Men's Basketball Team Continues To Draw Summer Reviews
6/12/2000 8:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
June 12, 2000
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Two months after Dick Vitale proclaimed the 2000-01 Maryland Terrapins his preseason No. 4-ranked contender, a major Internet site has selected the Terps to its No. 4 position, as well.
Vitale, just days after last season's Final Four concluded in Indianapolis, chose Maryland to join Duke, Arizona and Florida among his four favorites for 2001. Now, Sportsline.com has made Gary Williams' Terrapins its fourth pick behind Arizona, Duke and North Carolina.
Sound scary? Three of those top four hail from the Atlantic Coast Conference, lending credence to preseason hype that the ACC will be as deep and talented as ever. Virginia joins the trio among the top 20, and 2000 NIT finalists Wake Forest and NC State are not far behind at Nos. 32 and 33. No other conference boasts as many teams in the top 10. The ACC and Southeastern Conference are the only leagues with as many as four schools in the top 20.
Looking ahead, last season's 25-10 Terps return their entire starting lineup and all but one roster member from a club which finished second to Duke in the ACC and fell to the Blue Devils in the ACC Tournament final.
All-American forward Terence Morris returns to lead the cast, aided heavily by first-team All-ACC standouts Juan Dixon and Lonny Baxter who helped transform Maryland into a huge success story last season. Forward Danny Miller and ACC All-Freshman guard Steve Blake both return.
And joining the talented contingent are a pair of highly-anticipated newcomers: Tulane transfer and former Green Wave scoring leader Byron Mouton who becomes eligible this season after an NCAA-required redshirt season, and incoming freshman Chris Wilcox, a 6-10 banger from Raleigh (N.C.) Enloe High who is expected to aid the inside tandem of Baxter and senior center Mike Mardesich.
Here is a look at Sportsline.com's preseason top 40.
SportsLine.com Staff
June 5, 2000
Now that the National Basketball Association's early-entry deadline has passed and a good portion of spring semester grades are out, the view to a preseason Top 40 becomes clearer.
Things still could change, as players who have declared for the NBA have until June 20 to change their minds (are you listening, Jason Kapono?) and summer school historically knocks a handful of players out of the box.
But, for now, here's how it's looking, with the top two teams set in NBA-proof stone.
| Rk. | Team | Comment |
| 1 | Arizona | C Loren Woods leads five returning starters. Can they avoid injuries this time? |
| 2 | Duke | Four starters return and frosh G Chris Duhon is hot stuff. |
| 3 | North Carolina | New PG just needs to get the ball to Joseph Forte and Brendan Haywood. |
| 4 | Maryland | Terps are loaded for a run at Duke and UNC atop the ACC. |
| 5 | Florida | Gators are well-positioned for departure of Mike Miller. |
| 6 | Tennessee | Have the talent to be No. 1, but can they shake off shaky history? |
| 7 | Kansas | Losing impact freshman DeShawn Stevenson hurts, but talent is still evident. |
| 8 | Stanford | Still-young team (3 starters back) still deeper than most opponents. |
| 9 | Michigan State | Impossible to replace Cleaves and MoPete. But the frosh are talented. |
| 10 | Seton Hall | Of all the nation's preps, the best is F Eddie Griffith. And he's going to school. |
| 11 | Kentucky | Need to fill the enforcer role vacated by Jamaal Magloire. |
| 12 | Illinois | There is life after Lon Kruger. Just ask Florida. |
| 13 | DePaul | Quentin Richardson's departure could force others to blossom. |
| 14 | St. John's | There's plenty to replace, but Mike Jarvis is stockpiling talent. |
| 15 | Iowa State | Yes, Marcus Fizer is gone. But Larry Eustachy isn't. |
| 16 | Virginia | If PG Majestic Mapp matures, Donald Hand moves to SG ... look out. |
| 17 | Louisiana State | Would soar toward top if Stromile Swift changes mind again and comes back. |
| 18 | Utah | Duke transfer Chris Burgess could ease pain of losing Hanno Mottola. |
| 19 | Temple | John Chaney has a rare talent in F Ronald Blackshear. |
| 20 | Notre Dame | Troy Murphy and Oklahoma transfer Ryan Humphrey form tough front line. |
| 21 | Arkansas | SEC Tournament title was no fluke. Soph Joe Johnson is a super talent. |
| 22 | Cincinnati | DerMarr Johnson leaves early, top recruit bombs out, expectations wane. |
| 23 | Auburn | Addition of PG Adam Harrington will help Tigers keep pace in SEC West. |
| 24 | UCLA | If Jason Kapono comes to his senses, the Bruins' stock will improve. |
| 25 | Southern California | Henry Bibby teams are gutty -- and this one is talented, too. |
| 26 | Ohio State | With the Redd-Penn duo gone, Buckeyes need a new identity. |
| 27 | Texas | Depleted frontcourt means JC PG Freddie Williams will need to be a leader. |
| 28 | Connecticut | No Khalid El-Amin puts pressure on Jim Calhoun's fresh faces. |
| 29 | Iowa | Year Two under Steve Alford see Hawks make a run in the Big Ten. |
| 30 | Wisconsin | Madison is never a fun road trip and this team will be hugely confident. |
| 31 | Georgetown | PG Kevin Braswell could be Erick Barkley without the NCAA probes. |
| 32 | Wake Forest | Three NIT trips in a row, 2000 NIT title creates momentum toward 2001. |
| 33 | N.C. State | Talented team needs to make the NCAA Tourney now. |
| 34 | Indiana | All eyes will be on Bob Knight, who will need to coach this group up a bit. |
| 35 | Missouri | Losing Keyon Dooling hurts, but getting Ricky Paulding helps. |
| 36 | George Washington | SirValiant Brown and everybody else is back. Now, about that defense ... |
| 37 | Michigan | NCAA Tourney is a possibility. Team tranquility is a must. |
| 38 | Brigham Young | Best recruiting class in a decade. If only they had missionary Mark Bigelow. |
| 39 | Syracuse | SG Tony Bland is transferring out as latest in a series of personnel losses. |
| 40 | Memphis | John Calipari has the talent to win in watered-down Conference USA. |
