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HOOP SCOOP’S PRE-SEASON RANKING OF THE TOP 30 COLLEGE TEAMS FOR THE 2002-2003 SEASON
Published November 11, 2002
by Clark Francis, Editor & Publisher of the HOOP SCOOP
| Rk. | Team | Returning Starters | 2001-2002 Record League/Overall |
Conference | Talent Rating | Comments |
| 1. | Arizona | 5 | 12-6/24-10 | Pacific-10 | 78.3 | Five returning starters, including Jason Gardner and Luke Walton, the second highest talent rating in the nation, & Lute Olson make this the team to beat in college basketball this year. |
| 2. | Oklahoma | 4 | 13-3/31-5 | Big-12 | 74.4 | Last year's NCAA Final Four experience + addition of Kevin Bookout makes Sooners even better than they were a year ago. |
| 3. | Kansas | 3 | 16-0/33-4 | Big -12 | 69.6 | Drew Gooden and Jeff Boschee are gone from last year's NCAA Final Four team, but Roy Williams is in the process of building a dynasty, as he has great young talent in the program and another outstanding recruiting class is already on the way. |
| 4. | Michigan State | 4 | 10-6/19-12 | Big-10 | 75.9 | With the 3rd highest talent rating, a great recruiting class, and three NCAA Final Four's in last four years, it's hard to believe the Spartans aren't in everybody else's top five. |
| 5. | Texas | 4 | 10-6/22-12 | Big-12 | 63.1 | No conference has had three teams in the NCAA Final Four since 1985, but Terrance Ford & Company make this a distinct possibility for Oklahoma, Missouri, & Texas. |
| 6. | Duke | 2 | 13-3/31-4 | Atlantic Coast | 85.6 | There are lots of question marks, but the Blue Devils, which had the #1-ranked recruiting class a year ago, are easily the most talented team in college basketball and Coach K is as good as there is at putting all the pieces together quickly. |
| 7. | Florida | 3 | 10-6/22-9 | Southeastern | 76.6 | The 6th highest talent rating, even without James White, good senior leadership, and great young talent in the program allows the Gators to edge out Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, and Mississippi State as the team to beat in the SEC. |
| 8. | Alabama | 4 | 12-4/27-8 | Southeastern | 65.8 | The Crimon Tide has lost Gerald Wallace & Rod Grizzard to the NBA Draft the last two springs, but, with Erwin Dudley and Maurice Williams leading the way, this promises to be Mark Gottfried's best team to-date. |
| 9. | Georgia | 4 | 10-6/22-10 | Southeastern | 54.7 | The Bulldogs didn't add the final piece to the puzzle by getting any of their big man recruits into school this season, but five returning starters, plus Damien Wilkins makes this a dangerous team. |
| 10. | Louisville | 5 | 8-8/19-13 | Conference USA | 70.9 | Five returning starters, the addition of Marvin Stone and several other players who sat out last year, an excellent recruiting class from a year ago, and the fact Rick Pitino's teams always overachieve should make this the biggest sleeper in college basketball this season. |
| 11. | Connecticut | 3 | 13-3/27-7 | Big East | 70.7 | Forget about the fact that eight of the top 10 Huskies are freshmen and sophomores, because talent, coaching, and tournament experience make this the best team in the Big East. |
| 12. | Kentucky | 4 | 10-6/22-10 | Southeastern | 70.4 | Chemistry, lack of a true point guard, questionable outside shooting, and depth inside are all question marks, but Tubby Smith still has top 10 talent. |
| 13. | Oregon | 3 | 14-4/26-9 | Pacific-10 | 53.4 | Luke Ridnour and Luke Jackson are two of the top five players in the league, so we expect the Ducks to once again battle Arizona for supremacy in the Pac-10. |
| 14. | Missouri | 3 | 9-7/24-12 | Big-12 | 67.5 | If history repeats itself, the Tigers will let you down during the regular season in the tough Big-12 Conference, but we expect Quin Snyder to make us look good in March. |
| 15. | Virginia | 1 | 7-9/17-12 | Atlantic Coast | 75.9 | With a Talent Rating that is #4 in the nation, a wide open conference race, several tranfers who sat out last year, plus one of the top junior college players a year ago, this should be a team to be reckoned with. |
