WSoxShuf Posted October 15, 2004 Share Posted October 15, 2004 i am sure Steve agrees with those comparisions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitesoxfan99 Posted October 15, 2004 Share Posted October 15, 2004 (edited) By the way, here is my preseason top 25, go ahead and criticize it all you want, I can take it. Recently updated 1. Georgia Tech-Last years runner up, returns star PG Jarret Jack, explosive guard Will Bynum, as well as leading scorer BJ Elder. They still have Ismail Muhammed who is one of the best athletes in the country as well as Luke Schenscher who is one of the premier centers in the country. They also brought in a nice class of freshman Question mark: Besides Schenscher do they have the inside presence necessary to win the title? 2. Illinois-Along with Wake Forest has arguably the best backcourt in America with Dee Brown and Deron Williams. Luther Head is as good as any third guard in America and should barring another incident finally find consistency this year. James Augustine is one of the more talented big men in the country and Roger Powell is an effective scorer from the PF position. Also, quality depth with the likes of Nick Smith, Jack Ingram, and Richard McBride returning. Illinois returns everyone except for Jerrance Howard from their Sweet 16 team last year. Question Mark: Can the Illini score and defend the post on a consitent enough basis? 3. Wake Forest-Justin Gray and Chris Paul together are one of the best backcourts in the country. Jamaal Levy provides a very good athlete and versatile defender at the SF position. Eric Williams if he can stay healthy is as good as any big man in the country. If Wake Forest has a healthy Vytas Danelius they may have the best team in the country. December 1st the Deacons had to the Assembly Hall to play Illinois. Question Mark: Can this team stop anyone? Theres no question they can put the ball in the basket but you have to play D to win it all? 4. Kansas- Returns the best big man in the country in Wayne Simien. The backcourt of Aaron Miles and Ray Langford is a good one and these three seniors are going to go out with a bang. JR Giddens is a great shooter and athlete and gives Kansas their deep threat. Just like the previous three teams on this list they are very capable of winning it all. Brought in one of the best recruiting classes in the country Question Mark: Who is going to step into the other big position vacated by transfer David Padgett and graduate Jeff Graves? 5. Syracuse- Hakim Warrick may be the best player in the country this year. He is one of the few players in college basketball capable of taking complete control of the game. Guard Gerry McNamara is as explosive of a scorer as you will find in college basketball. They will get a huge boost if Billy Edelin can make the grades and join the team. Supporting cast is solid but hardly spectacular Question mark? Can the supporting cast do enough to help their Warrick and McNamara get to the promised land? 6. UNC-Perhaps the most talented team in the country. Sean May, Rashad McCants, and Raymond Felton are as good as any trio in the country. Jawad Williams had a great year last year and he and super FR Marvin Williams should give UNC perhaps the best starting lineup in the country this year. Qustion mark: Will chemistry be a problem and will they have enough depth to overcome possible injuries or foul trouble? 7. Oklahoma St.- Final 4 participant last year. Lost star guard Tony Allen but Oklahoma St. still has the horses to make another run. PG John Lucas is a great clutch player who makes this team go. Also returning are Joey Graham, Ivan McFarlin, and Daniel Bobik. The core of this team is very tough nosed and they've been there before, question is can they do it again. Queston Mark? Can troubled freshman Jameson Curry help to makeup for the loss of Tony Allen? 8. UCONN- One of the more intriguing teams in the country. Frontcourt of Josh Boone and Charlie Villanueva should be as good as any in the country. Rashad Anderson and Denham Brown are both very good shooters who can get very hot in a hurry. Freshman Rudy Gay could be the key to a final four run. Hes a tremendous talent who UCONN will need to have a big year to make a repeat run to the final four. Question Mark: With the uncertain status of AJ Price, who will run the show for UCONN? 9. Mississippi State- I have them this high for one reason and one reason alone: Lawrence Roberts. The guys is a tremendous inside force and was a first team all american last year. The supporting cast is a bit weak but Lawrence Roberts should be able to carry this team to a great performance in the SEC. Question Marks? If Roberts has an off night do they have enough around him to beat other good teams? 10. Arizona-Returns Mustafa Shakur, Salim Stoudamire, Channing Frye, and Hassan Adams as key contributors from last year. Arizona is extemely athletic and explosive but weren't able to find any consitency last year. Arizona brought in a very talented freshman class led by Jawann McClellan. Question mark? Can they replace Andre Iguodala and finally find some consistency? 