This is the last of the lists.

Our rundown of the various college basketball preseason topics (top conferences, high fliers, new coaches, etc.) covered all the necessary reading for your needs entering 2009-10. Well, now it does.

And I suppose highlighting the best defenders last should come as no surprise. These guys never get any respect.

Jim Lytle/AP

Jarvis Varnado blocks a shot by South Carolina's Mike Holmes.

(Well, that's not true. They get some respect. Maybe more than some. A lot. I mean, there are awards for defensive player of the year most conferences have all-defensive teams. Sure, highlights are usually reserved for guys like Stephen Curry or Tyler Hansbrough, but a big-time shot blocker is gonna get some SportsCenter airtime.)

ANYWAY, here are the star defenders for this season. Apologies to guys like Cole Aldrich and Devin Ebanks. They're superb defenders, but they've gotten plenty of pub thus far. I'm all about sharing the love.

Marcus Ginyard, North Carolina
It speaks volumes about UNC's offensive ability last season that it won the NCAA title with Ginyard on the bench. Roy Williams' best teams usually feature a lock-down defender (David Noel, Jarod Hasse), which is a good sign that Ginyard is fully recovered from foot surgery. He's a little too big (6-5, 220) to handle the game's quickest guards, but that's about it. He'll guard everyone else, and do it well.

Chris Kramer, Purdue
A former Big Ten defensive player of the year, Kramer has led the league in steals the last two years. He's big, strong and uses his hands well, though sometimes opponents complain he's using them too well. If the Boilermakers ever break through for a Final Four run, Kramer's defense will be crucial, much like Travis Walton was to Michigan State last season.

Larry Sanders, VCU
If you're driving to the hoops against the Rams, know where Sanders is. He's 6-10, athletic and his freakishly long arms (7-foot-7 wingspan) make him a threat to block any shot at any time. He might not even have to try too hard if you're short. Small wonder the junior was the Colonial League's defensive player of the year – and that was after his %Blocks (how many shots he swatted while on the floor) went down from his freshman to sophomore seasons. Opponents stayed away.

JT Tiller, Missouri
Not many players who average 8.4 ppg, 3.6 apg and 1.8 spg can nab a spot on the preseason Wooden Watch list. But hey, when you D up like Tiller, you earn some plaudits. At 6-3, he has the size to handle bigger shooting guards, and is quick enough to stay in front of (most) point guards. Tiller's just as good off the ball. Missouri's pressing defense encourages him to get into passing lanes and disrupt opponents, and was a driving factor behind his co-Big 12 defensive player of the year honor.

Venoy Overton, Washington
If there's anyone more disruptive – or annoying – as an on-ball defender than Tiller, it's Overton. Washington's 5-11 pest is quick, aggressive and impossible to ignore. Or maybe that's his mouth. Seattleites see a little Gary Payton in Overton, both in his quick hands and constant trash talk. But that's a necessity for any good defensive player since there's more than one way to throw an opponent off his game.

Jarvis Varnado, Mississippi State
A no-brainer. The 6-9 senior will become the NCAA's all-time blocks leader this season and is a two-time All-SEC defensive player. If the résumé lines don't impress you, consider some tempo-free numbers: His %blocks (how many shots he swatted while on the floor) was tops among all players last season and the best of his career. Varnado's always been a natural shot blocker, but he's gotten better each season at help defense and his timing.

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Any day now, Mississippi State could get some really good news. At least, that's what Renardo Sidney's lawyer thinks.

The 6-10 forward is one of the nation's top freshmen, but he's been in NCAA eligibility limbo because of amateurism issues rising from his family's two-year stay in the Los Angeles area. Basically, rumors flew that they couldn't afford that house they were living in, so someone else was paying. The family says it's hogwash.

After a long investigation into the matter, Sidney's lawyer says the NCAA will come to the same conclusion and clear Sidney to play.

"We expect it could happen as soon as tomorrow or in the next week," Alabama-based attorney Don Jackson told FOXSports.com. "Frankly, there's no reason he shouldn't have already been cleared," Jackson said. "If he's done something wrong, someone needs to say something. If not, the family needs to be left alone."

Most of the Sidney background can be found here and here, but this is what's most important if Sidney is cleared: Miss State will be really, really good.

He makes the Bulldogs a Top 10 team and gives them perhaps the nation's top frontcourt. He's a skilled power forward who can play the post or away from the basket. Playing alongside Jarvis Varnado or John Riek will give any team massive matchup headaches.

