OPINION

By Mike DeCourcy

updated 6:33 p.m. ET Aug. 22, 2007

Mike DeCourcy

In politics, the term sophomore surge represents the sharp increase in voter support for a congressman pursuing a second term. In college hoops, it's when a player goes from joakim noah to JOAKIM NOAH.

Two years ago, the rapid improvement of Noah and Florida teammates Al Horford and Taurean Green elevated the Gators to national champions. In all likelihood, no factor will be more important in this season's title race than the development of several key sophomores.

"I think the one thing most sophomores realize is they don't know near as much as they thought they did coming in as freshmen," Kansas coach Bill Self says.

Self contends that once a player experiences the demands of college basketball he is better able to prepare for his next season and more likely to trust the counsel of his coaches. "They understand how to work from that April 1 date to the October 15 date, which the year before they had no idea how to do," he says.

Self's Kansas team is one of five or six that appear to have the goods to challenge for the national title. And nearly every one -- Memphis could be the only exception -- will rely on at least one sophomore making major improvement:

Sherron Collins, PG, Kansas
The Jayhawks need Collins and power forward Darrell Arthur to make gains. But let's be honest. Arthur is almost a given. He'll get more playing time, more touches in the post and plenty of opportunities to be a star. Because of the presence of veterans Russell Robinson and Mario Chalmers in the backcourt, however, Collins still is fighting for a starting job.

Kansas needs Collins to win that position because it needs the offensive direction and firepower he can deliver. To be good enough, Collins must be fit. He must weigh south of 205 pounds to be an elite college point guard -- the farther south, the better.

Earl Clark, F, Louisville
The Cardinals will rely on sophomore point guard Edgar Sosa and big man Derrick Caracter, but Clark's performance might be their greatest X-factor. And finding a Big East coach who does not expect Clark to deliver a breakout season is tougher than finding one who likes excluding four teams from the conference tournament.

A lot of that stems from his brilliance against West Virginia in the Big East quarterfinals. That was part of a late-season advance in which he created scoring opportunities off the dribble, hit the occasional 3-pointer and used his length to rebound. The only problem is where to play him. Louisville has a conventional wing in Terrence Williams and is four deep in true big men. What Clark brings when he is playing well, however, few opponents can handle.

Ty Lawson, PG, North Carolina
Whereas shooter Wayne Ellington needs only to improve his percentages and add a few points to his average, Lawson needs to assume command.

He was getting close by the end of last season, when he averaged 6.7 assists over the final 10 games, but there is a difference between being a great point guard and a great player playing point guard. Lawson can become the former by dictating tempo, managing the offensive needs of his teammates and becoming more consistent with his shot selection and accuracy.

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Russell Westbrook, SG, UCLA
All-American Arron Afflalo's decision to enter the draft created a vacancy at Westbrook's position. Former Bruins assistant Kerry Keating, now head coach at Santa Clara, predicts Westbrook will develop into a special player.

The Bruins are planning to shift Josh Shipp to Afflalo's position and use a bigger lineup with Luc Richard Mbah a Moute at small forward. But that could slow them down a bit, and Westbrook is athletic enough to quicken the pace. Although his playing time was limited last season, Westbrook shot well and showed a glimpse of how his agility can affect a game.

DaJuan Summers, F, Georgetown
Presuming he continues to be joined by two big men in the frontcourt -- that is, if Vernon Macklin replaces Jeff Green in the lineup -- the 6-8, 240-pound Summers again will enjoy a significant edge in size over most defenders. The next step toward greatness: using that to his advantage.

In a solid freshman year that occasionally flirted with spectacular, Summers attempted almost as many 3-pointers as regular field goals, though he wasn't exactly Sleepy Floyd from long range.

Summers is in his second season now. It's time to get going.

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