Official 2010-2011 NCAA Basketball Thread

[southsider2k5]

The race to dethrone Duke begins today.

[Brian]

SIU!!!! We would beat Illinois at least 3 out of 10 times!

[kjshoe04]

SIU!!!! We would beat Illinois at least 3 out of 10 times!

[LittleHurt05]

SIU!!!! We would beat Illinois at least 3 out of 10 times!

 

A mid-major beating a major BCS team????? Yeah, right, thats never gonna happen!!! I-L-L!!!!

[Palehosefan]

Early contenders for top 10 next year?

 

Ohio State

Duke

Butler

Michigan State

Purdue

Pittsburgh

Memphis

UNC (If Ed Davis returns)

Kansas

BYU

 

 

Kentucky could be at the bottom of the top 10 depending on how much cap space opens up.

[fathom]

Early contenders for top 10 next year?

 

Ohio State

Duke

Butler

Michigan State

Purdue

Pittsburgh

Memphis

UNC (If Ed Davis returns)

Kansas

BYU

 

 

Kentucky could be at the bottom of the top 10 depending on how much cap space opens up.

 

It all matters who goes pro. Ed Davis has to be long gone, and I wouldn't be shocked if Hayward, Jajuan Johnson, Elliot Williams, and Nolan Smith go pro from that list of top teams.

[ZoomSlowik]

This would be my personal top-10 (I'm only assuming that lock-lottery guys are gone):

 

1) Duke- I don't think they necessarily end up here, but Singler/Smith/Irving/Curry/Dawkins is way too good a perimeter to drop much farther, especially since the top two are proven go-to guys on a championship team. The Plumlees and Ryan Kelly will be key.

 

2) Michigan State- Assuming Lucas and Allen are back to 100%, that's an extremely balanced and dangerous lineup with two solid recruits (Appling and Payne) off the bench.

 

3) Purdue- Obviously Hummel has to be healthy, and it'd help a lot of someone besides Moore, Hummel and Johnson stepped up as a respectable scoring threat.

 

4) Ohio State- If they sort out their point guard/ball-handling situation, I like them a lot. They have much more depth than last year and a legit post option with Sullinger.

 

5) UNC- Yes, this is ridiculously high. I don't care, I feel like they have the most raw talent in the country by a fairly wide margin. I feel like Drew is a serviceable point guard, Barnes and Bullock have a ton of talent on the wings, and Zeller and Henson have a ton of potential up front. That doesn't even count a bench with Marshall, Strickland, McDonald, the Wear twins, and hopefully Graves (though it wouldn't surprise me if he started ).

 

6) Florida- Bring everyone back and add Patric Young, who looks like a beast up front.

 

7) Butler- I honestly think they belong lower on raw talent, but it's hard to argue with Mack, Heyward and Howard back and Nored continuing to be a gnat on defense. I think losing Veasley will hurt more than people think (though he sucked in the tourney) and they don't exactly leave much margin for error with their playing style.

 

8) Memphis- Obscene amounts of talent on the perimeter, but not as sure about their frontcourt.

 

9) Kentucky- A bit ambitious now, but they'll probably have a great class once the checks clear. I think they at least add Knight and Leslie, perhaps one or two more of the remaining studs. Obviously Kanter needs to be eligible as well.

 

10) Kansas- A lot hinges on how well Elijah Johnson and/or a yet to be signed recruit play in the backcourt. The Morris twins look solid, but they have to replace Collins and probably Henry (obviously bump them up if he comes back).

 

 

On the verge if people above defect: Pittsburgh and K-State

 

Add Georgetown somewhere around #3 if for some reason Monroe decides to return.

 

[fathom]

As much as I hate to say it, no reason Illinois can't be a top 10 team if McCamey returns.

[ZoomSlowik]

As much as I hate to say it, no reason Illinois can't be a top 10 team if McCamey returns.

 

Personally, I'd put them in the next tier below the list I posted with teams like Villanova, Vanderbilt, Syracuse (assuming Johnson goes) and Tennessee. They could be quite good, but a lot depends on one of Richmond, Paul and Richardson producing relatively consistently since their frontcourt can be quite unpredictable.

[fathom]

Personally, I'd put them in the next tier below the list I posted with teams like Villanova, Vanderbilt, Syracuse (assuming Johnson goes) and Tennessee. They could be quite good, but a lot depends on one of Richmond, Paul and Richardson producing relatively consistently since their frontcourt can be quite unpredictable.

