Andy Katz top 25

[Big East Warriors]

Katz talks about the top 25 teams today...below is his blurb about MU

"Marquette

Update: The Golden Eagles lost Tom Crean to Indiana, picked up Billy Gillispie disciple Buzz Williams (after a one-year stint with Crean at Marquette) and retained the three reasons why the Golden Eagles are a threat to go to the Sweet 16: Dominic James, Jerel McNeal and Wesley Matthews. Marquette staffers report that McNeal's game has elevated to a higher level. If Lazar Hayward can be the necessary producer inside, and the staff believes he can, then the Golden Eagles can compete at a high level yet again.


Concern: Interior depth isn't going away as an issue. If the Golden Eagles can develop enough depth behind Hayward then they'll be in every game. Williams' late-game decisions as head coach shouldn't be an issue. He has prepped well for this opportunity.


Nonconference highlights: There are two: Wisconsin at home and Tennessee in Nashville. The Golden Eagles will have plenty of big games in the league but few opportunities to prove their status prior to January. "

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/columns/story?id=3640708

[BrewCity83]

Here's what I find interesting:

"Williams' late-game decisions as head coach shouldn't be an issue. He has prepped well for this opportunity."

Hope Katz knows what he's talking about...

[Big East Warriors]

I agree Brew, and while i hope he's right. I keep thinking of Katz's track record of predicting when Crean would leave every spring and summer except for that one spring when he didnt mention him....and Creano jumped ship

[nola03]

Here's what I find interesting:

"Williams' late-game decisions as head coach shouldn't be an issue. He has prepped well for this opportunity."

Hope Katz knows what he's talking about...

Specifics of that preparation would have been nice.

[wadesworld]

Specifics of that preparation would have been nice.

My guess is just his coaching under Billy Gillispie who proving to be a very good coach and coaching under Tom Crean for a year, as well as having already coached at Marquette for a year so he knows what his players can and cannot do and when they can do those things (how they handle pressure in late game situations, etc.).  It is yet to be seen but as was said on here before, Crean wasn't the BEST in game coach in the world, so hopefully he can improve on that.

I kind of find some of Katz's rankings weird though.  1-3 are all solid picks, but is Michigan State really that good (#4)?  Neizel is not easy to replace, and even with him they weren't even a top 15 team last year.  They'll be good but I'm not sure how good.  Is it me or does it seem that people look too into Pitt's performance in the Big East Tournament?  Again, they will be a very tough team, but #6 team in the nation?  Gonzaga #7?  Always top 25, but not sure about top 10.  Same with Oklahoma, # 8 seems way too high for them to me.  Miami at #11?  They weren't even a top 25 team last year.  Arizona State at #13?  Same thing.  Same with Wake Forest.  Same with USC, who also lost their best player (but add some stud freshman).  I guess I just don't understand how some of those teams are ranked above us.  While I don't think we're a top 10 team because of the lack of interior play, I don't understand how Gonzaga, Oklahoma, Miami, Arizona State, Wake Forest, and USC are all above us.  Also I would guess that Wisconsin will be top 25 during the regular season just because the weakness of the Big Ten and the fact that Bo always gets the best out of his players.  I think Xavier, Georgetown, Arizona, and Villinova are all top 25 teams too.  Are Baylor and St. Mary's that good?

[Wareagle]

No Kansas?

[Mufflers]

Very unnecessary rip about the non-conference schedule.  MU plays top 25 UW at home, top 25 Tennessee on the road, and two neutral court games with two of the top 10 mid-major programs in the country.  MU should be praised for playing tough teams on top of the 18 game Big East conference schedule.

[spartan3186]

My guess is just his coaching under Billy Gillispie who proving to be a very good coach and coaching under Tom Crean for a year, as well as having already coached at Marquette for a year so he knows what his players can and cannot do and when they can do those things (how they handle pressure in late game situations, etc.).  It is yet to be seen but as was said on here before, Crean wasn't the BEST in game coach in the world, so hopefully he can improve on that.

I kind of find some of Katz's rankings weird though.  1-3 are all solid picks, but is Michigan State really that good (#4)?  Neizel is not easy to replace, and even with him they weren't even a top 15 team last year.  They'll be good but I'm not sure how good.  Is it me or does it seem that people look too into Pitt's performance in the Big East Tournament?  Again, they will be a very tough team, but #6 team in the nation?  Gonzaga #7?  Always top 25, but not sure about top 10.  Same with Oklahoma, # 8 seems way too high for them to me.  Miami at #11?  They weren't even a top 25 team last year.  Arizona State at #13?  Same thing.  Same with Wake Forest.  Same with USC, who also lost their best player (but add some stud freshman).  I guess I just don't understand how some of those teams are ranked above us.  While I don't think we're a top 10 team because of the lack of interior play, I don't understand how Gonzaga, Oklahoma, Miami, Arizona State, Wake Forest, and USC are all above us.  Also I would guess that Wisconsin will be top 25 during the regular season just because the weakness of the Big Ten and the fact that Bo always gets the best out of his players.  I think Xavier, Georgetown, Arizona, and Villinova are all top 25 teams too.  Are Baylor and St. Mary's that good?

You do know that just because a team wasn't top 25 last year doesn't mean they can't be a top team this year... Arizona State had a sick Freshman class last year, they had the top freshman that wasnt name rose, beasely or love in James Harden (I think he was better than Mayo) who is returning, a first team all-american and a game changer. They are easily a Top 15 team this year.

Michigan State is a legitimate Top 10 team, I don't know about #4 but I'd say Top 8 probably. While you can't just replace Neitzel, the Spartans come pretty damn close. Kalin Lucas is that good. He may not be the lights out shooter that Neitzel was but he distributes the ball well and is a much better athlete than Neitzel. Goran Sutton may be one of the most underrated bigs is College hoops, he plays a european style game and it just works in the NCAA. They also return Raymar Morgan who has the potential to be one of the most exciting players in the country on the wing, especially now that he is the focal point of the offense with Neitzel gone. Add Delvon Roe and Darrel Summers to the mix and you have a really really good team. The only question marsk is how all the young players on the team mesh, and a lack of senior leadership (only 2 or 3 seniors on the team) Regardless, they will be good. In my mind the Michigan State vs North Carolina game in Detroit (Ford Field I believe) as part of the Big 10 ACC challenge will be one of the best games of the entire College Hoops season. The one

I could say more about some of the other rankings but I'll refrain, I'm so amped up for college hoops.

[wadesworld]

You do know that just because a team wasn't top 25 last year doesn't mean they can't be a top team this year... Arizona State had a sick Freshman class last year, they had the top freshman that wasnt name rose, beasely or love in James Harden (I think he was better than Mayo) who is returning, a first team all-american and a game changer. They are easily a Top 15 team this year.

Yeah I do realize that, but I don't have any reason to believe that they are better than Marquette considering Marquette was better than they were last year and they lost only Ousman.  I'm hoping Fulce, Butler, and Otule can combine to at least equal what Barro did for us last year, so we were a top 17 team (1 shot away from the Sweet Sixteen) that lost nothing.

[bilsu]

Gonzaga is suppose to have their best team ever. MU will not be ranked high at year end, because they play to many teams in conference that are better than them. Gonzaga's conference is much weaker and therefore they will be highly ranked at end of year. If MU cannot beat some of the teams ahead of them, then their ranking and seeding will take a big hit. The thing about last years team is that they basically beat every team they were suppose to and lost to every team they were suppose to. Given MU's imbalance, I do not see that changing.