The Top of MY College Bball Rankings

After watching Kansas State upset #1 Texas (even though KSU was the Vegas favorite), it made me think about who exactly are the top teams in the land. I still believe Texas is up there, but is no longer #1. Here's my top...7?

1. Kentucky

- John Wall. 'Nuff said.

2. Kansas

- Experience. Sherron Collins, Cole Aldrich, plus phenom Xavier Henry. If there was no John Wall, you'd be hearing a lot more of Xavier's name.

3. Texas

- Damion James is an All-American, Dexter Pittman is enormous, and Avery Bradley can do it all.

4. Syracuse

- Got all of the pieces to be great, including stone-cold sniper Andy Rautins

5. Duke

- Losses at Wisconsin and at Georgia Tech are excusable. Solid core with Nolan Smith, Kyle Singler, and Jon Scheyer, plus they add size with Zoubek and the Plumlee brothers

6. Villanova

- As deep as any team in the country, plus have a heady, savvy Scottie Reynolds running the point.

7. Michigan State

- Big Ten POY Kalin Lucas lead the Spartans, who are the cream of the crop in their conference.

What is the #1 thing that ties all of these programs together? Coaching.

Calipari, Self, Barnes, Boeheim, Krzyzewski, Jay Wright, Tom Izzo. Probably 7 of the top dozen coaches in the country. (I'd add in Roy Williams, Jim Calhoun, Bo Ryan, Bruce Pearl, and Mark Few)

USC...ugh.

Carroll leaves amid recruiting scandal, and who do the turn to? Another controversial coach in Lane Kiffin. Sure, it was probably Lane's dream job that opened up years before he expected, but leaving Tennessee a year after talking smack to Urban Meyer and all of the SEC? Now he's off to face inferior competition on the west coast in the Pac-10. This whole thing seems shady to me. And as the coaching carousel continues to turn, who is next up for the job at Tennessee? Peyton Manning?

Rapid Reaction - Packers

As much as I don't want to pin this on Aaron Rodgers, considering his 400+ yards and 4 TDs, it's hard not to point to a few times in which he could have really made some plays. Completely putting the unfortunate game-ending play aside, the game should never have come down to that play. Overthrowing receivers on numerous deep balls took the wind out of the Packers sails, and caused them to become more conservative in their play calling. Give McCarthy credit, he had the balls to call the big plays and take the risks. Take the onside kick for example. Brilliant playcall, even better execution. And then going for the jugular right away in overtime was a gutsy call too. Jennings had the d-back beat. He got the defender on the inside shoulder, planted with his left foot, and cut right with nothing but green space in front of him. All he had to do was wait for the pass to come to him. Rodgers let it fly, but overshot Jennings by about 5-6 yards. Looking at second down, McCarthy had to call a screen pass which resulted in a positive gain, but was called back by a critical holding penalty. It's unfortunate how it ended, but I have to think the Packers are one of the favorites going into the 2010 season. With Grant becoming an upper-tier back, Jennings/Driver/Finley/etc. as one of the best receiving corps in the league, Barnett/Matthews/Hawk as legit linebackers, a 3-4 defense that is coming together, and a Pro Bowl QB in Rodgers, I think the Packers should be looking at a 12-4/13-3 season next year...at worst.

Carroll To Seattle Makes No Sense

Let me start this off by saying I hate USC. As a Notre Dame fan, I'm obligated to. The Bush Push was one of the worst sports moments of my life. I would love to see the Trojans program self-destruct by losing their head coach and all of these recruiting violation allegations come to full light. But still, I can't wrap my head around this story.

Why would Pete Carroll give up one of the cushiest jobs on the planet for a gig with a middling NFL team? He has absolutely no reason to leave USC. For starters, it's in Los Angeles, where it's always beautiful. Playing at the Rose Bowl in Southern California is enough recruiting material to keep NFL prospects chugging through the system (even if they are getting paid like NFLers at SC). And even that whole situation will blow over, and if it doesn't it won't stick on Carroll. He has averaged a 10-2 season in his 9 years as Trojans head coach, which ensures job security essentially for as long he wants to stay. But why should that be only through the 2009 season?

Seattle isn't that enticing of a job. They have an aging quarterback with declining skills, a running back tandem that isn't elite, and they are stuck up in the Northwest with little national coverage and a lot of rain. Sure, they have TJ Houshmazilly, but the team has gone 4-12 and 5-11 in two years since getting destroyed by the Packers in the playoffs in January 2008.

If Carroll IS going to leave for an NFL job, at least wait till an enticing job opens up. Or maybe he could be the head coach when the Jaguars move to Los Angeles. Either way, I can't fathom a reason why Carroll would want to leave USC.