And Kansas is Number 3, behind OSU (1) and Wake Forest (2). Keep in mind that Sportsline picked Gonzaga as their preseason #1 last year.

Doyel says of Kansas:

No. 3 Kansas
Ranked too high if: None of the freshman big men is ready to fill the production void left by the losses of Jeff Graves and David Padgett.

Ranked too low if: Wings J.R. Giddens and Keith Langford are good for 35 points per game and point guard Aaron Miles becomes a 40-percent shooter on 3-pointers.

I’m not contesting Doyel’s positioning of Kansas, but I do think it’s useful to look at his reasoning.

First the big men. Graves and Padgett accounted for 12.9 points, 9.4 rebounds and 6.24 fouls a game last year. This year, Giles, Kaun and Jackson will need to average 4.3 points and 3.13 rebounds a game to match the numbers of G and P last year. That, I honestly don’t think will be an issue at all.

They’ll spend more minutes on the floor as a group on the floor because they’ve got more minutes to give. This should result in more rebounds and defensive consistency one way or another. Plus, Moody seems to have gotten a little drier behind the ears, and I expect significant contributions from him this year as well.

Now the wings: Langford and Giddens averaged almost 27 points a game last year, over the course of the whole year. Towards the end of the year, Giddens was scoring a lot more. Additionally, Miles, who shot 33% for the year, was miserable to start and shot something very near 40% after conference play began. As a matter of fact, KU’s three point shooting as a team, which was during the first part of the season, was around 25%, ended up at almost 38%, which put them near the top of the Big 12. I don’t think Aaron has to shoot 40% on a lot of attempts, I just think he needs to be a threat, so that people have to play him fairly tight.

In any case, I think that Doyel’s worst case scenario is highly improbable, and his best case scenario very much resembles the reality of the second half of the season of last year. Here’s the rest of the top 25.

1. OSU
2. Wake Forest
3. Kansas
4. Illinois
5. UConn
6. Michigan State
7. Georgia Tech
8. Syracuse
9. Arizona
10. Pittsburgh
11. North Carolina
12. Wisconsin
13. Kentucky
14. Texas
15. Mississippi State
16. Louisville
17. Washington
18. Memphis
19. North Carolina State
20. Notre Dame
21. Maryland
22. Michigan
23. Duke
24. Charlotte
25. UCLA

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Saint Joseph’s guard Pat Carroll will miss 2-to-3 weeks with a dislocated shoulder, but could be ready for the Hawks’ Nov. 23 opener at Kansas, the school said Thursday.

The 6-foot-5 Carroll, who averaged 10.1 points last season, dislocated his right shoulder in a fall at Tuesday’s practice.
Carroll, a senior, led the Atlantic 10 for the second straight season in 3-point shooting at 45.8 percent.

And you thought Phil Martelli had a chip on his shoulder, now he’s trying to put it on his players’ shoulders…

Is UNC AD Dick Baddour going to be crushed, or will he be allowed to fly like the butimous dove he surely is?

Another question, and almost certainly a cheap shot? Does anyone think he would have better success if his eyebrows matched his hair color?

Here’s the link. And here’s the Phog Blog condensed article via a money quote:

Speculation has been running rampant that Baddour’s position is tenuous at best, and multiple independent sources have confirmed that a decision has been made to move the UNC athletics department in another direction

This paragraph didn’t get past the editors, but Phog Blog, through no small amount of pre-Halloween necromancy, was able to obtain a pre-release copy:

Witnesses say that former UNC coach Dean Smith emerged from the shadows to have a discussion with Roy Williams. Under a stipulation of Coach Williams’ contract with the University, “he has the choice to either crush the standing athletic director with his power of influence or let said standing athletic director fly with visions for a better total program at his discretion.” One student, who claimed to be an excellent lipreader, said that she ‘read’ Smith say “Crush Crush Crush!” Neither Smith nor Williams was available for comment.

It doesn’t look good for Baddour.

Actual Poll below…

From the USA Today:

For all the bumps in the road the Kansas Jayhawks faced last season, all of the transition issues in the shift from being Roy Williams’ team to Bill Self’s, they wound up one overtime defeat short of a third consecutive Final Four.

The remaining combination of talent and experience convinced voters in the USA TODAY/ESPN preseason coaches poll to select the Jayhawks as the No. 1 team.

So the trial for the murder of Patrick Dennehy has been delayed for at least 4 months, while Dotson is in a mental hospital. Apparently Dotson’s fragile mental state is quite fragile, and this isn’t a ploy by the defense:

The judge’s ruling came after three experts — one for the defense, one for the prosecution and one appointed by the court — all found that Dotson was incompetent to stand trial.

