The College Basketball Post

[dacomeup]

Originally Posted by allen3xis

Louisville almost lost to Georgetown today.


#
Georgetown (Kentucky).

It was on SNY, only caught a few minutes...I'ma call him Samardo Almonte Samuels...cause that boy is not supposed to be a freshmen. Good god.

Yea, I already know first hand that dude is a man. We played them last year in Louisville and dude put up a nasty 32 and 15 game. They were #1 in the countrybut we still should've beat them. Tristan Thompson was on the same team but he didn't show me much of anything.

 

[wildkycat]

Georgetown gives 'em their money's worth

The University of Louisville paid the Georgetown College men's basketball program $20,000 to play an exhibition game in Freedom Hall yesterday. The Tigers deposited the largest check they'll accept all season -- then helped themselves to $19,999.99 worth of absolute pleasure.

"I don't think they're the No. 3 team in the country," said Demetrius Guions, a Georgetown guard from Radcliff, Ky. "We should have won the game. They know that."

Well, now that you mention it, although U of L won 74-67, the Tigers were ahead 51-50 with less than 10 minutes to play. Heck, it was a two-point game with 41 seconds left.

"We had it and just needed to make one more play," said Vincent Crutcher, a forward from Pleasure Ridge Park who dropped 18 points on U of L.

Without a starter taller than 6 feet 6, Georgetown outrebounded the Cardinals by nine, grabbing 17 on its offensive end. The Tigers had an edge in another hustle stat, snatching 11 steals to U of L's 10.

"If I were them, I'd be saying the same things," U of L guard Edgar Sosa said. "An NAIA team outrebounded a Big East team. How? They just came out and did it."

The Tigers did something more valuable than outrebounding the Cards. They delivered crisp evidence that U of L coach Rick Pitino can mix into his motivational playbook for the next month or more. He'll get $19,999.99 of value from the videotape, too. Same thing happened precisely two years ago, when Georgetown visited and left with a 94-92 defeat.

The Cards deserve their flashy No. 3 preseason rankings in the writers' and coaches' polls. Terrence Williams will return soon from knee surgery. But don't think there won't be intermittent turbulence as this group adjusts to playing without David Padgett and Juan Palacios while working several skilled newcomers into the rotation.

I'm convinced forward Earl Clark will be a first-round NBA draft pick next June. But first-round NBA picks had better get to the foul line more than once against guys who aren't on the NBA radar.

Don't be fooled by the 20 points freshman Samardo Samuels scored. Pitino wasn't. Samuels had four or five inches and 30 pounds on everybody guarding him and still muscled his way to only five rebounds.

"How can you score against Big East guys if you can't get an and-one (a basket plus a free throw) against guys five inches smaller?" Pitino asked.

When the coach takes a closer look at the video, I'm certain he'll notice this: Nobody on his team had more than two assists. The strength of this U of L team should be its veteran guards. This team wasn't passing the ball the way it will pass it in January.

"I can't thank Rick enough for giving us this opportunity to play for the third consecutive year," Georgetown coach Happy Osborne said. "You're talking about a school with a recruiting budget of $1,000, then I go out and try to raise another $100,000, and Rick helps me get one-fifth of that.

"I think one reason he keeps playing us is he knows our kids will come in here and play hard and compete against his players. We don't use any gimmick defenses or hold the ball. We just come in and get after them like we expect to win the game.

"But he's got a great club, with all the pieces you need to win a championship. I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see that team playing on the last weekend of the season."

 

[wildkycat]

[h1]Gillispie gets an eyeful of goodies[/h1] [h2]UK coach likes what he sees in scrimmage[/h2]
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- University of Kentucky men's basketball coach Billy Gillispie spent the first half of last night's Blue-White scrimmage roaming in front of the two benches, shouting orders and pointing out mistakes.

In the second half Gillispie sat a lot -- and didn't do much screaming -- because he was elated at what he was watching in the Blue team's 86-81 win over the White in Rupp Arena.

Despite what he called "a whole lot of mistakes," Gillispie was happy with the effort and intensity as nine players scored in double figures before 9,291 fans.

"I liked it all," Gillispie said. "I thought our effort was great. We had an extremely hard practice today and an extremely hard and difficult practice yesterday, and I thought they did great. There are a lot of mistakes being made, but we're supposed to be making mistakes on Nov. 1. … We are much further along than I had anticipated at this point."

The Wildcats, who will play Missouri-St. Louis tomorrow in a 7 o'clock exhibition game, combined to hit 64 of 123 shots and had 30 turnovers.

Eighteen of the 20 players on the roster logged minutes, and Ramon Harris and freshman Landon Slone played for both teams.

"We have a lot of guys putting in a whole lot of hard work," Harris said. "I hope the fans saw that tonight. We do have stuff to work on, but we're working hard. Coach says you play like you practice, and we're practicing hard."

It was a surprise that Harris even played. He was in contact drills for the first time yesterday since spraining a ligament in his right knee Oct. 24. He scored six points in 14 minutes and said the knee "feels great."

"It was not important for me to be out there (for a lot of minutes)," he said. "We iced (the knee), and that makes it feel better. I came down on a teammate's foot, and my knee buckled. But the rehab is going great, and the swelling and pain are gone."

Jodie Meeks hit 5 of 11 three-point shots and led the Blue team with 32 points and seven rebounds. Patrick Patterson was 7 of 11 from the field and added 17 points and six rebounds.

One of the biggest surprises on the Blue team was the play of 7-foot senior Jared Carter, who hit 4 of 6 shots and had 11 points and six rebounds.

Kentucky 2008 Mr. Basketball Darius Miller scored 10 points. Point guard Michael Porter had 10 points and three assists.

"There are some areas that we know we have to work on," Meeks said. "But you can't expect everything to be perfect on Nov. 1. We just have to keep going to practice, working hard and try to get better every day."

The White team was full of bright spots.

Sophomore junior-college transfer Josh Harrellson was 7 of 9 from the field and had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and A. J. Stewart had 15 points. Matt Pilgrim, who is sitting out this season after transferring from Hampton, added 13 points.

Freshman DeAndre Liggins had 10 points and nine assists, while walk-ons Slone (eight points) and Mark Krebs (nine points) logged quality minutes.

"(Krebs) is going to get minutes as the year goes on," Gillispie said. " … Slone may be the toughest guy that we have."

 

[allen3xis]

Overblown -- IMO.

For the D2 kids, these games are their biggest and most important games. The DI kids...they don't care, they go in expecting a blow out.

Plus the DI teams test out lineups, work on new things...D2 comes in with a rotation, they run their stuff.

 

[bigmike23]

Talk about it in The Bruin Lounge
When observing hoops practice on Wednesday you couldn't help but go away very impressed with Jrue Holiday. He has incredible court awareness. Maybe themost impressive thing that Holiday showed during the practice was his penchant to make the right play.


Associated Press

Darren Collison looks much stronger and hasn't lost any quickness.
Holiday's ability to know when to shoot or when to pass betrays his years. He plays the game with a very high basketball IQ. He didn't make anyoutrageous rookie mistakes and not once did he leave his feet and get caught in the air with nowhere to go with the basketball.

All in all, Holiday is silky smooth, athletic and special. He can score from about anywhere on the floor and what makes him even more dangerous based on thispractice and when we saw him in high school, he's very unselfish.

Another freshman that appears to be making strides due to what was observed at Wednesday's practice was J'mison Morgan. Morgan, also known as"Bobo", is a rarity in a lot of big men because he has great hands and that will help him with his rebounding. Nothing worse than seeing a big manget position, time the jump just right, only for the ball to clank off his hands to an opposing player or out of bounds.

Morgan showed excellent instincts as a rebounder on both ends of the floor and was complimented by Coach Ben Howland on his rebounding ability. He led theBruins in rebounding on the day.

Howland also praised Morgan for his passing talents during practice letting the player know he did something right and after practice when he praised hisfreshman center passing talents to the media.

James Keefe has put on somewhere between 16 to 18 pounds of solid muscle and his added to his strength. The word going around was that he was much morephysical and seeing was believing. Keefe is poised for a very good season. It is obvious that Keefe has worked extremely hard over the summer and based on thisone viewing his work will pay off for Keefe and the Bruins.

Darren Collison has bulked up some and has lost any of his lightning quickness. He and Holiday are going to make things very tough on the opposition'sbackcourt.

It was obvious that Josh Shipp also worked really hard in the off-season and instead of bulking up, Shipp was a lean, mean, fighting machine. He didn'ttake a lot of shots in the scrimmage, but the word is his sweet stroke has returned.

It appears that Alfred Aboya has worked on improving his offense as he hit a sweet little jump hook and was the only one to hit both of his free throw triesthat ended practice. Both throws hit nothing but net. Aboya's rebounding and defense will be keys for this team's success.

Seeing Michael Roll run around out there on the floor pain free was welcoming. He missed a couple of shots, but we hear his stroke has returned for the mostpart. Roll did what he always does and that is play smart and intelligent basketball. Roll passed the ball very well during the scrimmage.

True freshman point guard Jerime Anderson led a fast break to perfection. He will probably see some minutes as a true freshman. He still needs some seasoning,but there is no doubt the potential is there.

Another true freshman that had his moments during the scrimmage Drew Gordon he will be counted on this season to add depth inside. He showed some offenseinside and some rebounding skill. He is a little raw, but like all the freshmen in this class, Gordon has a chance to be very good.

Unfortunately we didn't get a chance to see freshman guard Malcolm Lee in action because he was hampered with the strained right groin. He was expected tobegin practicing again yesterday and should be good to go when UCLA plays an exhibition game against Cal Baptist on Monday, November 3rd.

Lee is expected to make a contribution as a true freshman.

 

[wildkycat]

i agree Allen, but still...getting outrebounded?

G-Town (KY) been running a solid program for years. Louisville will be fine.

 

[allen3xis]

Yall teams give open practices to the media and stuff..

must be nice

.

 

[dacomeup]

Gates impresses in UC debut
Freshman big inside in exhibition win

By Bill Koch • [email protected] • November 2, 2008
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University of Cincinnati basketball fans are going to enjoy watching Yancy Gates play.
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Gates, the highly acclaimed 6-foot-9 freshman power forward from Withrow High School, made his unofficial UC debut with 12 points and five rebounds in the Bearcats' 64-54 exhibition win over Carleton University on Saturday before 5,718 fans at Fifth Third Arena.

"I was anxious at first but I kind of calmed down and got used to it," Gates said. "It was a fun experience, though, to be out there with my new team. Just getting used to the flow of the game calmed me down. It was just getting used to the new atmosphere and the college game."

What really pleased UC coach Mick Cronin was Gates' ability to finish close to the basket. That's an attribute the Bearcats have been missing for the past two seasons during which they lost 38 games.

"Yancy is going to score the ball," Cronin said. "I thought his effort was great. His attitude was tremendous, but I'd like to see him get a couple more rebounds in there. I'm going to hammer on that all year. He gives us somebody we can throw the ball to down low and get a basket."

Gates made his first appearance at the 15:54 mark of the first half and badly missed his first shot. But the next time he got the ball inside, he scored amid traffic.

Moments later, he rebounded a Larry Davis air ball and emphatically dunked it.