Did I say really good news? I meant great news.

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The last time North Carolina won an NCAA title and lost most of its players, it needed Tyler Hansbrough to do the yeoman's work to ensure it remained among the NCAA's elite.

This time, the Heels are trying something different.

Gerry Broome/AP

Don't expect North Carolina to just dump the ball to Deon Thompson in the low post this season.

Tar Heel Fan has extensive details from an observer who watched them practice at length a few weeks ago – length being the key word. Unlike the 2005-06 season, UNC is loaded with tall, athletic players. Shooting could be an issue, but rebounding and defense won't be mostly because of fleet forwards like Ed Davis, Deon Thompson, Tyler Zeller and freshman John Henson.

And Roy Williams is going to put those forwards to use in a revamped offense. The days of dumping the ball into Hansbrough are over. These guys are going to run.

Roy and his staff figure the best way to do that is to play to the strength of its post players. Without question, the greatest strength of this group is their ability to handle the basketball. So, when you have good ball-handling post guys what do you do? You let them handle the ball. And that's exactly what Roy is going to do with the new offense. Instead of trying to slam the ball in to the post to players that aren't able to finish with defenders draped all over them, he's going to bring those big guys out away from the basket. In the new offense – which is still driven by Carolina 's age-old motion offense principles – the post guys will start at the foul line extended. The three perimeter players will be in roughly the same places they have been. The goal is to open up the lane to allow cutters and drivers. This should create fantastic passing opportunities for UNC's big folks.

There's much, much more on Tar Heel Fan and here (including early player analysis), but that's the juicy stuff. Provided those guys can hit mid-range jumpers – Thompson's specialty – it's going to be a an offense that spreads out defenses and lets those big guys and point guard Larry Drew penetrate, kick and shoot.

They won't be shooting 3-pointers, though. UNC doesn't have any reliable long-range options, which leads me to believe teams will use lots of zone and collapse on any Tar Heel occupying the lane or low post. That can be solved with quick passing, but it'll be an issue at the start of the season. After all, don't expect UNC to be proficient in the new offense right away.

But it's an exciting prospect to see Williams' teams possibly get even more wide-open and up-tempo. They'll still run the secondary break – always a headache for opponents because it's so hard to keep in check – and are supposed to be great on defense. (You know, because of all those tall, speedy forwards? Though I suppose having a healthy Marcus Ginyard helps, too.)

Will it work? Get the Heels back to the Final Four? Who knows? I'm just excited to see in action.

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Anyone who thought Syracuse wouldn't miss a beat after losing Jonny Flynn, Eric Devendorf and Paul Harris from last season's 28-10 squad (I'm staring at you, coaches' poll), was served a nice, cold glass of reality Tuesday.

Le Moyne College 82, Syracuse 79.

It was only an exhibition game, but still. Le Moyne is a D-II school of about 2,800 kids located in Syracuse. That's gonna be a brutal one to for the local TV, paper and radio.

Le Moyne coach Steve Evans enjoyed the win, but it sounds like he's already dreading what Syracuse is going to go through.

"I feel bad that the story tomorrow will be, 'What's wrong with Syracuse basketball?' I don't think there's anything wrong," he said. "They've got tremendous players. It's an exhibition game. They're young. They're going to be terrific."

As one commenter remarked on Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician:

It was a typical SU game. Uninspired play, got outhustled, bricked open shots, etc. Thankfully it doesn't count, but the damage is done. That was pathetic and really puts a damper on this team going into the year.

Ouch. Still, there are some silver linings.

This kind of thing happens a lot, most recently to Michigan State and Ohio State. Transfer Wesley Johnson, who led all scorers with 34 points, looks like he can carry the scoring load. And this is just the kind of thing that Jim Boeheim relishes – a focal point for his team to build off of and not believe any preseason hype.

In fact, he's already laying the groundwork.

"Le Moyne really outplayed us from the beginning of the game to the end," Boeheim said. "They (the Orange) are very, very young mentally. They really have got to grow up. We couldn't stop them on the dribble. That's something we've been looking at in practice."

Now if only that defense can improve ...

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Whoa. Minnesota déjà vu.

A day after announcing that forward Trevor Mbwake won't play until his court issues are resolved, Gophers coach Tubby Smith revealed that star freshman Royce White is suspended indefinitely. He faces misdemeanor charges of theft and fifth-degree assault after being accused of shoplifting at the Mall of America.