11. MSU- Returns nearly everyone from last years team. Paul Davis is one of the best big men in the Big 10 and should keep MSU in nearly every game this year. They have lots of depth on the wings in Chris Hill, Maurice Ager, Shannon Brown, Anderson, and Kelvin Torbert. They have two very good freshman coming in in the form of Marquise Gray and Drew Neitzel. Question Mark? Can Neitzel run the show and can Gray provide the inside toughness missing from MSU last year? 12. Duke- They may have lost Chris Duhon and Luol Deng to the pros (plus signee Shaun Livingston) but Duke as usual still is pretty loaded. Sheldin Williams and Shavlik Randolph give Duke a very solid front line. Sean Dockery will need to step up his role on offense and be able to run the show for Duke. JJ Redick gives Duke one of the streakiest shooters in the country, but when he is on he doesn't miss. Freshman Demarcus Nelson could be the key to this team. Question mark? Will Dockery be able to live up to the hype he had coming out of high school and be the PG Duke needs? 13. Kentucky-The Wildcats lost quite a bit of talent from last years squad. Key returners include Kelenna Azubuike and Chuck Hayes. What will determine this teams fate is transfer Patrick Sparks and the incoming freshman class that includes three McDonald's AA in Rajon Rondo, Joe Crawford, and Randolph Morris. Question Mark; Can the freshman live up to the hype? 14. Maryland-Maryland made a tremendous run through the ACC tourney last year earning this rank. The Terrapins are lead by PG John Gilchrist and Nik Cader Medley as well as a strong supporting cast including DJ Strawberry and Chris McCray. Question Mark: Can the Terrapins play consistent ball and show that their ACC tourney run last year was no fluke? 15. Wisconsin- The Badgers lost one of the best players in the country from last year in Devin Harris. However, they may have the best all around front court in the country. With Mike Wilkinson the return of Alando Tucker, Brian Butch, and incoming freshman Greg Stiemsma the Badgers have no shortage of good big men and should compete for the Big 10 title. The backcourt will be this teams weakness as they have no real go to guy. Shariff Chambliss a transfer from Penn St. should be solid for the Badgers come Big 10 season if he can recover from surgery. Question Mark: Can the Badgers backcourt play at a high enough level to replace hide the loss of Devin Harris? 16. Louisville- Led by Francisco Garcia and Taquan Dean in the backcourt. Ellis Myles returns from injury in the frontcourt. Garcia is the reason that Louisville has a chance to turn some heads as he is one of the best players in America. Question Mark: Can the find a way to be consistent and can the frontcourt help out Dean and Garcia? 17. Pittsburgh-Key players for Pittsburgh are PG Carl Krauser and forward Chris Taft. Taft is the key guy for this team as he has the potential to be one of the best big men in the country this year. Question Mark: Do they have enough around Krauser and Taft to make some noise come tourney time? 18. Texas- Texas is a very interesting team much like UCONN in that they lost a great deal of talent from last year. Luckily for Texas they brought in a terrific freshman class that will probably produce three starters in Lamarcus Aldridge ©, Daniel Gibson (PG), and Mike Williams (PF). Key returning contributor for Texas will be PJ Tucker. This team is one of the hardest to predict in the country. Question mark: Very simply, how will the freshman develop? 19. Alabama-Made the Elite 8 last year after upsetting Stanford in the second round. Kennedy Winston is their star player and they will need him to produce on a constant basis for them to attempt a repeat performance of last years run. Question mark: Which Alabama will show up, the one that made the elite 8 or the one that struggled all year before that run? 20. Washington- Team that is very exciting to watch play. Nate Robinson the 5-9 guard is one of the most explosive leapers in America and is very fun to watch. Washington returns nearly all key contributors from last years team. Question mark: Can they play any defense? 21. Notre Dame-Chris Thomas and Torin Francis form a very formidable 1-2 punch if healthy. Thomas is one of the more explosive but streaky scorers in America and Francis is one of the most talented big men in the Big East if not America. Surrounded by Dennis Lattimore, Chris Quinn, Colin Falls, and Jordan Cornette. Question marks: Defense as well as health 22. Michigan- A team that is an enigma. With Daniel Horton, Lester Abram, Brent Petway, Courtney Sims, and Dion Harris they have the talent to try to go after the Big 10s big 3 of Illinois, Michigan State, and Wisconsin but have not been able to produce on a consistent basis. Questionable coaching for this team as well. Question mark: Can they be consistent and live up to their ability? 23. Providence- Ryan Gomes is as good as any player in America and Providence showed a great deal of potential at times last year before fading down the stretch. Donnie McGrath is the Friars PG and he is a good one. Quetion mark: Is Gomes alone capable of leading this team to big things? 24. NC State-Two words: Julius Hodge. The best player returning in the ACC. Yes you heard me right, better than Rashad McCants, Sean May, JJ Redick, Chris Paul, and Jarret Jack. The guy is quite possibly the best all around player in the country and is the returning ACC player of the year. Question mark: Do they have the talent to go along with Hodge to make noise in the ACC? 25. Gonzaga-Ronny Turiaf and Adam Morrison give Gonzaga a very good frontline. Expect Morrison with increased playing time to step up and potentially put up 20 PPG. This team lost their star guard and does not appear to have a ready replacement. Question mark: Do they have the backcourt to be "cinderella" again come time for the big dance? Edited October 26, 2004 by whitesoxfan99 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greasywheels121 Posted October 15, 2004 Share Posted October 15, 2004 6 hours......