Trio of one: unparalleled parity makes this season as wide-open as ever, with three teams—Oklahoma, Arizona, and Kansas—the cream of the crop - thanks, mid-majors - Men's Top 25

Basketball Digest, Dec, 2002 by Tom Kertes

30. KENTUCKY: Three years of turmoil, defections, and suspensions are finally taking their toll on this storied program. Still, juco superduper Antwain Barbour is a major catch. But can he carry this poor-shooting team (31.7% treys and 67.6% from the line) while playing out of position at point guard?

31. GEORGIA TECH: The long-struggling Yellow Jackets are ready to jump back into the thick of things--perhaps all the way to the top of the suddenly too-young ACC. You want potential? Six-seven Ed Nelson and 6'3" B.J. Elder finished first and third in last year's ACC Rookie of the Year race, improving daily as the Techies won seven of nine down the stretch. And incoming rook Chris Bosh, a versatile 6'10" wonder, should be better than either of them.

32. SOUTHERN ILLINOIS: The 28-8 Salukis knocked off Texas Tech and Georgia in the NCAAs and bring three starters back. The guard play is fine and 6'8" senior forward Jermaine Dearman (19.7 ppg and 9.3 rpg in the NCAA Tournament) is a real tower of power. Still, somewhere somehow, this team must discover a center.

32. VILLANOVA: If it wasn't for all those turnovers (worst in the Big East), these too-wild 19-12 Wildcats would not have been the highest-RPI team (No. 41) to miss the NCAAs. An outstanding, nationally top-five ranked recruiting class, however, should do wonders for everyone's psyche and might mature by March.

34. CREIGHTON: Florida's NCAA conquerors lose just one major factor (miracle-shot maker Terrell Taylor) and return 6'7" Kyle Korver (15.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 3.3 apg, and 1.6 spg), perhaps the finest all-around player in the ever-underrated MVC. The sweetshooting 6'7" swinger has connected on 242 treys and hit 87% of his freebies throughout his career.

38. NORTH CAROLINA STATE: This is another unsung squad that could take the entire enchilada in the wide-open ACC. But that could happen if, and only if, 6'6" sophomore Julius Hodge--a bigtime talent at forward--takes a shine to the point guard spot.

BASKETBALL DIGEST'S
Men's Top 25

 1. Oklahoma
 2. Arizona
 3. Kansas
 4. Pittsburgh
 5. Maryland
 6. Connecticut
 7. Duke
 8. Georgetown
 9. Western Kentucky
10. Xavier
11. Gonzaga
12. Texas
13. Cincinnati
14. Florida
15. UNLV
16. Georgia
17. Oregon
18. Indiana
19. Marquette
20. Penn
21. Pepperdine
22. LSU
23. Michigan State
24. Alabama
25. Notre Dame

Top Five in the Paint                Top Five on the Perimeter

1. GEORGETOWN                        1. OKLAHOMA
Michael Sweetney, Wesley Wilson,     Hollis Price, Quannas White, Jason
Brandon Bowman, Victor Samnick,      Detrick, DeAngelo Alexander, Ebi
Courtland Freeman                    Ere

2. GONZAGA                           2. ARIZONA
Cory Violette, Zach Gourde, Ronny    Jason Gardner, Salim Stoudamire,
Turiaf, Dustin Villepegue,           Will Bynum, Luke Walton, Chris
Richard Fox                          Rodgers, Hassan Adams

3. KANSAS                            3. KANSAS
Nick Collison, Wayne Simien, Jeff    Aaron Miles, Kirk Hinrich, Keith
Graves, Moulaye Niang                Langford, Jeff Hawkins

4. COLORADO                          4. NOTRE DAME
David Harrison, Stephane Pelle,      Chris Thomas, Matt Carroll,
Amadou Doubouya, Chris Copeland      Torrian Jones, Danny Miller

5. WESTERN KENTUCKY                  5. CONNECTICUT
Chris Marcus, David Boyden, Nate     Ben Gordon, Taliek Brown, Tony
Williams, Caleb Holcombe             Robertson, Scott Hazelton, Rashand
                                     Anderson, Denham Brown

Top 10 Impact Freshmen

 1. Carmelo Anthony (6'7" SE Syracuse)
 2. Raymond Felton (6'1" PG, North Carolina)
 3. Chris Bosh (6'11" C, Georgia Tech)
 4. Rashad McCants (6'4" SG, North Carolina)
 5. Torin Francis (6'10" PF, Notre Dame)
 6. Kevin Bookout (6'8" PF, Oklahoma)
 7. Jason Frasier (6'10" C, Vilianova)
 8. Brad Buckman (6'8" PF, Texas)
 9. Paut Davis (6'9" PF, Michigan State)
10. Elijah Ingrain (6'0" PG, St. John's)

To Five Juco Transfers

1. Jaimie Lloreda (6'9" PE LSU)
2. Jamar Smith (6'9" PE Maryland)
3. Antwain Barbour (6'5" G/F, Kentucky)
4. Rashi Johnson (6'2" PG, Michigan State)
5. Jeff Graves (6'9" C, Kansas)

To Five Impact Transfers

1. Demetrius Hunter (Georgetown to UNLV)
2. Todd Billet (Rutgers to Virginia)
3. Danny Miller (Maryland to Notre Dame)
4. John Crispin (Penn State to UCLA)
5. Damien Wilkins (N.C. State to Georgia)

All-Sleeper Team

PG: Derrick Zimmerman (Mississippi State)
SG: Romain Sato (Xavier)
SF: Ricky Paulding (Missouri)
PF: Jason Maxiell (Cincinnati)
C:  Wesley Wilson (Georgetown)

Top Five Additions
By Subtraction

1. Rod Grizzard SF, Alabama
2. Smush Parker PG, Fordham
3. Adrian Walton, SG, Fordham
4. Darius Lane, SG, Seton Hall
5. Tony Stockman, SG, Ciemson

Top Five "Welcome Backs"
(Glad They Stayed)

1. Chris Marcus, C, Western Kentucky
2. Jason Gardner, PG, Arizona
3. David West, PF Xavier
4. Jason Kapono, SF UCLA
5. Brett Nelson, SG, Florida

Top Five Conferences

1. Big 12
2. Big East
3. Pac-10
4. Big Ten
5. ACC