College Bball Thread

[Stuhoo 85,571]

51 minutes ago, Loaded Chicken Sandwich said:

7th is probably pretty realistic as of now. Plenty of room to grow though and they'll have plenty of opportunities early on to prove where they belong.

As for Kentucky, Cals Kentucky teams succeed only when they have really good guards. Wagner is that guy. All of Cals bad team at UK have been lead by guys like Ryan Harrow or Devin Askew. But when he's had dudes like John Wall, Brandon Knight, De'Aaron Fox... They've been good. Even just a steady point guard could possibly be enough.. His strategy of one and dones was without a doubt hurt by the COVID extra year and the new transfer rules. His freshmen are no longer just playing other 19-20 year old, they've been playing 22, 23 and 24 year olds.

Can’t remember the last year UK lived up to its lofty pre-season ranking. 

With only (and I mean this literally) one healthy player above 6’6” on their roster?  this year shouldn’t break the trend. And all of those five star point guards that had good years had effective, monster bigs that were able to practice prior to December 1st. 

[Loaded Chicken Sandwich 9,049]

33 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

Can’t remember the last year UK lived up to its lofty pre-season ranking. 

With only (and I mean this literally) one healthy player above 6’6” on their roster?  this year shouldn’t break the trend. And all of those five star point guards that had good years had effective, monster bigs that were able to practice prior to December 1st. 

It's not a great start to have your 2 centers out. Gonna and Bradshaw should be back in 4-6 weeks. It'll be up to Mitchell who is 6-9 230 and Jordan Burks at 6-8 200 to cover up the 5 spot unless their new big dude is actually allowed to play. They could take a bump or two by the time Ugonna and Bradshaw return. In 4 weeks is the Kansas game for them. But leading up to that is New Mexico State and Texas A&M-C. Then they play Stone Hill, Saint Joe's and Marshall before playing Miami on Nov 28th. So.. good thing for them, their schedule isn't super stacked early on. Their season though will rely heavily on the guards.

 

But it's been since the 19-20 season that Kentucky has lived up to the hype really. Maybe the 21-22 season, though it ended terribly for them.

[Tom White 1,435]

15 hours ago, Loaded Chicken Sandwich said:

I've released my Preseason College Basketball Top 25!!!

You have Miami listed twice? 20 & 22.

[Stuhoo 85,571]

12 hours ago, Loaded Chicken Sandwich said:

It's not a great start to have your 2 centers out. Gonna and Bradshaw should be back in 4-6 weeks. It'll be up to Mitchell who is 6-9 230 and Jordan Burks at 6-8 200 to cover up the 5 spot unless their new big dude is actually allowed to play. They could take a bump or two by the time Ugonna and Bradshaw return. In 4 weeks is the Kansas game for them. But leading up to that is New Mexico State and Texas A&M-C. Then they play Stone Hill, Saint Joe's and Marshall before playing Miami on Nov 28th. So.. good thing for them, their schedule isn't super stacked early on. Their season though will rely heavily on the guards.

 

But it's been since the 19-20 season that Kentucky has lived up to the hype really. Maybe the 21-22 season, though it ended terribly for them.

Burks is a skinny three star freshman wing. He was a desperation roster filler who has talent, but who was cast aside by Beard. He's a freshman CJ Gunn, but without the excellent attitude.

The last time they 'lived up to the hype' was not the cancelled/COVID year. They were' pretty good' that year but were also a top five pre-season team in a year that got cancelled, and they weren't going to be a #1 seed. 

The last time they kinda made it to their pre-season hype level? Probably 2016-17, when they had Fox, Bam, Monk, and Gabriel. Pre-season ranked #4,  a 2 seed in the tourney, lost in the elite 8. So seven years ago. With three lottery picks and seven players on the roster who have been in the NBA, and five who are still in the league. And pre-NIL.

And this year they have Mitchell, who is good but not a post or defensive presence at all, as their only big who is learning their system (with Cal, I'm not always sure whether there is one). And they are ranked pre-season top 15?!!? Give me the under on their achievement this year ... again.

[Class of '66 Old Fart 87,786]

On 8/31/2023 at 7:41 PM, Class of '66 Old Fart said:

Gavitt games may not be going away.

https://collegehoops.today/rothstein-files/big-east-and-big-ten-in-advanced-discussions-to-renew-gavitt-games-beyond-2023-24-season/

As the legendary Keith Jackson would say:  "Whoa Nelly!"

[Loaded Chicken Sandwich 9,049]

4 hours ago, Stuhoo said:

Burks is a skinny three star freshman wing. He was a desperation roster filler who has talent, but who was cast aside by Beard. He's a freshman CJ Gunn, but without the excellent attitude.

The last time they 'lived up to the hype' was not the cancelled/COVID year. They were' pretty good' that year but were also a top five pre-season team in a year that got cancelled, and they weren't going to be a #1 seed. 

