Kansas No. 1 In Preseason Top 25
Kentucky No. 2, Then Gonzaga
Kansas coach Bill Self sees holes when he looks at his roster after losing three starters, including Associated Press All-American Devonte’ Graham.
The voters in the AP Top 25 poll see something different: a roster restocked so well that Jayhawks will start the season as the nation’s top team.
Kansas checked in at No. 1 in the preseason poll released Monday, earning the top spot to start a season for the third time in program history, all under Self. The Jayhawks topped the ballot for 37 of 65 voters, nearly double that of No. 2 Kentucky.
“Obviously, we lost a lot off last year’s team with Devonte’, Svi [Mykhailiuk] and Malik [Newman], so I’m a little surprised that the writers put us there this preseason,” Self said. “It’s definitely a spot we welcome and certainly know the goal is to be playing to that ranking by when it counts the most.
“With the young players, we know it’s going to take some time before we’re anywhere close to where we’re going to be, but I do like this team and I think we have a chance to be very good.”
The Jayhawks return starters in junior 7-footer Udoka Azubuike and senior Lagerald Vick from a team that reached its first Final Four since 2012. They’re also adding transfer help from Memphis twins Dedric and K.J. Lawson as well as Charlie Moore — all double-digit scorers on their previous teams.
Voters established a clear top tier: Kansas, Kentucky, No. 3 Gonzaga and No. 4 Duke. Those four teams appeared in some combination at the top of nearly half the ballots (32 of 65).
John Calipari’s latest group of touted recruits helped the Wildcats earn 19 first-place votes to open as a top-5 team for the eighth straight season.
Gonzaga’s ranking is the program’s highest in a preseason AP poll, though the Zags have reached No. 1 during the regular season before. As for Duke, the Blue Devils had started No. 1 in each of the past two preseason AP polls.
Jury deliberates in corruption trial: A jury in New York quietly deliberated for five hours on its first day considering the merits of claims by the government that three men conspired to cheat major college basketball programs by paying young athletes to sign with schools sponsored by Adidas.
Attorneys for the defendants contend their clients broke NCAA rules but no laws.
Deliberations began midday Monday after U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan instructed the jury. Five hours later, jurors went home without sending any notes. They resume work Tuesday morning.
Federal prosecutors have portrayed universities with some of the nation’s best college basketball programs as victims of a group of individuals whoarranged to pay the families of top recruits tens of thousands of dollars so young athletes would go to Adidas-sponsored schools.
Prosecutors say the men tricked the schools into giving scholarships to players who should have been ineligible.