Includes 5 Big East teams...including Marquette at 20?!?!?
HOUSTON
While I could see is getting there, I don't think we deserve preseason ranking.
1. North Carolina
Who's back: Everyone. Marcus Paige, Brice Johnson, Justin Jackson, Kennedy Meeks, Isaiah Hicks.
Who's gone: Desmond Hubert.
Who they're getting: Luke Maye
Why they're here: Marcus Paige is going to be healthy, the Tar Heels return their entire front line and Joel Berry and Justin Jackson will have a full offseason to turn into the complimentary players they showed flashes of being at the end of the season.
2. Iowa State
Who's back: Georges Niang, Monte' Morris*, Naz Long, Jameel McKay, Matt Thomas, Fred Hoiberg*
Who's gone: Bryce Dejean-Jones
Who they're getting: Hallice Cooke, Deonte Burton, Chieck Diallo*
Why they're here: Assuming that Hoiberg is back in Ames next season, it looks like he's going to have the best team of his coaching career. Morris and Niang will be back with Burton, a Marquette transfer, getting eligible in December and McKay back to control the paint. Even if they miss on Diallo, the Cyclones are looking at being a top five team.
3. Maryland
Who's back: Melo Trimble, Jake Layman*, Jared Nickens, Michal Cevosky
Who's gone: Dez Wells, Richaud Pack
Who they're getting: Robert Carter, Diamond Stone, Jaylen Brantley
Why they're here: Getting Trimble to announce that he will be coming back to school is huge, as would the return of Layman, because the Terps are going to have plenty of firepower up front. Georgia Tech transfer Carter and top ten recruit Stone will headline one of the better front lines in the Big Ten.
4. Kentucky
Who's back: Tyler Ulis*, Marcus Lee*, Alex Poythress*, Dakari Johnson*
Who's gone: Karl Towns*, Willie Cauley-Stein*, Aaron Harrison*, Andrew Harrison*, Trey Lyles*, Devin Booker*
Who they're getting: Isaiah Briscoe, Skal Labissiere*, Charles Matthews
Why they're here: So much of Kentucky's 2015-2016 team is in the air. Who is returning to school? Who is going pro? Will they get any of the McDonald's All-Americans that have yet to commit to a school? Will Labissiere be eligible? We'll have a much better idea by the end of the month.
5. Virginia
Who's back: Malcolm Brogdon, Anthony Gill, Mike Tobey, London Perrantes
Who's gone: Darion Atkins, Justin Anderson*
Who they're getting: Jarred Reuter
Why they're here: The Cavs return essentially their entire roster from the 2015-2016 team with the notable exception of Anderson. Without him, they really struggled to score at times. If Anderson does actually return to school, UVA would probably shoot up as high as No. 2.
6. Kansas
Who's back: Perry Ellis*, Frank Mason, Devonte' Graham, Wayne Selden*, Brannen Greene*, Svi Mykhailiuk
Who's gone: Kelly Oubre, Cliff Alexander*
Who they're getting: Carlton Bragg
Why they're here: Bill Self. Beyond that, there's not a lot that I love about this team next season beyond Bill Self. Mason and Graham will be a very good back court, and getting Selden back will be a key. How much does Mykhailiuk develop, and will Bragg turn into a low-post hoss?
7. Villanova
Who's back: Ryan Arcidiacono, Josh Hart, Daniel Ochefu
Who's gone: JayVaughn Pinkston, Darrun Hilliard
Who they're getting: Jalen Brunson, Tim Delaney, Donte Divincenczo
Why they're here: Losing Hilliard and Pinkston is really going to hurt, but there are two things that make be feel really good about this Villanova team: Hart is going to be an all-Big East player this season, and Brunson is the real deal.
8. Baylor
Who's back: Rico Gathers*, Taurean Prince*, Jonathan Motley, Lester Medford
Who's gone: Kenny Chery, Royce O'Neale
Who they're getting: King McClure, Jake Lindsey, Wendell Mitchell, Joseph Acuil
Why they're here: Assuming that Gathers and Prince return, the Bears will have one of the best front lines in the country. The big issue for them is going to be their ball-handling. Can Lester Medford handle full time point guard duties?
