Plenty to celebrate for New Year's

Originally Published: December 29, 2004
By Jay Bilas | Special to ESPN Insider
The arrival of New Year's means many different things – drunk people wearing silly hats, long lines for the treadmill due to resolutions that will not be kept, meaningless bowl games, and an additional six pounds on each person that didn't have his jaw wired shut before the holidays.

It also means conference play, which is the best gift of all.

There have been some great games in the pre-conference season with some dazzling performances. However, the real passion of the college game begins now, when it is brother against brother, fighting bare-knuckle for a trophy.

To mark the passing of pre-conference play, and to honor the performances of players and coaches, here are my Pre-Conference All-America Teams:


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Jay Bilas

College Basketball analyst
  • College basketball analyst for ESPN and ESPN Insider
  • Played and coached at Duke
  • Practicing attorney

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