NCAA Hoops Preview - The Big 12 or whatever

Remember how I said I was going to do a preview of a new conference each Wednesday or Friday and laid out that whole schedule?  Well forget all that.  I don't do organization well.  I'm just going to run 'em out there whenever I see fit in whatever order I fell like.

We're starting with the Big 12, a conference that will have a significantly different look this year and I don't just mean that they tossed two of their worst hoops programs in Colorado and Nebraska.  The real intrigue here is that the two tradition powers of the Big 12, Kansas and Texas, were both hit hard by graduations and early defections to the NBA if it ever exists again.  Between the two schools they lost 9 starters, and although both are capable of rebuilding quickly and still have plenty of talent, the conference is more wide open than it's been since I can remember.  Of course, it's looking like it won't exist for much longer, but for this season at least it will be interesting.  With an 18-game true round robin schedule, I expect these teams to beat up each other pretty good, and any school that can manage double digit wins is going to be in good shape.

1.  BAYLOR BEARS.  If he had entered the draft Perry Jones would have been a top-3 pick, so his return to Waco is huge for Baylor.  He's an absolute beast who is tough to handle inside but can also play the perimeter (although not much of a shooter) and is practically a lock for B12 player of the year, especially with Lace Dunn gone so he will become the absolute focal point of the offense.  They return everybody else inside and picked up a couple of stud freshman in wings Quincy Miller (#7 overall according to Rivals, spurned Duke to sign with the Bears) and Deuce Bello (#54 overall and has a sweet name) so they're pretty well loaded.  Their frontline of Jones, Miller, and Quincy Acy might be tops in the country.  If they can get solid PG play from either the returning A.J. Walton (meh) or JuCo transfer Pierre Jackson, who led his team to the JuCo championship, they're a major contender to win the whole thing.

2.  MISSOURI TIGERS.  With so much talent having vacated the conference the door is open for the Tigers and their five returning starters - yes five.  Of course, the biggest question is what happens when you take the players who are well suited to run Mike Anderson's crazy circus ball system and give them a new coach, one whose Miami team last year was one of the slowest in the NCAA.  Assuming Frank Haith has the brains to realize you fit your system to the players in this case, hopefully he turns them lose because with Marcus Denmon, Michael Dixon, and the Pressey brothers running the break with Ricardo Ratliffe, Laurence Bowers, and Kim English filling the lanes these guys are one of the most fun groups to watch in all of the NCAA.  Of course, if my knowledge of most coaches is right he'll try to force them to slow down and at least one player will quit or get suspended for "conduct detrimental to the team" which in this case will mean getting pissed at the coach.  This is just like Above the Rim.    

3.  KANSAS JAYHAWKS.  Kansas lost a ton of talent this year and 75% of their scoring from last year, so they'll rely heavily on Tyshawn Taylor and Thomas Robinson, and that's not necessarily a bad thing, assuming they can improve upon last year.  Both were solid players last year, but are going to have to become the main men on offense if Kansas is going to make any kind of run.  Sophomore guards Travis Releford and Elijah Johnson were top 100 guys coming out of high school, as are newcomers Naadir Tharpe and Ben McLemore, but they're all guards.  The biggest issue for Kansas is on the interior, because outside of Robinson they're paper thin.  They have a big seven-footer in Jeff Withey, but he's only played 207 minutes in his first two years in Lawrence.  The talent on the outside will get them to the NCAA Tournament, but I wouldn't expect much of a run unless somebody really steps up to help Robinson in the paint.

4.  TEXAS A&M AGGIES.  Khris Middleton is one of my favorite players to watch, and also one of my least favorite players to watch.  When things are going well he's a born scorer who can hit from outside, inside, or drive to the hole and get to the line.  However when the opposition makes a concerted effort to take him out of the game it works far, far too well, such as when he shot 0-9 and didn't even bother getting to the line because he just shot jumpers all game (I watched this one and it was lame).  But he's no doubt a special talent and he doubled his scoring average from his freshman to sophomore year, so if he worked that hard again this offseason you might be looking at a B12 player-of-the-year type season.   

