All-American Selections

With the season just a couple of weeks away, and preaseason action already underway, I felt it was time to unveil my All-American selections for the upcoming year. So without further wait, here they are.

Darren Collison - UCLA - Junior
There may not be a faster player in the entire country than Collison. The Bruin point guard brings so much to the table on both sides of the ball. He has proven to be an effective scorer, able to penetrate the lane and light it up from beyond the arc (44.7% shooting last year). More than simply a scorer though, Collison has tremendous court vision and with his stellar first step is able to draw and kick to open teammates, to the tune of nearly 6 assists per game last season.
Defense is where Collison steps up a level though from good player to All-American. He may be the best perimeter defender in the country. He led the Pac-10 last year with 2.2 steals per game thanks to his quickness and phenominal anticipation. With Collison at the helm this season, UCLA is primed for another Final Four run.

Chris Lofton - Tennessee - Senior
How happy were Vol fans when Lofton decided to put the NBA on hold for one more year? They were thrilled. One of the best pure shooters at the college level, the reigning SEC player of the year will bring his 20.8 points of scoring back to Tennessee this season, along with his veteran leadership.
Behind Lofton and a roster filled with talent, Tennessee is the early favorite in the SEC this season, and should be near the top of the polls for most of the year.

Chase Budinger - Arizona - Sophomore
The youngest player on my list, Budinger is a physically gifted player with plenty of talent. The first thing that jumps out about the sophomore's game is his tremendous athleticism. Budinger has great leaping ability and is very quick with the basketball. Those abilities translated into nearly 16 points and 6 rebounds as a freshman. With the departure of Ivan Radenovich and Marcus Williams, Budinger will likely be the focal point of the Wildcat offense along with highly touted freshman guard Jerryd Bayless.

Tyler Hansbrough - North Carolina - Junior
In Hansbrough you are looking at the clear preseason favorite for national player of the year. There is no player that works harder throughout the course of a game, and there may be no post player more polished than him. Despite not being an off the chart athlete, Hansbrough still posted averages of 18.4 points and 7.9 rebounds in leading the Tar Heels to the elite eight. With plenty of talent back, and another year of experience under his belt, Hansbrough could be hoisting a national championship trophy in March.

Roy Hibbert - Georgetown - Senior
Teams will be hard pressed this season to physically match up with the massive Hibbert who measures out at 7'2" 278 pounds. The senior showed a lot of improvement over the course of last season, and now that teammate Jeff Green has moved on to the NBA, the Hoyas will look to Hibber to lead the way. In order to do that he will have to improve his numbers of 12.9 points and 6.9 rebounds last season, but he certainly has the ability to do so. A strong season could land Hibbert in the lottery come draft day in June.