No, SkyDog, it's not too early to start talking about College Basketball
 

College football is now well underway, but there are still several months to go. However, it is almost time for midnight madness to sweep across the nation's campuses! Who do you like this year? How do you think your favorite team is going to do? To get the discussion kicked off, here is the preseason Top 10 as picked by the Blue Ribbon College Yearbook:

1. Connecticut
2. Texas
3. Duke
4. Oklahoma
5. Louisville
6. Gonzaga
7. Michigan State
8. Arizona
9. Kentucky
10. Boston College

It's never too early to talk about college basketball!

I'm curious to see just how far UNC is going to drop after losing seemingly every contributing player last year.

Yes.

:D

That was just waaaaaayyy too tempting. :p

BUUUURRRNNN!!!

Funniest thing I've seen around here in a while. Nice touch, SD.
:)

LOL!!!

I was about to fire off a combination HA/JiMGA/HM/FN style PM stating it is less than 3 weeks until midnight madness!

anything less than a final four will be a dissapointment.

I think Kelvin Sampson is a good coach. I am just not convinced that he has what it takes to win the dance though. Texas is probably overrated once more though :D

OU is overrated.

I'll settle for another Final Four though.

The Miners should be at or near the top of CUSA despite losing Fili Rivera and Omar Thomas. Texas transfer Edgar Moreno and OSU transfer Tremaine Fuqua should fill in nicely in their place and a couple of talented freshmen should give us some minutes off of the bench.

We should tell how our season is going to go in early January. In a three game stretch we'll be playing Georgetown at home (if both teams make it to the Sun Carnival Tournament final, that is), at Texas Tech, and at Syracuse...

Umm... UCONN has 2 frosh PG and 3 guys in jail... they're #1 how?

-Chas

For who, the Illini? I'm a big Illinois fan, but they don't have near the cast they do last year. I'd be surprised if they win the Big Ten this year.

Iowa should be pretty damn good this year, of course with Steve Alford as coach I'm not getting my hopes up....

I'm pretty high on the new guys coming in to replace them. I think it'll either be a magical season where Weber gets to shove it in everyone's faces who said he can't recruit or it's going to be horrible with all the newswriters repeating that he can only win with Self's guys.

I'm sure uCONn will have Marcus Williams back in the lineup by the time conference play rolls around. What do you expect from Calhoun?

UMass will be better this year, at least the NIT if not NCAA's, depending on how quickly they adapt to the new system, then next year we add in Forbes from UVa, Mayben who was supposed to go to Syracuse and Bonner from WVa. Basketball will actually be exciting up here again.

Yeah, you could have only one player in jail this year :p

SI

Wisconsin has a solid top line of Earl-Pavelski-Skille, and I think Brian Elliott has the ability to be the best goalie in the country. The key could be the performance of Andy Joudrey, a superlative leader who appears to have more potential than he's yet realized. Um, what were we talking about?

Actually they have 0 guys currently in Jail (although two face charges). Antonio Kellogg was thrown off the team (transferred to San Francisco). Marcus Williams has applied for accelerated rehibilitation (special probation for first time offenders) and likely will be back after being suspended through the first semester (once he fulfills the requirements of the probation the charges would be dropped). The other player A.J. Price still isn't medically cleared and has pleaded not guilty. (Both have yet to go through the universities punishment system)

That said I do agree with the freshmen likely leading the club at least through first month at the point, #1 isn't likely. Plus I would have liked UConn's chance much better had Andrew Bynum not stayed in the draft (although he made the right decision given he went 10).

UConn will be good and has depth, but they will need Williams to contend for the National Title. At least at the start of the season they are not the best team, and will likely lose early in the Maui Invitational as they break in the frosh PGs.

MSU SHOULD BE #! BABY!!!!!!!!!! RARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!

Matt's little bro is transferring to UMass?! First I've heard of it...but that will make me want to go to a few Minutemen games.

I'm hoping UMass does well this year. Travis Ford was one of my favorite players when he played for Kentucky and I'm hoping he has success as a coach.

Rutgers will suck as usual

Indiana may have the Big ten locked this year. Check out their roster if you dont believe me. If they don't, thats the end of Mike Davis. Killingsworth and D.J White are both likely all americans...its going to be a great year.

Andrew Bynum is a stiff and a fraud.

The Big Ten should be strong. MSU is the overwhelming favorite. Wisconsin and Illinois will be tough and Indiana and Michigan both have the talent to match up with anyone even if their coaches are...um...lacking.

I just hope these teams enjoy it while they can because Ohio State's domination starts next year. :)

Indiana will take Alford any day. Iowa doesn't exactly have a history of basketball excellence. I don't get you Iowa fans talking trash about Alford. Your record with him hasn't been that bad, yet I hear so many Iowa fans that are disgruntled and want him fired...I just dont get it.

Just a guess but I'd say none of these teams end in the top 10. Uconn has issues already talked about here. OU should be good but play in a very tough conference and I just don't think they will end that high. I want to like the zags but how many more years do they have to flame out in the tourney before we stop rating them this high? MSU is super thin IMO, though their starting 5 should be great. Looks like Izzo has stopped recruiting hard. I'd say he's jumping to the pros after this year.

For awhile there I was thinking the same thing but the last couple months he's been recruiting hard. I'm guessing he'll close the deal with Raymar Morgan this weekend after picking up a commit from Dahlman a couple weeks ago. He could also land Herzog in the near future as well. I guess he woke up.

I'll need a bit more. I figure your just a Kentucky fan that wishes he had half the team we did this year.

As a disgruntled Seton Hall fan, I think you have more to look forward to than us. At least you have assistant Fred Hill recruiting know, the man behind the highly-touted recruiting class at SHU, and some good ones at Nova as well. We on the other hand have the Louis Orr in charge, who may be a great guy, but is certainly not a great coach.

OK... Here's some from an IU alum.

I didn't miss a game for 21 years. I don't follow as well as I used to, however, I know basketball. All of Indiana's "strengths" this year will revolve around the ability of their team to get the ball in the post. Unfortunately, they do not have a player on their roster that has proven capable of consistently getting the ball to a player in the post in position to make a play (read: triple threat position, or inside the 8-ft arc). Further, there remains no one on the team that has proven willing, or capable, of assuming the responsibility to be a playmaker (i.e. give me the ball if you haven't got a clue).

This doesn't touch on the staff's complete lack of *tuning* their set offense (I emphasize set) during game time. Their success this year will be completely a function of their athletic ability and the per chance they develop an in-game rapport among themselves. Defensively, they'll be strong, yet undisciplined.

I see a 20-13 type of year (on par with the best Davis has done), and a 1st round loss in the NCAA. Unfortunately this will probably be enough to save his job as Indiana continues to fade into the mediocrity of college basketball. It's a shame when we're looking "up" to teams such as Syracuse, Oklahoma, and Illinois... teams that we were able to point out demonstrable flaws in not 6 years ago.

Just my 2 cents, albeit strong ones...
Chas

They'll certainly drop. If the returning reserves(David Noel, *gulp*Quinten Thomas) can play a little bit, and that great recruiting class can learn under pressure, they have a shot at the top half of the ACC. Everything I've read so far talks about the ACC being Duke, Boston College, and everyone else. If UNC can be one of the better "everyone else" teams the season will be a success. An NCAA tourney bid would be a huge accomplishment.

You must know nothing about basketball because Bynum was tearing it up in the summer league and just turned 18. Let him play a year or 2 in the league before you label him a fraud.

Uconn will have Marcus Williams back for league play starting in Jan. most likely. Even without Williams, and a freshman PG, Anderson, Gay, Armstrong, and Boone are a tough team to tangle with. Anderson aside from being a 17ppg scorer can help with the PG duties, while Gay and the boys (+ Ed Nelson former ACC rookie of the year) eat teams alive down low. Having Bynum would have been nice but even a player of his caliber would have a hard time working his way into Uconn's lineup. Aside from Duke no team in the last 10 years has had more success than Connecticut. GO UCONN

I respect your opinions and see some of your points. I still really hope your wrong. I hope this is the year that players step up (ie Marshall Strickland, Vaden, Ratliff) and were able to make a strong showing. Most preseason polls have us in the top 20 which is nice I guess.

