; Kelenna Azubuike, 6β5ββ, Jr., Kentucky, Kennedy Winston, 6β6ββ, Jr., Alabama.
10. Steve Novak, 6β10ββ, Jr., Marquette - Quite possibly the 3-point shooting frontcourt player in the nation!
9. Adam Morrison, 6β8ββ, Soph., Gonzaga - His scoring numbers should blow through the roof now that he is option #2.
8. Matt Walsh, 6β6ββ, Jr., Florida - Great passer and slick ball handler. Now just if he can guard anyone?
7. Rudy Gay, 6β8ββ, Fr., UCONN - Will be UCONNβs βnext star.β Should start and make a giant impact from day one!
6. Sean Banks, 6β8ββ, Soph., Memphis - Chalk down 20 ppg minimum.
5. Keith Langford, 6β4ββ, Sr., Kansas - Great slasher who plays with high energy. Was kind of dissapointing a year ago going from a fast-break offense to more of a slow-down approach. Could be playing for the nationβs #1 ball club!?!
4. Nik Caner-Medley, 6β8ββ, Jr., Maryland - An absolute warrior! Tough on the boards and makes clutch shots! The Terps will bounce back into the nationβs top 10 this year while playing in easily the countryβs best conference again.
3. Joey Graham, 6β7ββ, Sr., Oklahoma State - Stud. His stock is going up and up baby.
2. Hassan Adams, 6β4ββ, Jr., Arizona - Wonβt have to play out of position at the 4 this year, so his game should thrive. Maybe the most explosive finisher in the country - wait, he probably is.
- Francisco Garcia, 6β7ββ, Jr., Louisville - Ultra smooth and so versatile. Will be the emotion backbone of the Cards return to the top dozen teams in the land.
Shooting Guards
Honorable Mention: Rashad Anderson, 6β5ββ, Soph., UCONN; Chris Hill, 6β3ββ, Sr., Michigan State; Shannon Brown, 6β3ββ, Soph., Michigan State; Joe Crawford, 6β3ββ, Fr., Kentucky.
10. Bracey Wright, 6β3ββ, Jr., Indiana - If Indiana gets back to the dance it will be because of him raising the level of not only his game, but everyoneβs performance around him.
9. Dee Brown, 6β0ββ, Jr., Illinois - Gunner. Part of one of the top 5 best backcourts in the nation. The Illini will be the Big 10 title hunt all year long without a doubt.
8. Salim Stoudamire, 6β1ββ, Sr., Arizona - Loves - and hits - the big shot. But just like the rest of the Arizona program, he dissappeared last year. Needs a big bounce-back year and should get it with the addition of much-needed depth and size of the βCats roster.
7. B.J. Elder, 6β4ββ, Sr., Georgia Tech - One of the nationβs best outside shooters in a system that allows him to jack it up. Will be the third guard (along with Jack and Will Bynum) as Jackets will be playing with expectations for the first time in recent memory.
6. J.J. Redick, 6β4ββ, Jr., Dook - One dimensional 3-point shooter. Nothing more, nothing less.
5. Daniel Ewing, 6β3ββ, Sr., Dook - The do-it-all force for the Blue Devils this year and the playmaker that will make things go for them.
4. Gerry McNamara, 6β2ββ, Jr., Syracuse - Very streaky gunner who should thrive with less ball-handling duties and the maturation of βCuse depth.
3. J.R. Giddens, 6β5ββ, Soph., Kansas - Explosive! Replaced Langford and the Jayhawks go-to threat on the perimeter.
2. Rashad McCants, 6β4ββ, Jr., North Carolina - Led the ACC in first-team all-league votes. Could finally be able to play his natural position.
- Julius Hodge, 6β6ββ, Sr., North Carolina State - Proven playmaker that will need to carry even more of a burden for his team to have a shot at cracking the top 5 - in the ACC.
Point Guards
Honorable Mention: Chris Thomas, 6β1ββ, Sr., Notre Dame; Deron Williams, 6β3ββ, Jr., Illinois; Daniel Horton, 6β3ββ, Jr., Michigan; Daniel Gibson, 6β3ββ, Fr., Texas; Taquan Dean, 6β3ββ, Jr., Louisville; Darius Washington, 6β0ββ, Fr., Memphis; Aaron Brooks, 5β11ββ, Soph., Oregon; Anthony Roberson, 6β1ββ, Jr., Florida; C.J. Watson, 6β2ββ, Jr., Tennessee.
10. Aaron Miles, 6β1ββ, Sr., Kansas - Few people have as many weapons to go-to than him. Will be the heart beat for one of the nationβs top 3 teams.
9. Carl Krauser, 6β2ββ, Jr., Pitt - The rock on both ends for again one of the nationβs top defensive ball clubs.
8. Nate Robinson, 5β8ββ, Jr., Washington - Ok, he is the most explosive player in the country. Will lead the Huskies to the big dance and give them their best of winning the PAC-10 in ages.
7. John Lucas III, 5β11ββ, Sr., Oklahoma State - Clutch. A gamer.
6. Mustafa Shakur, 6β3ββ, Soph., Arizona - His stock will soar as Arizonaβs bounces back.
5. John Gilchrist, 6β3ββ, Jr., Maryland - Same as Shakur.
4. Travis Diener, 6β1ββ, Sr., Marquette - Plays for the worst team of any of the top 10 point guards. Great leader, shooter. Imagine if he had any help down low!?!
3. Jarret Jack, 6β3ββ, Jr., Georgia Tech - Solid as they great. The buzz should be back among the nationβs top 10 and he will the reason why as the teamβs top player.
2. Chris Paul, 6β0ββ, Soph., Wake Forest - Same can be said for Paul, too.
- Raymond Felton, 6β1ββ, Jr., North Carolina - Unselfish burner. His scoring will increase this year as he commands the nationβs top scoring offense in their quest to win the national championship and complete his destiny.[/b]
Hmmm⦠an Iti mention, but no Curtis Withers? And who the heck is UNC-Charlotte?
This hack might want to brush up on some job-related reading. I suggest: