With UNC presently the prohibitive favorite in July to win it all in April, the next step is figuring out which teams could derail that plan. Mike DeCourcy at the Sporting News considers some teams. He groups them as “contenders,” “sleepers,” and “pretenders.

In the contenders category he has UConn, Louisville and Arizona. I can buy into UConn and Lousville. Not Arizona. The “me” culture at Arizona has passed? Brandon Jennings is all about that that culture.

Yes, they have Budinger back, but even if Brandon Jennings comes that won’t be enough. Their depth has suffered. Their defense still is lacking and they won’t have enough offense. After Budinger the only main cogs returning are Nic Wise and Jordan Hill. I guess Lute Olson could have a Joe Paterno type surge like a couple years ago, but in NCAA Tournament terms, that will likely just mean the Sweet 16.

Really the whole contenders section could be subtitled, “teams with hall-of-fame coaches that have top future NBA talent and have shown they can coach that potential.”

In the pretenders, it’s Notre Dame, Duke and Arizona State. I don’t see any of those teams having a deep March run so I guess I’ll agree.

In the sleepers it is Texas, Wake Forest and Pitt.

Some consider the Panthers national title contenders, but the lack of dead-certain NBA talent makes them a better fit in this category. Winning four straight Big East Tournament games requires a vast reservoir of toughness; we know they have that. Winning six NCAA games in a row requires a level of firepower that might be beyond their reach. One thing’s certain: Pitt will not go down without a battle.

I’d say he’s a little down on Sam Young and DeJuan Blair. If he meant dead-certain first round draft NBA talent, then it wouldn’t seem like such an odd statement. I would still disagree about Pitt being a “sleeper” — and not just because of blind optimism — because I think there is more talent on this team heading for the NBA. Gilbert Brown is a year or two away from that. I also think McGhee will eventually become an NBA Center — he has the frame for it as much as anything else.

NBE Basketball also has a snapshot of Pitt for the upcoming season. The questions about the players arent’ about Young, Fields and Blair — other than continued normal development. The questions are about Gilbert Brown improving his range. Gary McGhee getting more confident and finishing shots. Bradley Wanamaker finding his court vision. Whether Mike Cook comes back. Who will be the shooting guard? The questions about the team are for the players around the trio.