Kentucky's John Calipari. OK, so if there's any coach in the country who doesn't need more name recognition, it's Big Blue Nation's favorite adopted son. But stay with me here. Calipari, for all the publicity he receives, is still frequently criticized for his actual coaching ability. Many fans think he's a recruiting maestro who lacks coaching chops. They assume he just rolls the balls out on the floor and lets his talented stars go to work. In some ways, that's true. In others, it's totally false. (For example: Few coaches in the country field teams as consistently stingy as Calipari. That he does so with so much roster turnover each year is doubly impressive.) If Calipari can take what might be his best recruiting class ever -- and that's saying something -- all the way to a national championship, the naysayers will be forced to recognize the coaching ability that has underpinned his controversial rise to the top of his profession.
-- Eamonn Brennan
I could easily go with Missouri's Frank Haith or Texas A&M's Billy Kennedy since they both walked into loaded teams and should challenge for the Big 12 title. But I have a sneaky suspicion that Oregon is going to be a handful in the new Pac-12. The addition of two big men -- former Wake Forest center Tony Woods and Louisiana Tech forward Olu Ashaolu -- will immediately make the Ducks a force inside. If both of these players play up to their potential, Oregon will be a tough out in the Pac-12. Dana Altman was always looked at as a serious coach at Creighton, one who consistently was able to maximize his talent. But he didn't garner the national recognition he deserved. If he's able to take the Ducks from the bottom of the Pac-12 and to a top-four finish and a possible NCAA berth in Year 2, then he should be praised on both coasts.
-- Andy Katz
Dana Altman has an opportunity to crack into the upper half of the Pac-12 and make a run at an NCAA tournament bid. The Ducks overachieved in Altman's first year, winning the CBI title even after numerous players transferred in wake of Ernie Kent's firing and left him short-handed. Altman missed the NCAA tournament in his final three seasons at Creighton after building up the Bluejays as a top mid-major program. Now he'll have a chance to experience March Madness again as Oregon welcomes top-100 freshman Jabari Brown and impact transfers Ashaolu and Woods.
-- Diamond Leung
Rick Byrd has been at Belmont for 25 years, shepherding the Bruins from NAIA to Division I, and winning more than 600 games in the process. Well-respected, Byrd earned some attention last season when Belmont racked up a 30-win season and made its fourth NCAA tournament appearance in the past six years. But the Bruins were summarily bounced by Wisconsin in the first round and the national attention faded.
This year, Belmont returns nine of 11 players and four starters from the team that lost but one game in the Atlantic Sun. Heavy with seniors and experience, Byrd could have the sort of Cinderella darling that makes NCAA tourney noise and earns well-deserving coaches their overdue praise.
-- Dana O'Neil
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