"I knew he was going to play well," said UC guard Deonta Vaughn. "He already knew he was going to have the jitterbugs in his stomach in his first college game. That's everybody who steps on to the court for his first college game. Once he got used to playing the game, we could see that he can score down in the post."

Senior forward Mike Williams, the Texas transfer who missed all of last season with a torn Achilles tendon, led UC with 15 points. He also had six rebounds in his first UC appearance and made 11 of 12 free throws.

"It's a start," Williams said. "I knew that once this game was over I had something I could build off of because I haven't played a game in two years. I think it was a pretty good start."

Vaughn, forced to play point guard because of the season-ending injury to Cashmere Wright, scored 14 points to go with five assists and five turnovers.

The Bearcats shot only 40 percent from the field and made only 3 of 12 from 3-point range, but they played outstanding defense, limiting Carleton to 32.2 percent shooting and out-rebounding the Ravens 42-36.

Carleton, from Ottawa, Canada, had won three of its previous four exhibition games vs. Division I schools, its lone loss coming by one point against defending national champion Kansas.

"It's exactly what we needed," Cronin said. "It's only going to make us better."

Cronin's starting lineup had Williams and Rashad Bishop at forward, Anthony McClain at center, and Vaughn and Larry Davis at guard.

"I told the assistant coaches to give me the best defensive lineup," Cronin said. "That's how we're going to win, with defense and rebounding. That was the message. If you want to start, you have to crack into the five best defenders on the team."

UC will play its final exhibition game on Nov. 11 vs. Northern Kentucky at Fifth Third Arena.

NOTE: The tipoff time for UC's regular-season opener vs. North Dakota on Sunday, Nov. 16, has been changed from noon to 6 p.m.

Carleton - Doornekamp 4-11 1-2 9, McCleery 2-7 0-0 4, Kenny 3-8 0-0 9, Turnbull 4-15 6-9 15, Saunders 1-4 0-0 2, Thompson 2-4 3-4 9, Penner 0-1 0-0 0, Smendziuk 1-3 0-0 2, Hobin 2-4 0-0 4, Ashe 0-1 0-0 0, L. Chapman 0-1 0-0 0, A. Chapman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 19-59 10-15 54.

Cincinnati - Williams 2-5 11-12 15, Bishop 0-1 1-2 1, McClain 0-1 1-2 1, Vaughn 5-13 3-4 14, Davis 3-8 2-2 9, Dixon 2-8 0-2 4, Wilks 1-2 0-0 2, Mitchell 2-4 0-0 5, Gates 5-8 2-4 12, Toylov 0-0 1-2 1. Totals: 20-50 21-30 64.

Carleton 23 31 - 54
Cincinnati 34 30 - 64

3-pointers: Carleton 6-28 (Doornekamp 0-3, McCleery 0-1, Kenny 3-7, Turnbull 1-7, Saunders 0-3, Thompson 2-3, Hobin 0-2, Ashe 0-1, L. Chapman 0-1); Cincinnati 3-12 (Bishop 0-1, Vaughn 1-6, Davis 1-2, Dixon 0-1, Mitchell 1-1, Gates 0-1).



Kansas only beat this team by 1 point during the summer. I'd say it's a good way to start off the pre-season.

 

[wildkycat]

Originally Posted by allen3xis

Yall teams give open practices to the media and stuff..

must be nice

.

we did it for the first time since 1992. don't know if it's gonna be like that from here on out or not.

 

[craftsy21]

Originally Posted by allen3xis

Overblown -- IMO.

For the D2 kids, these games are their biggest and most important games. The DI kids...they don't care, they go in expecting a blow out.

Plus the DI teams test out lineups, work on new things...D2 comes in with a rotation, they run their stuff.

Yes and no. It's not a huge deal, but looking at those stat-lines has to be concerning.

You always question the heart of a team that plays down to their competition.

 

[gameover2]

Originally Posted by Craftsy21

You always question the heart of a team that plays down to their competition.

QFT. Great teams always go for the kill.

 

[bigmike23]

i was thinking that was the real Gtown and was like ++* at those players

 

[tmay407]

Originally Posted by Bigmike23

i was thinking that was the real Gtown and was like ++* at those players

The first time someone said something about the scrimmageI was thinking the same thing...

 

[truthgetsbusy]

Originally Posted by Craftsy21

Originally Posted by allen3xis

Overblown -- IMO.

For the D2 kids, these games are their biggest and most important games. The DI kids...they don't care, they go in expecting a blow out.

Plus the DI teams test out lineups, work on new things...D2 comes in with a rotation, they run their stuff.

Yes and no. It's not a huge deal, but looking at those stat-lines has to be concerning.

You always question the heart of a team that plays down to their competition.

I see your point but you're wrong buddy. These aren't games....they are scrimmages....both teams experiment and try out new stuff. Almost all players are gonna get the opportunity to play and compete but you know that ain't happening during the season. We just had a scrimmage with aD-2 team and I play D-3....Nobody was really over hyped to play them. We won the 1st half and they won the 2nd one. Then we played a 6 minute session forguys at the end of bench from both teams to play.

Its wasn't any different than playing another D-3...basically the coachs wanna test the players and their plays while the players are just happy to finallyplay against someone else.

I'd be worried if I was Pitino tho.

 

[craftsy21]

Originally Posted by TruthGetsBusy

Originally Posted by Craftsy21

Originally Posted by allen3xis

Overblown -- IMO.

For the D2 kids, these games are their biggest and most important games. The DI kids...they don't care, they go in expecting a blow out.

Plus the DI teams test out lineups, work on new things...D2 comes in with a rotation, they run their stuff.

Yes and no. It's not a huge deal, but looking at those stat-lines has to be concerning.

You always question the heart of a team that plays down to their competition.