5.  IOWA STATE CYCLONES.  What to think about Iowa State?  It's tough, partially because I'm biased since I consider them my second favorite college team, partially because how do you not like the mayor, partially because I love his strategy of not caring about a player's off the court baggage and just bringing in talent, and partially because when you ignore players' off the court baggage things can implode in a hurry.   I mean you know all about Royce White's talent and watched Chris Allen for what feels like 10 years, but did you realize transfer Anthony Booker from So Ill was ranked the #43 freshman in the country when he came into school?  And Chris Babb from Penn State averaged nearly 10 points per game as a sophomore?  They're going to struggle finding a ball handler with Diante Garrett graduating, but this could be a spectacular team.  Or they could end up with a couple of guys kicked out, a fight amongst their own team, and a massive flame out of a season.  Either way, this should be fun to watch. 

6.  OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS.  I've flipped these guys with Texas a few times, and that's mainly because I can't quite figure out what to think of OSU (or Texas, actually).  On the one hand, the bring in a freshman in wing LeBryan Nash who instantly becomes their best player (#6 overall recruit by Rivals) so that ups their talent level.  On the other hand, he needs the ball in his hands to be effective, their other stud recruit is a point guard Cezar Guerrero (#71 overall) who is described as more of a scorer than distributor, and their best returning player, Keiton Page, is a big-time chucker who led the team in shot attempts despite hitting just 37% of his shots.  See where I'm going with this?  They might be a more talented team this year, but I'd be concerned about if there are enough balls to go around. 

7.  TEXAS LONGHORNS.  I'm struggling to see any way they can compete this year.  I know Myck Kabongo is a total stud and basically pushed Cory Joseph out the door, but I am, everything is gone from last year and even though this year's recruiting class is very good it's not a ready made team like Kentucky seems to pull in each year.  I mean, literally the only returner of any consequence is J'Covan Brown and he averaged double figures scoring and went for over 20 in both NCAA tournament games, but that was as a complimentary player, and now he's going to have to be Mr. Offense.  I feeling like I might be selling them a bit short because it seems like no matter what the Longhorns are always able to end having a great team that flames out in the end, but I'm really not seeing it this year.  Seeing as how Rick Barnes isn't exactly known for coaching teams up, looks like 7th place and the NIT to me.

8.  KANSAS STATE WILDCATS.  So here's Kansas State.  A terrible program that never did anything, and Frank Martin manages to snag Michael Beasley, Bill Walker, and Jake Pullen - bam, instant contender.  Well guess what?  With Pullen's graduation they're all gone.  Some say Martin has turned K-State into a whole new program, one who can contend with the big boys in the conference (wherever they end up).  I say they're wrong, and K-State is heading back to dumpsville - unless they end up in C-USA or the Mountain West or some new conference made out of leftovers, but if they're in a major conference it's not going to be pretty, starting this year where I'd be stunned if they managed even an NIT bid.  Should have taken the Miami job, Frank.  A chance to go back to your home town right as your program is about to fall off a cliff?  Ouch.  This is like Shelly Long leaving Cheers, only kind of the opposite.

9.  OKLAHOMA SOONERS.  Ouch.  From 30 wins two years ago to just 27 in the past couple of seasons combined along with NCAA infractions and a new coach.  Also, if I told you there was much talent here I'd be lying.  Lon Kruger has a long road back to make Oklahoma relevant, but at least if they move on to the Pac-12 (14/16) they'll get to play those crappy teams a bunch of times, so that'll help.  Seriously, though the only guy I remember from Oklahoma last year is that Brian Cardinal wannabe Cade Davis and he's gone so you can just picture me shrugging my shoulders and we can move on.

10.  TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS.  Riddle me this - what happens when a terrible team loses four starters (it's four top scorers, top rebounder, and 3 top assist men) who accounted for over 2/3rds of the team's scoring and are replacing them with a JC dude and a transfer from Utah?  Well we're about to find out and I have a feeling it's not going to be pretty.  Assuming Billy Gillespie isn't drunk all the time I'm sure he'll improve their fortunes (wherever they end up), but this is going to be a rough year.  Good thing nobody gives a crap about this team.


