Kevin Love, UCLA Bruins- This 6’10, 260 pound freshman is an absolute beast. As a senior at Lake Oswego High School, Love’s 33 points, 17 rebounds, 4 blocks and 3 steals led his Lakers squad to a Class 4A California State Championship. Love racked up every award imaginable, being named a McDonald’s All-American, 1st Team Parade All-American, and he won the 2007 Naismith, and USA Today National Player of the Year Award. Scouts and analysts have been raving about Love for years. Love doesn’t have Tyrus Thomas hops, or crazy quickness. He’s just a ballplayer. Love has a firm grasp of the fundamentals, high basketball intelligence and has a tireless work ethic. Love’s a punishing center who to bang on the block, and absorb contact for and 1’s. The big fella has solid footwork and post moves, can knock down trifectas and passes the rock like Chris Webber. This burly, skillful banger will provide the Bruins with the inside presence they’ve lacked their last two Final Four appearances, which just might get UCLA their 12th national championship.

Eric Gordon, Indiana Hoosiers, 6’4, 215- This freshman phenom is a certified flamethrower. Gordon can get buckets, and get them in bunches. He’s like a ticking time bomb set to detonate with an explosive scoring barrage at any moment. Coming off the summer of 2006, in which scouts labeled him the most impressive player, Gordon averaged 29 points and 6 boards at North Central High in North Carolina. Those digits made Gordon a McDonald’s All-American and a 1st Team Parade All-American. Gordon possesses a unique combination if long-range shooting ability and athleticism. He routinely drains NBA range treyballs with ease, and his strength enables Gordon to powerman his way to the paint and finish at the rack.
Some analysts have compared Gordon to Dwayne Wade. Pump your breaks on that one. Gordon is nice, but he’s nowhere near as good a ball-handler, or multi-faceted a player as Flash. A more accurate comparison would be the Chicago Bulls Ben Gordon, or the Charlotte Bobcats Jason Richardson. All three are great scorers and shooters, who come up big at crunchtime. Gordon and center, D.J. White will give Indiana one of the most potent inside-outside tandems in the country, and help the Hoosiers make some serious noise this year.

Derrick Rose, Memphis Tigers, 6’4, 200- When Dr. Dre dropped his Dre 2001 album he didn’t know Derrick Rose, but the bangin’ song, “Xplossive” perfectly describes the Chicago born and raised point guard. Rose has all the tools you could want in a point guard. He’s got great size. He blazes down the court past defenders like Jeff Gordon on a straightway at a Nascar track. Junior teammate, and preseason All-American, Chris McDouglas-Roberts says Rose has the best combination of size and speed of any 6’4 player he’s ever seen in college. Now that’s saying something.
Rose possesses incredible court vision and freakmode handles that enable him to blow by defenders at will, and a good enough jumper to keep defenders off balance. As a senior at Simeon High in Chicago, the McDonald’s All-American nearly averaged a triple double, posting 25 points, 9 boards and 8 dimes, which is a testament to his versatility. Rose has been labeled a more athletic Jason Kidd. If you’ve never seen Rose play, check out his highlights on Youtube. The boy’s got stupid trampoline rise. He effortlessly gets his eyes at rim level, and throws it down with the viciousness of a young Steve Francis. The frosh is also a tenacious, ball-hawking defender. Rose may be the missing element to finally get John Calipari’s team to the Final Four.

O.J Mayo, USC Trojans, 6’5, 210 - Lights, camera, action. He’s the most notarized player of his class. O.J. Mayo may be the real-life incarnation of Jesus Shuttlesworth from Spike Lee’s, He Got Game. Watching Mayo play is like being at a Hollywood event. Everytime he laces up his kicks, it showtime. Last year at Huntington West Virginia High, games were regularly moved to 10,000 seat arenas to accommodate the throngs of fans Mayo attracted, including LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony.
Mayo has been a sure-shot prospect for years. The three-time All-USA Today 1st Team member has had his own website since the sixth grade! He’s been groomed for superstardom. At 6’5, 210 pounds, Mayo has two-guard size with point guard skills. He doesn’t have spectacular athleticism, overwhelming quickness or crazy handles. Mayo’s just a straight up baller who’s good in all facets of the game. He has the most complete offensive repertoire, as evidenced by his 30 point per game average. Mayo can drill NBA range triples, hit fallaway jumpers or penetrate to the lane for his cotton candy soft, Tony Parker floater. However, Mayo does need to work on becoming a better facilitator because he has a shooting guard mentality. With Gabe Pruitt and Nick Young dipping for the league, Mayo will have to score a bevy of buckets for USC to remain in the top 25.

Michael Beasley, Kansas State Wildcats, 6’9, 235- This dude is a straight up manchild. During his senior year at Notre Dame High in Fitchburg, Mass., Beasley dropped 28 points and snatched 14 boards a game, garnering him 2nd Team Parade and USA Today All-American honors. During his first two games at K-State Beasley posted two 30 point games and averaged 17 rebounds a night. Beasley’s an absolute beast on the block. He’s like vortex that gobbles up every board within his proximity. Beasley’s strength enables him to overpower weaker defenders in the post, and his quickness helps him maneuver around bigger slower foes. What really makes Beasley dangerous is his perimeter skills. He’s is capable of knocking down threeballs and taking defenders off the dribble, which most power forward aren’t used to defending. Beasley’s like a hybrid of Charles Barkley, former Syracuse All-American Derrick Coleman and Zach Randolph. Beasley’s a lefty who can put the pill on the deck and sink pull-ups like Coleman and Randolph, but he’s also got the explosive, malicious, rim-rocking ups of Barkley. If the Wildcats stay in the top 20, Beasley could be a frontrunner for the Big 12 Player of the Year Award.

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