I see your point but you're wrong buddy. These aren't games....they are scrimmages....both teams experiment and try out new stuff. Almost all players are gonna get the opportunity to play and compete but you know that ain't happening during the season. We just had a scrimmage with a D-2 team and I play D-3....Nobody was really over hyped to play them. We won the 1st half and they won the 2nd one. Then we played a 6 minute session for guys at the end of bench from both teams to play.

Its wasn't any different than playing another D-3...basically the coachs wanna test the players and their plays while the players are just happy to finally play against someone else.

I'd be worried if I was Pitino tho.

My opinion is wrong?

This actually was a game, not a scrimmage.. an exhibition, but still not just a scrimmage. And yes, everybody seems to have seen the floor but look at who gotmost of the minutes.. those are the real deal players.

Fact is - they didn't look very good as a team, and that's a concern like it or not. Doesn't mean the season is doomed or anything like that, justthat on this day, they did not perform very well at all.

 

[truthgetsbusy]

My bad I didn't know it was a Exhibition game...but yeah Louisville better get it in gear

 

[wildkycat]

these are up if anyone wants to read 'em:

[table][tr][th=""]

Blue Ribbon Previews​

[/th] [/tr][tr][td]

Take an Inside look at the SEC with Blue Ribbon's 2008-09 team reports:

Alabama
Arkansas
Auburn
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky

LSU
Ole Miss
Mississippi State
South Carolina
Tennessee
Vanderbilt[/td] [/tr][/table]

 

[allen3xis]

Sorry playing a DII school is not the same as going into Freedom Hall where the DII school has a lot of local kids that dreamed of playing there.

comparing the magnitude of the two

 

[allen3xis]

ZAGS DUO GETTING BACK TO FORM

Mark Few's Gonzaga team, which is somewhere among the FOXSports.com's top five preseason teams in the country, pummeled Wayne State College (Neb.),96-45, in an exhibition game over the weekend.

While the rout may not have given Few a true measuring stick of his team, the 'Zags head man said prior to the contest that two of his key players - twoguys who are still working their way back from injuries - are making progress.

Austin Daye scored 14 points in 17 minutes in the win after missing much of the latter portion of the summer following a knee injury in July.

``He's slowly coming around," Few said. "He was set back conditioning-wise. He's moving better in the last week or so and now it's just amatter of getting him to play."

Maybe even more important is the status of big man Josh Heytvelt, who never looked like himself last season while dealing with a foot injury.

Heytvelt led Gonzaga with 19 points in just 14 minutes.

``He's better than last year as far as moving and jumping, but he's still not quite at the level he was at his sophomore year," Few said."He's a little bigger and heavier, but he's much closer than he was last year."

Here's a quick rundown of some of the highlights from the weekend's slate of exhibition games (there were a ton of scrimmages, but it's againstNCAA policy for the coaches to comment on who played well in these "secretive" games that we listed on Friday)

- Louisville freshman big man Samardo Samuels led the Cardinals with 20 points and fellow frosh Jared Swopshire added 14 points and 11 boards in a close 74-67win against Georgetown College on Saturday. Terrence Williams didn't play due to a knee injury suffered in the preseason.

- Notre Dame crushed Briar Cliff, 103-64, behind senior wing Ryan Ayers' 21 points. Junior guard Tory Jackson added 18 points, seven assists and fivesteals and Luke Harangody finished with 16 points and 11 boards.

- Pittsburgh had no problems with Seton Hill (yes, that's correct). Sam Young had 16 points in 19 minutes, Gary McGhee had 11 points and 10 boards andTyrell Biggs added 13 points and eight rebounds in the rout.

- Purdue crushed Florida Southern, 94-62, with five Boilermakers getting into double-figures: E'Twaun Moore (14), Robbie Hummel (13), Ryne Smith (13),Keaton Grant (12) and JaJuan Johnson (12).

- Transfer Cyrus McGowan scored 12 points and Dwayne Collins added 11 in Miami's easy 71-43 win against Florida Memorial. James Dews and Jimmy Graham eachadded 10 points.

- Marcus Landry scored 21 points in 21 minutes and Jon Leuer added 15 points in a 81-57 win against Augustana College

Others:

- Mike Williams scored 15 points and freshman Yancy Gates added 12 points in Cincinnati's 64-54 win over Carleton University.

- Purdue transfer Chris Lutz led Marshall with 22 points (6-of-8 from 3-point range) in a 87-58 win over Wheeling Jesuit (the alma mater of Thundering Herddirector of basketball operations Tim Thomas).

- Junior forward Dior Lowhorn scored 24 points to lead San Francisco to a 77-49 win against Chico State.

- Eastern Washington lost to Carroll College, 58-56. Trey Gross led the Eagles with 17 points.

- Loyola University Chicago beat Robert Morris College, 65-57, behind J.R. Blount's 21 points.

- Damian Saunders scored 17 points to lead Duquesne to a 93-71 win against St. Vincent's.

- Micah Williams scored 19 in East Tennessee State's 84-61 victory over Milligan College.

- Tai Wesley had 18 points to lead Utah State to a 73-46 win over Northwest Nazarene.

- Sophomore forward Steffphon Pettigrew scored 21 points to lead an undermanned Western Kentucky team to a 89-64 win over LLC International University.

- Freshman Garvey Young scored 14 points to lead Vermont to a 77-69 win over Concordia.