9. Michigan State
Who's back: Denzel Valentine, Lourawls Nairn, Bryn Forbes
Who's gone: Travis Trice, Branden Dawson
Who they're getting: Eron Harris, Deyonta Davis, Matt McQuaid
Why they're here: West Virginia transfer Harris is going to have a chance to be a very, very good player in this back court. They need Nairn to take a significant step forward, particularly offensively, but Valentine may end up being the Big Ten Player of the Year.
10. Arizona
Who's back: Parker Jackson-Cartwright, Elliott Pitts, Dusan Ristic, Gabe York
Who's gone: Stanley Johnson*, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson*, Brandon Ashley, T.J. McConnell, Kaleb Tarczewski*
Who they're getting: Justin Simon, Ray Smith, Chance Comanche, Allonzo Trier, Ryan Anderson
Why they're here: Sean Miller is once again bringing in a loaded class, which he'll need as the Wildcats will likely end up losing their entire starting lineup from a season ago. There will likely be a learning curve here, but there is enough talent — on the roster and the coaching staff — to make some noise.
11. Georgia
Who's back: Charles Mann, Kenny Gaines, Yante Maten, J.J. Frazier
Who's gone: Marcus Thornton, Nemanja Djurisic
Who they're getting: Jaylen Brown*, William Jackson, William Ogbeide, E'Torrion Wilridge
Why they're here: If they don't get Brown — which is probably more likely than them landing him — we're looking at a top 20-25 team.
12. N.C. State
Who's back: Trevor Lacey, Cat Barber, BeeJay Anya, Kyle Washington
Who's gone: Ralston Turner, Desmond Lee
Who they're getting: Terry Henderson
Why they're here: The Wolfpack have enough talent on their roster to compete for an ACC title next season.
13. Xavier
Who's back: Trevon Bluiett, Jalen Reynolds, Myles Davis
Who's gone: Dee Davis, Matt Stainbrook
Who they're getting: Kaiser Gates
Why they're here: We're expecting Bluiett and Reynolds to take a big step forward.
14. Duke
Who's back: Matt Jones, Grayson Allen, Marshall Plumlee, Amile Jefferson
Who's gone: Tyus Jones*, Jahlil Okafor*, Justise Winslow*
Who they're getting: Brandon Ingram*, Luke Kennard, Chase Jeter, Sean Obi
Why they're here: If Jones comes back, they'll be a top ten team. If they don't end up getting Ingram, they're probably closer to No. 25.
15. Louisville
Who's back: Quentin Snider, Shaqquan Aaron, Mangok Mathiang
Who's gone: Terry Rozier, Montrezl Harrell, Wayne Blackshear
Who they're getting: Trey Lewis*, Donovan Mitchell, Ray Spalding, Deng Adel
Why they're here: Part of it is loving their freshmen class, part of it is faith in Rick Pitino and part of it is the assumption that they have more additions coming.