| 16. | Marquette | 2 | 13-3/26-7 | Conference USA | 62.5 | A first team All-American, an excellent transfer, lots of depth, and the league's best backcourt ensure that Tom Crean will remain one of the hottest young coaches in America. |
| 17. | Pittsburgh | 5 | 13-3/29-6 | Big East | 42.6 | Five Starters return, Ben Howland is a great coach, & Brandin Knight gets our vote as the second best player in the league, but, just like Boston College, it gets tougher when there is a target on your back. |
| 18. | Mississippi State | 3 | 10-6/27-8 | Southeastern | 61.7 | Once again Rick Stansbury will build things around Mario Austin, as the Bulldogs pick up where they left off after winning the SEC Conference Tournament last March. |
| 19. | Oklahoma State | 3 | 10-6/23-9 | Big-12 | 68.3 | When nine of Eddie Sutton's top 10 players are juniors and seniors and the Cowboys have a talent rating that ranks #12 nationally..... |
| 20. | Xavier | 4 | 14-2/26-6 | Atlantic-10 | 57.0 | The Musketeers would be a great sleeper, if everybody else didn't have them so darn high. However, it's hard not to rank them among our top 20 team, as four starters, including Romain Sato, David West, and Lionel Chalmers, return. |
| 21. | USC | 2 | 12-6/22-10 | Pacific-10 | 71.3 | Everybody else picks UCLA third in the Pac-10, but the Trojans have more talent, as is evident by the fact they are ranked #7 in our talent ratings and have the best new player in the league in Brandon Brooks. |
| 22. | Western Kentucky | 4 | 13-1/28-3 | Sun Belt | ----- | There is no reason why the Hilltoppers won't duplicate last year's 28-3 season, especially with a healthy Chris Marcus and an excellent recruiting class to add additional depth. |
| 23. | Cincinnati | 1 | 14-2/31-4 | Conference USA | 63.4 | Point guard, outside shooting, and who starts at center are questions, but Jason Maxiell, Leonard Stokes, Tony Bobbitt, and Armein Kirkland provide Bobby Huggins with a lot to build around. |
| 24. | Tulsa | 4 | 15-3/27-7 | Western Athletic | 42.4 | Four seniors, including three of the top five players in the league, return, so the Golden Hurricane should be even better than last year when they lost to Kentucky in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. |
| 25. | Indiana | 2 | 11-5/25-12 | Big-10 | 61.8 | NCAA Final Four experience, great guards, terrific outside shooting, and excellent coaching should overcome whatever questions and weaknesses there are inside. |
| 26. | Maryland | 1 | 15-1/32-4 | Atlantic Coast | 56.4 | Steve Blake provides the senior leadership at point guard, but a lot of young players will have to step up and play key roles. But with another excellent recruiting class already in the fold, the Terrapins are only a year away. |
| 27. | Notre Dame | 2 | 10-6/22-11 | Big East | 66.2 | Torin Francis will battle Carmelo Anthony for Rookie-of-the-Year honors in the Big East, but Danny Miller, who transferred from Maryland a year ago, is the guy most people have forgotten about. |
| 28. | Kansas State | 3 | 6-10/13-16 | Big-12 | 67.6 | A talent rating which ranks them #13 nationally and a team that is made up primarily of juniors and seniors makes this a great sleeper pick. And, if it happens, remember where you heard it first! |
| 29. | Gonzaga | 3 | 13-l/29-3 | West Coast | ------ | Mark Few turned down bigger jobs last March....so he must think college basketball's perennial Cinderella team will be pretty good again. |
| 30. | Villanova | 4 | 7-9/19-13 | Big East | 55.8 | Four starters return, but the key here will be how quickly the four freshmen - Jason Fraser, Curtis Sumpter, Randy Foye, and Allan Ray - live up to their reputations. |
| 30. | Clemson | 3 | 4-12/13-17 | Atlantic Coast | 58.9 | The Tigers either make considerable improvement or Larry Shyatt and his staff gets fired. We're predicting they sneak up on some people this year. |