Well there we are.  The first college basketball preview of the year.  As Brian Fantana would say, "It really revs my engine."  Seriously though, I need this.  I can't even watch the Twins anymore.  At like, 2pm this afternoon Snacks texted me something about how Parmalee can hit and I was like, "Dude, I totally forgot they were even playing a day game" and he was like, "I know.  I only even saw the score because I was going on mlb.com to check and see if the Red Sox were losing because it would be funny if they collapsed."  It's so funny and sad I'm going to go kick a baby.

Seriously though, Missouri at 75-1 to win the National Championship is worth throwing a couple bucks down.  They'll end up a 3-4 seed.

Week in Review - 02.07.11

 Well that was pretty thoroughly depressing.  Ohio State completely controlled that game the whole way and, just in case you were starting to suffer from delusions of grandeur, reminded you that the Gophers are completely mediocre, and nothing more than first round fodder for a good team to take down.  Chip Armelin played his ass off and made me love him even more than I already do, Hoff always plays hard, and Mbakwe is still a beast, but god most of these guys drive me crazy.  Ralph had a good statistical game, but I swear he suffers from some sort of modified form of narcolepsy where instead of falling asleep he just falls into a general malaise, and I think Rodney Williams sometimes forgets he's actually playing a basketball game for real and isn't just messing around with some buddies at the gym.  And for a "tough guy" Iverson has periods where he's as soft as new born baby.

Terrible defense yesterday, too.  How many open layups and dunks did Ohio State get, my god.  And most of those were off of poor decisions or poor effort.  And did they really need to double-down every time anybody got the ball in the post?  Ohio State shoots way too well for that.  And why did Hoff disappear for about 8 minutes of game time in the middle of the second half?  I just don't get how this game unfolded.  Yeah, Ohio State is far more talented and just an overall better team, but the Gophers didn't even bother to put up a fight, and just gave the damn thing away.  I think the upside for this season has now shifted to a first round NCAA win.  Let's hope they can get that done.  And also maybe pick up a point guard from somewhere.

WHO WAS AWESOME

1.  Florida Gators.  Pretty much gotta be the team of the week, and for good reason.  If you can admit that Tennessee and the whole SEC West sucks then there are only three good teams in the conference:  Florida, Vanderbilt, and Kentucky.  And guess who Florida beat this week?  Yep, Vandy and Kentucky.  Both wins came at home, so it isn't an earth-shaking pair of victories, but it's always nice to assert yourself and win at home.  I still think Vandy is probably the best team in this conference, but I think Florida is probably better than Kentucky.  Those two chuckers they play at guard make me awfully nervous, but I think Chandler Parsons, though having the name of a rich gay guy, is the kind of all-around player who can step up and help carry a team in March.  Assuming they aren't completely shot out of the game those two chuckleheads.

2.  Arizona Wildcats.  Guess who's leading the Pac-10?  It's not Washington because they suck, but Arizona was able to take care of business this week, winning both games on their North California swing versus Stanford and Cal.  It's not really any great shakes beating either of those squads, especially when it takes you triple OT to beat the Bears, but they were able to win two road games, something those donkeys from Washington couldn't handle.  Derrick Williams is a really, really good player, but he doesn't have much help which means Zona is heading towards a nice first round exit come March.  But at least that first round exit will happen in the NCAAs, not the NIT.  Probably.

3.  Harrison Barnes.  He started as a well-publicized All-American as a freshman, quickly became the poster child for overhyped, overrated, freshmen who get too much press despite not having accomplished anything yet, but at this point he's finally starting to look like he might be getting it, and the Tar Heels are clicking.  Barnes helped lead UNC to a big road win over Boston College earlier this week, scoring 26 points on 9-16 shooting, and then followed that up with a nice 17 and 10 outing against Florida State - an excellent defensive squad (and those come after a 25-point night against NC State last week).  With him coming around and Kendall Marshall filling in nicely as the starting PG after Larry Drew's departure (he had 16 assists in that FSU game), the Heels are suddenly looking like a threat, and making the Gophers' March resume look better.  

