The player rankings are coming tomorrow, and there's no way to do them without providing an explanation. So here is your explanation. Please read it. It could save us both lots of time.

Dear Reader:

What I will do over the next three days is separate players into three categories -- specifically 1) Point guards and combo guards, 2) Shooting guards and wings, and 3) Big forwards and centers. This will be done to help avoid endless debates about whether Jacob Pullen is a point guard or shooting guard, about whether Nolan Smith is a shooting guard or small forward, about whether Wesley Witherspoon is a small forward or power forward, so on and so forth. We would've argued about all that stuff and more had I listed players by the five conventional positions. So this is way better, I think, and what I'll try to do is group the players based on the following descriptions:

1. Point guards and combo guards

This category includes:

• Point guards
• Combo guards

2. Shooting guards and wings

This category includes:

• Shooting guards
• Small forwards
• Power forwards who are closer to being small forwards than centers

3. Big forwards and centers

This category includes

• Power forwards who are closer to being centers than small forwards
• Centers

Easy enough, right? Now let me make one final point: These rankings will reflect what I think of prospects as college basketball players for this season with no regard to how they might project at the next level. I don't care if somebody might be too short for the NBA because I won't be drafting for the NBA. I'll be ranking college basketball players as college basketball players, plain and simple

OK, I think that's it.

Any questions, just ask.

(Just don't ask dumb questions.)

Your pal.

gary