It is arguably one of the best times of the year. It's really almost as good as Christmas. I'm talking about college basketball season ... although you probably knew that if you read the title of this post. But seriously, with the regular season just underway, and the majority of teams tipping off in the next couple of weeks, I felt like I should post my top 10 rankings to open the year. Enjoy. 1. North Carolina - The Tar Heels return Tyler Hansbrough, Wayne Ellington and Tywon Lawson. That's enough for me to put them at the top. A solid freshman class certainly helps also. 2. Memphis - Oh man, if you haven't seen this Derrick Rose fellow, you need to check him out immediately. I saw a few YouTube clips of him from high school, and he really is the real deal. This guy will lead the NBA in scoring one day, no doubt. 3. UCLA - No Aaron Afflalo, no problem? For these Bruins, that is the case. Darren Collison leads a strong group that will contend for the National Title. 4. Kansas - Talent wise, has Bill Self ever had more? Probably not. A lot depends on the health of Brandon Rush. 5. Georgetown - Roy Hibbert returns to anchor the Hoyas defense. The loss of Jeff Green certainly hurts, but it looks like Georgetown should have enough to remain a top-five team. 6. Michigan State - Ah yes, my Spartans. I'm beyond excited for this season, and I have plenty of reasons to be. Drew Neitzel will have another monster year, Raymar Morgan will take the leap from freshman with potential to proven sophomore, and the freshman class (Kalin Lucas, Chris Allen and Durrell Summers) is one of Tom Izzo's best in recent memory. 7. Louisville - Rick Pitino has plenty of pieces in place for a deep NCAA tournament run. Derrick Caracter's health is a concern though. 8. Indiana - Am I the only one who thinks Eric Gordon can come in and have a Kevin Durant-type year for the Hoosiers this year? He is a beast, and will open a lot of eyes this season. Indiana will challenge my Spartans for the Big Ten title. 9. Tennessee - Chris Lofton returning is a huge lift for the Volunteers. They are just too talented to not make my top ten teams. 10. Duke - I could have gone with a lot of different teams here, but I went with the Blue Devils. Duke has too much talent and too much to prove after last season.