(5 hours until the doors open) This feels like Christmas; it's really cool to be a part of this now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palehosefan Posted October 15, 2004 Share Posted October 15, 2004 nice list whitesoxfan99, I agree about UNC's general ranking. But depth won't be a problem at all. UNC is loaded in the depth department. Felton, Manual, McCants, Marvin Williams, Sean May will be starting likely. Jawad Williams, Melvin Scott, David Noel, Quentin Thomas, Reyshawn Terry, Byron Sanders, Jonathan Miller, and even Damion Grant will all get decent p/t this year. The entire team is gushing about Reyshawn Terry, a sophomore that had all the talent in the world, just had problems last year as a freshman. He's a 6'9 SG/SF that has handles and can shoot and defend. Damion Grant is a 6'11 260 pound Junior that had knee problems his first two years and finally lost weight this year with his knees healthy, he's a hell of a shot blocker that should give 5-6 minutes a game of rest to Sean and Marvin and Jawad in the post. Here is the likely rotation PG. Felton with Quentin Thomas and Jonathan Miller backing him up SG. Jackie Manual with Melvin Scott and Terry backing him up SF. McCants with David Noel, Marvin Williams, and Terry backing him up PF. M. Williams with Jawad Williams and Byron Sanders backing him up C. Sean May with Damion Grant and Byron Sanders backing him up The main question is about experience in the tourney, the entire group has only won 1 game in the tourney, we will see if that matters at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitesoxfan99 Posted October 15, 2004 Share Posted October 15, 2004 nice list whitesoxfan99, I agree about UNC's general ranking. But depth won't be a problem at all. UNC is loaded in the depth department. Felton, Manual, McCants, Marvin Williams, Sean May will be starting likely. Jawad Williams, Melvin Scott, David Noel, Quentin Thomas, Reyshawn Terry, Byron Sanders, Jonathan Miller, and even Damion Grant will all get decent p/t this year. The entire team is gushing about Reyshawn Terry, a sophomore that had all the talent in the world, just had problems last year as a freshman. He's a 6'9 SG/SF that has handles and can shoot and defend. Damion Grant is a 6'11 260 pound Junior that had knee problems his first two years and finally lost weight this year with his knees healthy, he's a hell of a shot blocker that should give 5-6 minutes a game of rest to Sean and Marvin and Jawad in the post. Here is the likely rotation PG. Felton with Quentin Thomas and Jonathan Miller backing him up SG. Jackie Manual with Melvin Scott and Terry backing him up SF. McCants with David Noel, Marvin Williams, and Terry backing him up PF. M. Williams with Jawad Williams and Byron Sanders backing him up C. Sean May with Damion Grant and Byron Sanders backing him up The main question is about experience in the tourney, the entire group has only won 1 game in the tourney, we will see if that matters at all. I meant more in proven ability. The talent is there but will it produce. You could have 5 incredibly talented guys off the bench and not have much depth if they aren't ready. For instance what if Felton gets in early foul trouble. While Thomas certainly has the ability to be a capable backup its not certain at the moment that he will be. I questioned their depth because they have a lot of unproven players and there is a huge dropoff from McCans and Felton to guys like Scott, Manual, and Noel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palehosefan Posted October 16, 2004 Share Posted October 16, 2004 I gotta disagree about Manual and Scott being a big drop off. Manual is the teams best defender and possibly the best defender in college. He has been working hard on his 3 point shooting this offseason also, he is very athletic and was the first to buy into Roy's system. He averaged 6.5 points a game in 21 minutes. He also shot 55% last year from the field and shut down the opposing teams best player many games. David Noel is the most athletic player on the Tar Heels team, he was at some points, the best player from the freshman class two years ago of Felton, McCants, May, and Noel. He averaged 5.5 points and 5 boards a game in 21 minutes a game while shooting 56%. As for Melvin Scott, he was one of UNC's 5 players that averaged over 10 points a game, he also averaged 3 boards and 2.7 assists a game, while shooting 37.3 % from 3 . Are they a dropoff from McCants, Felton, and May? Yes, but then again 97% of players in college would be. But I don't think they are as much of a drop off as people think. Not to mention they will have to shoulder even less of the load with Marvin Williams joining the squad and likely getting 30+ minutes a game. Byron Sanders, Damion Grant, Jonathan Miller, Quentin Thomas, and Reyshawn Terry are definitely unproven as of now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AssHatSoxFan Posted October 16, 2004 Share Posted October 16, 2004 i was laughing at this from dickie V about U of I Key players lost: Aaron Spears yeah i assume losing a low minutes 10th man off the bench will hurt us deeply Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greasywheels121 Posted October 16, 2004 Share Posted October 16, 2004 Holy s***....IU did their tickets for basketball online this year, and word didn't get out on that really. I just got an e-mail saying I'm getting tickets to 12 home games....that's so kick ass. We were expected to get at the minimum, 6 games. Also, Midnight Madness kicked so much ass...We all got these shirts that are similar to the famous candycane warm up pants. BAM! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
