Looks like the Big East is going to be highly competitive again next year. A quick look up and down the rosters of the top teams and it looks like most will continue to be solid with the core of their teams,quite a few decent transfers, plus some nice incoming recruits . For example Seton Hall picked up Bryce Aiken .
https://shupirates.com/news/2020/4/20/mens-basketball-seton-hall-adds-dynamic-guard-bryce-aiken-for-2020-21-season.aspx
Also teams like Villanova were able to keep a quality guy like JRE in school for his sophomore season .
https://www.vuhoops.com/villanova-basketball/2020/4/14/21220871/villanovas-jeremiah-robinson-earl-to-return-nba-draft
U Conn had some momentum, with a 19-12 record and will be a very tough conference foe out of the gate.
https://uconnhuskies.com/news/2020/3/24/mens-basketball-tough-identity-young-talent-keep-mbb-on-the-rise.aspx
Mike Anderson did a nice job with very little at The Johnnies and I would not be surprised to see him take that team up a notch. Georgetown has some question marks.
Once again, It will be key for the Big East schools to get out of the gates strong in Non- Conference. Would be fantastic if the league could come close to repeating last years non conference.
The only thing we know for sure is that DePaul will comfortable maintain its hold on last place.
https://depauliaonline.com/47951/sports/5-years-after-hiring-dave-leitao-depaul-still-stuck-in-the-bottom-of-the-big-east/
DePaul was the best last place team in the P6. The Big East is very tough.
Quote from: WhiteTrash on April 20, 2020, 10:32:41 PM
DePaul was the best last place team in the P6. The Big East is very tough.
They were also the best last place team in 2018-19 when they went 7-11 in the BE and 19-17 overall. Heck, they probably have been the best last place team a few times in the last decade.
Quote from: GooooMarquette on April 20, 2020, 11:23:41 PM
They were also the best last place team in 2018-19 when they went 7-11 in the BE and 19-17 overall. Heck, they probably have been the best last place team a few times in the last decade.
Ehhh a lot of other years had mind blowing non con losses and 18-19 it only came together in conference. This year they truly were the best last place team.
Butler picks up a quality grad transfer guard from South Carolina.
https://bustingbrackets.com/2020/04/17/butler-basketball-dawgs-land-graduate-transfer-jair-bolden/
Quote from: Herman Cain on April 21, 2020, 11:02:20 AM
Butler picks up a quality grad transfer guard from South Carolina.
https://bustingbrackets.com/2020/04/17/butler-basketball-dawgs-land-graduate-transfer-jair-bolden/
He is the kid i wanted fir a fill in at the 2
Quote from: Galway Eagle on April 21, 2020, 07:59:38 AM
Ehhh a lot of other years had mind blowing non con losses and 18-19 it only came together in conference. This year they truly were the best last place team.
I would argue that finishing strong in 18-19 (as opposed to their epic face-plant down the stretch this year) makes it even clearer that they were the best last place team.
Quote from: GooooMarquette on April 21, 2020, 01:38:50 PM
I would argue that finishing strong in 18-19 (as opposed to their epic face-plant down the stretch this year) makes it even clearer that they were the best last place team.
Fair enough. Guess it depends if you mean best last place as in better than other conferences or best last place meaning able to compete within the conference.
However unlikely, Saddiq Bey could still return to Villanova as well.
Quote from: JakeBarnes on April 21, 2020, 01:46:05 PM
However unlikely, Saddiq Bey could still return to Villanova as well.
That makes me shudder.
Quote from: Galway Eagle on April 21, 2020, 01:45:46 PM
Fair enough. Guess it depends if you mean best last place as in better than other conferences or best last place meaning able to compete within the conference.
Honestly, I think it means a little of both. But making the distinction between the two is difficult because non-conference games are always weighted toward the early season, and conference games occur late. So the difference between 18-19 and 19-20 might not lie so much in whether DePaul was "better than other last place teams" or "more able to compete within the BE" as it was in starting slow one season and starting hot the other.
Put another way, maybe DePaul just
appeared to be better than the last place teams of other conferences last season simply because they started hot. And maybe the season before, they didn't
appear as strong simply because they started slow.
Anyhow, to-MAY-toes vs to-MAH-toes. Either way, they are still the last place team, but not bad as far as last place teams go....
Quote from: Herman Cain on April 20, 2020, 08:59:58 PM
Mike Anderson did a nice job with very little at The Johnnies and I would not be surprised to see him take that team up a notch. Georgetown has some question marks.