The last time they kinda made it to their pre-season hype level? Probably 2016-17, when they had Fox, Bam, Monk, and Gabriel. Pre-season ranked #4,  a 2 seed in the tourney, lost in the elite 8. So seven years ago. With three lottery picks and seven players on the roster who have been in the NBA, and five who are still in the league. And pre-NIL.

And this year they have Mitchell, who is good but not a post or defensive presence at all, as their only big who is learning their system (with Cal, I'm not always sure whether there is one). And they are ranked pre-season top 15?!!? Give me the under on their achievement this year ... again.

In 21-22 they started out 10th and got a 2 seed. Most of that season went about as planned. 19-20 they started out 2nd and were probably on their way to a 2 seed. 18-19 they started out #2 and ended up with a 2 seed and an Elite 8. 16-17 they did the same thing.

 

Their season will go as their perimeter goes. It's college basketball. You don't have to have a lot of size to be successful. That's been proven over and over again. And they only have to go through maybe 1 or 2 games without their big men against any real competition.

[Loaded Chicken Sandwich 9,049]

4 hours ago, Tom White said:

You have Miami listed twice? 20 & 22.

Fixed. 22 is supposed to be Arkansas.

[Tasmanian Devil 1,812]

On 10/11/2023 at 5:17 PM, OliviaPope40 said:

I have read that book it is really good.

Sorry - didn’t see this until now.

One of the best basketball books I’ve ever read. The ACC in the 80s was unbelievably loaded. And there’s a great story in the book about Knights opinion of Coach K when K was hired at Duke in 1980. Absolute must read.

[MemphisHoosier 2,278]

Happy KenPom Day to all who celebrate!  '23-'24 season is officially loaded with the Hoosiers finishing 17-13 & 9-11 in conference (does not project the U of L or Texas match-up in NYC) and 9th in Conference.

[WayneFleekHoosier 49,856]

Happy KenPom Day to all who celebrate!  '23-'24 season is officially loaded with the Hoosiers finishing 17-13 & 9-11 in conference (does not project the U of L or Texas match-up in NYC) and 9th in Conference.

This would be disappointing.


Sent from my iPad using BtownBanners mobile app

[HoosierHoopster 7,669]

Kenpom is next to useless at this point pre-season. Kenpom stats and predictions only come into line as season builds

[RaceToTheTop 28,531]

4 hours ago, MemphisHoosier said:

Happy KenPom Day to all who celebrate!  '23-'24 season is officially loaded with the Hoosiers finishing 17-13 & 9-11 in conference (does not project the U of L or Texas match-up in NYC) and 9th in Conference.

Torvik projects 19-11 and 11-9 (tied for fifth).  FWIW, they rank Purdue #1 and project them at 22-7, 15-5 -- so Torvik tends to put teams closer to .500 than most.

[sbhoosierfan 8]

Parsed sports has us at 16-12 with a win over Uconn...

[Rico 3,410]

underrated/overrated per CBS:

https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/college-basketball-rankings-most-underrated-and-overrated-teams-in-the-preseason-ap-top-25-and-coaches-poll/

[WayneFleekHoosier 49,856]

Kyle Mangas, yeah, that Kyle Mangas signed with the Pacers today.  

[lillurk 4,407]

What were the best pre-1998 CBB hoops preview magazines? Or more accurately, who were the most trusted recruiting analysts/rankers during that period? I have a pretty meticulous IU recruit spreadsheet that has, I think, every scholarship player from the HS class of ‘98 forward, since that’s what’s readily available online.

[Josh 12,927]

19 minutes ago, lillurk said:

What were the best pre-1998 CBB hoops preview magazines? Or more accurately, who were the most trusted recruiting analysts/rankers during that period? I have a pretty meticulous IU recruit spreadsheet that has, I think, every scholarship player from the HS class of ‘98 forward, since that’s what’s readily available online.

Athlon and Lindys were the two options.  I was always partial to Athlon.  I probably still have a lot of those pre 1998 copies somewhere

[IUHoosierJoe 1,811]

46 minutes ago, lillurk said:

What were the best pre-1998 CBB hoops preview magazines? Or more accurately, who were the most trusted recruiting analysts/rankers during that period? I have a pretty meticulous IU recruit spreadsheet that has, I think, every scholarship player from the HS class of ‘98 forward, since that’s what’s readily available online.

Back in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, I always bought Street & Smith.  Even way back then, they’d have probably a first through fifth team All-Americans (25 players) and then they’d have several pages listing high honorable mention and honorable mention.  It was the most comprehensive I knew of back then.

[Rico 3,410]

10 hours ago, IUHoosierJoe said:

Back in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, I always bought Street & Smith.  Even way back then, they’d have probably a first through fifth team All-Americans (25 players) and then they’d have several pages listing high honorable mention and honorable mention.  It was the most comprehensive I knew of back then.

[Loaded Chicken Sandwich 9,049]

The only sports magazine I've ever bought...