 

[allen3xis]

Parrish
[font=Arial, Helvetica]And now we get to the six BCS-affiliated leagues.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]The power leagues.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]The Big Six.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]What I'll do over the next week is count them down from worst to best based on possible NCAA tournament teams,the talent level within the league, the strength at the top and bottom of the conference, so on and so forth. It's subjective but fun. And though Ienvision a day where the Big Ten won't be sixth in these rankings, I'm afraid today is not that day and this season is not that season.[/font]

[table][tr][td]

[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Quick facts[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Defending regular-season champion:
Wisconsin[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Defending tournament champion:
Wisconsin[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Top returning scorer:
Manny Harris (Michigan), 16.1 ppg[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Top returning rebounder:
Goran Suton (Michigan State), 8.2 rpg[/td] [/tr][tr][td]

Click here for more
season previews & primers​

[/td] [/tr][/table]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]If you must blame somebody, blame Indiana for becoming a mess.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]And Iowa for running off Steve Alford.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]And Northwestern for not caring.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]Purdue, Michigan State, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Minnesota are doing their part. But those programs aren'tenough to keep the Big Ten from ranking sixth in the CBSSports.com list of college basketball's best conferences.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]Here's a look at the Big Ten:[/font]
[h4][font=Arial, Helvetica]1. Purdue[/font][/h4]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]The good: The top three scorers -- and every relevant player sans Scott Martin -- return from a25-win team that surprisingly competed for a Big Ten title last season. The group is led by Robbie Hummel, who averaged 11.4 points and 6.1 rebounds as afreshman while playing aside a similarly good classmate, E'Twaun Moore.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]The bad: Though the Boilermakers are sixth in the preseason Top 25 (and one), they lack the individual talent to overwhelm opponents the way a Louisvilleor UCLA might. Sure, they'll win a lot of games, way more than they'll lose. But those who insist there's a ceiling on what can be accomplishedbecause there aren't multiple obvious future NBA players on the roster might actually have a point. Remember, this was the same argument made againstWashington State last season when it garnered a preseason top 10 ranking. It was proved true when North Carolina simply outmanned the Cougars by a 68-47 marginin the Sweet 16.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]The bottom line: Matt Painter has quietly established himself as one of the nation's best youngcoaches by winning at least 22 games in every season except his first at Purdue, which was a down year based on what he inherited, not what he did. For thatreason, it's difficult not to have faith in the guy. Can he win a national title? Probably not. But a Big Ten title and Final Four are certainly realisticgoals.[/font]
[h4][font=Arial, Helvetica]2. Michigan State[/font][/h4]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]The good: Kalin Lucas and Raymar Morgan highlight a talented roster that returns five of the top sixscorers from last season's team that advanced to the Sweet 16, including Goran Suton and his averages of 9.1 points and 8.2 rebounds. The veterans arejoined by highly regarded freshman Delvon Roe, a 6-foot-8 forward who is next in a long line of future NBA Draft picks lured to MSU by Tom Izzo.[/font]
[table][tr][td]
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]

wizardking: The Big Ten Conference suffered a down year of sorts last season. Wisconsin was bounced by Davidson in the Sweet 16, and Memphis did likewise to Michigan State. After a hot, 17-1 start, Indiana suffered an 8-7 skid to end the season, and was eliminated by Arkansas in the first round. Upstart Purdue played well the entire season, only to be knocked out by Xavier in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. However, the conference should be back with the best in the country next season.

The Big Ten has the talent to get half the league in the Dance. Led by perennial powerhouse Michigan State, nearly every conference game will be hotly contested. The firepower is not quite up there with the Big East or ACC, but this is definitely a league full of teams that will play a major factor in the March. Read more[/td] [/tr][/table]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]The bad: Though Roe is gifted he still isn't operating properly after offseason knee surgery wasneeded to correct an injury that dated back to high school. He hasn't played organized basketball in nearly 10 months and might not be 100 percent untilthe middle of December. Under normal circumstances, this would be OK. But Michigan State has the Old Spice Classic (along with Gonzaga, Georgetown andTennessee) in November and a showdown with North Carolina in the first week of December, meaning Izzo would be better off if his star forward wasn't achingand adjusting slowly.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]The bottom line: The Final Four is in Detroit, and it would make a lot of sense for the Spartans toget there. With this roster, it's possible. So while I'm not necessarily predicting it, I'm certainly not ruling it out.[/font]
[h4][font=Arial, Helvetica]3. Ohio State[/font][/h4]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]The good: If you are a believer that it takes NBA talent to win NCAA tournaments -- and you'd be dumb not to believe that -- then you have to look at Ohio State's roster andimagine big things because, in terms of sheer talent, the Buckeyes are among the best. B.J. Mullens, William Buford, David Lighty and Evan Turner all have propotential and together prove that Thad Matta is an elite recruiter who hasn't relaxed since enrolling and losing Greg Oden, Mike Conley and Daequan Cookall in the matter of a year.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]The bad: Mullens and Buford are freshmen and every other relevant player (except Lighty) is asophomore. In other words, the Buckeyes are young, and trying to operate without upperclassmen to balance things is rarely simple. Even Oden and Conley had RonLewis, Othello Hunter and Ivan Harris.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]The bottom line: If the talent develops as Matta hopes, then anything is possible with this team,particularly with a dominant center like Mullens patrolling the paint. More likely, this is the year before the year (if Matta can keep multipleplayers from turning pro), yet still a season in which the Buckeyes will return to the NCAA tournament.[/font]
[h4][font=Arial, Helvetica]4. Wisconsin[/font][/h4]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]The good: Trevon Hughes and Marcus Landry give Bo Ryan a pair of returning double-digit scorers, andthat's never a bad place to start. Joining them is Jason Bohannon, last season's Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year, who should play a larger role and thusimprove on his 8.2 points and 1.4 assists averages.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]The bad: Brian Butch never was the All-American some hoped he might become, but he was still animportant part of Wisconsin's program. The 6-11 center averaged 12.4 points and 6.6 rebounds last season. Those numbers were both team highs. So Butch willclearly be missed.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]The bottom line: Ryan has led Wisconsin to the NCAA tournament in all seven seasons since takingover the program, regardless of his parts. That's evidence of his ability to win under any circumstances, which is why it's reasonable to expect goodthings again.[/font]
[h4][font=Arial, Helvetica]5. Minnesota[/font][/h4]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]The good: Tubby Smith's hiring has yielded quick results in terms of both wins and enthusiasm.He won 20 games last season and returns Blake Hoffarber, Damian Johnson and Lawrence Westbrook to team with a recruiting class featuring two top 100 prospects,namely Ralph Sampson III and Devoe Joseph.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]The bad: Despite Minnesota basketball being on the way up, it's hard not to notice that the topthree scorers from last season's NIT team are gone. Losing Lawrence McKenzie, Dan Coleman and Spencer Tollackson means replacing 32.7 points per game. Thenumber of returning players who averaged at least nine points last season is zero.[/font]