16. Cal
Who's back: Ty Wallace*, Jabari Bird*, Jordan Mathews, Kameron Rooks
Who's gone: David Kravish
Who they're getting: Ivan Raab*, Caleb Swanigan*, Stephen Domingo, Davon Dillard
17. UCLA
Who's back: Bryce Alford, Tony Parker, Isaac Hamilton*, Thomas Welsh
Who's gone: Kevon Looney, Norman Powell
Who they're getting: Jonah Bolden, Prince Ali, Aaron Holiday, Alex Olesinki
18. Georgetown
Who's back: Isaac Copeland*, L.J. Peak, Tre Campbell, Paul White
Who's gone: D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera, Josh Smith, Mikael Hopkins
Who they're getting: Marcus Derrickson, Jessie Govan, Kaleb Johnson
19. Wisconsin
Who's back: Nigel Hayes, Bronson Koenig
Who's gone: Frank Kaminsky, Sam Dekker*, Josh Gasser, Traevon Jackson, Duje Dukan
Who they're getting: Brevin Pritzl, Charlie Thomas, Alex Illikainen, Jahlil Iverson
20. Marquette
Who's back: Duane Wilson, Sandy Cohen, Jajuan Johnson, Luke Fischer
Who's gone: Juan Anderson, Matt Carlino, Derrick Wilson
Who they're getting: Henry Ellenson, Matt Heldt, Traci Carter, Haanir Cheatham, Sacar Anim
21. Notre Dame
Who's back: Zach Auguste, Demetrius Jackson, Steve Vasturia, Bonzie Colson
Who's gone: Jerian Grant, Pat Connaughton
Who they're getting: Rex Pflueger, Elijah Burns, Matt Ryan
22. Gonzaga
Who's back: Kyle Wiltjer*, Przemek Karnowski, Domas Sabonis, Josh Perkins
Who's gone: Kevin Pangos, Gary Bell, Byron Wesley
Who they're getting: None as of right now (Jesse Wade will be on his LDS mission)
23. Vanderbilt
Who's back: Damian Jones, Riley LaChance, Wade Baldwin
Who's gone: James Siakam
Who they're getting: Camron Justice, D'jery Baptiste, Samir Sehic, Joseph Toye
24. Oregon
Who's back: Dillon Brooks, Jordan Bell, Dwayne Benjamin, Elgin Cook
Who's gone: Joseph Young
Who they're getting: Tyler Dorsey, Kendall Small, Trevor Manuel
25. Butler
Who's back: Kellen Dunham, Roosevelt Jones, Andrew Charbacsz, Kelan Martin
Who's gone: Alex Barlow, Kameron Woods
Who they're getting: Nate Fowler, Sean McDermott
Choo choo. Everybody aboard the Marquette bandwagon.
http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/106805/bold-predictions-for-2015-16 (http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/106805/bold-predictions-for-2015-16)
Singing Wojo's praises and predicting a turnaround? Love the optimism....but I still am not buying the turnaround will be that complete in one season. However, these are many of the same people that predicted MU for the bottom of the Big East this season. Respecting the process.
Would be shocked if MU finishes in top 25. Look at the teams coming back in the Big East - Nova, Butler, Xavier, Providence, and Georgetown will all be tough again next year, with fewer new additions than MU will have.
Like I've said I'm optimistic for next year getting things back on track as a possible tourney team.
But we are still a added player or two away from being top 20 material
Love the optimism, but quite frankly, Myron is a clown.
Love the optimism by this author....but I don't see the Big East with 5 top 25 teams
Quote from: Heisenberg on April 06, 2015, 11:50:47 PM
1. North Carolina
Who's back: Everyone. Marcus Paige, Brice Johnson, Justin Jackson, Kennedy Meeks, Isaiah Hicks.
Who's gone: Desmond Hubert.
Who they're getting: Luke Maye
Why they're here: Marcus Paige is going to be healthy, the Tar Heels return their entire front line and Joel Berry and Justin Jackson will have a full offseason to turn into the complimentary players they showed flashes of being at the end of the season.
Is Tokoto coming back? I can't remember if he was a Jr or Sr this year.
Quote from: Mobot on April 07, 2015, 09:44:49 AM
Is Tokoto coming back? I can't remember if he was a Jr or Sr this year.
Jr.
Feels awfully optimistic, but I'll take it. Always nice to have MU recognized. Much better than being overlooked.
Always good to be in these conversations when you have a few open schollies available.
Quote from: Badgerhater on April 07, 2015, 10:24:09 AM
Always good to be in these conversations when you have a few open schollies available.
True! And hopefully we can get a "Rent-a-player" to help us out for a quick year!
Quote from: fjm on April 07, 2015, 10:25:38 AM
True! And hopefully we can get a "Rent-a-player" to help us out for a quick year!
Im all about the rent a players. See, Jackon, Rob and Lockett, Trent.
Quote from: Badgerhater on April 07, 2015, 10:24:09 AM
Always good to be in these conversations when you have a few open schollies available.
Agreed. Good to be in the conversation.
