6 storylines to watch as 2021-22 college hoops season tips off
A lot has changed since Baylor captured its first national championship seven months ago.
Players transferred at a record rate, multiple highly touted recruits reclassified, and a college basketball icon announced his imminent retirement.
All of the above should make for a compelling NCAA hoops campaign.
Here are six storylines to watch throughout the 2021-22 season.
Coach K's farewell tour
Legendary Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski is finally calling it a career after the upcoming campaign. He's guided the Blue Devils to five national championships, 15 ACC Tournament crowns, and nearly 1,100 wins during his illustrious 41-year run. However, don't expect the Hall of Famer to go out quietly.
Duke will be must-watch basketball this season with freshman phenom Paolo Banchero leading another strong recruiting class. Banchero has an NBA-ready body and affects the game at both ends of the floor. The 6-foot-10, 250-pound forward can knock down shots from the perimeter, handle the ball in the open court, and defend at a high level.
With a transcendent talent like Banchero in the fold, a sixth Division I title for Coach K isn't out of the question.
The Memphis hype train
Penny Hardaway has recruited some of the top high school prospects during his Memphis tenure, but he doesn't have a single NCAA Tournament appearance to show for it. The four-time NBA All-Star will hope to change that under similar circumstances this season.
Projected top-five picks Jalen Duren and Emoni Bates reclassified and headline the nation's No. 1 recruiting class. The Tigers also return three starters from their 2021 NIT championship squad, and they added former top-40 prospect Earl Timberlake via transfer from Miami.
Memphis has been one of the NCAA's best defensive teams under Hardaway, finishing first and fifth, respectively, in opponent field-goal percentage over the past two seasons. The Tigers have the ingredients to make a Final Four run, though it'll be on Hardaway to maximize the players at his disposal.
A blue bloods renaissance
After a down season for some of college basketball's biggest programs, the blue bloods are officially back in 2021-22. All four of UCLA, Kansas, Duke, and Kentucky begin the season in the AP Poll's top 10, while North Carolina sits at No. 19.
Each one of these historically great schools has a must-watch team this season. UCLA brings back its entire core from a magical Final Four run, while Kansas retooled by adding transfer Remy Martin to a solid roster. Kentucky brings in a plethora of experienced transfers, and North Carolina begins life without legendary coach Roy Williams. Plus, of course, Coach K's farewell tour with Duke.
With all of these squads returning to peak form, the college basketball landscape feels right once again.
Gonzaga's continuing chase for national glory
Although Gonzaga lost three starters to the NBA, the team remains among the favorites to cut down the nets in New Orleans. Reigning Karl Malone Award winner Drew Timme and point guard Andrew Nembhard return from last season's offensive juggernaut. The Bulldogs duo is joined by a loaded recruiting class that features consensus No. 1 prospect Chet Holmgren as well as five-star guards Hunter Sallis and Nolan Hickman.
Between Timme's low-post dominance and Holmgren's perimeter touch, there might not be a better frontcourt tandem in college hoops. Gonzaga has fallen one win short of a national championship in two of the past five seasons. Can Mark Few and Co. finally finish the job?
Big men in the Big Ten
The Big Ten is putting its name on the line this season with most of the nation's best big men residing in the midwest.
The list begins with two second-team All-Americans in Illinois' Kofi Cockburn and Michigan's Hunter Dickinson. Both stand at over 7-feet, and both use their physical presence to dominate the action down low. Not to be outdone, Ohio State's E.J. Liddell and Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis are smaller, mobile bigs who can light it up offensively.
This is all before mentioning Purdue's duo of Trevion Williams and 7-foot-4 Zach Edey, who'll spend time sharing the floor for the Boilermakers. There's a real possibility that five big men from the Big Ten make their way onto an All-American team this season.
Chris Beard's overhaul
If Chris Beard could take middling Texas Tech to the National Championship game, the sky's the limit with the resources he has with Texas.
Beard has already put together an All-Star cast of assistant coaches and a deep, talented roster. He landed three transfers that made an All-Conference team at their previous schools and brought back two of Texas' three leading scorers from last season. The Longhorns have a legitimate case at having the best 10-man rotation in the country.
It'll be fascinating to watch Beard work his magic at a program with such high expectations. The lights will shine brightly in Austin this season as a team with deep March Madness aspirations looks to make its mark.