Lots of question marks--GU could have as few as three returning players with any significant playing time.
Quote from: GooooMarquette on April 21, 2020, 04:00:04 PM
Honestly, I think it means a little of both. But making the distinction between the two is difficult because non-conference games are always weighted toward the early season, and conference games occur late. So the difference between 18-19 and 19-20 might not lie so much in whether DePaul was "better than other last place teams" or "more able to compete within the BE" as it was in starting slow one season and starting hot the other.
Put another way, maybe DePaul just appeared to be better than the last place teams of other conferences last season simply because they started hot. And maybe the season before, they didn't appear as strong simply because they started slow.
Anyhow, to-MAY-toes vs to-MAH-toes. Either way, they are still the last place team, but not bad as far as last place teams go....
Either way they had one hell of a successful 2019 calendar year for basketball. Maybe banner worthy there?
Need to look at the rest of the league more, but I think Ty-Shon Alexander is a bigger loss for Creighton than most are realizing. He's pretty much the only reason they were able to shut down Howard and Powell (went 4-0 vs MU/SHU). Their defense is terrible and losing him is like 2013-14 Marquette losing Vander. Their roster as compromised reminds me a lot of our 2018 team. Lots of shooting, but no defense and no interior offense.
Yes, FS1 did alot in the broadcast in the focus of Ty-Shon Alexander defense as the season went on. Huge loss as the "let it fly" team also had a stopper.
https://twitter.com/jonrothstein/status/1253655303398318080?s=21
Quote from: GoldenEagles32 on April 24, 2020, 11:08:24 AM
https://twitter.com/jonrothstein/status/1253655303398318080?s=21
That is definitely a tough schedule for Creighton.
Losing Ty Shon Alexander will be tough for the Jays, but they do have all the other starters plus Denzel Mahoney returning. They will also have a healthy Jacob Epperson . In addition Antawn James the big guard transfer from Memphis State will be eligible. Finally, Ryan Kalkbrenner the freshman big man will be coming on line.
X brings in multiple grad Transfers for the third year in a row,including going back to the D2 well.
https://local12.com/sports/xu-musketeers/xavier-basketball-announces-addition-of-two-graduate-transfers-cincinnati-college-musketeers-nate-johnson-gardner-webb-bryan-griffin-mercy
https://local12.com/sports/xu-musketeers/xavier-basketball-recruiting-goes-virtual-as-pandemic-keeps-players-off-campus-cincinnati
X also has some decent incoming freshman prospects.
https://www.bannersontheparkway.com/2019/11/14/20965672/xavier-has-locked-down-an-excellent-2020-class-basketball-big-east
Creighton going Euro picking up some top prospects.
https://www.espn.com/college-sports/recruiting/basketball/mens/story/_/id/29147139/creighton-lands-top-international-hoops-prospect-rati-andronikashvili
https://gocreighton.com/news/2020/4/30/mens-basketball-adds-to-2020-recruiting-class-signs-modestas-kancleris.aspx
The Blue Jays also picked up Duke Transfer Alex O' Connell.
https://gocreighton.com/news/2020/4/15/duke-transfer-alex-o-connell-joins-mens-basketball-program.aspx
This is no surprise at all...
Evan Daniels
@EvanDaniels
·
50s
DePaul forward Paul Reed is bypassing his remaining college eligibility and signing with Ron Shade of Octagon for his professional representation, a source tells @247Sports
. Reed averaged 15.1 PPG and 10.7 RPG this past season.
Quote from: muguru on May 11, 2020, 08:52:55 PM
This is no surprise at all...
Evan Daniels
@EvanDaniels
·
50s
DePaul forward Paul Reed is bypassing his remaining college eligibility and signing with Ron Shade of Octagon for his professional representation, a source tells @247Sports
. Reed averaged 15.1 PPG and 10.7 RPG this past season.
Good for him. Crazy though Depaul would've probably improved to legit had he returned
St. John's pulled out of the recruitment of a grad transfer due to not having an open scholarship they thought they'd have. That points to Figurora coming back.
Mac transferring from GTown:
https://sports.yahoo.com/mac-mcclung-transfer-georgetown-212733878.html
Does not look good for Ewing.
Georgetown's five year record since 2015: 78-82, 31-59 in the Big East.
And for 20-21? Georgetown loses 63% of its scoring and returns two starters, each of which shot under 39 percent on the season.
Quote from: DFW HOYA on May 13, 2020, 10:25:30 PM
Georgetown's five year record since 2015: 78-82, 31-59 in the Big East.