But I doubt that even 15 of his picks will be in the actual Top 25 at the end of next year.
Quote from: MUMBA on April 06, 2015, 10:58:36 PM
Includes 5 Big East teams...including Marquette at 20?!?!?
I'll have what he is ingesting.
Lunardi has his early 2016 bracket out already. 5 BEast teams with no sniff for MU. Of note:
Villanova 1 seed
Wiscy 4 seed
Ia. State (McKay, Burton) 2 seed
Indiana 2 seed
Dayton (who everybody here bashed as not belonging in BEast) 6 seed.
If this holds out, that would be 3 straight years with no dance ticket for us. Not a good sign.
I think MU will make it next year as a 7/8 seed.
Quote from: willie warrior on April 07, 2015, 01:49:34 PM
Lunardi has his early 2016 bracket out already. 5 BEast teams with no sniff for MU. Of note:
Villanova 1 seed
Wiscy 4 seed
Ia. State (McKay, Burton) 2 seed
Indiana 2 seed
Dayton (who everybody here bashed as not belonging in BEast) 6 seed.
If this holds out, that would be 3 straight years with no dance ticket for us. Not a good sign.
THE SKY IS FALLING!
Quote from: The Sultan of Sunshine on April 07, 2015, 01:51:32 PM
I think MU will make it next year as a 7/8 seed.
+1. I think a 7 next year then 2 or 3 the year after if players develop as I am expecting.
Quote from: tower912 on April 07, 2015, 12:07:02 AM
Singing Wojo's praises and predicting a turnaround? Love the optimism....but I still am not buying the turnaround will be that complete in one season. However, these are many of the same people that predicted MU for the bottom of the Big East this season. Respecting the process.
I think we're being trolled by the troll himself.... just can't figure out exactly how yet.
I was hanging out with my badger fans a week ago. One of them asked me "so what's your prediction for Marquette next year?" I said 7 seed and a few of them were appalled. We'll see I guess.
Quote from: willie warrior on April 07, 2015, 01:49:34 PM
Lunardi has his early 2016 bracket out already. 5 BEast teams with no sniff for MU. Of note:
Villanova 1 seed
Wiscy 4 seed
Ia. State (McKay, Burton) 2 seed
Indiana 2 seed
Dayton (who everybody here bashed as not belonging in BEast) 6 seed.
If this holds out, that would be 3 straight years with no dance ticket for us. Not a good sign.
Would Dayton be as good with temple xavier and butler still in the A10? I doubt it. Id still stand that they don't belong in the BE
Quote from: willie warrior on April 07, 2015, 01:49:34 PM
Lunardi has his early 2016 bracket out already. 5 BEast teams with no sniff for MU. Of note:
Villanova 1 seed
Wiscy 4 seed
Ia. State (McKay, Burton) 2 seed
Indiana 2 seed
Dayton (who everybody here bashed as not belonging in BEast) 6 seed.
If this holds out, that would be 3 straight years with no dance ticket for us. Not a good sign.
Another article on ESPN today by Myron Medcalf has some nice words about MU.
Wojo orchestrates nation's best turnaround: Steve Wojciechowski had a rough debut after leaving his post as an assistant at Duke to coach Marquette. But Wojciechowski relied on some young pieces during his 13-19 (4-14 Big East) opening season. But Henry Ellenson anchors the ninth-ranked recruiting class in America per RecruitingNation. As a result, Wojo's fortunes will turn in 2015-16 with a strong year that ends with an NCAA tournament appearance and the nation's top season-to-season turnaround.
http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/106805/bold-predictions-for-2015-16
Quote from: willie warrior on April 07, 2015, 01:49:34 PM
If this holds out, that would be 3 straight years with no dance ticket for us. Not a good sign.
I think Lunardi's analysis makes more sense than that Myron article.
But I don't think missing the NCAAs next year will constitute a "bad sign." We knew the hill we had to climb by about Jan 1 of this season. Seems like this year we hit rock-bottom and the only bad sign next season would be if there is not significant improvement. And frankly, we were so bad this year that we could improve quite a bit and still not make the NCAAs.