[table][tr][td]Predicted Finish[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Team[/td] [td]Postseason[/td] [/tr][tr][td]1. Purdue[/td] [td]NCAA[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2. Michigan State[/td] [td]NCAA[/td] [/tr][tr][td]3. Ohio State[/td] [td]NCAA[/td] [/tr][tr][td]4. Wisconsin[/td] [td]NCAA[/td] [/tr][tr][td]5. Minnesota[/td] [td]NIT/CBI[/td] [/tr][tr][td]6. Illinois[/td] [td]NIT/CBI[/td] [/tr][tr][td]7. Michigan[/td] [td]none[/td] [/tr][tr][td]8. Penn State[/td] [td]none[/td] [/tr][tr][td]9. Northwestern[/td] [td]none[/td] [/tr][tr][td]10. Iowa[/td] [td]none[/td] [/tr][tr][td]11. Indiana[/td] [td]none[/td] [/tr][/table]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]The bottom line: In the spirit of full disclosure, I was skeptical of the hiring of Smith when ithappened because I wondered how a man who was having trouble recruiting to Kentucky could possibly recruit to Minnesota. It seemed like a reasonable positionat the time. But in a little more than a year on the job, Smith has proved he's plenty capable by luring a pair of top 35 prospects (Royce White and RodneyWilliams) from the Class of 2009. In other words, any skepticism was wrong because Smith seems to be on his way to competing with Ohio State, Purdue, MichiganState and Wisconsin for Big Ten championships, and it won't be a huge surprise if he figures out a way to sneak into the NCAA tournament thisseason.[/font]
[h4][font=Arial, Helvetica]6. Illinois[/font][/h4]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]The good: Demetri McCamey, Trent Meacham and Kentucky transfer Alex Legion provide a nice backcourtthat should make the Illini competitive in the Big Ten. Legion won't be eligible until December, but his impact is expected to be immediate and large. Orat least it needs to be.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]The bad: The losses of Shaun Pruitt and Brian Randle will make Illinois replace 22.0 points and 12.8rebounds a game. That'll be tough considering there are lots of questions about the talent and depth in the frontcourt. And on the subject of McCamey, yes,he's talented and good, but his freshman season was all over the place. He'd score 30 points one game, then get six the following week. That's whyhe only averaged 8.2 points per contest despite twice eclipsing the 25-point mark, and it's difficult to be a consistent team when the point guard is soscattered.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]The bottom line: The Illini lost a school-record 19 games last season, which is wild given how itcame just three years after they won a school-record 37. That's the result of a combination of recruiting misses (Eric Gordon to Indiana) and bad luck(Jamar Smith's off-court problems), but there is reason to be optimistic. Bruce Weber has a good recruiting class coming next year and a great one on boardfor the year after that. So while this season might not be the season that returns the Illini to the NCAA tournament, it certainly appears that good (and moreIllini-like) times are ahead.[/font]
[h4][font=Arial, Helvetica]7. Michigan[/font][/h4]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]The good: Manny Harris and DeShawn Sims provide a nice nucleus. Those two guys combined last seasonto average 28.4 points, and they'll be joined in December by Laval Lucas-Perry, an Arizona transfer who is expected to make an immediate impact once hebecomes eligible.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]The bad: Outside of the above three, what's really there? No other returning player averagedeven six points per game, and though Harris is talented it must be noted that he turned the ball over 115 times last season. He only had 86 assists.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]The bottom line: John Beilein should eventually win at Michigan because he's an accomplishedcoach with a proven system. How big will he win? That'll rely heavily on recruiting because it'll be hard to gain an edge on Matt Painter, Thad Matta,Tom Crean, Bo Ryan, Tom Crean or Bruce Weber without securing elite talent, the likes of which are not in the program now. Or at least not enough to make theWolverines a threat to make the NCAA tournament.[/font]

