Settle an argument, ITH-ers.

Your loyal correspondent PostmanE, ever fascinated with the joy of potential, has a half-cracked theory floating around in his brain. Big A has already politely disagreed with me, but it’s a good sports debate, so let’s hash it out.

See, I think — thanks to the confluence of a weak All-American class and an incredibly deep crop of freshmen — that, perhaps for the first time in history, a team composed entirely of freshmen would beat the preseason All-American team. In fact, I don’t even think it would be close.

Let’s go to the tape:

First Team Preseason All-Americans:
C Roy Hibbert
F Tyler Hansbrough
G Chris Lofton
G Drew Neitzel
G Darren Collison

Honorary, generous sixth man addition: F Brandon Rush

PostmanE’s Mighty Fightin’ Freshmen:
C Kevin Love
F Michael Beasley
G/F O.J. Mayo
G Eric Gordon
G Derrick Rose

Honorary spirit-based sixth man addition: G Adam Ahlfeld

I included Rush simply because the preaseason All-American team doesn’t really do a good enough job, in my opinion, of accounting for position, and if you had those six players and needed to field a starting five, you’d put Rush at forward with nary a blink. (I included Ahlfeld because you can’t put a price on overexuberance.)

But there you have it. Assuming all things are equal — that both teams are organized and coached well* — I take that group of freshmen in a heartbeat. The one mismatch would be Hansbrough on Beasley/Love; I would make Love bang with Hansbrough and have Beasley try subvert Hibbert’s size with athleticism, but that’s still a tough go. The big mismatch, the one that goes in the freshmen’s favor, is the guard play. I love Collison and Neitzel and especially Lofton … but any Rose/Gordon backcourt is not one I’ll pick against any day. Too athletic, too strong, too naturally talented and refined.

So, like I asked, settle a fun argument, ITH-ers. Who do you think wins this one, and why?

*Please, no arguments saying the freshmen would play like the McDonald’s game. Assume that they care, and that they’re coached by some strict taskmaster. Coach K, or something.

While we usually don’t put much stock into lists or pure speculation, this particular instance caught our eye. Mike DeCourcy, who covers college hoops (and does it quite well) for the Sporting News, listed his take on five potential guys who could go No. 1 in next year’s draft. Our boy, Eric Gordon, wasn’t among those listed, but we’re fine with that.

What we’re not fine with is who was listed at No. 1:

1. O.J. Mayo, PG, Southern Cal. He’s been famous so long that he faces a critical backlash, but Mayo is an overwhelming offensive player.

The first problem here is Mayo being listed as a point guard. If being a “me-first” guy makes you a point guard, then Mayo fits the bill.

The second problem here, and it’s been a problem for quite sometime, is that the hype with Mayo outweighs the substance. This kid has been touted as the next big thing since he first arrived on the scene as a 7th grader at Rose Hill Christian.

He’s no longer the next big thing. He’s certainly good, but others have gotten better.

If watching the best of the best in this year’s McDonald’s All-American game was any indication, I’d put Derrick Rose, Gordon and Jerryd Bayless all ahead of O.J. as better basketball players.

More importantly to us, but probably not to NBA scouts and executives, you won’t find Rose, Gordon or Bayless involved in off the court problems.

So, what do you think about Mayo? Is he worth all of the hype? Or is he just another out of control athlete headed for more trouble?