There has been a lot of attention paid on this year's diaper dandies. There are a lot of sophomores like Chase Budinger of Arizona, Stephen Curry of Davidson, Scottie Reynolds at Villanova and the duo of Wayne Ellington and Ty Lawson of North Carolina. These guys should dominate afterimpressing in their first season.
I want to give them some ink, some pub to five sophomores who should have breakout seasons during the 2007-08 campaign.
Let's start at Duke, where athletic transition player Gerald Henderson should fit in well in a lineup that includes Greg Paulus and Kyle Singler. The Blue Devils should have a super season and I believe Henderson will be an important contributor.
Out at Michigan State, people know about All-Solid Gold guard Drew Neitzel, but Tom Izzo is expecting a big season from athletic forward Raymar Morgan. He has already been a force on the boards and he can score and succeed in transition.
Down at USC, O.J. Mayo has received tons of publicity and rightfully so. Mayo is a special, special player who can flat-out score. Sophomore guard Daniel Hackett deserves some more publicity and he helped the Trojans beat South Carolina. All Hackett did was post a triple-double against the Gamecocks, with 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. He is going to be an important asset for Tim Floyd's squad.
Billy Donovan has a veteran player in Marreese Speights up front. In a season where the Gators lost so much talent, Speights is ready to shine. He had the chance to play every day in practice for two seasons against Joakim Noah and Al Horford. That has helped his development and Speights had 25 points in a win over Rutgers.
Louisville has a ton of talent and Earl Clark is going to be a factor for Rick Pitino's club. He posted a double-double with 20 points and 14 boards in a recent win over Jackson State. He has shot-blocking ability and could help the Cardinals reach the Final Four. Keep an eye on the 6-8 guard-forward from New Jersey.
These five players -- Henderson, Morgan, Hackett, Speights and Clark will come through on talented teams.
Dick Vitale coached the Pistons and the University of Detroit before broadcasting ESPN's first college basketball game in December 1979. Send him a question for possible use on ESPNEWS.