Quote from: BagpipingBoxer on April 07, 2015, 02:26:15 PM
Would Dayton be as good with temple xavier and butler still in the A10? I doubt it. Id still stand that they don't belong in the BE
Well then, they have been doing better than MU the last two years and are projected to do so next year.
Quote from: BagpipingBoxer on April 07, 2015, 02:26:15 PM
Would Dayton be as good with temple xavier and butler still in the A10? I doubt it. Id still stand that they don't belong in the BE
Whether Dayton should be added or not is debatable. However if the Big East were to add any one current program in the country, I would argue Dayton is the ONLY one that makes any sense. When it comes to dedication to basketball, institutional support, devoted fanbase, quality coaching, and matching the mission of the current Big East schools, they are the best fit out there. There is no one else in our geographic footprint that comes close.
I wouldn't add just for the sake of it, but if the league were to expand, the powers that be would have to be brain-dead not to make Dayton one of the first targets for expansion.
WVU, Maryland, Butler, Utah were some schools that had losing record the year before or missed the tourney and had a nice seed the following season.
Quote from: brewcity77 on April 07, 2015, 03:12:45 PM
Whether Dayton should be added or not is debatable. However if the Big East were to add any one current program in the country, I would argue Dayton is the ONLY one that makes any sense. When it comes to dedication to basketball, institutional support, devoted fanbase, quality coaching, and matching the mission of the current Big East schools, they are the best fit out there. There is no one else in our geographic footprint that comes close.
I wouldn't add just for the sake of it, but if the league were to expand, the powers that be would have to be brain-dead not to make Dayton one of the first targets for expansion.
As a former Cavalier owner who loves to bash Dayton (strictly for the fun of doing so), I agree with this 100%.
Quote from: bradley center bat on April 07, 2015, 03:22:51 PM
WVU, Maryland, Butler, Utah were some schools that had losing record the year before or missed the tourney and had a nice seed the following season.
Butler was the only one of that group that was pretty bad though.
Wvu was more of a surprise last year and built of it.
Maryland was competitive and Trimble/more experience put them over the top.
Utah was close last year but needed road consistency.
Respect the process.
Quote from: willie warrior on April 07, 2015, 02:53:30 PM
Well then, they have been doing better than MU the last two years and are projected to do so next year.
In a considerably easier league in better circumstances. What about the 50 prior to the past 2 years?
Overall they have
24 NITs
16 NCAAs, 7 S16, 3 E8, 1 RU
It's a pathetic resume compared to any of the current teams except Creighton and seton hall. And with their two big rebounding seasons coming after the two teams that ran the A10 for ages bolted forgive me for not finding it as impressive as most.
Quote from: BagpipingBoxer on April 09, 2015, 12:19:48 PM
In a considerably easier league in better circumstances. What about the 50 prior to the past 2 years?
Overall they have
24 NITs
16 NCAAs, 7 S16, 3 E8, 1 RU
It's a pathetic resume compared to any of the current teams except Creighton and seton hall. And with their two big rebounding seasons coming after the two teams that ran the A10 for ages bolted forgive me for not finding it as impressive as most.
Not to mention only 1 of the S16s and E8s came in the last 30 years. They've had a nice 2 year run, but so did Kent State, St Joes, and George Mason.
Archie Miller Dayton is one thing. But when he inevitably leaves, would we be happy with Oliver Purnell or Brian Gregory level Dayton?
Larry Williams and Fr. Pilarz would have been.
Quote from: willie warrior on April 07, 2015, 01:49:34 PM
Lunardi has his early 2016 bracket out already. 5 BEast teams with no sniff for MU. Of note:
Villanova 1 seed
Wiscy 4 seed
Ia. State (McKay, Burton) 2 seed
Indiana 2 seed
Dayton (who everybody here bashed as not belonging in BEast) 6 seed.
If this holds out, that would be 3 straight years with no dance ticket for us. Not a good sign.
Yes, for those who can't tell the difference between missing the dance due to too young talent, as opposed to missing the dance due to not enough talent, period.
