The Green Board

We've already discussed UNC vs UK, and I think almost everyone would have those as the top 2 in the land next year. But who rounds out the top 5? Ohio State, Syracuse, and Duke have received the most hype by most of the prognosticators, so how would you rank them?

This is what I'm thinking:

#3) Ohio State: I think Sullinger is what separates them from Syracuse and Duke. Sullinger will be a preseason first-team all-American, and he will likely average 20 and 10 next year. Aaron Craft should be a top-notch PG for them (especially on the defensive end) and William Buford might become the prolific perimeter scorer that can keep the double-teams away from Sully. Toss in Deshaun Thomas and a very strong recruiting class, and I think they are a bit better than Syracuse and Duke.

#4) Syracuse: You could argue that Syracuse has more good players than Ohio State, but they don't have anyone who will produce like Sullinger or who has the raw talent of Buford. They do, however, have a very nice group of perimeter players such as Scoop Jardine, Kris Joseph, Dion Waiters and Brandon Triche, along with a top recruiting class. What really hurts them is the fact that Fab Melo has yet to mature, both on and off the court. If he was showing signs that he would play like the five-star recruit that he was supposed to be, then (like OSU with Sullinger) Syracuse would have a monster in the middle whom they could count on to patrol the paint and dominate the interior. It is probably more likely, however, that Boeheim turns to freshman Rakeem Christmas to play big minutes despite being a year younger than Melo.

#5) Duke: The early exodus of Texas freshmen Tristan Thompson and Cory Joseph, along with my inability to, with good conscience, rank Vandy in the top 5, leaves the #5 spot to Duke. This year represents a new core for Duke, which has lost most of the key players from its 2010 championship team. Now they will rely upon a trio of Plumlees (Mason, Miles, and Marshall), Doc Rivers' son (Austin), and a PG whose name I can't pronounce (Michael Gbinije). They also have some perimeter depth with guys like Andre Dawkins, Seth Curry, and Quinn Cook, so the Duke bench will be well-stocked with talented players. The big questions for Duke are "Who will step up into leadership roles?" and "Who will carry the scoring load?" My initial guess is that Austin Rivers will carry the scoring load (sometimes, perhaps, with a little too much fervor), and he will battle with the older Plumlees to become the team leader. Rivers is a talented player, but I wonder if his perceived arrogance (whether fair or unfair) is for real or if he will be a model teammate. Even if everything works out perfectly for Duke next season, I still think they will struggle to score down low. The Plumlees are big, they play hard, and they are good athletes, but none of them seem to be able to create their own offense down low -- instead, doing most of their damage on the offensive glass and dump-offs. If one of them develops a legit low-post game, then I would consider bumping them above Syracuse.

Honorable mentions:

Vanderbilt
Louisville
UConn