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Tuesday, November 12, 2002
Highly Evolved

Whither the four-year player, the Fab Five's legacy, the purity of positions 1 through 5? Who cares. Because where others see chaos in this changing hoops universe, we see order -- a new order of innovative players and innovative thinking.

It's simple, really: Those who adapt, flourish. Those who stand still, decay. Survival of the fittest, baby.


	If there's anyone who's needed to learn the New Hoops Order, it's Coach K.

To stay ahead of the pack, teams are experimenting with new sets, new plays, new philosophies. Three guards, two forwards? Works for Kansas. A kitchen-sink offense? Works for Florida. Let your players play? Works for Duke.

"Environments change," Coach K says. "You can't spend most of your time saying, 'Well, in the good old days ... ' How do you make these the good old days?"

In the constant search for The Edge, the best ballers are diversifying their games too. As Kent State's do-everything forward Antonio Gates puts it: "It's all about matchups. Who has the advantage? That's basketball."

So is this: 6'9" Nick Collison outracing guards; 6'2" Ryan Sidney outmuscling forwards; Diana Taurasi playing every position; Luke Walton playing in ways his daddy never dreamed of.

When did the evolution begin? When Magic played Bird? When Kevin Garnett shot from prep star to pop star? When Dirk Nowitzki proved he's no Eurotrash?

Where will it end? Seven-foot point guards? Five-guard offenses? Triple towers?

Maybe there's no discernible starting or ending point. But it's easy to see it before us now. Redraw the boundaries. Rewrite the playbook. Rethink the game plan. Or get lost.

2002-2003 NCAA PREVIEW
MEN
1. Arizona Wildcats	9. Georgia Bulldogs
2. Kansas Jayhawks	10. UCLA Bruins
3. Oklahoma Sooners	11. Alabama Crimson Tide
4. Pittsburgh Panthers	12. Kentucky Wildcats
5. Florida Gators	13. Virginia Cavaliers
6. Texas Longhorns	14. Michigan State Spartans
7. Duke Blue Devils	15. Xavier Musketeers
8. UConn Huskies	16. Indiana Hoosiers

2002-2003 NCAA PREVIEW
WOMEN
1. Duke Blue Devils	5. LSU Tigers
2. Tennessee Volunteers	6. Texas Tech Red Raiders
3. Kansas State Wildcats	7. Texas Longhorns
4. UConn Huskies	8. Stanford Cardinal

This article will appear in the November 25 issue of ESPN The Magazine.