4.  Wisconsin Badgers.  I don't much like to praise anything or anybody from, affiliated with, or who has heard of Wisconsin, but it's time to give credit to the Badgers who, after beating Purdue and then soundly thrashing Michigan State have laid out a pretty convincing case to be the #2 team in the conference.  Looking back at their record their three losses were on the road against a very hot and dangerous Penn State (except this weekend against Michigan, LOL), on a neutral court against a now top-10 Notre Dame, and in Vegas against UNLV - potentially all three NCAA teams, although it looks bleak for the Nittany Lions right now.  And all this with only two players who don't trip over their own feet at least three times a day.  Maybe Bo Ryan really is some kind of wizardly grinch.

5.  Syracuse Orange.  What's a damn good way to stop a four-game losing streak that followed an 18 game winning streak and included a home loss to Seton Hall?  How about going up to Storrs, Connecticut and beating the #7 team in the country in their own place?  Rick Jackson had another double-double (his 16th), but Scoop Jardine and Fab Melo still sucked, and then those two still sucked against South Florida on Saturday, even thought the Orange won.  So even though this entry is about how awesome Syracuse was, I'm also saying that unless Scoop remembers how to shoot or they get anything out of Melo, they aren't really a March threat. 


WHO SUCKED

1.  Washington Huskies.  Way to go, dingleberries.  The easiest road trip in the Pac-10 is to Oregon, where the Ducks and Beavers might be the second and third worst team in the conference (Ariz State is #1, hands down), so what does Warshington do on their trip this week?  Drop both games to fall out of first place, losing by 13 to Oregon State and 5 to the regular Oregon.  Special shout out to Isaiah Thomas, who shot 2-11 with 7 turnovers against State, practically giving the game away single-handedly.  Maybe he's the one who's point-shaving?  With five home games left and just two roadies (the Arizona trip) their still in good shape, if not to overtake Arizona at least to grab an at large bid in March thankfully, because there's not much that's more fun than watching Washington circus ball. 

2.  Michigan State Spartans.  What else is there left to write?  They lost to Iowa by 20, and then got smoked by Wisconsin by almost 30.  I don't know what you call it when you fall further than rock bottom, but whatever it is that's where you'd find Sparty right now.  I can't imagine being a fan of there's right now, must be brutally frustrating.

3.  Demetri McCamey.  You guys know this guy sucks, right?  I know his overall numbers for the season look good, but in his last seven games he's shot 20 for 69, turned it over 22 times, and basically kicked away the game a handful of times.  I can't get over it, and mostly I can't get over how at the end of the Indiana game they used Brandon Paul to run their offense instead of their "point" guard.  I am going to be everything I own against them in March.

4.  Baylor Bears.  Seriously?  I mean seriously?  An elite 8 team last year that brought in one of the best freshmen in the country, and you can't even beat Oklahoma or manage a better than .500 record in the Big 12, which has like, 3 good teams?  Iowa State's only conference victory is over Baylor, and they haven't beaten anybody with a pulse this entire year, generally preferring to not even compete.  Damn it, this team was set up for a very successful season.  They only player they lost was Tweety Carter, and he can't mean anything since the only person nicknamed Tweety who every mattered at all was this chick from my high school who got her nipple pierced and then let me see it.  Just so frustrating.  I thought getting them at 30-1 to win the whole thing was a steal.  Turns out, 30-1 to make the tournament at all might have been poor odds.  And yes I know they helped themselves out with a nice win over A&M on Saturday, but I already wrote all that so it stays.