 

Ogilvy's supposedly leaving Vandy to go back to Australia, and Wes Johnson is interviewing agents. Good call on Villanova, they have a ton of young talent and Yarou has a world of potential. I think Florida St. could be a very strong team next season, but there's rumors of Singleton/Alabi going pro.

[Jenksismyhero]

This would be my personal top-10 (I'm only assuming that lock-lottery guys are gone):

 

1) Duke- I don't think they necessarily end up here, but Singler/Smith/Irving/Curry/Dawkins is way too good a perimeter to drop much farther, especially since the top two are proven go-to guys on a championship team. The Plumlees and Ryan Kelly will be key.

 

2) Michigan State- Assuming Lucas and Allen are back to 100%, that's an extremely balanced and dangerous lineup with two solid recruits (Appling and Payne) off the bench.

 

3) Purdue- Obviously Hummel has to be healthy, and it'd help a lot of someone besides Moore, Hummel and Johnson stepped up as a respectable scoring threat.

 

4) Ohio State- If they sort out their point guard/ball-handling situation, I like them a lot. They have much more depth than last year and a legit post option with Sullinger.

 

5) UNC- Yes, this is ridiculously high. I don't care, I feel like they have the most raw talent in the country by a fairly wide margin. I feel like Drew is a serviceable point guard, Barnes and Bullock have a ton of talent on the wings, and Zeller and Henson have a ton of potential up front. That doesn't even count a bench with Marshall, Strickland, McDonald, the Wear twins, and hopefully Graves (though it wouldn't surprise me if he started ).

 

6) Florida- Bring everyone back and add Patric Young, who looks like a beast up front.

 

7) Butler- I honestly think they belong lower on raw talent, but it's hard to argue with Mack, Heyward and Howard back and Nored continuing to be a gnat on defense. I think losing Veasley will hurt more than people think (though he sucked in the tourney) and they don't exactly leave much margin for error with their playing style.

 

8) Memphis- Obscene amounts of talent on the perimeter, but not as sure about their frontcourt.

 

9) Kentucky- A bit ambitious now, but they'll probably have a great class once the checks clear. I think they at least add Knight and Leslie, perhaps one or two more of the remaining studs. Obviously Kanter needs to be eligible as well.

 

10) Kansas- A lot hinges on how well Elijah Johnson and/or a yet to be signed recruit play in the backcourt. The Morris twins look solid, but they have to replace Collins and probably Henry (obviously bump them up if he comes back).

 

 

On the verge if people above defect: Pittsburgh and K-State

 

Add Georgetown somewhere around #3 if for some reason Monroe decides to return.

 

 

Wow. Interesting top 10 here. Florida doesn't deserve the love, especially over better potential teams like Illinois (who should be in the 10-15 range). Ditto for UNC, who may have all the talent in the world, but talent means nothing if they don't mesh (see: UNC, 2009-2010). Kansas and Kentucky will be lucky to be in the top 25, let alone the top 10. Too much talent leaving. Villanova should be somewhere between 5-8. Agree Memphis should be pretty good if their freshman can make the transition. Not sold on OSU being so high, they have no PG. Sullinger might be the next OSU one and done, but if he can't get the ball he's not going to be very dominant.

[Palehosefan]

Wow. Interesting top 10 here. Florida doesn't deserve the love, especially over better potential teams like Illinois (who should be in the 10-15 range). Ditto for UNC, who may have all the talent in the world, but talent means nothing if they don't mesh (see: UNC, 2009-2010). Kansas and Kentucky will be lucky to be in the top 25, let alone the top 10. Too much talent leaving. Villanova should be somewhere between 5-8. Agree Memphis should be pretty good if their freshman can make the transition. Not sold on OSU being so high, they have no PG. Sullinger might be the next OSU one and done, but if he can't get the ball he's not going to be very dominant.

 

UNC's main problem this year was having absolutely zero shooting and no PG depth. Larry Drew made stupid plays all over the court, but Roy had no alternative to put in the game to punish him. Kendall Marshall was the best passer in the incoming class and will be a steady option at PG if need be. Bullock and Barnes can both shoot the lights out. UNC should be back in the 25-30 wins category, but not back to elite yet.

 

Kansas will have most of their talent returning with 5 star guys on the bench waiting to step in. If Selby or Doron Lamb pick KU and Henry stays, I could see them at #5 to start the year.

 

Nova is losing Reynolds and Redding and isn't bringing in much to replace them. They will still get eaten alive inside. Pittsburgh should be the class of the Big East next year.

