10. Dajuan Wagner, Memphis – Sure, it’s tough to put a guy up who hasn’t played a single college game yet. Still, it’s also tough to ignore 100 points in one game for his Camden, N.J. team last season. He will be heading to a rebuilding Memphis, where John Calipari has just taken over, and should be given plenty of opportunities to flash his brilliance. This kid is the real deal, with Allen Iverson-type tools, and though he should be in the NBA right now, he will scorch college basketball for one year. He might be even better than this ranking, but he could be a bit lower, so we’ll keep him right here.
9. Marvin O’Connor, St. Joseph’s – O’Connor, along with Jameer Nelson, forms perhaps the best wing tandem in the country. O’Connor, the scoring machine who scored 37 against Stanford last season, is a sweet shooter, and can take it to the hoop. He also has a mean defensive game. If he does a little better in shot selection and improves his free throw shooting, he will be a force that no team will want to face.
8. Casey Jacobsen, Stanford – With the Collins twins gone, the role of go-to guy is squarely on the shoulders of Jacobsen. He is certainly one of the best shooters in the country, and this All-American also performs in the clutch, as everybody remembers from the Duke game last season. Offensively, he is virtually unstoppable and he has great court smarts that are simply unmatched. While some have declared him the best wing player in the country, his mediocre defensive play leaves him at Number 8. Still, his amazing scoring touch keeps him up here.
7. Kareem Rush, Missouri – This kid is the best scorer in the country, period. On a young, good team that pushed Duke for a little while in the NCAA tourney last year, Rush was the key guy on nearly every play. He has explosiveness that is downright amazing, and his ankle-busting moves leave defenders both speechless and crippled. He has an unorthodox shot, but at 45% from downtown, who can complain? Simply smooth offensively, but he also added nearly 7 boards a game and has no defensive weaknesses. We’ll see if he can take the Tigers to the next level.