He's already here, but ineligible for this season. Unlike some other players, he's actually legit 6-11, 7ft, and looks like he'll be able to run the floor, which is a must in Ford's offense.He hasn't even coached a game here yet, but Travis Ford will be a great coach. Between the way he turned around EKU, to his recruiting ability and enthusiasm for the job, I'm sold he'll do amazing things at UMass and have them winning the A-10 and back in the top 15 within 2 years. The only downside is that he'll probably jump ship then when a big time program comes calling. I fully expect him to be coaching in one of the power conferences within 5 years at most.
Ed Nelson is a stiff and a fraud. :p

Re IU, I'd be more inclined to agree with Chas (in that the entire season turns on the PG position). Unless Lewis Monroe call run the point well (we already know Strickland cannot), it will be another bumpy season and Mike Davis' last in Bloomington. Shame, really - I wanted Mike to succeed from the beginning, but it looks more and more like he was just not a good fit for the job.

If he does move on, I have one request for the AD: Please, in the name of all that is holy, do NOT hire Steve Alford to replace him. Coaches who cannot win at Iowa are not what IU needs.

My favorite team, the University of Dayton.... they need some guards. NOW. You hidin' any under there?

They may push for the NCAA's, but only if they can get some good backup guard play from a guy or two who up until now have looked like total shit. They will dominate the boards, as usual, but they're not gonna be able to shoot worth a damn.

Guard Trent Meacham transferred to Illinois... if he gets any playing time there next year ('06-'07, I mean), I would be surprised. He's not Big Ten material. He was barely At.-10 material.

OU #4???? Oh my. Not many in Big 12 country see it that way, but whatever. It'll make Mizzou look better when they beat them.

BTW......I know there are a few Mizzou fans on this forum. Big news in Tiger country yesterday as they got a verbal commit from the #1 rated JUCO player in the nation for next year. He's expected to sign in the fall. Name is Ty Morrison (6'7", 230 lb. forward). Most compare his game to Joey Graham if you remember him from Okla. State last year.

I'll eat my hat if Wyoming makes even the NIT, let alone the Big Dance.

BC #10.. interesting.. I'm not sure about that.

So, in danger of being labelled a fanboy, I feel the Texas preseason ranking of #2 is a bit high, but not out of the question. I really thought they would have a better season last year, but injuries and scholastic problems took away two of their fantastic freshmen. As with any team, injuries can easily make a difference between a final four run and a nervous tourney selection day, but this year Texas will be even more vulnerable, due to the fact they graduated quite a few key bench players last season.

But Rick Barnes has shown that he can be a great coach when the chips are down. If Texas football ends up winning the Rose Bowl, the pressure will be on the Runnin' Horns to complete the college sports triple crown of baseball, football and basketball!

Kentucky will finish better than #9 this year.

It's probably because he's a fucking prick. Anyone from Iowa who isn't blindly loyal to the Hawkeyes knows it, and I'm from Chicago.

:confused: You haven't beaten us since 1999. Killingsworth couldn't beat us when he was at Auburn, and your psycho coach cracks up everytime he plays us.

I saw Calloway play at a Indiana all star game at Ben davis earlier this year. He impressed the hell out of me...much more so than the other recruits. Maybe he'll be able to step up into the point. I dont know about the Alford thing, more than anything I just want an IU team that can win without cheating (seems tough for some of the other top schools not to cheat). I dont really care who the coach is.

big IU fan, and i think we are gonna be a contender this year...the talent is there, the depth is there, senior leadership in Killingsworth, Monroe and Strickland....JC transfer Earl Calloway is apparantly very quick and can get tot he basket with ease......Ben Allen and Cem Dinc have loads of potential, but only need to play backup roles this year.....Im very much looking forward to this season, and can't wait to beat Duke when they come to Bloomington