Dr. Stephen L. Mark, the court-appointed psychiatrist, said Dotson appears to be hallucinating and suffers from psychosis but that, with treatment at a hospital, he could regain competency to stand trial “in the foreseeable future.”

Some people close to Dotson said he reported hearing voices and seeing visions as early as 2002.

My feet are tapping. I’m nervous and excited. The Red Sox curse is over thanks to $180 million in payroll.

KU basketball is 10 days away.

Did anyone else in Kansas City notice the Phog literally blanket the city upon the arrival of media day? Coincidence?

There’s a good article by Jason King in the KCS today about Russell Robinson and Aaron Miles. Here’s the money quote, in case you were looking for it:

“Having Russell is going to allow us to play a lot faster,” Miles said. “Plus, we’ll be able to pressure the ball for the whole game rather than just doing it at certain times. He’s one of the best defenders I’ve ever played against.”

I’ve never been an advocate of cannibalism, but I have to tell you that I will enjoy watching Aaron and Russell eating opposing guards alive this year.

I’m going to have to quote Magic Johnson here, describing a young Michael Jordan several years ago: “Not only he quick, he fast, he quick and fast!

Click on Wayne’s head to be taken to the slideshow. These guys are looking more like men everyday.

Or so says Coach Self…kind of.

Skip Myslenski weighs in on this year’s Jayhawks, comparing and contrasting the various things the team has to worry about.

While last year, we were all wondering about whether Bill Self was a good enough coach for KU, whether, perhaps, our years of bountiful harvest were over, whether we could well, continue to be the Jayhawks, the team was trying to adjust to a new system, complete with a new coach.

This year, the players are more comfortable:

“We’re in a better position to lead this year,” added Jayhawks senior guard Keith Langford. “Last year we couldn’t lead because everything was a new thing. But now we can guide the other guys on what coach is thinking about.”

Miles is pretty direct about the team’s goals this year:

“Once I committed to come here, and I believe all four of us have that same mind-set, we knew we need to work hard to win the national championship,” Miles said. “Anything else, we won’t be satisfied.”

Even Coach Self is tempted to start singing “One Shining Moment”:

“Now I do get concerned sometimes,” Self said. “I was visiting with a guy and I said, `One thing that concerns me about this team, the expectations are so high that anything less than having a chance to win it all would be a disappointment.’

“He quickly reminded me that that’s no different than the expectations at 15, 20 other schools out there. So why not embrace it?”

INDEED.

Here’s the link.

Phog Blog readers might be interested in asking Andy Katz a question or two. He was, after all, at a KU practice yesterday with Fran Fraschilla.

First, the Fort Worth Star Telegram says the following:

A Final Four for KU?

Four starters return from a regional finalist team, and coach Bill Self welcomes the Jayhawks’ best overall recruiting class in three years. A key might be how quickly guard Keith Langford regains full form after knee surgery.

And the Dallas Morning News says this:

Forward Wayne Simien and guards Keith Langford, Aaron Miles and Michael Lee give Kansas almost unheard-of experience in this era of churning rosters.

“To have these four guys stay together [16] out of 16 possible years, I think that gives us a leg up,” coach Bill Self said just before practice began. “Few teams have four seniors that have been through the fire like we have.”

The Jayhawks also have a jaw-dropping talent in 6-5 guard J.R. Giddens. What they hope doesn’t return from last season is a lack of depth.

That problem could be solved with the addition of three freshman post players, who should help prevent Simien from wearing down again late in the season.

“I can see the three freshmen having a war every day to see who will be playing the majority of the minutes next to Wayne,” Self said.

Kansas will also benefit from being in its second season under Self. The transition from Roy Williams’ methods wasn’t always smooth, and Self knows his players much better now.

“Last year, it felt as if we were all freshmen,” Simien said.

And lets Jon Sunvold go. He’ll no longer be teamed up with Ron Franklin for Big Monday games. He’ll be replaced by Fran Fraschilla.

This is a disappointment for most Big Monday fans, who have come to both like and respect Sunvold over the years. He’s one of the sharpest guys around, and I think it’s silly that ESPN got rid of him.

My Jayhawk friends, almost unanimously are disappointed by this. Why is this so surprising? Sunvold is a former Missouri Tiger. If Jayhawks can support a Tiger, it almost certainly means he’s good.

Concerned that the sky is falling?

Worried about debris at road games?

Kind Phog Blog readers, here is the product for you:

That’s right, no KU fan should attend a Mizzou or Nevada road game without one.

And for only $24.95, plus shipping and handling, this gem can be yours, courtesy of www.teamhardhats.com.