Senior guard Devron Bostick also was suspended, but police were unaware of him being involved in the mall incident.

So, for those who missed it yesterday, that leaves Minnesota without its top two newcomers, a pair of skilled, athletic 6-8 forwards who could eventually start for a Top 25 team.

The Gophers should be among the Big Ten's better teams this season, but as long as Mbakwe and White aren't playing, they're not a serious contender in March. And it doesn't sound like Smith is keen on reinstating those guys anytime soon.

"It could be two games. It could be five, six. It could be more," Smith said, adding: "It could be 20. It depends on what I want, what I decide.

"If you do something wrong, our guys know that playing time ... is a privilege. We expect them to conduct themselves in a proper way. When they don't, unfortunately they force our hands and force us to do something we really don't want to do."

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Some videos need no explanation. Well, very little explanation.

Tim Floyd resigned as USC's men's basketball coach last June. Since then, he's mostly been off the radar, perhaps occasionally speaking to teams when friends asked him.

He's also breaking up fights at a casino. Yes, breaking up fights at a casino.

The "what if?" game can torment a fan base, no matter how much their team's won.

Perhaps that's the a reason why Hoosier fans should steer clear of the new book "When the Games Was Ours," by Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. (Or the similar ground covered by Seth Davis in "How March Went Mad.")

It's well known that Bird led Indiana State to the 1979 NCAA tournament title game. And, among college hopheads, just as well known is that Bird originally signed to play at Indiana for Bob Knight's Hoosiers. Yet, as Henry Abbott over at True Hoop points out, Bird left school during his freshman year because he wasn't a fan of the tough love he was getting, and could've used a little TLC.

When he broke his foot in a pickup game, and had to hobble all over campus only to be late, Bird had had enough. "I'm sitting there saying to myself, 'I'm hurt, I can't work, I'm going to be in trouble for being late to class, I don't have any money, and they won't let me play in any of the games," Bird said. "Time to go home."

Sure, it's easy to play "what might've been" with guys like Bird. It wasn't like Indiana drove him away, but they didn't need him then either, given that Knight's team went 32-0 in 1975-76 and won the title. I mean, nobody knew he'd become Larry Bird.

Still, think of Bird in a Hoosiers uniform. It's enough to send shivers down your spine.

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It's amazing how a dunk can change a game.

After all, it's just two points. Dunks usually aren't game-winning shots and sometimes require only minimum effort to perform.

If pretty much every player in college basketball can throw down a dunk, how special can they be, anyway?

Well, sometimes dunks do this.

Remember, not all dunks are created equal. Dunks can swing a game's momentum with one thunderous jam by instantly deflate a defender. Some dunks humiliate, some dunks inspire and the best ones affect the outcomes of game.

That dunk above (what, you didn't click on the link?) by Michigan State's Durrell Summers over Connecticut's Stanley Robinson came with just under 6 minutes remaining in their Final Four game last spring. It was the cap to a 13-5 run that caused Ford Field – with all its Spartan supporters – to erupt. MSU needed to hold off one more charge by UConn, but the dunk did the trick. The Huskies didn't have enough fight left.

Jonathan Daniel / Getty Images

Chris Wright dunks against West Virginia during the 2009 NCAA tournament.

Summers is just one of college hoops' high fliers, those guys who change a game with a big dunk that energizes his team and the fans. Here are five more.

Chris Wright, Dayton
YouTube is littered with Wright's dunk highlights. Whether it's the 6-8 junior jamming over Marquette's Maurice Acker, a follow-up stuff against UMass, or any one of the dunk mixes, Wright's the kind of guy you expect on highlight shows every night. He's still refining his skills (read: his jumper, handle), but figures to be a key player on the hoops landscaper this season as the Flyers work their way up the Top 25.

Paul George, Fresno State
He's dunktacular. A vicious slam over two St. Mary's defenders last season made the 6-8 George one of those guys defenders sidestep when they drive to the hoops. Otherwise this happens. And this. And this. But hey, when you can jump like George, this is to be expected. We all expect even more this season.

Trevor Booker, Clemson
Booker isn't a high-riser in the same vein as Wright and George. He's just … forceful. It's not to say Booker is earthbound like some big guys, 'cause he's not. It's just that, he doesn't need lots of air to make his point. At 6-7 and 240 pounds, the senior forward is a force on the boards and down low. And when he wants to dunk, he dunks. It doesn't matter if you're a 7-footer standing the in the way or a couple of big men from Duke, Booker's gonna dunk on you.

