Arizona will dominate this NCAA season

With the Dukies, Terps and countless other strong collegiate basketball programs reeling from the losses of their big name stars to the NBA draft, and with veteran leadership spread thin throughout the league, which team has the combination of skill and grit needed to succeed during the regular season and in the predictably unpredictable madness of March?

Pre-season buzz has centered around three teams thought to be the elite of the league: the Arizona Wildcats, the Kansas Jayhawks and the Oklahoma Sooners. Each has something different to offer, with the Wildcats boasting incredible depth, the Jayhawks sporting an exciting Baxter/Dixon-ish senior duo and the Sooners featuring one of the nation's most dangerous backcourts.

Despite the strengths of Kansas and Oklahoma, Arizona, ranked number one in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll, will dominate this college season, and I will tell you why.

Both the Jayhawks and the Sooners return a good portion of their players from their final four teams of last year. The Jayhawks return five key players from last year's roster, including the Nick Collison/Kirk Hinrich inside/out combo but lost, over the off-season, one of the league's best players in Drew Gooden, who left early for the draft. The Sooners retained four of its starting five.

Arizona, on the other hand, does not have to worry about how many returning starters they have. The Wildcats have the rare luxury of being able to pick from a talented bench that could run as many as ten deep.

The Wildcats do have the option of relying on proven producers and future superstars as well as unproven up and comers. Sophomore guard Salim Stoudamire, who led the team with 90.4 free-throw percentage last year, settled nicely into his role and is expected to have a breakout season. Senior forward Rick Anderson averaged 12.4 points in less than thirty minutes per game last season and will do tremendous damage if he is on the court for longer. But, due to their depth, the Wildcats don't have to put pressure on Stoudamire and Anderson, which will allow them to develop and excel without a great deal of weight on their shoulders.

To those of you out there who argue that a few stand out stars could defeat a young, athletic and extremely talented but unproven team, don't turn your back on Arizona yet. They have something for everybody.

That "something" is two of the best all around players in the league, senior guard Jason Gardner and senior forward Luke Walton. Gardner led the team in scoring last year and is arguably the best point guard in the NCAA. Walton, besides being the son of one of the best college basketball players of all time, became the first non-guard to lead the Pac-10 in assists last year and is one of the early favorites to win the Player of the Year award.

These two players can be counted on to excel and to encourage production out of their younger teammates. If this happens and Arizona's freshman and sophomores live up to their potential, the older players may not even have to break a sweat this season.

I can also tell you why Oklahoma and Kansas won't win the NCAA Championship. The Jayhawks don't have what makes Arizona so special, depth. They have an outstanding starting five, but you need more than that to win consistently at the college level. Oklahoma doesn't have one of the most important aspects for any team, a legitimate big man. Expect these two teams to do well, but expect the Wildcats to do better.