 

Aaron Craft will be a good option at PG for Ohio State, he focuses most of his energy on defense and passing the ball, and with the talent around him any retard could step in and average 5 assists a game just throwing the ball down low each possession.

[fathom]

Kansas will have most of their talent returning with 5 star guys on the bench waiting to step in. If Selby or Doron Lamb pick KU and Henry stays, I could see them at #5 to start the year.

 

Nova is losing Reynolds and Redding and isn't bringing in much to replace them. They will still get eaten alive inside. Pittsburgh should be the class of the Big East next year.

 

 

'Nova has Yarou, Armwood, and Sutton, all of which showed flashes of being above average players during the season. Losing Redding will be addition by subtraction.

[whitesoxfan101]

As much as I hate to say it, no reason Illinois can't be a top 10 team if McCamey returns.

 

Good luck with this. They'll be a tournament team (even if a miracle saves us all and it's still only a 65 team tournament next year), but I can't see how they are a top 10 team. Top 20 is certainly possible though.

 

Butler has a chance to be playing on the final Monday of the season again next year if Hayward stays (they only lose Jukes and Willie, but their incoming guys can replace that production), but I can't see why he'd do that.

Edited April 6, 2010 by whitesoxfan101

[nitetrain8601]

'Nova has Yarou, Armwood, and Sutton, all of which showed flashes of being above average players during the season. Losing Redding will be addition by subtraction.

 

Losing Reynolds helps in my opinion. I've always though from afar, he was a bad leader and a fake star. Yarou will step up next year. Either way, they'll be back contending in two years. Illinois will be in 15-20 range.

 

As far as Purdue, the only guy they are losing is Kramer. Everyone else is coming back from what I've heard.

 

Anyone know if Hayward is leaving? I'd like to see the team stick together and try to make another run.

[whitesoxfan101]

Anyone know if Hayward is leaving? I'd like to see the team stick together and try to make another run.

 

Hayward hasn't even decided yet as far as I know. I can't see his stock getting much higher though. The one thing he wasn't good at this year is 3 point shooting, but he did it well as a freshman so there is evidence he can do it out there.

[ZoomSlowik]

Wow. Interesting top 10 here. Florida doesn't deserve the love, especially over better potential teams like Illinois (who should be in the 10-15 range). Ditto for UNC, who may have all the talent in the world, but talent means nothing if they don't mesh (see: UNC, 2009-2010). Kansas and Kentucky will be lucky to be in the top 25, let alone the top 10. Too much talent leaving. Villanova should be somewhere between 5-8. Agree Memphis should be pretty good if their freshman can make the transition. Not sold on OSU being so high, they have no PG. Sullinger might be the next OSU one and done, but if he can't get the ball he's not going to be very dominant.

 

I have Illinois in that 10-20 range, obviously depends on who comes back for various other teams. Florida had a very similar year to Illinois and the SEC won't be as tough as the Big Ten. McCamey is the best player on either team, but I trust a frontcourt of Tyus, Macklin and Young more than the Illini's guys, who don't always show up. As of right now, Parsons is also better than any of the wings on Illinois, though that can obviously change once we see how these guys improve.

 

I agree that I went very high on UNC, I have that much faith in Barnes and Bullock upgrading their wing players. They had horrendous guard play last year, those two are major upgrades.

 

As for Kansas and Kentucky, you've got to look at the talent on their roster. Kansas still has the Morris twins up front, who are both solid, as well as Taylor on the wing. They also have Johnson and Robinson, who are quite talented but couldn't crack their loaded roster this year. Even assuming Henry goes, they have 8 guys on the roster that were top-70 recruits and are still in on guys like Selby, Jones and Lamb. Kentucky I'm putting there largely based on players I expect them to sign between now and the start of next season. They've already added Kanter, who supposedly turned down 7-figure contracts in Turkey, and Poole, who's a pretty good athlete. Knight is widely considered to be a Wildcat already as well, so that fills their hole at PG. Add a couple more of the 7-10 solid recruits left and they could be fringe top-10. Could either of them flame out? Obviously yes, but this early I'm leaning towards where the talent is.

 

As for OSU, they don't necessarily need Sullinger to be dominant to be great, they already have three solid wings in Buford, Diebler and Lighty. They do have to figure out who will handle the ball, but keep in mind that for all the good Turner did, he also averaged 4.4 turnovers. I suspect they'll end up with less of a scorer at the position and try to find someone to spread the ball around.