Quote from: BagpipingBoxer on April 07, 2015, 02:26:15 PM
Would Dayton be as good with temple xavier and butler still in the A10? I doubt it. Id still stand that they don't belong in the BE
Well, they did beat Providence in the first round of the NCAA.
Quote from: JWags85 on April 09, 2015, 12:43:17 PMArchie Miller Dayton is one thing. But when he inevitably leaves, would we be happy with Oliver Purnell or Brian Gregory level Dayton?
Yes, I believe we would be. At least in comparison to other programs out there.
Purnell inherited an awful situation. Dayton hadn't had a winning season in 5 years. It took him 4 years to really turn it around (though each of his first 3 seasons were better than any of the last two under O'Brien before him). Once he did, 20+ wins in 5/6 seasons, 2 NCAA Appearances, 3 NIT Appearances.
Gregory was there 8 years, had 7 winning seasons, 2 NCAA Appearances, 3 NIT Appearances, and one of those was a NIT Championship.
Was Dayton great under them? No. But they were a consistently good team, a consistently top-100 team. They draw fans, they are dedicated to their program, and over the past 20 years, they are pretty regularly at least a good team.
No, they aren't a powerhouse like the Syracuse, Louisville, or UConn programs we once had, but they are the best Catholic basketball-only school available, and they have some pretty solid non-basketball programs as well. In the past 60 years, they've been a postseason team more often than not and only made one really bad hire (O'Brien, fired after 5 years).
I don't think there's a better fit in the country, if we elect to expand. I wouldn't expand for the sole purpose of adding Dayton, but if we have a compelling reason to expand, they would have to be at the top of the list of calls we make.
Quote from: brewcity77 on April 07, 2015, 03:12:45 PM
Whether Dayton should be added or not is debatable. However if the Big East were to add any one current program in the country, I would argue Dayton is the ONLY one that makes any sense. When it comes to dedication to basketball, institutional support, devoted fanbase, quality coaching, and matching the mission of the current Big East schools, they are the best fit out there. There is no one else in our geographic footprint that comes close.
I wouldn't add just for the sake of it, but if the league were to expand, the powers that be would have to be brain-dead not to make Dayton one of the first targets for expansion.
Think how much stronger the Big East would have been with Dayton instead of DePaul its first two years, and DePaul doesn't seem to be anywhere near an upswing. If no DePaul had been a choice, I wonder how it would have gone.
Quote from: brewcity77 on April 09, 2015, 01:00:24 PM
Yes, I believe we would be. At least in comparison to other programs out there.
Purnell inherited an awful situation. Dayton hadn't had a winning season in 5 years. It took him 4 years to really turn it around (though each of his first 3 seasons were better than any of the last two under O'Brien before him). Once he did, 20+ wins in 5/6 seasons, 2 NCAA Appearances, 3 NIT Appearances.
Gregory was there 8 years, had 7 winning seasons, 2 NCAA Appearances, 3 NIT Appearances, and one of those was a NIT Championship.
Was Dayton great under them? No. But they were a consistently good team, a consistently top-100 team. They draw fans, they are dedicated to their program, and over the past 20 years, they are pretty regularly at least a good team.
No, they aren't a powerhouse like the Syracuse, Louisville, or UConn programs we once had, but they are the best Catholic basketball-only school available, and they have some pretty solid non-basketball programs as well. In the past 60 years, they've been a postseason team more often than not and only made one really bad hire (O'Brien, fired after 5 years).
I don't think there's a better fit in the country, if we elect to expand. I wouldn't expand for the sole purpose of adding Dayton, but if we have a compelling reason to expand, they would have to be at the top of the list of calls we make.
Barely they're just over 50% in the past 60 years (33 the vast majority being NIT). Comparatively, in the past 60 years we've been in the NIT and NCAA just over 75% of the time (46 the vast majority being NCAA).
You're right about the no better fit. But I just don't like to think of them as belonging which is why I addressed Willie's original statement where he insinuated that they'd totally belong.