nike-addias-99's Week Pre-Season Ballot

Rank	Team	Reason
1	Kansas	Amazing return and portal work, Bill self know what he is doing.
2	Alabama	Good return, Grant Nelson coming to Alabama is going to work in Alabamas system.
3	Iowa State	stellar defense and efficiency in both defense and offense. I trust the process of TJ
4	Houston	Good roster, good defense, good shooting, strong conference play that I think they will compete. Could be anywhere in the top 4-2.
5	Duke	1 name, Cooper Flag!! Such a fun player to watch, Scheyer can do wonders with 1 and dones, think they have the magic.
6	UConn	Solid team, and even with the portal work I just don't see them competing in the same way as the past two years.
7	North Carolina	Great returners, good freshman class, again building on the experience form last year.
8	Gonzaga	Descent portal work, and I think they have some strong pieces.
9	Baylor	Experinces returning, and good looking team. A powerful team, don't think they have the power to make a final four run.
10	Arizona	Caleb love can lead this team to develop, and compete in the B12.
11	Tennessee	Strong team that returned from last year, defense looks like they will run the SEC
12	Creighton	Saw some exciting sparks last year, think they have the ability to really compete.
13	Arkansas	They have a very strong chance at winning the SEC. I think they are going to struggle as a team, and a lot of individuals who have taken but lack a cohesive bond.If they can fix that the sky is the li
14	Marquette	Solid offensive efficiency, think the defense will haunt them a bit.
15	Texas A&M	Ehh, I see the hype, but just don't think they have it.
16	Purdue	Good return, but I think they just don't have the work with out Eddey.
17	Florida	Same as Marquette, but again that defense is going to haunt them.
18	Illinois	Underwood is cooking something here, and I trust his process. I think this team will have some surprises, especially in the back court.
19	BYU	Strong team, don't think they can do wonders, but think they are under hyped.
20	VCU	Shulga and VCU really came into their stride at the end of the year, I think wins against BC, CSU, and NM give this team confidence into A10 play.
21	Saint Louis	Fresh team lead by Avilla will be fun to watch and could run the A10.
22	Miami (FL)	Enough of the ACC anti bias, Good NIL work, and I think an anger to revenge last year will propel this team to a win agains TN.
23	St. John's	Rick Pitino knows how to coach the socks of a team, and I think the momentum from last year can really help them compete in the Big East.
24	Kentucky	Not much pope could do in his situation, but I think he created a team that will do average and make a depressing tourney run, but a run none the less.
25	Xavier	Loaded back court, if they can click and pick up the missing pieces they can make a run.

Overall Rationale

its pre-season poles so everyone is going to eat their words come conference play (or maybe earlier). I think the top nine is pretty solid, and I really think Iowa state can be a title contender. Believe that NIL has played a pivotal role, and the coaches who can manage transfers will do better than old school coaches, and I have tried to reflect that.