OPINION

By Mike DeCourcy

updated 5:43 p.m. ET Oct. 7, 2007

Mike DeCourcy

The Sporting News College Basketball yearbook should be hitting stores and newsstands in your area this week. That's the good news. Because of some changes in the way it was edited and published, however, the yearbook will not include my rankings of the top players by position. That's the really good news.

In my time with Sporting News, no aspect of my multi-faceted job has been harder to get right than the player rankings. What makes it tough is having to not only evaluate the player's talent — to me, that's the easy part — but also how likely he is to have the best season possible, how he'll fit into his particular team and whether that team will be nationally relevant.

In a sense, what I'm ranking is how likely a given player is to be first-team All-America. If he were ranked No. 1, he'd be the most likely, obviously. And so on to the end of the list.

This is hard to do. So the smart thing would be to take the gift I've been given and move on toward the season. But would it be right to deprive you of the chance to be either amazed or amused by my selections? Heck, no. I'll give you the top 10 players at each position. Feel free to tell me where I'm wrong, or how foolish I was to take another shot at this.

1. D.J. Augustin, Texas
Though not as purely talented as the next three on the list, Augustin has a year of experience and the perfect opportunity to take control of his team. He had five games with double-figure assists last season and scored 31 in a victory over Iowa State. But how will the assist numbers be without Kevin Durant to convert passes to baskets?

2. O.J. Mayo, Southern California
Part of me believes he'll flirt with averaging 20 points and make USC a serious contender for the Pac-10 title. The other part believes he'll flirt with averaging 20 points.

3. Derrick Rose, Memphis
If he shoots above 36 percent from 3-point range, he'll probably be the first point guard taken in next year's NBA draft. If he shoots above 38 percent, he'll have a shot at being the first player taken.

4. Ty Lawson, North Carolina
With a basketball in hand, Lawson probably is the fastest college player. I'd like to see him use that speed more frequently and get the Heels moving faster.

5. Darren Collison, UCLA
Although I think Collison is terrific — he disrupts as a defender and is a very efficient shooter — he is less creative than the players ranked ahead of him. He could end the year as a national championship point guard, though.

6. Dominic James, Marquette
James has to bounce back from a disappointing sophomore year and failed attempt to enter the NBA draft.

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7. Sherron Collins, Kansas
He's a few Lean Cuisines away from the top of this list.

8. Sean Singletary, Virginia
Although he is as complete a point guard as anyone on the list, his team is likely to decline.

9. Tyrese Rice, Boston College
There'll be even more pressure on Rice to carry the BC offense.

10. Greivis Vasquez, Maryland
It should be clear by now that Vasquez needs to be in charge of the Terps.

Almost, not quite: Jeremy Pargo, Gonzaga; Drew Lavender, Xavier; Johnny Flynn, Syracuse; Kyle Weaver, Washington State, Eric Maynor, VCU

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