And for 20-21? Georgetown loses 63% of its scoring and returns two starters, each of which shot under 39 percent on the season.
Is there any serious traction that this could be Ewing's last year? Where are the fans at? As much as we malign Wojo here, I feel like we are light years ahead of where Ewing has Georgetown. Ewing might be the better game coach, but he has been a poor recruiter and roster manager. I can't see any current long-term optimism for the Hoyas right now.
Research Report on The Johnnies
https://bustingbrackets.com/2020/05/26/st-johns-basketball-julian-champagnie-poised-stardom-2020-21/
Some Analysis on Villanova by the U Conn website. First in a series by this website
https://www.theuconnblog.com/2020/6/1/21275739/uconn-huskies-mens-basketball-back-to-the-big-east-villanova
No surprise...Saddiq Bey is staying in the draft
https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1270325370630352901?s=20
I think we have enough to worry about with MU. DePaul will be DePaul but does it really matter to an MU fan?
Quote from: Herman Cain on June 08, 2020, 11:13:03 PM
Some Analysis on Villanova by the U Conn website. First in a series by this website
https://www.theuconnblog.com/2020/6/1/21275739/uconn-huskies-mens-basketball-back-to-the-big-east-villanova
Some Analysis of Xavier by the U Conn website. Second in a series by this website.
https://www.theuconnblog.com/uconn-huskies-mens-basketball/2020/6/7/21282716/uconn-huskies-mens-basketball-back-to-the-big-east-xavier
Butler has a large recruiting class coming in supplemented with a grad transfer. Will be interesting to see how these prospects develop .
https://www.theuconnblog.com/2020/6/24/21298986/back-to-the-big-east-butler-bulldogs-lost-to-uconn-in-2011-national-championship
https://247sports.com/college/butler/Season/2020-Basketball/Commits/
Xavier picks up transfer . Will sit out a year .
https://247sports.com/college/basketball/recruiting/Article/Xavier-adds-top-transfer-Adam-Kunkel-149515324/
https://www.theuconnblog.com/2020/6/30/21300047/back-to-the-big-east-seton-hall-pirates-mens-basketball-bryce-aiken-myles-powell
https://www.theuconnblog.com/2020/6/30/21300058/back-to-the-big-east-georgetown-hoyas-mens-basketball-patrick-ewing
Per Jon Rothstein: Denzel Mahoney and Damien Jefferson are returning to school for Creighton.
Not surprising at all
Wojo has yet to solve the Creighton experiment. This doesn't help.
Quote from: We R Final Four on August 01, 2020, 03:48:53 PM
Wojo has yet to solve the Creighton experiment. This doesn't help.
Seven wins in 12 games for Wojo against Creighton.
High projection for Creighton
https://www.theuconnblog.com/2020/6/28/21302358/back-to-the-big-east-creighton
Quote from: Golden Avalanche on August 01, 2020, 03:57:54 PM
Seven wins in 12 games for Wojo against Creighton.
Yeah, minus last year we have done well against Creighton. Will that continue? Who knows but that was a bizarre statement.
Quote from: Golden Avalanche on August 01, 2020, 03:57:54 PM
Seven wins in 12 games for Wojo against Creighton.
Sorry, should have been more clear.
0-3 in the last 3, and CU looked great heading into the BEAST last spring (Didn't have to play them thankfully) and will be very tough again this year.
Big East Doing Well in 2021 recruiting per John Fanta.
https://twitter.com/John_Fanta/status/1294280381169127424
Quote from: Class71 on June 09, 2020, 07:06:51 PM
I think we have enough to worry about with MU. DePaul will be DePaul but does it really matter to an MU fan?
The end of the JLP era will lead to big changes in the DePaul basketball program.
JLP extended Leitao's contract to 2023-24 but that means DePaul can figure when to set the buyout, as early as the end of 2021-22. A new athletic director will be under significant pressure to resuscitate the program and try to recover what is left of the fan base in Chicago.
Any tangible movement by DePaul out of the basement will put pressure on Georgetown and St. John's to avoid dropping down further. Villanova's success has bought the Big East some flexibility but the idea that the league's top three TV markets are at the bottom of the league is a net negative.
Quote from: DFW HOYA on August 16, 2020, 04:36:43 PM
The end of the JLP era will lead to big changes in the DePaul basketball program.
JLP extended Leitao's contract to 2023-24 but that means DePaul can figure when to set the buyout, as early as the end of 2021-22. A new athletic director will be under significant pressure to resuscitate the program and try to recover what is left of the fan base in Chicago.
