TBI's College Basketball Opening Weekend Extravaganza: The All-Americans

Most outlets may give you only two teams' worth of All-Americans. Some will give you three. Here at The Back Iron, much like at noted college basketball bible Blue Ribbon, I drop four.

One thing you don't get here that you get literally everywhere else is the unrelenting hype for incoming freshmen. Writers get their All-American ballots confused with an NBA draft board and throw a bunch of one-and-dones on their teams, ignoring the dangerous precedent that was set when they anointed Harrison Barnes back in 2010. Barnes scuffled through his freshman year, bowed by the weight of the expectations, and was forced to return for a second year to salvage his draft stock.

Since then, TBI has had a strict no-freshmen policy on its All-American teams. While Jahlil Okafor, Myles Turner and Karl Towns may show up and dominate the game, I prefer to give a little dap to those guys who've proven they can perform at this level.

You'll surely have some other suggestions, and you're encouraged to supply them below. Rest assured, however, that if I left your team's favorite player off, it's not because I "dont know nothin bout ball" or some other unintelligible rant. The more vituperous you get in your rant, the more assured I am that I've watched more basketball games than you've had hot meals. Be civil or be gone.

Now, 20 of the game's best--and a few controversial omissions--await after the jump.

Starting Five: All-Americans, Walk-Ons, and RIPs

At least a couple of times a week, you can look forward to TBI producing the Starting Five, links to five stories that catch the eye and beg for comment. We start this week with a melancholy moment for a player already struggling to work himself back into game shape.

1. Kevin Parrom's Mother Passes Away
Arizona swingman Kevin Parrom already had his own rehabilitation from gunshot wounds to worry about. At the same time, his mother was "in the final stages" of her fight with cancer. Sunday night, Lisa Williams lost that battle.

Parrom was home in New York to visit her when he was shot last month. The last time he saw her was when he went back to the Bronx to identify the shooting suspect and meet with a grand jury.

Combining this and his rehab, many of us might be inclined to take a season off. Unfortunately, Parrom might not have much choice in the matter. That brings us to number 2, and other on-court stuff after the jump.