Will Coleman, Memphis
The Tigers are trying to re-load this season. Coleman's a good place to start. He's already a fan favorite after winning the dunk contest at their Midnight Madness (he kisses the rim, for Pete's sake), and should be a highlights mainstay.

 

At 6-9, he's big enough to jam over anyone, and has the skills to log serious minutes. The former JUCO star didn't start seriously playing hoops until he was a high school junior, which could mean the best is yet to come.

Keion Bell, Pepperdine
Bell's solid freshman season – the WCC All-Freshman team honoree averaged 12.9 ppg, 4.7 rpg 2.2 apg – didn't have any plays that caused the same sensation one dunk did a few weeks ago. Makes sense. Bell did jump over five guys for that dunk. See for yourself.

Like any good dunk, it made the rounds on YouTube and quickly became an Internet must-see. As a result, Bell's now on the college hoops map.

The power of the dunk. It's something to behold.

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In case you missed it, Minnesota basketball is relevant again.

Entering his third season, Tubby Smith's molded his team into something Kentucky fans would recognize – a strong defensive unit that relies on winning low-scoring games because it doesn't shoot well. Still, the Gophers return all five starters from an NCAA tournament team, which was enough to land in the preseason polls.

In short, the Gophers should be good this season. But they could be a March darkhorse if a few player issues are resolved.

Andy King/AP

Trevor Mbakwe dunks during Minnesota practice.

Bryant Allen (a punt returned for the Minnesota football team) is the all-time leading scorer in Missouri prep history, but won't be with the team until football season is over. So he'll be a late addition. Dominique Dawson is a 6-7, 240-pound walk-on who could play spot minutes, but will probably be more important in later seasons.

But the biggest key is Trevor Mbakwe.

The school announced Monday that the junior forward (who transferred from Miami Dade College and Marquette) won't play until his pending court case on a felony battery charge "has been resolved in a satisfactory manner." That means he'll miss most of the Gophers' early games, including a potential showdown with Butler in the 76 Classic.

Mbakwe, along with freshman Royce White, are Minnesota's two best newcomers. Both are expected to see serious playing time and possibly start. But until Mbakwe's eligible, the Gophers are going to be missing that little something extra that could be the difference between an NCAA tournament and an NCAA tournament run.

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Al McGuire's famous phrase – "The best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores" – has been part of the college basketball lexicon for so long that it's essentially accepted without much thought.

Now it requires even less thought 'cause it's a fact, courtesy of temnpo-free stats.

And for that, we have the Big Ten Geeks to thank.

They spent the summer looking at the statistical profiles of every BCS player was who was a freshman between 2000 and 2005 (with some filters) and found that players show the greatest improvement between freshman and sophomore year.

Let that sink in.

Forget the sophomore slump. On average, players show the most improvement after their freshman season. There are exceptions – as they note – and it's not a hard and fast rule. But it's a pretty telling fact about most college players. Blake Griffin is a prime example.

And it also shouldn't discount that some freshmen will have a big impact (read: John Wall), though not all of them will live up to the media hype.

(Their link also includes five aerial grafs showing how their tempo-free stats are represented on average from freshman to senior years.)

So what's this mean?

Teams that relied heavily on freshmen last year and have those players back this season could have a pretty nice jump. Among our Top 25, that includes Kansas, Michigan State, West Virginia, Washington, Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio State, Louisville.

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It's been 25 years since Villanova staged one of the greatest upsets in sports history.

Well, things have changed.

When the Wildcats staged their "Perfect Upset" of Georgetown in the 1985 NCAA tournament final, they were seeded No. 8 after finishing 19-10 overall and 9-7 in the Big East, tied for third behind the Hoyas and St. John's.

Elsa/Getty images

Reggie Redding rebounds against Duke.

Now, they're coming off a 30-8 season, a Final Four, have a dynamic freshman class and are picked to win the Big East by the coaches and media.

If they win an NCAA title this season, it'll be far from an upset.

"There's a real sense of pride here, there really is," coach Jay Wright said in an AP feature. "We've always had it. It's kind of on another level right now. There's also more responsibility that goes with that. We have to maintain that tradition (that previous classes) set. That's where the pressure comes for us, not from the outside."

Still, Villanova's first test already arrived. Senior guard Reggie Redding – the team's best defender and perhaps its most versatile player – was arrested this summer and charged with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

It's the kind of move that drives coaches nuts. But it also makes the right kind of player crazy. After all, everyone's made a foolish mistake.