5.  Texas A&M Aggies.  Speaking of A&M, they did a hell of a job of making sure nobody would make the mistake of thinking they were an elite team ever again.  They were ranked 10th before losing at Nebraska last week, but had a couple of big home games this week that could have helped to cancel that one out.  First they had a huge chance to make a statement with a home game against #3 Texas, but apparently couldn't get up for their hated rival and got blown out 69-49, helped out by their stud Khris Middleton going 0-9 from the floor.  Then they followed that up by losing, again at home, to the basically worthless Baylor Bears.  Just an ugly week, and now they go on the road to Texas Tech and Colorado, games they should win, but then again this could be the beginning of their shame spiral.  Not too dissimilar to the Gophers actually.


Pretty good little Super Bowl, too.  Even though I hate Wisconsin and everything in it, this version of the Packers is easily the least offensive I can ever remember, so their win doesn't kill me inside like it did last time they won.  The only Packer I really hate now is A.J. Hawk, who completely sucks at football but saw how good Clay Matthews is and decided to copy his girlie hair so instead of pointing out how bad he was, maybe people who start referring to them as a tandem and Matthews could save his career.  And it worked.  Way to go, girl.

No, it didn't bug me that they won, and it was a pretty good and entertaining game that I made a little money on (for the second year in a row I lost my game bet but more than made up for it on props - Orange Gatorade, baby!), so I'm pretty satisfied with that part.  The overall production though?  Oof.  The halftime show was completely brutal and other than the Darth Vader commercial overall they were pretty lame, but the worst part of the night was by far how this:

has somehow morphed into Cyndi Lauper.  Seriously, her transition from dream girl to no thank you is nearly complete.  Won't someone step in to prevent this national tragedy?

Big 12 College Basketball 2010 Preview

That's right kids, I'm back to give my NCAA basketball previews, conference by conference, for another year, because it's about that time, to bring forth the rhythm and the rhyme, I'm a get mine so get yours, I want to see sweat comin' out your pores.  I'm starting with the Big 12 this year because that's where my sleeper for the NCAA Championship resides.  Come on, swing it. 

1.  Baylor Bears.  And this would be that sleeper.  They did lose three starters off the Elite 8 team from last year, including lottery pick Ekpe Udoh and starting point man Tweety Carter, but the pieces are in place for a deep run by the Bears.  LaceDarius Dunn is back, might be the best guard in the nation, and is capable of taking over a game all by himself, and talented freshman center Perry Jones is the type of freshman who can carry a team and will be one of the top newcomers in the country.  The key to how far they'll be able to go will be the development of a couple of sophomore guards who were bit players last year but were both highly regarded recruits.  If either Nolan Dennis or A.J. Walton can fill that Tweety Carter role the Bears could absolutely be cutting down the nets at the conclusion of the season.  Actually I'd even go so far as to say probably.  They'll probably be cutting down the nets.  Current odds:  30-1.  You might want to throw a sawbuck on that.

2.  Kansas Jayhawks.  Like Baylor, the Jayhawks lose a lot of firepower from last year, but it's not like Kansas just goes around recruiting stiffs - there are a ton of very talented guys who will be asked to step up their contributions this year, and based on pedigree they shouldn't have a problem doing it.  Assuming Josh Selby ends up being declared eligible they will be a national contender, and even if he isn't they should be a quality, deep team.  I would guess he'll be cleared, being that this is Kansas and not Kentucky.  Expect Kansas to be one of the best teams in the country and a top seed, only to be upset in the tournament for something like the 9th time in the last 10 years, not counting that year they won of course.

3.  Kansas State Wildcats.  Expect these guys to be media darlings this year (one magazine I've looked at picked them first in the conference) due to their crazy eyed coach and Jake Pullen and his beard.  I absolutely love Pullen, and have written about him on this blog a couple of times, but it will be interesting to see how he responds without backcourt mate Denis Clemente this year.  Still, besides Pullen there are a bunch of athletic, talented big men and wings, and if a couple of them can improve upon last year (particularly Wally Judge, a top 20 recruit according to Rivals a year ago who played only 12 minutes per game last year) they could go far. Also you know that mafia looking coach of there's has mob ties, so if anybody hears anything about a fix involving K-State can you let me know so I can throw some dollars at it?

