2006-2007 NCAA Basketball Predictions

College basketball is back as the 2006-2007 season is finally underway. You can feel excitement returning to campuses around the nation, from Gonzaga in the Great Northwest to Florida State in the Deep South. Students, neighbors and alumni are digging out their old t-shirts in support of their favorite program. I posted my preseason top 25 earlier this fall. Now, we at Thoughts on Sports have made a few predictions for the major and some mid-major conferences, sorted by conference, for this upcoming season (* - Conference Player of the Year).


Big East Conference:
Freshman of the Year:
My Pick - Paul Harris, Syracuse
Josh’s Pick - Hasheem Thabeet, Connecticut

Sophomore of the Year:
My Pick - Dominic James, Marquette
Josh’s Pick - James

Junior of the Year:
My Pick - Jeff Green, Georgetown*
Josh’s Pick- Green*

Senior of the Year:
My Pick - Aaron Gray, Pittsburgh
Josh’s Pick - Gray

Coach of the Year:
My Pick - Tom Crean, Marquette
Josh’s Pick - John Thompson III, Georgetown

Conference Champion:
My Pick - Georgetown
Josh’s Pick - Georgetown

Atlantic Coast Conference:
Freshman of the Year:
My Pick - Tywon Lawson, North Carolina
Josh’s Pick - Thaddeus Young, Georgia Tech

Sophomore of the Year:
My Pick - Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina*
Josh’s Pick - Hansbrough*

Junior of the Year:
My Pick - Anthony Morrow, Georgia Tech
Josh’s Pick - Sean Singletary, Virginia

Senior of the Year:
My Pick - Jared Dudley, Boston College
Josh’s Pick - Dudley

Coach of the Year:
My Pick - Paul Hewitt, Georgia Tech
Josh’s Pick - Roy Williams, North Carolina

Conference Champion:
My Pick - North Carolina
Josh’s Pick - North Carolina

Southeastern Conference:
Freshman of the Year:
My Pick - Jodie Meeks, Kentucky
Josh’s Pick - Derrick Jasper, Kentucky

Sophomore of the Year:
My Pick - Richard Hendrix, Alabama
Josh’s Pick - Hendrix

Junior of the Year:
My Pick - Glen Davis, Louisiana State*
Josh’s Pick - Ronald Steele, Alabama*

Senior of the Year:
My Pick - Jermareo Davidson, Alabama
Josh’s Pick - Davidson

Coach of the Year:
My Pick - Mark Gottfried, Alabama
Josh’s Pick - Gottfried

Conference Champion:
My Pick - Florida
Josh’s Pick - Florida

Big Ten Conference:
Freshman of the Year:
My Pick - Greg Oden, Ohio State
Josh’s Pick - Oden*

Sophomore of the Year:
My Pick - Jamar Smith, Illinois
Josh’s Pick - Smith

Junior of the Year:
My Pick - D.J. White, Indiana
Josh’s Pick - White

Senior of the Year:
My Pick - Alando Tucker, Wisconsin*
Josh’s Pick - Tucker

Coach of the Year:
My Pick - Bo Ryan, Wisconsin
Josh’s Pick - Thad Matta, Ohio State

Conference Champion:
My Pick - Wisconsin
Josh’s Pick - Ohio State

Big 12 Conference:
Freshman of the Year:
My Pick - Kevin Durant, Texas
Josh’s Pick - Durant

Sophomore of the Year:
My Pick - Brandon Rush, Kansas
Josh’s Pick - Rush*

Junior of the Year:
My Pick - Joseph Jones, Texas A&M*
Josh’s Pick - Jones

Senior of the Year:
My Pick - Acie Law, Texas A&M
Josh’s Pick - Law

Coach of the Year:
My Pick - Sean Sutton, Oklahoma State
Josh’s Pick - Rick Barnes, Texas