"Of course he was angry, but he didn't yell," Redding said last week. "He didn't have to say much. I knew what I did. It wasn't like I was denying what happened or not accepting the responsibility. I took responsibility from the time that it happened. I knew what I did. There wasn't much he had to yell at me about."

As a result, Redding won't play until Dec. 19, a 10-game suspension. That means he'll miss games against Maryland, Big 5 rivals Temple and St. Joe's and the entire O'Reilly Auto Parts Classic, which could have matchups against Dayton, Georgia Tech or Ole Miss.

Losing Redding for those games isn't the end, but it means the freshmen either need to grow up quickly or 'Nova's going to have some issues. Throw in a Big East filled with teams all at roughly the same level and the Wildcats may be scratching their way to the top.

Maybe this season won't qualify as a "Perfect Upset," but it's not going to be a smooth ride, either.

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The hardest working man in college hoops is back.

OK, there are plenty of people out there logging long hours. Andy Katz, Jeff Goodman and Gary Parrish churn out enough copy to rival Proust. Beat guys like Gary Bedore and Jerry Tipton do the same on a local level.

The Bally Club members know who I'm talking about. Sunday marked the return of Kyle Whelliston and the Mid-Majority.

And did Whelliston ever open with a doozy of an essay.

His 5,300-word prologue to Season 6 of the Mid-Majority chronicles his poor health during the end of Season 5 (brought on by inhaling carbon monoxide because he often was sleeping in his car, among other things), his marriage, the end of his ESPN tenure and what drives him to do what he does.

He loves college hoops. It's easy enough to say because most people reading this blog feel the same way. Yet it's clear Whelliston feels something toward the sport most of us only wish we could fully express or experience. He's doing everything he can to be part of the sport in the best way he knows how, and he's – to borrow the cliché – giving 110 percent.

That's to say, if you're not already reading the Mid-Majority, start now. It's a marvelous site, awash in insight, stats and enough stories to fill up a week of sick days. And it's no longer just Whelliston. Damon Lewis is on board for 2009-10. And if you're really game, join the Bally Club. It'll help the Mid-Majority do its thing for another year.

And we'll all benefit from that.

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Sounds like John Beilein is college basketball's version of Roger Ebert. Michigan's coach is always watching tape

When he started coaching in 1976, Beilein poured over game tapes, which morphed from Super 8 to Beta and VHS as he advanced through the coaching ranks. By the time he reached West Virginia, his laptop was his own personal movie theater.

Tony Ding/AP

John Beilein

Now, there's not a day that goes by when he's not showing a Wolverine something on the computer. From Andy Katz's fun story detailing Beilein's computer ways:

"He's obsessed with it," says junior guard Manny Harris. "We watch it every day. You come from class, walk by his office and he'll say, 'Come in; I want to show you something.' I honestly think he wakes up at 5 a.m. and looks at tape -- probably earlier than that."

Beilein uses a computer program to have every practice and game on his laptop almost as soon as it finishes. From there, he's editing it into 20- or 30-minute segments. And it's always to make his players better.

As Beilein was watching last Tuesday's practice, he was cutting a sequence in which freshman Eso Akunne moved toward the top of the key and then correctly bounced a pass toward the streaking Blake McLimans, a fellow freshman. But the timing was off. So he cut the video to show the movement first, which was correct, and then the timing of the pass, which was not. The spacing was off during the possession from other players, too, and that was made as a cut as well.

Redshirt freshman Ben Cronin was closing out on Zack Novak, who was shooting a 3-pointer. Cronin went out to guard him with his arms down. Cronin is 7 feet tall. He was playing small on the play. Click. Cut.

Cronin was also bringing the ball down when he would get a rebound before an outlet pass. So Beilein got Duprey to get him some grainy Wes Unseld video to put on the laptop. With a click of the mouse, Cronin was watching Unseld in his Washington Bullets jersey corralling rebounds and sending over-the-head, two-handed passes upcourt.

Coaches and tape sessions are the norm in sports. But Beilein's bringing it to another level most don't go. Part of that's because he's embraced ways to cut and review video that others don't. And part of it's because he's had to adapt at the various levels he's coached.

Then again, there's no going back at this point. But I don't think Beilein minds that much.

"I miss the days when I didn't have the computer because I could escape on a two-hour plane flight or a three-hour bus ride when I'd read a novel or do something else," Beilein said. "Now it's all-consuming. I have to do a good job with the balance of it. It's the battle we're in."

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