Any tangible movement by DePaul out of the basement will put pressure on Georgetown and St. John's to avoid dropping down further. Villanova's success has bought the Big East some flexibility but the idea that the league's top three TV markets are at the bottom of the league is a net negative.
Leitao would be an idiot to agree to a buyout.
DePaul can fire him but still is contractually obligated to pay him.
Quote from: DFW HOYA on August 16, 2020, 04:36:43 PM
The end of the JLP era will lead to big changes in the DePaul basketball program.
JLP extended Leitao's contract to 2023-24 but that means DePaul can figure when to set the buyout, as early as the end of 2021-22. A new athletic director will be under significant pressure to resuscitate the program and try to recover what is left of the fan base in Chicago.
Any tangible movement by DePaul out of the basement will put pressure on Georgetown and St. John's to avoid dropping down further. Villanova's success has bought the Big East some flexibility but the idea that the league's top three TV markets are at the bottom of the league is a net negative.
DePaul has been making steady progress the last few years. The on court product has been much better and recruiting has been consistent. The Big East is a tough conference top to bottom , so upward traction for DePaul will take time. The addition of U -Conn to the league makes the hurdle even tougher for everyone.
DePaul's success will roughly track their ability to get fans into Wintrust. If they can get 6,000 to 7,000 consistent attendance ( with actual fans in the seats), they may start to have some semblance of a home court advantage and their conference record could improve. Winning conference home games will help DePaul's greatly.
Quote from: Trump Loves The Big East on August 16, 2020, 08:32:43 PM
DePaul has been making steady progress the last few years. The on court product has been much better and recruiting has been consistent. The Big East is a tough conference top to bottom , so upward traction for DePaul will take time. The addition of U -Conn to the league makes the hurdle even tougher for everyone.
DePaul's success will roughly track their ability to get fans into Wintrust. If they can get 6,000 to 7,000 consistent attendance ( with actual fans in the seats), they may start to have some semblance of a home court advantage and their conference record could improve. Winning conference home games will help DePaul's greatly.
Give them another decade
Quote from: Trump Loves The Big East on August 16, 2020, 08:32:43 PM
DePaul has been making steady progress the last few years. The on court product has been much better and recruiting has been consistent. The Big East is a tough conference top to bottom , so upward traction for DePaul will take time. The addition of U -Conn to the league makes the hurdle even tougher for everyone.
DePaul's success will roughly track their ability to get fans into Wintrust. If they can get 6,000 to 7,000 consistent attendance ( with actual fans in the seats), they may start to have some semblance of a home court advantage and their conference record could improve. Winning conference home games will help DePaul's greatly.
DePaul is 19-71 in Big East play over the past five seasons. In what world is that "steady progress the last few years"?
Quote from: Golden Avalanche on August 17, 2020, 09:23:18 AM
DePaul is 19-71 in Big East play over the past five seasons. In what world is that "steady progress the last few years"?
Well, they did go 15-75 in the 5 years before that so it is technically progress...
But also their ratings in KenPom have gone from being in the high 100s/low 200s to the 75-125 range under Leitao. Still good for the basement of the Big East but they may be closer to busting out
Quote from: TAMU Eagle on August 17, 2020, 10:02:05 AM
Well, they did go 15-75 in the 5 years before that so it is technically progress...
But also their ratings in KenPom have gone from being in the high 100s/low 200s to the 75-125 range under Leitao. Still good for the basement of the Big East but they may be closer to busting out
Bottom of barrel meet scraper.
Quote from: Golden Avalanche on August 17, 2020, 09:23:18 AM
DePaul is 19-71 in Big East play over the past five seasons. In what world is that "steady progress the last few years"?
In the 2019 Calendar year they went 23-14. That's actually a solid year. Granted it was a year not a season though. The recruiting's definitely gotten better they're my sleeper team in the BE this year.
Quote from: Golden Avalanche on August 17, 2020, 09:23:18 AM
DePaul is 19-71 in Big East play over the past five seasons. In what world is that "steady progress the last few years"?
I am mot going to actually look it up, but I am guessing their record against MU is significantly better than the 21.11% winning percentage that 19-71 calculates out to be.
