My Fave Five in College Hoops

In homage to my favorite commercial of Super Bowl Sunday, I am going to run down my own personal "Fave Five". This has been a great year in college basketball, outside of Montlake, and I think it is high time that I let everyone know who I like, and more importantly who I can't stand.

Before I do, let's talk a little about the "Fave Five" commercial. In an otherwise mediocre year for Super Bowl commercials, the Dwayne Wade and Charles Barkley spot stole the show. While I did enjoy the creepy investing baby, and the awkwardly racist JobGenie.com commercials, the T-Mobile "Fave Five" commercial was by far my fave. Barkley finally let D Wade into his five, and then proceeded to pester him at all hours of the day with phone calls. I have long known that Charles Barkley is hilarious, but I didn't know that he had this sort of scripted humor in him. He has always excelled at of the cuff, over the top, improvised jokes. His role on the NBA on TNT has been the best part of regular season basketball for the past five years. And the "Fave Five" commercials leading up to this one were good too. But this one was great. Here are a few of my fave quotes. And oh yeah, here's the link, http://youtube.com/watch?v=4Phg5SZGl8U.

"Either Play better, or call in sick."

"Do you like popsicles?"

and...

"...and that's why I don't eat shrimp."

Watch it. Laugh. And pray that Charles Barkley lives a long and healthy life, and is able to entertain us all for years to come.

Anyway, here is my College Hoops "Fave Five", and the reasons why. Keep in mind, I'm not saying these guys are the best players in college this year, they are just the guys I like watching the most.

Fave Five:

D.J. Augustine, Texas-
I knew I liked DJ when he predicted that Texas would be better this year now that Kevin Durant is gone to the NBA because quote, "Now that he's gone, I can take more shots." Predicting that your team will improve after losing the Naismith Award winner is bold, but when it actually comes true you are the man. If you need any help coming around on Augustine rewatch the Longhorn's win over UCLA in Los Angeles. He made more big shots in that game than Kevin Durant did all last year. Plus he has a clean haircut every single game. And there is a lot to be said for a clean haircut.

Derick Rose, Memphis-
I realize that this is sort of a lame pick since pretty much everybody loves this guy. He is certainly among the most over hyped freshmen in the country, along with Eric Gordan and Kevin Love, but in my opinion his hype is all the way deserved. Plus, I'm trying to sway as much good Derick Rose Karma in Seattle's direction as I can, so next Summer when we have the #2 pick again, we end up with the youngest, coolest, and most athletic 1,2,3 combo in the NBA. Imagine, if you will...Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, and Derick Rose. Sounds pretty good, huh?

Deron Washington, Virginia Tech-
This makes up for my Derick Rose pick, because I am pretty sure that if you asked anybody who there favorite 5 players in college are this year, no one outside of Blacksburg would name this guy. Here is a brief breakdown of Mr. Washington. He has dreadlocks. He has the tendency to shake them...often. And I'm pretty sure he has left a smell on Greg Paulus' face that can never be washed off. Watch, http://youtube.com/watch?v=HXNJQFi_R50. Also this dunk on the Zags, http://youtube.com/watch?v=Mq0xLwWjy5M&feature=related. Any one who dunks on Paulus and Gonzaga, I'm gonna like. Also, I am pretty sure he is a member of the J-Sky "All Djumpin Djemba" team.

Michael Beasley, Kansas State-
Another obvious pick, but with his resume of dunks, big shots, and quotes, I had no choice but to pick him. We've all seen the relentless rebounding, the amazing dunks, and the surprising left handed stroke. But that isn't enough for me to put him in my top five. What earned him his spot was the quote that he had before K-State's huge win over Kansas. He said, "I don't care where we play them. We'll beat them here, we'll beat them at their place, we'll beat them in Africa." That is an award winning quote. But the fact that they actually did beat Kansas makes the prediction even better. Especially since they hadn't beaten Kansas at home since 1983. Michael Beasley wasn't even alive in 1983.

DeAndre Thomas, Indiana-
This is another pick that excuses my Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley picks. You could ask DeAndre Thomas' parents who their top 5 are, and I bet he wouldn't be in them. This guy is the second guy off the bench for the Hoosiers, basically DJ White's backup. Their 7th man. But I love him. When he arrived at Indiana three years ago, he weighed 355 pounds. He has lost 60 pounds since then, but he still looks like he could ruin an entire Thanksgiving dinner. His only move is to catch the ball on the block, and back into the defender with his huge derier, and then quickly turn and lay it up. I saw him do this four times in a row against Kentucky. He is fat, slow, and nearly useless on the court. But in a post game interview after that same Kentucky game he was asked about his playing style. "I got a huge back side. I gotta use it. I got it from my momma." Meet DeAndre Thomas, your new favorite player.

Sixth Man:

Gerald Henderson, Duke-
I would usually never put any Duke player anywhere near my top 5, but Gerald isn't like most Duke guys. He seems like a funny guy. He dunks on lots of people. And most importantly, he broke Tyler Hansbrough's nose on purpose. Thus, he's my sixth man.


Tomorrow I'll unveil my "Fave Five" players to hate. A list of the five players that I dislike the most in college basketball this year. There will be Duke and Gonzaga representation, please believe that.