He_Gawn Posted October 16, 2004 Share Posted October 16, 2004 Need more pics and info man!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greasywheels121 Posted October 16, 2004 Share Posted October 16, 2004 Need more pics and info man!!! They'll get more up later on, but IU only has that picture and this one up on their site currently: It was awesome. Tapak won the 3 point contest and Ewing won his 2nd dunk contest. Ha, his stuff was sick. DJ White had like 12 points in the scrimmage; he was really impressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palehosefan Posted October 16, 2004 Share Posted October 16, 2004 Here's a couple of photo's from UNC's Late Night with Roy. Stuart Scott MC'd again. They did a hilarious skit with Wes Miller dressing up as Roy Williams with a band following behind singing the "Roy.. Roy, Roy, Roy" from the Starbucks commercials while Wes yelled at Rashad McCants for his defensive play, it was great. They showed alot of UNC's late night on CSTV, it was great stuff. Damion Grant blocking a David Noel dunk.. Felton showing off his 44 inch vertical... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Hudler Posted October 16, 2004 Share Posted October 16, 2004 Hell with the player shots, who is the hot dancer??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palehosefan Posted October 16, 2004 Share Posted October 16, 2004 lol I think her name is Mandy. She's "real" good friends with Sean May. Take a look at the difference in the two, amazing to be a star basketball player. UNC's campus is made up of about 70% women, and alot of them look like that. Thats partially why UNC was my dream school, lol. Just walking around campus, you almost break your neck. Here's another dancer with Sean May in the background to the left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WHarris1 Posted October 16, 2004 Share Posted October 16, 2004 McBride won the 3-pt shootout for the Illini. Luther won the dunk contest, no suprise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnB Posted October 16, 2004 Share Posted October 16, 2004 midDAY madness here was pretty dissapointing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greasywheels121 Posted October 16, 2004 Share Posted October 16, 2004 midDAY madness here was pretty dissapointing How come? What didn't you like? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnB Posted October 16, 2004 Share Posted October 16, 2004 How come? What didn't you like? the entire place just lacked energy, probably because everyone there just got finished standing for 4 hours in the cold watching illinois lose to michigan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AssHatSoxFan Posted October 17, 2004 Share Posted October 17, 2004 glad to hear that since i couldnt make it out to ass. hall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greasywheels121 Posted October 17, 2004 Share Posted October 17, 2004 the entire place just lacked energy, probably because everyone there just got finished standing for 4 hours in the cold watching illinois lose to michigan. Ah that sucks. IU's was pretty crazy. There were even tailgaters for Midnight Madness... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elcaballo45 Posted October 17, 2004 Share Posted October 17, 2004 i was laughing at this from dickie V about U of I Key players lost: Aaron Spears yeah i assume losing a low minutes 10th man off the bench will hurt us deeply What's even more hilarious about that is Aaron Spears is playing for the community college i went to for 4 years back in my hometown of Freeport, IL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elcaballo45 Posted October 17, 2004 Share Posted October 17, 2004 I see that this year's thread is pinned.... although, it was quite rare last year to see this thread anywhere near the bottom of the first page as we had so many views and replies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flash Tizzle Posted October 17, 2004 Share Posted October 17, 2004 UIC's inaugural game will be quite the dousy this year against an ACC powerhouse. We will open up against last season's national runner-up, Georgia Tech, at UIC Pavilion on Monday, November 22nd, at 7:00 p.m. With non conference, road matchups against DePaul (twice) and Duke there's three automatic losses on the schedule. /awaits 15 seed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palehosefan Posted October 17, 2004 Share Posted October 17, 2004 Duke's team is going to have alot of struggles this year. Sean Dockery has to be the man this year, that has to terrify Duke fans. They have 8 scholarship players, and are 1 injury of Shelden Williams away from a 1995 like season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greasywheels121 Posted October 17, 2004 Share Posted October 17, 2004 Geez....9 pages and it's only the 2nd day they're allowed to practice. This one is going to own last year's thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBAHO Posted October 17, 2004 Share Posted October 17, 2004 Geez....9 pages and it's only the 2nd day they're allowed to practice. This one is going to own last year's thread. Just wait til the season gets going, and the likes of Illinois and Indiana get to face up to each other. If only I had ESPN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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