4.  Missouri Tigers.  Mizzou took a hit when prized recruit (#12 according to Rivals) Tony Mitchell was ruled ineligible for the fall semester, but there's still plenty of talent returning including the team's three top scorers from last year in guards Kim English and Marcus Denmon and forward Laurence Bowers.  They are pretty well stocked in both the backcourt and the frontcourt and have a very nice recruiting class coming in, even without Mitchell.  The Tigers traditionally play an awesomely fun 40-minutes of hell type of ball, and with their stockpile of guards and athletic wings they're loaded for a nice run.  Or, more accurately, 40 minutes of run per game. 

5.  Texas Longhorns.  It pains me to praise them after they stole Cory Joseph from the Gophers, but the Longhorns will be much the same - supremely talented - despite losing four starters.  Will that talent gel, like in 2008, or will it fizzle into disappointment as it did last year?  Don't know, but it should be fun to watch.  Joseph and Tristan Thompson are two of the top freshman in the country.  Jai Lucas was a highly touted PG out of high school who has disappointed but is looking for a new start.  Jordan Hamilton looks like a likely breakout star.  Gary Johnson has been an excellent sidekick for years, but will finally be a feature player.  Like I said, lots of talent.  Let's see if Rick Barnes screws this one up, because you know there's only three things in Texas:  steers, queers, and underachieving sports teams.

6.  Texas Tech Red Raiders.  I'm not sure how talented they are, but they are definitely experienced with five of their top six players returning, all of whom are going to be seniors.  Mike Singletary (not that one) was talented enough to score 43 against TAMU a two years ago and score 20 in a game ten times last year, and John Roberson led the Big 12 in assists last season.  With some good talent coming in to join  the experienced old people this team will probably end up being tough to beat.  They aren't going to be any kind of real contender for the national title or anything, but they'll probably upset some of the top conference contenders at home.

7.  Colorado Buffaloes.  Colorado actually has a chance to make the NCAA Tournament this year, which seems weird to say but they have a couple of supremely talented players in Alec Burks and Cory Higgins.  Burks actually flirted with the NBA draft this offseason after winning Big 12 Freshman of the Year, but ultimately returned for another year, and Higgins has been All-Big 12 third team twice in his career.  If these two get any help, any help at (from, say, former Gopher recruit Austin Dufault) all they'll threaten to make the NCAA Tournament and will be the best Buffaloes team in a long time.  Although I suppose that isn't saying much since they have just two tournament appearances (and one win) since 1970.  So they're due.

8.  Texas A&M Aggies.  While most of the other teams above them in this ranking seem to have at least one of their key contributors back, the Aggies are going to be looking for some role players to step up.  David Loubeau gets the most press as a possible breakout type, but Khris Middleton is the guy I expect to make major strides and become a star.  He hit double-figures in scoring in four of the Aggies last five games last season after getting there just six times prior, while hitting 12 of 22 three-pointers.  He's a three point marksman who is also an athletic scorer.  Or, as I like to call it, a perfect basketball player.  Yes, I'm saing Middleton basketball player heading towards multiple All-American teams and a likely Hall-of-Fame NBA career.  What of it? 

9.  Oklahoma State Cowboys.  James Anderson won't be easy to replace, and losing second leading scorer Obi Muonelo is an extra little kick in the teeth, but there is some good talent returning.  Marshall Moses showed some nice flashes last year, and Keiton Page is fun in that mad-bomber kind of way.  Still, the key to the season might be freshman Michael Cobbins, one of the top ranked power forwards in the country according to Rivals, and the kind of player, if as good as advertised, who could take this team from "meh" to "huh."

10.  Nebraska Cornhuskers.  We here in Big Ten country will get to see them just a bit more often in the future, and hopefully for them the move will help their talent level because this is one of the more moribund college hoops programs in the country.  That isn't to say there's no talent here - Brian Diaz is a nice seven-footer who is just a sophomore and had some high quality games for the Huskers last year- but it's not the kind of talent that's going to compete for anything meaningful.  Again.  Hopefully the conference move and a new stadium will help upgrade the talent level because, frankly, we've already got a Penn State.