U Conn Tyrese Martin eligible this year . Was originally recruited by Hurley at URI.
https://www.courant.com/sports/uconn-mens-basketball/hc-sp-uconn-men-tyrese-martin-waiver-20200917-20200916-zybxlgr4n5gh7e56cdycoam6sq-story.html
Martin is a player. That may push them up to the top of the non-Villanova/Creighton pile
my guess is it pushes them above the non nova crowd
There are three crowds in the Big East right now:
1. The "Leaders": Villanova
2. The "Challengers": Creighton, UConn, Seton Hall, Marquette, PC, Xavier, Butler
3. The "Good Old Days": St. John's, Georgetown, DePaul
nah
Leaders: Villanova
challengers: Uconn Cu
longshots: MU X S hall, butler, PC
Depaul: St johns, Depaul, G town
Quote from: DFW HOYA on September 17, 2020, 06:54:01 PM
There are three crowds in the Big East right now:
1. The "Leaders": Villanova
2. The "Challengers": Creighton, UConn, Seton Hall, Marquette, PC, Xavier, Butler
3. The "Good Old Days": St. John's, Georgetown, DePaul
This feels pretty accurate to me. I can't believe everyone fully jumping on the Creighton train. Looking at their On/Off splits last year regarding Ty-Shon Alexander, they weren't just worse, they were downright terrible without him:
(https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55db761ce4b0d9cdccddad7d/1598284427214-ZRMGU6KKP9XRCKXH6TTO/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kB4H1sHmCw_ahROZgYkzsRZZw-zPPgdn4jUwVcJE1ZvWEtT5uBSRWt4vQZAgTJucoTqqXjS3CfNDSuuf31e0tVHXPht8k_0AMU46un4wZY7pug_Arn3SPNuDoeMGRc0jhR926scO3xePJoa6uVJa9B4/Ty-Shon+Alexander+Hoop+Lens.PNG?format=500w)
I saw the 3MW case (https://www.three-man-weave.com/3mw/creighton-2020-21-preview) that it isn't that big of a deal because it was mostly garbage time and he rarely came out, but they don't have any other proven offensive commodities besides Zegarowski that have anything like a go-to mindset and defensively Alexander was the only guy who gave anything resembling effort on that end.
EDIT: After Marquette's losses to end the year, Alexander was the clear BEPOY choice and would've been the clear BEPOY preseason pick and a legit NPOY candidate had he returned. How Creighton goes from top-10ish to top-15ish without someone of his caliber is baffling to me.
Quote from: DFW HOYA on September 17, 2020, 06:54:01 PM
There are three crowds in the Big East right now:
1. The "Leaders": Villanova
2. The "Challengers": Creighton, UConn, Seton Hall, Marquette, PC, Xavier, Butler
3. The "Good Old Days": St. John's, Georgetown, DePaul
MU and CU in the same conversation is a joke.
Quote from: WhiteTrash on September 17, 2020, 07:32:55 PM
MU and CU in the same conversation is a joke.
I'm not saying Creighton's that bad, but maybe you're right. Alexander is a big loss.
Quote from: brewcity77 on September 17, 2020, 07:14:36 PM
This feels pretty accurate to me. I can't believe everyone fully jumping on the Creighton train. Looking at their On/Off splits last year regarding Ty-Shon Alexander, they weren't just worse, they were downright terrible without him:
(https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55db761ce4b0d9cdccddad7d/1598284427214-ZRMGU6KKP9XRCKXH6TTO/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kB4H1sHmCw_ahROZgYkzsRZZw-zPPgdn4jUwVcJE1ZvWEtT5uBSRWt4vQZAgTJucoTqqXjS3CfNDSuuf31e0tVHXPht8k_0AMU46un4wZY7pug_Arn3SPNuDoeMGRc0jhR926scO3xePJoa6uVJa9B4/Ty-Shon+Alexander+Hoop+Lens.PNG?format=500w)
I saw the 3MW case (https://www.three-man-weave.com/3mw/creighton-2020-21-preview) that it isn't that big of a deal because it was mostly garbage time and he rarely came out, but they don't have any other proven offensive commodities besides Zegarowski that have anything like a go-to mindset and defensively Alexander was the only guy who gave anything resembling effort on that end.
EDIT: After Marquette's losses to end the year, Alexander was the clear BEPOY choice and would've been the clear BEPOY preseason pick and a legit NPOY candidate had he returned. How Creighton goes from top-10ish to top-15ish without someone of his caliber is baffling to me.
It's a new season for everyone in the league . Alexander is a loss ,however Creighton is returning the rest of their lineup plus a solid transfer is becoming eligible. They play good team ball so having 8 solid rotation players makes them a formidable team. Zegarowski is an All Big East player and dynamic playmaker .
