Shooters and Wings: Vols' Lofton on top

Publish a list of anything, people ask questions. It's one of the absolutes of life -- like death, taxes and bad quarterbacks in Chicago. So that's why I wasn't surprised when the inquiries started rolling in about the CBSSports.com annual position rankings, and before we move from Points and Combos to Shooters and Wings I decided to take some time to address a few.

Question: Why isn't Player X on the list?

Chris Lofton's Vols lost to the Buckeyes in last season's Sweet 16. (Getty Images)

Answer: Because he isn't good enough, probably.

Question: But you're leaving off some really good players, aren't you?

Answer: No doubt. When I decided to scrap the traditional five-position rankings (point guards, shooting guards, small forwards, power forwards and centers) for just three generalized positions (points/combos, shooters/wings and bigs) the byproduct was that it became much more difficult to make the list.

Last year I ranked 20 players at five positions.

This year I'm ranking 25 players at three positions.

If my math is correct, that means I'm ranking 75 total players instead of the previous 100. Thus, many good players are omitted, which is why my preliminary plan for next year is to rank at least 35 players at three positions and be more inclusive because I could easily go 35 or 40 deep and still be cutting good talents. You learn as you go, you know?

Question: How can you rank freshmen?

Answer: Because freshmen are awesome, and I don't care that they haven't played a college game yet. Would you rather have a first-year player who is so talented he'd be in the NBA right now if not for the rule prohibiting Americans from entering the draft out of high school? Or a third-year guy who is so untalented he couldn't get anywhere near an NBA court without borrowing Spike Lee's tickets?

As for me, I'll take the talent.

Most every time.

Question: So are you basing these rankings on NBA potential?

Answer: Not necessarily. These lists -- which are admittedly subjective -- are basically nothing more than who I'd want on my college team this season. If future pros rate high, it's because they are (or will be) pretty good college basketball players before becoming millionaires. But to be clear, I'm not as concerned about how somebody might perform in an 82-game NBA schedule three years from now as I am about how somebody will perform in a 16-game SEC schedule this year, which is why No. 1 on the list of the top Shooters and Wings in the country is ...

1. Chris Lofton (Tennessee): He'll likely be a role player in the NBA, in the mold of a Steve Kerr or J.J. Redick. But in college, Lofton is an undeniable star, the kind who should lead the Vols to an SEC title, and then some.

2. Eric Gordon (Indiana): Remember that recruiting war featuring Indiana and Illinois, the one that led to Kelvin Sampson and Bruce Weber despising each other? Gordon is the prospect who was in the middle of it all, and it won't take long to see how he was totally worth the fuss.

3. Brandon Rush (Kansas): If not for a torn ACL suffered last May, Rush would be in an NBA camp right now. Instead, he'll spend this season in Allen Fieldhouse leading Kansas to a likely Big 12 championship before presumably entering the draft again, hopefully with better luck.

4. Chris Douglas-Roberts (Memphis): He's a shooting guard without a great jump shot, but Douglas-Roberts is so good at getting to the rim and finishing it doesn't seem to hinder his production at all. The 6-foot-5 junior puts the dribble-drive in the Tigers' dribble-drive motion offense, and the presence of Derrick Rose will only make him better.

5. Chase Budinger (Arizona): Along with Stanford's Brook Lopez and Texas' D.J. Augustin, Budinger is one of last season's few truly talented freshmen who decided to become college sophomores instead of NBA rookies. Arizona should benefit in a big way.

Keep an eye out for the Cougars' Kyle Weaver. (Getty Images)

6. Kyle Weaver (Washington State): Weaver is a lot like teammate Derrick Low in that college coaches seem to respect him more than the average fan. Perhaps that's because not many people outside of the Pac-10 got to see Washington State last season, but if you East Coasters can stay up late the Cougars backcourt is worth a glimpse.

7. Marcelus Kemp (Nevada): Given how Kemp averaged 18.5 points while sharing shots with Nick Fazekas and Ramon Sessions, it's fair to wonder how many he'll get per game now that he's the primary option for Nevada.

8. Wayne Ellington (North Carolina): Teamed with point guard Ty Lawson, Ellington is part of perhaps the best backcourt in the country, one that ranks right there with the likes of UCLA, Washington State, Memphis, Marquette, Texas, Kansas and Tennessee.

9. Tyler Smith (Tennessee): Smith is a perfect wing for Bruce Pearl's system, just an explosive athlete who will run and dunk and probably at least match the 14.9 points per game he averaged last season as a freshman at Iowa.

10. Bill Walker (Kansas State): Walker only played six games last season before suffering a torn ACL. But if he heals properly and returns to form, then this ranking will actually prove to be too low because his natural ability is nearly unmatched.