CBB: 2016-17

Now that the 2015-16 season of college basketball is over it's fair to look ahead to the next season of basketball, the 2016-17 season. Last season of college basketball was heavily influenced by senior leadership, which meant that teams that aren't known for getting big name talent flourished. But I'm guessing that the upcoming season of college basketball could be dominated by freshmen, and blue blood schools. Kentucky probably has the best incoming freshmen class of anyone, the Wildcats have five of the top thirty players in the nation coming to Lexington next year. There are three dominant big men in that class, Edrice Adebayo, Wenyen Gabriel, and Sacha Killeya-Jones. But the real stars are point guard De'Aaron Fox and combo guard Malik Monk. It is hard to predict how many key players will be returning for Kentucky as their coach John Calipari has said he will have all the players on the Wildcats roster test the waters in the draft combine. But I think it safe to say that the small forward, or wing, position is going to be the most vulnerable spot for the Wildcats next season. However with all the talent they will have, Kentucky fans should be expecting another dominant season.

Another program with a lot of potential next year will be Duke, they benefit from the return of star Grayson Allen next year, who averaged over 20 points per game as a junior. Also returning are guard Matt Jones, and Luke Kennard who should add some necessary shooting to the lineup. However the players that will make the Blue Devils great are top five players in small forward Jayson Tatum, and power forward Harry Giles. Both are elite players that will likely only have a one year college career. The one spot that Duke may be weak is interior defense and rebounding, Giles is a powerful force down low, but isn't a true center, and probably won't have much help.

The Big Ten will likely be dominated by Michigan State, Indiana, and Wisconsin, but it's safe to say that MSU will be expected to do big things next year. The Pac-12 is Oregon's to lose, as they return star Dillon Brooks, and many other important pieces. However UCLA should have no reason to be as bad as they were last year, so if they have another repeat year there will be a coaching change. The Big 12 will likely be much less powerful as they were last year. Iowa State, Oklahoma, and Baylor will all likely decline, even Kansas probably won't be as good as they were last year.