Quote from: Trump Loves The Big East on September 17, 2020, 09:50:13 PM
It's a new season for everyone in the league . Alexander is a loss ,however Creighton is returning the rest of their lineup plus a solid transfer is becoming eligible. They play good team ball so having 8 solid rotation players makes them a formidable team. Zegarowski is an All Big East player and dynamic playmaker .
They had pretty much all that last year and were terrible without Alexander. I'm just pointing out that there are a lot of reasons to consider selling high on Creighton early, and it really wouldn't be that surprising to see them closer to the middle-bottom of the league and on the bubble if someone can't replace Alexander, especially on the defensive end of the court where he was the only reliable stopper.
Quote from: WhiteTrash on September 17, 2020, 07:32:55 PM
MU and CU in the same conversation is a joke.
PG: Carton/Sy
SG: Koby/Elliot
SF: Akanno (I'm buying the hype)/Cain
PF-C: Theo/Garcia/Oso/Lewis
I understand there is a lot of unknowns here but on paper I'm so excited to see what this team can do and surprised you don't think they could challenge for the top tier of the conference.
Not sure there will be a player who averages more then 12-13ppg but decent shot we have 7-8 averaging in the 8-12 range. Can't wait to get things started!!
X factors for me:
1) Koby taking a step forward in efficiency
2) Akanno: can he transfer insane summer highlight reels into BE production consistently as a frosh
3) Oso: kid looks cut up during summer workouts. Might be the best freshman in that heralded class
Lastly as a group, who is going to step up as alpha dog and backs it up with their play on the court. GE has the best personality for it but if he falls back to 7 or 8 in the rotation does it carry the same weight?
Quote from: brewcity77 on September 17, 2020, 10:05:21 PM
They had pretty much all that last year and were terrible without Alexander. I'm just pointing out that there are a lot of reasons to consider selling high on Creighton early, and it really wouldn't be that surprising to see them closer to the middle-bottom of the league and on the bubble if someone can't replace Alexander, especially on the defensive end of the court where he was the only reliable stopper.
Antawn Jones is projected to be a big addition in defense.
Creighton has always been a high volume offense , every once in a while they get blown out . However they had a great year and ended up very strong.
Zegarowski is as consensus second team all Big East which makes him a leading candidate for Big East Player of the year this year since all the first teamers where seniors .
Most every other team in The Big East is losing key players as well and those teams ,with the exception of Nova, have no where near the same supporting cast as Creighton.
Quote from: Trump Loves The Big East on September 18, 2020, 12:53:56 PMMost every other team in The Big East is losing key players as well and those teams ,with the exception of Nova, have no where near the same supporting cast as Creighton.
I get the high ceiling argument, I just think people are missing a potentially lower floor. Alexander was a potential NPOY & they were beyond god-awful without him last year. Crowning them as a top-15 team, which seems the consensus, feels very risky to me.
If it all hits, I can see top-15. But if it doesn't, I can see bubble team. They look very similar to a Seton Hall, Providence, UConn, or Marquette.
Tough break for Butler. Their top-rated FR, Scooby Johnson, tore his ACL. He was Michigan's Mr. Basketball last season.
Random connection. I knew the name because I watched him bury a game winning three to win the state championship against my dad's old high school. Had no idea at the time he would be heading to Butler.
Quote from: brewcity77 on September 19, 2020, 06:37:06 AM
I get the high ceiling argument, I just think people are missing a potentially lower floor. Alexander was a potential NPOY & they were beyond god-awful without him last year. Crowning them as a top-15 team, which seems the consensus, feels very risky to me.
If it all hits, I can see top-15. But if it doesn't, I can see bubble team. They look very similar to a Seton Hall, Providence, UConn, or Marquette.
Though, the Jays now have size with the return of 6'11' Jacob Epperson along with Top 75 frosh 7'0" Ryan Kalkbrenner as well as a highly rated 6'4" international player Rati Andro........ Could have a deep team.
Quote from: brewcity77 on September 19, 2020, 06:37:06 AM
I get the high ceiling argument, I just think people are missing a potentially lower floor. Alexander was a potential NPOY & they were beyond god-awful without him last year. Crowning them as a top-15 team, which seems the consensus, feels very risky to me.
If it all hits, I can see top-15. But if it doesn't, I can see bubble team. They look very similar to a Seton Hall, Providence, UConn, or Marquette.
