Will Kansas win this year?

The target sits squarely on the backs of the Kansas Jayhawks. They are the consensus preseason pick as the No. 1 team in college basketball for 2009-10. If there is a publication or poll that has selected another No. 1, it has been done quietly and without much thought.

As a HUGE fan of Kansas growing up in Nebraska (i know that there probably wasn’t much of a support system ; ) ), I have been a die hard fan of Kansas Jayhawk basketball since in elementary school.  Back in the day when Danny Manning lead Danny and “the Miracles” all the way in 1988 at Kemper Arena to two years ago when Mario Chalmers nailed a 3 pt shoot to push Kansas into an eventual win over Memphis.

I even have interest in naming my next dog Phog… After the great coach and Fieldhouse , Phog Allen Fieldhouse.  As a great sport college basketball gets underway again this year, I always am interested if the worthy Jayhawks can pull out another championship.

Before North Carolina cut down the nets at the Final Four in Detroit, the press was already selecting Kansas as the next team to beat. The prediction was conditionally based on the return of senior point guard Sherron Collins and junior center Cole Aldrich. When those two announced they were having too much fun in Lawrence and wouldn’t enter the 2009 NBA draft, the deal was complete. The addition of freshman Xavier Henry was gravy — very significant gravy.

Collins and Aldrich are determined to win back the national trophy they carted away from San Antonio in 2008 and, in the process, become the first Jayhawks ever to wear two championship rings.

Aldrich and Collins are first-team preseason All-America choices. In the Big 12, they share preseason player of year honors. If that doesn’t impress you, consider this statement from Kansas coach Bill Self.

“Cole has a chance, in my opinion, to be the best true big man Kansas has had since Wilt (Chamberlain),” Self said at Big 12 media day. “Danny (Manning) wasn’t a center. Raef (LaFrentz) wasn’t a center. That’s a pretty big statement for 50-plus years.”

Self also has supreme confidence in Collins, who shouldered a huge load last season as the Jayhawks regrouped after losing all the starters from that championship team. “Last year I pretty much had to be on top of my game or we would lose,” Collins said. But he knows it won’t as demanding this time around. Tyshawn Taylor is better. So are the Morris twins: Marcus and Markieff.

Kansas has so much depth that Self is considering redshirt seasons for Mario Little and Travis Releford. Little fought off injuries and averaged 4.7 points and 3.2 rebounds in 23 games last season. Releford, a two-time high school All-American, played in 32 games as a freshman. Reserve Conner Teahan might also sit out the season, but Self would still have enough for an extremely talented nine-man rotation.

Of the newcomers, Henry has received the most publicity, and he might be the first one-and-done player in Kansas history. His outside shooting and rebounding will be a big boost. But remember the name Thomas Robinson. The 6-foot-9 freshman has made a big impression in the practice.

From www.kuathletics.com “His motor is different than what we’ve had,” Self said. “Thomas has changed practice more than anybody else.”

Unlike last season, when the Jayhawks did better than anyone expected, Aldrich and Collins have a strong supporting cast this season. Are they good enough to live up to the ultra-high expectations? Only time will tell.

That’s myfirst storyline of the season on things I am passionate about.  Yep, KU Basketball.  Rock Chalk Jayhawk, Go KU.