The glory that is the college basketball season is well underway, and I’m looking forward to settling in tonight for two top teams in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, when Duke travels to Purdue. Baseball is the only sport I look forward to more than college basketball, and they really get things started right with all these Invitationals in exotic locales and conference vs. conference challenges. I’ve been catching as many games as I can so far, and here are my thoughts:
-The best start to finish game I’ve seen was Oklahoma’s win over Davidson. Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin has established 
himself as the early Player of the Year favorite, averaging a ridiculous 26 points and 19 rebounds for the 6-0 Sooners. Griffin was a favorite of mine last year, but I’ll have to share him with everyone now because he is just too good. He has an amazing combination of size, strength, quickness, and all-around athleticism. If he can keep improving his mid-range jumper, he will be an All-Star on the next level. Of course, Stephen Curry was also featured in this game, and all he did was drop 44 points on the Sooners. Curry’s season averages of 29 points and 7 assists could land him with Griffin on the 1st Team All-American roster by seasons end, as long as more teams don’t use the Loyola defense on him. Also keep an eye on Oklahoma’s freshman guard Willie Warren.
-I’ve seen the best team in the land, North Carolina, dismantle Kentucky and a very good Notre Dame team. The Tar Heels have the potential to be one of the very best college teams I’ve ever seen. Ty Lawson is one of the most fun players to watch, as he blazes by defenders and leaves them in the dust with one the best crossovers on the planet. The frontcourt depth did take a little hit when freshman Tyler Zeller, who started the first two games in place of Hansbrough, went down for the season with a broken wrist. As for the Irish, they will pile up points with Luke Harangody down low and an array of long-range bombers, led by Kyle McAlarney, who will jack up a three from just about anywhere on the court.
-Syracuse topped Florida in an entertaining game. The best player in that game was Florida’s Nick Calathes, a 6’6″ swingman who can do it all. Last year as a freshman, he led the SEC in assists and averaged 5 rebounds. He can score inside and out and is averaging 2.5 steals per game so far this season. He’s one of the best pure passers in the country, and he isn’t even a point guard. I’m often skeptical of Syracuse, but they are loaded up with a lot talent this year, especially on the perimeter, and Jim Boeheim even took his team on the road in this one and beat Florida. Shocking.
-Gonzaga put the major conferences on notice last night when they beat down Tennessee to win the Old Spice Classic. This might be the best Gonzaga team ever, and that’s saying something. All five starters can shoot from long-range, and then they bring maybe the best shooter on the team, Steven Gray, off the bench. But they’re not completely perimeter-oriented either, because Austin Daye and Josh Heytvelt give excellent low-post presence. Tennessee will recover from this loss. Tyler Smith is a superstar and they have plenty of depth to keep pressing and running like Bruce Pearl likes to do. They were lucky to get transfer PG Bobby Maze to replace Ramar Smith, who was kicked off the team after last season. These two teams will meet again in an interesting rematch in January.
-I caught Georgetown’s rout of Maryland yesterday. Maryland’s Greivis Vasquez is a great player in the same mold as Nick Calathes, but Georgetown kept him completely under wraps. The Hoyas should stay in the Top 25 mix all season. John Thompson III has done a fantastic job of resurrecting that program. He recruits well, they always play tough defensively, and the Princeton-style offense is often a thing of beauty.
-Duke just completed a comfortable win over Purdue, relying on some great defense and some not-so-great offensive execution by the Boilermakers. Obviously, Duke has loads of talent and I think the weight and muscle that Kyle Singler has added will be a boost for them, but the jury is still out on whether or not they are deserving of their current #4 ranking. A win at Purdue is impressive, but I’m not sold on Brian Zoubek as the lone starting big man for a title contender.