Looks like Creighton has been reading your posts. Taking the attitude that they have to prove themselves and not buying into PR.
https://omaha.com/sports/college/creighton/for-creighton-basketball-theres-no-masking-the-issues-of-practicing-in-a-pandemic/article_d406205a-aa8d-5dab-80b2-6a5656916f86.html
Quote from: PaceArrow02 on September 18, 2020, 10:39:31 AM
PG: Carton/Sy
SG: Koby/Elliot
SF: Akanno (I'm buying the hype)/Cain
PF-C: Theo/Garcia/Oso/Lewis
I understand there is a lot of unknowns here but on paper I'm so excited to see what this team can do and surprised you don't think they could challenge for the top tier of the conference.
Not sure there will be a player who averages more then 12-13ppg but decent shot we have 7-8 averaging in the 8-12 range. Can't wait to get things started!!
Look, I'm pretty excited for this coming year's team. Carton is a game-changer for us and with Garcia and Oso, I'm of the view we may be a contender for the league championship. The may depends on two factors -- how the freshmen develop and whether Coach Wojo "coaches up" and gets the most out of what he has.
Going into the season, this may be one of the most talented teams we've had in several years. I'm just very optimistic at this point.
We have one proven D1 stud, and a proven very good defender (Theo), and a bunch of role players or unproven players. I'm high on Dexter and the freshman, but I'm cautious that they'll be studs from day 1.
https://www.providencejournal.com/sports/20200919/friars-trade-maui-for-asheville-in-headlining-nonconference-event
Quote from: dgies9156 on September 20, 2020, 04:40:27 AM
Look, I'm pretty excited for this coming year's team. Carton is a game-changer for us and with Garcia and Oso, I'm of the view we may be a contender for the league championship. The may depends on two factors -- how the freshmen develop and whether Coach Wojo "coaches up" and gets the most out of what he has.
Going into the season, this may be one of the most talented teams we've had in several years. I'm just very optimistic at this point.
I like it dgies!
Quote from: TAMU Eagle on September 19, 2020, 03:30:34 PM
Tough break for Butler. Their top-rated FR, Scooby Johnson, tore his ACL. He was Michigan's Mr. Basketball last season.
Random connection. I knew the name because I watched him bury a game winning three to win the state championship against my dad's old high school. Had no idea at the time he would be heading to Butler.
https://bustingbrackets.com/2020/09/01/butler-basketball-bulldogs-roster-outlook-losing-scooby-johnson/
Quote from: dgies9156 on September 20, 2020, 04:40:27 AM
Look, I'm pretty excited for this coming year's team. Carton is a game-changer for us and with Garcia and Oso, I'm of the view we may be a contender for the league championship. The may depends on two factors -- how the freshmen develop and whether Coach Wojo "coaches up" and gets the most out of what he has.
Going into the season, this may be one of the most talented teams we've had in several years. I'm just very optimistic at this point.
I hope Wojo can learn there may be more than just one goto guy and they play as a unit. Hopefully our guards will distribute the ball and will have more even scoring with this team. Maybe will have a team that can defend as well. Akanno was recruited because he can defend.
Crazy as it may sound, I think trading Markus for Carton may be close to a wash. There's a reason why Carton is projected as a first round draft pick in a few services. Theoretically, improvement from McEwen/Greg/Cain/Symir and the addition of the newbies could make up for the loss of Anim/Johnson/Bailey/Morrow. I still see this as a tournament team....though barely.
My biggest concern is the defense. We went from a solid defensive team through 25 games to a complete sieve for the last 5 and it wasn't like we were playing elite offenses (except Seton Hall). I think our Adj D on Kenpom went from 40ish to 73 during that 5 game stretch. To me, that's a coaching problem. Can't let that happen again.
Theoretically, this should be the most defensively versatile roster we've ever had under Wojo. I'll be interested to see what if anything he does with it.
Quote from: TAMU Eagle on September 21, 2020, 09:25:13 AM
Crazy as it may sound, I think trading Markus for Carton may be close to a wash. There's a reason why Carton is projected as a first round draft pick in a few services. Theoretically, improvement from McEwen/Greg/Cain/Symir and the addition of the newbies could make up for the loss of Anim/Johnson/Bailey/Morrow. I still see this as a tournament team....though barely.
My biggest concern is the defense. We went from a solid defensive team through 25 games to a complete sieve for the last 5 and it wasn't like we were playing elite offenses (except Seton Hall). I think our Adj D on Kenpom went from 40ish to 73 during that 5 game stretch. To me, that's a coaching problem. Can't let that happen again.
Theoretically, this should be the most defensively versatile roster we've ever had under Wojo. I'll be interested to see what if anything he does with it.
