Player Rankings: Aldrich, Harangody big fish in deep pool of big men

Let me start by telling you that, yes, I know John Henson is playing on the wing.

Now let me explain why I didn't rank him as a wing.

You ready?

Follow me here.

It's because he's not ... really ... a ... wing. (Mystery solved!)

No question, Henson is a skilled 6-foot-10 freshman, perfectly capable of facing the basket and scoring. But the only reason he's playing on the wing is because A) North Carolina doesn't have many high-level wings, and B) North Carolina is already stacked in the frontcourt with Ed Davis, Deon Thompson and Tyler Zeller.

In other words, Henson is on the wing out of necessity more than because that's where he belongs, which is not to suggest I disagree with the decision. If I were Roy Williams, I'd handle this the same way because I'd want my best players on the court as much as possible, and Henson is undeniably one of the Tar Heels' best players. So it's a smart move, and it'll probably work. But Henson playing on the wing won't make him a wing any more than playing point last season made Ole Miss' Terrico White a point.

Why did White play point? Because Chris Warren got hurt and Ole Miss needed a point. This is similar. The Tar Heels don't need additional frontcourt players, but they do need help on the wing. Thus, John Henson will be asked to help on the wing. But that doesn't necessarily make him a wing, and I hope we can all agree on this and move forward without further incident.

Either way, here's a list of the nation's top big forwards and centers.

Henson is on it.

So are two of his teammates.

(Don't forget to read the explanation for these rankings in the blog.)

1. Cole Aldrich ( Kansas)

Why he's here: Simply put, Aldrich is probably the most important player on the No. 1 team, and that's enough to give him the slight nod over Luke Harangody. The 6-11 center from Minnesota averaged 14.9 points and 11.1 rebounds last season. He's unique in that he rejected the opportunity to be a lottery pick and returned to school, and now he's a legitimate National Player of the Year candidate who has an opportunity to win a second national title in three years.

2. Luke Harangody ( Notre Dame)

Why he's here: It would be awful if Harangody's senior season didn't feature a trip to the NCAA tournament. He's good enough to carry the Irish there, proof being last season's averages of 23.3 points and 11.8 rebounds. But Harangody is going to need some help to push Notre Dame to the upper half of the Big East, and the loss of Scott Martin to a preseason injury wasn't a step in that direction.

3. Al-Farouq Aminu ( Wake Forest)

Why he's here: If Aminu could average 12.9 points and 8.2 rebounds per game last season as a third option (behind Jeff Teague and James Johnson), what do you suppose his numbers will look like this season? I'm guessing 21 and 11, at which point nobody will think this ranking is too high.

4. Patrick Patterson ( Kentucky)

Why he's here: For whatever reason, there are still some (idiots) who can't grasp how Kentucky could go from an NIT team to a national title contender in a span of one year. The simplest explanation is that anything is possible when a guy who was selected as the Preseason SEC Player of the Year (by the league media) isn't expected by most to actually be your best player. That should be terrifying for the rest of the SEC as the John Wall-Patrick Patterson combo challenges the Sherron Collins-Cole Aldrich combo for the label of the nation's best inside-outside force.

5. Derrick Favors ( Georgia Tech)

Why he's here: Having your job security questioned heading into a season is a lousy way to live. But it's less lousy when a guy like Favors is on the roster. Truth be told, Paul Hewitt is more likely to get an extension at Georgia Tech than a pink slip, because Favors is the type of freshman who can block shots, rebound and save jobs.

6. Kyle Singler ( Duke)

Why he's here: We could argue about whether Singler belongs on this list or on the list of wings, but what's the point? The reality is that the 6-8 junior is a skilled big guy capable of playing around and away from the basket. He's talented like that. But for these purposes, he's a big forward, evidence being those 7.7 rebounds per game he averaged last season.

7. Craig Brackins ( Iowa State)

Why he's here: I tend to discount players who post numbers for losing teams, but Brackins is just too good to ignore. He's a 6-10 forward who averaged 20.2 points and 9.5 rebounds last season. He got 42 and 14 against Kansas in January, and that's not something that happens every day. Or every year. Or every five years, even.

8. Trevor Booker ( Clemson)

Why he's here: Booker has averaged double-digits in scoring and no fewer than six rebounds per game for three straight seasons, and yet he's still mostly unheralded. Not around these parts, though. The 6-7 forward got 15.3 points and 9.7 boards a game last season. If Clemson competes for the ACC title, Booker will be the biggest reason why.

9. Devin Ebanks ( West Virginia)

Why he's here: Like Aminu and Singler, Ebanks could be labeled a wing or big forward based on his versatility. I picked this list because he's a 6-9 rebounder (7.8 per game last season), and if you're looking for a dark horse National Player of the Year candidate, this is your guy. He could team with Da'Sean Butler to take Bob Huggins to the Final Four.

10. Ed Davis ( North Carolina)

Why he's here: That Davis is 10th (and Greg Monroe isn't even in the top 10) is a testament to the quality of players on this list. Like Ebanks, Davis could emerge as a National Player of the Year candidate. He averaged 6.7 points and 6.6 rebounds last season despite limited touches in just 18.8 minutes per game. He's a double-double guy this season, guaranteed.

The next 30

• 11. Greg Monroe (Georgetown)	• 21. Samardo Samuels (Louisville)	• 31. Mike Davis (Illinois)
• 12. Gani Lawal (Georgia Tech)	• 22. John Henson (North Carolina)	• 32. Deshawn Sims (Michigan)
• 13. Luke Babbitt (Nevada)	• 23. Da'Sean Butler (West Virginia)	• 33. Kenneth Faried (Morehead State)
• 14. Damion James (Texas)	• 24. Matt Howard (Butler)	• 34. JaMychal Green (Alabama)
• 15. Robbie Hummel (Purdue)	• 25. JaJuan Johnson (Purdue)	• 35. Wayne Chism (Tennessee)
• 16. DeMarcus Cousins (Kentucky)	• 26. Dexter Pittman (Texas)	• 36. Dwayne Collins (Miami)
• 17. Larry Sanders (VCU)	• 27. Deon Thompson (North Carolina)	• 37. Michael Washington (Arkansas)
• 18. Jarvis Varnado (Mississippi State)	• 28. Jerome Jordan (Tulsa)	• 38. Jeff Allen (Virginia Tech)
• 19. Solomon Alabi (Florida State)	• 29.A.J. Ogilvy (Vanderbilt)	• 39. Terrence Jennings (Louisville)
• 20. Lazar Hayward (Marquette)	• 30. Stanley Robinson (Connecticut)	• 40. Mac Koshwal (DePaul)