[table][tr][td]Accolades[/td] [/tr][tr][td]First team[/td] [/tr][tr][td]G - Kalin Lucas, Michigan State[/td] [/tr][tr][td]G - Manny Harris, Michigan[/td] [/tr][tr][td]F - Raymar Morgan, Michigan State[/td] [/tr][tr][td]F - Robbie Hummel, Purdue[/td] [/tr][tr][td]C - B.J. Mullens, Ohio State[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Second team[/td] [/tr][tr][td]G - E'Twaun Moore, Purdue[/td] [/tr][tr][td]G - Trevon Hughes, Wisconsin[/td] [/tr][tr][td]G - David Lighty, Ohio State[/td] [/tr][tr][td]F - Delvon Roe, Michigan State[/td] [/tr][tr][td]F - Marcus Landry, Wisconsin[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Player of the year
Robbie Hummel, Purdue[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Newcomer of the year
B.J. Mullens, Ohio State[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Breakthrough player
Alex Legion, Illinois[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Coach on the hot seat
Bill Carmody, Northwestern[/td] [/tr][/table]
[h4][font=Arial, Helvetica]8. Penn State[/font][/h4]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]The good: The Nittany Lions haven't quite broken through under Ed DeChellis, but they'veshowed signs. Last season featured wins over Virginia Tech, Michigan State and Indiana, all of which were NCAA tournament-caliber teams. So there is somereason to be hopeful, particularly with Jamelle Cornley and Talor Battle back in the fold. Cornley averaged 12.1 points and 6.0 rebounds last season. Battlegot 10.2 points and 3.2 assists per game.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]The bad: The usual route of improvement for lower-level programs in BCS-affiliated leagues is tobuild through recruiting and hope some impact freshmen can help turn things around. Simply put, that won't be the case at Penn State this season. None ofthe incoming freshmen is highly regarded for a league such as the Big Ten, which means DeChellis will find himself mostly depending on a group that last seasonlost more than it won.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]The bottom line: Penn State has only made the NCAA tournament twice since joining the Big Ten, andthat statistic probably won't change this season. An NIT or CBI bid is possible, perhaps. But no postseason is a more likely scenario, as is usually thecase in State College.[/font]
[h4][font=Arial, Helvetica]9. Northwestern[/font][/h4]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]The good: Kevin Coble famously missed the first nine games last season to be with his ailing mother,but he'll be available from the start this time around. The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 15.9 points and 5.4 rebounds as a sophomore, and he'll be joinedby two other double-digit scorers (Michael Thompson and Craig Moore) this season.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]The bad: When the "best recruiting class in school history" (as some are calling it)features no three-, four- or five-star prospects, well, that speaks volumes about a program, doesn't it? The Wildcats are 3-31 in the Big Ten the past twoseasons, and though it'll be difficult not to improve on those numbers it'll be equally hard to make a jump that makes any real difference in theleague landscape.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]The bottom line: Northwestern's well-known streak of no NCAA tournament appearances willcontinue, and that's too bad. It would be nice to see Bill Carmody get things turned around and create what would be a wonderful story. But that's along shot in reality, and until something changes within the structure of the program -- not the coach so much as the commitment and support and interest fromthe administration -- it's hard to envision anything ever being much different.[/font]
[h4][font=Arial, Helvetica]10. Iowa[/font][/h4]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]The good: Todd Lickliter has started the process of rebuilding, evidence being how he brought in sixnewcomers this season in addition to his son, John Lickliter. The best of the bunch is probably Matt Gatens, a 6-5 shooting guard who is the reigning "Mr.Basketball" in the state of Iowa.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]The bad: Tony Freeman transferred to Southern Illinois and took his 13.8 points per game with him.Meantime, Justin Johnson graduated after averaging 11.8 points last season, all of which means a bad Iowa team probably has no choice but to beworse.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]The bottom line: Those Steve Alford years don't look so bad now, but it's unfair to passjudgment on Lickliter just yet. He inherited nothing and Freeman bailing on him didn't help. But any hope that the Hawkeyes would return to prominencequickly has turned out to be wishful thinking at best.[/font]
[h4][font=Arial, Helvetica]11. Indiana[/font][/h4]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]The good: There's nowhere to go but up. That's good, isn't it?[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]The bad: Virtually everybody who played at all last season is gone, from Eric Gordon to D.J. Whiteto Armon Bassett to Jordan Crawford to Jamarcus Ellis and Lance Stemler and DeAndre Thomas and on down the line. It's unbelievable really, what Tom Creanhas inherited, and there's almost no way to envision a scenario where the Hoosiers don't stack losses by lopsided margins.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica]The bottom line: Crean will get Indiana basketball back where it belongs, and soon. But he's inan impossible situation this season with a roster that simply can't compete in the Big Ten (or the Big Sky, probably). All IU fans can do is sit back, takethe lumps and know better days are ahead because their administration (finally) made the right hire even though it took a lot of wrong to get to thispoint.[/font]

 

[shannonscrooks]

Breakthrough player
Alex Legion, Illinois


Completely forgot about this dude.

 

[lazy b]

Syracuse plays tonight against Cal State - Los Angeles.

 

[allen3xis]

No coach is going to tell you the conference in which his team toils is down.
[table][tr][td]

[/td] [td]

[/td] [/tr][tr][td]

[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Pitt coach Jamie Dixon knows the Big East is strong, but will teams just beat up on each other?[/td] [/tr][/table]A lot of them heard the question at preseason media days … unless they happen to coach in the Big East.
No one is questioning the credentials of the Big East. That would be akin to calling Jessica Biel homely.

No less than seven Big East teams are in the ESPN/USA Today coaches' preseason top 25 poll. No other conference has more than four teams in the top 25.The Southeastern Conference has only two, Tennessee and Florida. That's one more than the Southern Conference (Davidson).

"I think the Big East Conference speaks for itself," coach Jamie Dixon said at Pittsburgh's media day. "We're talking about whatcould be the best conference in the history of college basketball when you're talking about nine or 10 teams getting in the NCAA tournament. I don'tknow how it's going to happen; we're going to beat each other up. But when you talk about having nine teams in the top 25 of some polls, as I'veseen, the league just can't be compared to anything in the past. It's been the best in the country for a number of years now, and I think this yearmight be the best that it's had."

He won't get any argument from us. Which is the second-best league is a matter for debate. Here are the Rivals Preseason Conference Power Rankings.

Rivals.com Preseason Conference Power Rankings

1. Big East
The league's coaches are openly talking about a record nine NCAA bids. And it's not being brash. Four Big East teams are in the top 10 of the coaches' preseason poll. You will hear talk of this being the best conference ever.

