Chris Kramer, 6-3, Sr., Purdue
Kramer, a former Indiana high school football star, has definitely brought that gridiron toughness to West Lafayette the past few years. In fact, he has made three straight Big Ten All-Defensive Teams and was the conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2008. He gets up so close to his man that he can smell what they had for breakfast last Tuesday and he'll catch the occasional inadvertent elbow, as well.
Avery Bradley, 6-3, Fr., Texas
It's rare to put a freshman on a defensive team like this before he's even played a game. But I know Rick Barnes well enough and have seen Bradley enough to know that this is a marriage made in hoops heaven. Bradley has the quickness, athleticism and mental makeup to be one of the nation's best defensive stoppers immediately. Bradley, Tiller and Texas A&M's Donald Sloan will make life miserable for Big 12 point guards all season long.
J.T. Tiller, 6-3, Sr., Missouri
Tiller was the Big 12's Co-Defensive Player of the Year (along with KU's Cole Aldrich) and is the catalyst for the Tigers' great pressure defense. He has the mentality of an All-Pro NFL "shutdown" cornerback. The kind of toughness that he exudes for coach Mike Anderson's team is a primary reason for last season's record-setting 31-win campaign.
Devan Downey, 5-9, Sr., South Carolina
Downey is one of the quickest players in college basketball and that particularly manifests itself on the defensive end. He is a pure pest who, because of his size, plays so close to the ground that he is able to get right up into opposing point guards and keep them from easily running their offense. Downey has had almost 200 steals over the past two seasons, and that translates into a lot of easy buckets for the Gamecocks.
Venoy Overton, 5-11, Sr., Washington
While some opponents in the Pac-10 think that his mouth moves as fast as his defensive slides, there is no denying that Overton has become one of the best defensive players in the country. He has all of the characteristics of an excellent on-ball defender. He is quick, strong, tough and tough-minded. If you underestimate his importance to the Huskies' success, you are making a huge mistake.
