1. Rick Pitino, Louisville coach. His program is embroiled in a still-evolving sex scandal that threatens both his Hall of Fame legacy and the 2013 national title won by the Cardinals. Will he be able to put it out of mind and coach? Will he be able to keep his mouth closed every time something develops and he gets asked about it? Will the school self-impose any sanctions if it gets a notice of allegations from the NCAA during the season? All that and seven new players on the roster will make this an eventful season.

2. Mark Turgeon, Maryland coach. Has never been to a Final Four as a coach, but that will be the expectation for the preseason Big Ten favorites. Turgeon's steady build at Maryland has reached the point where he has one of the nation's top returning players (guard Melo Trimble), one of the top transfers (Rasheed Sulaimon) and one of the top incoming freshmen (Diamond Stone). If it all comes together, the Terrapins may be ticketed to their first Final Four since 2002. If it doesn't come together, Turgeon will have to answer for it.

3. The officials. The men's basketball rules committee has asked for the refs to clean up the game – and they mean it this time. They want a tighter whistle, no matter the cost in fouls called and time elapsed and coaches fuming. Will the refs stay committed to blowing their whistles more, or will they backtrack as the season wears on like they did two years ago? Will the coaches refrain from browbeating them both in games and via the conference offices? Only time and foul totals will tell.

View photos Ben Simmons could be the top pick in the 2016 NBA draft. (AP) More

4. Ben Simmons, LSU forward. The Aussie is the top incoming talent in the game – and perhaps the top talent, period. He chose a relatively undistinguished program for his one and only season of college basketball, and a coach who has never won an NCAA tournament game. Can Simmons (temporarily) transform LSU into a basketball school? Can he transform it into a winning basketball school?

5. Roy Williams, North Carolina coach. Has the No. 1 team in the nation. Also has the latter stages of an NCAA investigation lingering over the program – but an investigation that has been pushed back to where its outcome should not affect this season. Outside of the powder blue, a lot of people are rooting for an NCAA takedown of a program many suspect of being a sacred cow. And a lot of people are wondering whether this season will be it for the two-time national champion and Hall of Famer.

6. Ivan Rabb/Jaylen Brown, California freshmen. Rabb is a national top-10 prospect from Oakland who turned down overtures from everyone to stay home. Brown is a national top-10 prospect who turned down overtures from everyone to journey cross country from Georgia. Can they suddenly lift a middling program – missed the NCAA tourney the past two years – to a Pac-12 championship level?

7. Steve Prohm, Iowa State coach. No new coach steps into a more loaded situation than Prohm, who came to Ames after four very good years at Murray State. Prohm's sideline demeanor isn't too dissimilar from the last coach, Fred Hoiberg – but he's a long way from being nicknamed The Mayor like the beloved hometown hero. Prohm's approval rating could be very high if he gets a talented team farther than Hoiberg could in the NCAAs.

Story continues