Conference Champion:
My Pick - Kansas
Josh’s Pick - Kansas

Conference USA:
Freshman of the Year:
My Pick - Willie Kemp, Memphis
Josh’s Pick - Kemp

Sophomore of the Year:
My Pick - Chris Douglas-Roberts, Memphis
Josh’s Pick - Antonio Anderson, Memphis

Junior of the Year:
My Pick - Joey Dorsey, Memphis
Josh’s Pick - Dorsey

Senior of the Year:
My Pick - Morris Almond, Rice*
Josh’s Pick - Almond*

Coach of the Year:
My Pick - Tom Penders, Houston
Josh’s Pick - Mike Davis, UAB

Conference Champion:
My Pick - Memphis
Josh’s Pick - Memphis

Pacific Ten Conference:
Freshman of the Year:
My Pick - Chase Budinger, Arizona
Josh’s Pick - Spencer Hawes, Washington

Sophomore of the Year:
My Pick - Marcus Williams, Arizona
Josh’s Pick - Williams*

Junior of the Year:
My Pick - Arron Afflalo, UCLA*
Josh’s Pick - Afflalo

Senior of the Year:
My Pick - Mustafa Shakur, Arizona
Josh’s Pick - Shakur

Coach of the Year:
My Pick - Lorenzo Romar, Washington
Josh’s Pick - Romar

Conference Champion:
My Pick - Arizona
Josh’s Pick - Washington

West Coast Conference:
Player of the Year:
My Pick - Brandon Worthy, Loyola Marymount
Josh’s Pick - Derek Raivio, Gonzaga

Conference Champion:
My Pick - Gonzaga
Josh’s Pick - Gonzaga

Missouri Valley Conference:
Player of the Year:
My Pick - Nate Funk, Creighton
Josh’s Pick - Funk

Conference Champion:
My Pick - Creighton
Josh’s Pick - Creighton

Western Athletic Conference:
Player of the Year:
My Pick - Nick Fazekas, Nevada
Josh’s Pick - Fazekas


National Predictions (* - Player of the Year):
Freshman of the Year:
My Pick - Kevin Durant, Texas
Josh’s Pick - Greg Oden, Ohio State

Sophomore of the Year:
My Pick - Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina*
Josh’s Pick - Tyler Hansbrough*

Junior of the Year:
My Pick - Jeff Green, Georgetown
Josh’s Pick - Jeff Green, Georgetown

Senior of the Year:
My Pick - Alando Tucker, Wisconsin
Josh’s Pick - Aaron Gray, Pittsburgh

Coach of the Year:
My Pick - Tom Crean, Marquette
Josh’s Pick - Rick Barnes, Texas

All-American Team:
My Picks -
G - Dominic James,Marquette
G - Alando Tucker, Wisconsin
F - Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina
F - Al Horford, Florida
C - Glen Davis, Louisiana State

Josh’s Picks -
G - Ronald Steele, Alabama
G - Brandon Rush, Kansas
F - Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina
F - Jeff Green, Georgetown
C - Glen Davis, Louisiana State

All-Freshman Team:
My Picks -
G - Tywon Lawson, North Carolina
G - Paul Harris, Syracuse
F - Chase Budinger, Arizona
F - Kevin Durant, Texas
C - Greg Oden, Ohio State

Josh’s Picks -
G - Tywon Lawson, North Carolina
G - Wayne Ellington, North Carolina
F - Thaddeus Young, Georgia Tech
F - Kevin Durant, Texas
C - Greg Oden, Ohio State

Surprise Team:
My Pick - Louisville
Josh’s Pick - Texas

Disappointing Team:
My Pick - Duke
Josh’s Pick - UCLA

Final Four:
My Picks - Kansas, North Carolina, Arizona, Georgetown
Josh’s Picks - Kansas, North Carolina, Florida, Ohio State

National Champion:
My Pick - Kansas
Josh’s Pick - Ohio State

Tournament Most Outstanding Player:
My Pick - Brandon Rush
Josh’s Pick - Greg Oden