 

I've got 'Nova slightly off the board right now because they still have question marks at PG and up front. If Wayans and Yarou both take major steps forward, I'd probably put them in the 5-8 range. However, right now all we really know is that Fisher and Stokes are solid and Pena is decent. I have a hard time putting them in the top-10 largely behind those three players.

Edited April 6, 2010 by ZoomSlowik

[ZoomSlowik]

Losing Reynolds helps in my opinion. I've always though from afar, he was a bad leader and a fake star. Yarou will step up next year. Either way, they'll be back contending in two years. Illinois will be in 15-20 range.

 

Agree with this entirely, to steal a Bill Simmons term, I think Villanova can be a "Ewing Theory" team. Scottie Reynolds dominated the ball and while he did some good things, they also largely performed as he performed. They struggled mightily in the tournament, mostly because he stunk for two games.

 

Now Wayans should take over at the point, who's pretty talented and appears to be more of a true PG. They still have Fisher and Stokes on the wings, who are pretty solid shooters, and they have enough highly recruited bodies up front that they'll probably hold their own (Yarou especially could be a stud with more PT and development). I can't quite put them in the top-10 as things stand right now though until we see some defections, because they're still depending largely on the development of Wayans and Yarou.

Edited April 6, 2010 by ZoomSlowik

[Brian]

The addition of Diamond Taylor should have SIU in preseason top 15....Ok ok, I'm done....maybe

[Soxbadger]

Taylor would have been a nice play for Wisconsin.

 

Unfortunately he had some problems with the law.

[Felix]

If the Gophers can get Cory Joseph to commit, I like our chances to be in the top half of the Big Ten and potentially the top 25 next year. Otherwise, it could be another relatively tough year that ends in more rumors about Tubby leaving for some other s***ty program.

[Jenksismyhero]

I have Illinois in that 10-20 range, obviously depends on who comes back for various other teams. Florida had a very similar year to Illinois and the SEC won't be as tough as the Big Ten. McCamey is the best player on either team, but I trust a frontcourt of Tyus, Macklin and Young more than the Illini's guys, who don't always show up. As of right now, Parsons is also better than any of the wings on Illinois, though that can obviously change once we see how these guys improve.

 

I agree that I went very high on UNC, I have that much faith in Barnes and Bullock upgrading their wing players. They had horrendous guard play last year, those two are major upgrades.

 

As for Kansas and Kentucky, you've got to look at the talent on their roster. Kansas still has the Morris twins up front, who are both solid, as well as Taylor on the wing. They also have Johnson and Robinson, who are quite talented but couldn't crack their loaded roster this year. Even assuming Henry goes, they have 8 guys on the roster that were top-70 recruits and are still in on guys like Selby, Jones and Lamb. Kentucky I'm putting there largely based on players I expect them to sign between now and the start of next season. They've already added Kanter, who supposedly turned down 7-figure contracts in Turkey, and Poole, who's a pretty good athlete. Knight is widely considered to be a Wildcat already as well, so that fills their hole at PG. Add a couple more of the 7-10 solid recruits left and they could be fringe top-10. Could either of them flame out? Obviously yes, but this early I'm leaning towards where the talent is.

 

As for OSU, they don't necessarily need Sullinger to be dominant to be great, they already have three solid wings in Buford, Diebler and Lighty. They do have to figure out who will handle the ball, but keep in mind that for all the good Turner did, he also averaged 4.4 turnovers. I suspect they'll end up with less of a scorer at the position and try to find someone to spread the ball around.

 

I've got 'Nova slightly off the board right now because they still have question marks at PG and up front. If Wayans and Yarou both take major steps forward, I'd probably put them in the 5-8 range. However, right now all we really know is that Fisher and Stokes are solid and Pena is decent. I have a hard time putting them in the top-10 largely behind those three players.

 

All good points. I'm excited for next year, not just because Illinois should be better, but there's really no stand out team right now. Seems like there will be 10 teams that have the potential to win it all.

[southsider2k5]

All good points. I'm excited for next year, not just because Illinois should be better, but there's really no stand out team right now. Seems like there will be 10 teams that have the potential to win it all.

 

Most it has to do with who comes back and who goes pro.

[fathom]

I love seeing all the optimism in here....my team Georgia Tech will suck. Going from one of the best frontcourts in the country to one of the worst, but I'm sure Paul Hewitt will coach them up!

[fathom]

Nolan Smith is returning to Duke. If Singler returns, they're going to be far and away the #1 team in the preseason polls.