College athletes are distinguished by their class, and each athlete has a finite amount of time — generally four years — to contribute to a team. Because of the rotating nature of classes, graduations and the addition of new recruits, a season becomes quite discrete.

In individual sports like pro tennis and pro golf, the short offseason makes the idea of a 2008 season or a 2009 season functionally meaningless for all but record-keepers. One could make a similar case — if not a strong one — for professional soccer where many leagues run from August into the following May and include various cup competitions and breaks during the single season.

I bring this up in anticipation of analyzing who’s back and who’s new on the college basketball landscape for the 2009-10 season. When college basketball writers are formulating their previews, they consider how good a team was last year, how much that team lost and what new additions — redshirts, transfers and recruits — might improve the team’s fortunes. I’m going to do the same thing here, only with an attempt to put a finer point on it. Read More »