2. Atlantic Coast
The ACC has the favorite to win the national title (North Carolina) and a perennial top-10 team (Duke). Wake Forest appears to be on an upswing, as does Miami. And someone from the lower pack will rise up, a la Miami last season.

3. Big 12
There's a lot to like about Oklahoma and Texas. Baylor could be headed for another big year, and national champion Kansas will remake its roster and come out fighting. The depth is coming along, too.

4. Big Ten
The Big Ten is solid at the top with Purdue, Michigan State, Wisconsin and Ohio State. The bottom five teams are an utter mess. The league had five teams in the top 50 in the RPI last year, and the other six were outside the top 100.

5. Pac-10
The Pac-10 was strong last year, but it had more one-and-dones than anybody else. UCLA remains a model program, but who can you be sure of after the Bruins this year? Arizona State? USC?

6. Southeastern
Sorry, but it's a down year in the SEC. Tennessee is the overwhelming preseason favorite and it lost Chris Lofton and JaJuan Smith. Only two SEC teams cracked the coaches' top 25.

7. Conference USA
This is the year C-USA finally breaks through. Everyone knows the strength of the Memphis program, but Mike Davis is building at UAB - and watch out for Tulsa.

8. Mountain West
UNLV and BYU were picked first and second in the league preseason poll, and both have been to the past two NCAA tournaments. San Diego State is a solid sleeper; the bottom half of the league needs to hold up its end.

9. Atlantic-10
With seven teams in the top 80 of the RPI, it was a banner year for the A-10 last season. It just doesn't appear as though it can maintain the same depth this season.

10. West Coast Conference
The WCC broke through with a record three NCAA bids after playing the second-toughest non-conference schedule in the nation. Gonzaga, Saint Mary's and San Diego all are going to be very strong again.

11. Missouri Valley
How down is the Valley? The MVC hasn't been lower than eighth in the RPI since 2004, but after Creighton every team has a fair share of questions. Southern Illinois is the No. 2 pick in the preseason poll, but it has eight newcomers.

12. Mid-American
The MAC played another tough slate out of conference (No. 3 strength of schedule) and produced three 20-win teams and one that won 19. It had four teams in the top 85 in the RPI and should have at least three this year.

13. Horizon
Butler was picked fifth in the preseason poll, which gives you some idea of the downturn in expectations for the Bulldogs. Cleveland State and Wright State will bolster the league, but it will take a step back from No. 11 in the RPI.

14. Colonial
VCU is picked to win the league, which it did last season but didn't get the NCAA bid when it lost in the conference tournament. The second choice, Northeastern, could be a sleeper. Old Dominion and George Mason are good, too.

15. Patriot
The Patriot was the only league outside of the top 11 in the RPI to post a winning record in non-conference play (62-55). Its strength of schedule was last, but at least it won. Defending champ American should be solid again.

16. WAC
Nevada is the preseason pick by both the league's coaches and media, and Utah State and New Mexico State are consensus Nos. 2 and 3. The league could be on the uptick.

17. MAAC
Five MAAC teams had winning records last season led by powerful Siena (No. 66 in the RPI), which won an NCAA tournament game and could crack the top 25 this season.

18. Sun Belt
With bell cows Western Kentucky (No. 39 in the RPI) and South Alabama (No. 37) probably taking big steps back, it's hard to believe the Sun Belt will be a two-bid league again.

19. Southern
Following Davidson's lead, the SoCon had the nation's strongest non-conference schedule last season, and it also produced an Elite Eight team in the Wildcats.

20. Big West
Cal State Fullerton (No. 79) had the league's highest RPI, but they lost too much to contend. Northridge is the pick this year, but the league won't be quite as good as last season.

21. Summit
Summit teams played a solid non-conference schedule last season (ranked No. 14 in strength of schedule); league champ Oral Roberts was a top-100 RPI team for the third time in four years.

22. Ivy
Cornell soared all the way to No. 65 in the final RPI and was a unanimous pick to repeat as champ with Ivy League Player of the Year Louis Dale among the returning starters.

23. Southland
The Southland bounced up to No. 19 in the final RPI - its best mark in the past 10 years - and Stephen F. Austin (No. 64 in the RPI) still looks strong. But the rest of the league may not be up to last year's standard.

24. Northeast
The NEC had four teams in the top 165 in the final RPI, and it went a respectable 50-72 out of conference.

25. Big Sky
Portland State returns three starters, including Big Sky MVP Jeremiah Dominguez, and adds three D-I transfers.

26. Big South
Seven teams received first-place votes in the preseason media poll, led by consistent winner Winthrop.

27. America East
Vermont could be a team that messes up an NCAA bracket, but the bottom of the league drags it down.

28. Atlantic Sun
Belmont is the standard-bearer, but Mercer (over USC) and Gardner-Webb (over Kentucky) helped the A-Sun gain some acclaim early last season. Gardner-Webb has since departed for the Big South.

29. Ohio Valley
The OVC struggled big time last year, dropping to an all-time low of No. 28 in the RPI after going a paltry 20-68 outside the league.

30. Mid-Eastern Athletic
Thank goodness for the SWAC: It's the only league the MEAC has had a better non-conference winning percentage than in the past four years.

31. Southwestern Athletic
For the fourth consecutive year the SWAC had the worst non-conference record, going 8-86.

 

[craftsy21]

No Jamelle Cornley on the all-big ten preseason?

what a joke....yeah, give it to some freshmen who have never played a college minute rather than a 5 yearsenior.

 

[zs05wc]

Originally Posted by ShannonsCrooks

Breakthrough player
Alex Legion, Illinois

Completely forgot about this dude.
Didn't he go to UConn first? He should have just came to Michigan.