by Jeff Goodman

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The guy who should be celebrating more than anyone else? That's a no-brainer. Kansas coach Bill Self, whose top two players didn't even go through the process.

The guy who lost the most is one of my favorite kids I've ever been around.

Winners

1. Bill Self: It's been a pretty good year or so for the Kansas coach. The Jayhawks won the national title a little more than a year ago, lost most of their team and then still managed to go to the Sweet 16 this past season. Cole Aldrich could have potentially been a lottery pick, but both he and Sherron Collins opted not even to test the waters. Now the Jayhawks are back in the hunt for a national title and may even be favored to win it all.

2. SEC: Nearly everyone returned who tested the waters, except for Nick Calathes and Jodie Meeks. South Carolina had Devan Downey and Dominique Archie come back; Tyler Smith returned for Tennessee; Patrick Patterson to Kentucky; Tasmin Mitchell to LSU; Jarvis Varnado to Mississippi State; and Michael Washington to Arkansas.

3. Villanova: The Wildcats desperately needed Scottie Reynolds back to have a shot at going back to the Final Four. Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes have talent, but Reynolds has experience and already knows how to make clutch plays with the game on the line.

4. Paul Hewitt: We put him on the hot seat a couple weeks ago, but the Georgia Tech head coach should have things cool off a bit with the return of Gani Lawal. Now Hewitt has one of the nation's top frontcourt duos in Lawal and incoming freshman Derrick Favors.

5. Tennessee: The Vols needed Tyler Smith back in the fold, and the athletic forward decided to return for his senior season. Now Bruce Pearl's team has the horses to make a deep run in the Big Dance.

6. Texas: The Longhorns got Damion James, and while I'm not sure another season in Austin will help his NBA stock, it'll certainly aid Texas' chances of making a run in the NCAA tournament. In fact, I'm not sure there are five more talented teams on paper with the addition of a stellar freshman class.

7. Kentucky: Even though Jodie Meeks decided to stay in the draft, I still say the Wildcats are winners because Patrick Patterson opted to return to school. John Calipari easily could have gone 0-for-2.

8. Jodie Meeks: The bottom line with Meeks is that his game isn't exactly suited to John Calipari's dribble-drive motion offense, and while he may not be a first-round lock, Meeks has a better chance of slipping into the first round in this year's weak draft. He made the right decision from a personal standpoint.

9. Gary Williams: The Terps went from an NIT team without Greivis Vasquez to a club capable of getting back to the Big Dance now that their talented 6-foot-5 point guard has opted to return for his senior campaign.

10. Notre Dame: The Irish got their star, Luke Harangody, back for his senior season after it went right down to the wire. Now with the addition of transfers Ben Hansbrough and Scott Martin, there's no reason why Mike Brey & Co. can't get back to the Big Dance.

Losers

1. Nick Calathes: The Florida guard could and should be playing in the NBA next season and instead, he'll be heading to Greece. Just a bad decision by those around him.

2. USC: The Trojans have been decimated. Remember, this was a team that could have challenged for a Final Four if everything had gone their way. Instead, nothing went their way, starting with Daniel Hackett and DeMar DeRozan signing with agents, Tim Floyd resigning and then Taj Gibson leaving early for the NBA just prior to the deadline to withdraw.

Jrue Holiday didn't accomplish much in his single season at UCLA. (Harry How / Getty Images)

3. Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons could have been a Final Four-caliber team if James Johnson and Jeff Teague had both decided to join Al-Farouq Aminu in returning to school. Instead, both Johnson and Teague are history and so are Wake's chances of being included in the preseason top 25.

4. Austin Daye: The skilled Gonzaga forward needed another year in the college ranks not only to bulk up, but also to prove he can produce on a consistent basis. It's likely he'll be soaking up splinters on an NBA bench somewhere for the next few years.

5. Dar Tucker: The athletic sophomore wing from DePaul should be embarrassed for leaving school early after his team didn't win a single Big East game last season.

6. Patrick Mills: With so many small point guards in this year's draft, the Aussie's stock could have jumped with another year. His late-season injury didn't help matters, either.

7. UCLA: The Bruins only got one year — and a mediocre one at that — out of Jrue Holiday. If Holiday had decided to return to school this season, Ben Howland & Co. would have had a stellar backcourt. UCLA can still be good, but it's difficult to imagine a deep postseason run.

8. Chris Mack: The Xavier rookie head coach could have had a legitimate top-10 preseason team, but athletic forward Derrick Brown opted to leave early, thus creating a void for a wing with size in the program. The Musketeers will still be the A-10 frontrunners, but the gap has closed with the departure of Brown.

9. Brandon Jennings: It appears as though the Southern California native didn't get any training on how to deal with the media in his stint over in Italy. Jennings basically called fellow point guard Ricky Rubio all hype.

10. Memphis general manager Chris Wallace: The Grizzlies got the No. 2 pick in the draft. Unfortunately for Wallace, besides top pick Blake Griffin, there's no one who stands out.