Still have Theo at the center with maybe 2 good hands, so his defense might be improved slightly, but to me the big difference is having big guards for all 40 minutes,
Greg is the only weakness, but the older he gets the stronger he should play. But if he can not, there are other players available. Akanno should be as physical as Anim. The 3 freshman will get there chance, hopefully 1 of them will stand out on D. At least they are tall. Osa seems to be getting stronger and I have seen Lewis
in person, reminds me of Jamil Wilson in build, so he has the physical tools to succeed. Dawson has the O game, so we will see if he can play D. I think they have a chance to be better than last year, 10 deep in talent.
Quote from: BCHoopster on September 21, 2020, 10:16:35 AM
Greg is the only weakness, but the older he gets the stronger he should play.
Greg is slight of build but I wouldn't consider him a defensive weakness. He's got dem Stretch Armstrong arms and looked the part of a capable defender despite the bum wheel last season. I think the weakest link defensively is Symir, looked completely lost at times last season. But he was a freshman and freshman often look lost on defense. I have hope for him yet.
Time will tell, but I see at the end of games Akanno, Koby and Carton being stoppers at the end of games
I'm loving some of the optimism here. I know I'm psyched to see our guys play.
If Carton and Garcia live up to their billing, I think we have some nice role-player pieces around them. We'll see!
https://xaviernewswire.com/2020/09/10/xavier-looks-to-continue-positive-recruiting-trend/
https://247sports.com/college/texas-tech/Article/Early-Hoops-Preview-Seton-Hall-Pirates-Sandro-Mamukelashvili-Jared-Rhoden-Bryce-Aiken-Myles-Cale-Shavar-Reynolds-Kevin-Willard-150608795/
Katz bracket
https://mobile.twitter.com/marchmadness/status/1311021871954096144/photo/1
Looks like Katz's Wisky bias as come out. MU has to many question marks for this season with 5 new players.
Quote from: Galway Eagle on September 30, 2020, 11:38:08 AM
Katz bracket
https://mobile.twitter.com/marchmadness/status/1311021871954096144/photo/1
Not too many issues with his bracket, but do not understand the love for Providence (8 seed), Boise State (10 Seed), or St. John's (11 seed).
Providence loses 3/5 starters, their top 2 bench players, and replaces all that with one good transfer in Jared Bynum and a skinny big man from the Atlantic Sun Conference in Noah Horchler. Duke is a great player. Watson is talented on offense. But I'll be very impressed if Providence makes the dance this season.
St. John's loses their two best players from last season and a third starter and replaces them with a couple of JUCOs (#6 and #14 per top JucoRecruiting) and warm body grad transfer. #6 and #14 may sound like high numbers, but the players with those rankings last season ended up being the 5th starter for KenPom #102 Ole Miss, and averaging 12 minutes a game for Georgetown before transferring. Rasheem Dunn will likely lead them in scoring this season, and his eFG% last year was worse than Koby's (40.5%). I do think St. John's will be better than last season, but they'll need another year of seasoning before making the dance IMHO.
Boise State finished outside the top 80 in KenPom this season and loses 6/9 of their rotation players from last season. They'll be nowhere near the tournament.
Quote from: BCHoopster on September 30, 2020, 01:40:29 PM
Looks like Katz's Wisky bias as come out. MU has to many question marks for this season with 5 new players.
Agree. Like that Katz has 6 Big East Teams in. But like MU and MU's talent over Prov and SJU.
What's interesting is the amount of volatility within both the Katz brackets and the overall assessment of the college basketball scene for the coming year.
I'll say it again -- we're better than what most people think we are. How good we become depends on how well Coach Wojo coaches our team up in the fall. If we play together and quickly learn reasonable defense, we're going places.
If it's Carton and Garcia show, with everyone else as props, we're doomed.
Quote from: dgies9156 on September 30, 2020, 05:19:20 PM
What's interesting is the amount of volatility within both the Katz brackets and the overall assessment of the college basketball scene for the coming year.
I'll say it again -- we're better than what most people think we are. How good we become depends on how well Coach Wojo coaches our team up in the fall. If we play together and quickly learn reasonable defense, we're going places.
If it's Carton and Garcia show, with everyone else as props, we're doomed.
This year we will have what will look like a typical Ed Cooley Providence team. That is one very talented player ( Carton) surrounded by a whole lot of seasoned hard working types. I generally don't expect much from freshman, hope by the end of conference season they are able to be contributors. We have enough talent to compete with the rest of the conference, execution is the key as you point out.