11.  Iowa State Cyclones.  Freddy Hoiberg is certainly in for two very different years the next couple of seasons.  Next year, with an interesting recruiting class this year (including eligibility risk Calvin Godfrey) and next joining up with Big Ten problem children Royce White and Chris Allen there will be a lot of eyes looking to see how his "take a chance on anybody with talent, despite the baggage" strategy works out.  This year, however, there's no pressure and no worries because there isn't much talent (although I am a fan of Diante Garrett) and only four players are back from last year.  I am betting things turn around in a hurry with Hoiberg and his risk/reward strategy, however.  Or blow up in his face like Royce White at the Mall of America.

12.  Oklahoma Sooners.  Losing your three best players (Willie Warren, Tiny Gallon, Tommy Mason-Griffin) who made up basically your entire offense is going to hurt, but perhaps not as much as any possible ramifications coming down from the NCAA due to the Tiny Gallon situation.  Capel is an excellent young coach, but with nearly the entire starting lineup gone and nobody signed for after this season things aren't exactly looking up in Norman.  There is some talent in the large recruiting class coming in this year, with an elite-level player in Cameron Clark, so if they can squeak past the NCAA hit squad things could turn around, but for this year they'll probably be a scrappy, last-place team that scares a lot of conference opponents at times, but loses out on talent at the end.  Like Gopher football, except without the scaring opponents part.  Or the scrappy part.  

If you came here for baseball talk, what with the playoffs and all, don't worry your pretty little head. I'm cooking up a little ALDS primer, coming your way tomorrow. Or possibly Wednesday morning. Here's a preview: We're doomed.

Time to Move On: Bring on the Aggies

Ok, I've calmed a bit from my post game anger, and although the seething disappointment still burns away at my stomach lining, I realize that it was just a loss to an NCAA Tournament team - it won't hurt much, if at all, when it comes to selection sunday.  Fine.  It doesn't matter that the Gophers were far superior but just let themselves get outplayed, outworked, outhustled, outsmarted, and outrebounded.  Whatever.  I'm moving on.  Time to get to Texas A&M and beat them to finish out the tournament with two quality wins.  After this the game at Miami is the only other chance to get a quality win out of conference (unless St. Joe's shocks everybody and has a good season), so this is key.

A&M has had a similar season to Minnesota thus far, with three wins over cupcakes, an upset win over a higher ranked team (Clemson), and then a loss in the semi-final of this tournament, although A&M's loss to West Virginia is more understandable than the Gophers loss to a team they were much more talented than.  The Aggies are a tough team to get a read on.  They don't do anything particularly well, but they don't have any major weaknesses either (other than foul shooting).  Perhaps the worst news of all - they don't shoot many three-pointers, the only thing the Gophers could defend against Portland.

They are, however, perimeter based, with a trio of guards who thrive both off the dribble and in the mid-range game, all of whom can, yes, step back and hit the three if left open.

The main ballhandler and leading scorer is Derrick Sloan, a 6-3 senior who is averaging over 17 points per game and shooting better than 50% this year.  If I'm remembering the right guy, he's not super quick, so Al Nolen should be able to handle him or at the very least make life difficult.

Their second-leading scorer at 11.8 per game is Sloan's backcourt mate Derrick Roland, who has doubled his scoring average since last season.  I'm not sure what to make of Roland's game, because he seemingly beat up on the cupcakes but has really struggled in the 76 classic so far, shooting just 30% in the two games with point totals of 4 and 8 after scoring 14+ and shooting better than 50%  in all three cupcake games.  This information, combined with his 39% shooting last season, leads me to believe that his offense so far has been a fluke, and he's not someone the Gophers need to concern themselves with on that end of the floor.  Of course, he was on the All-Big 12 Defensive Team last season, so they will have to worry about him in that respect.

The third guard (and third leading scorer) is the perfectly named for a pornstar B.J. Holmes, a junior who is of the Vinnine Johnson instant offense off the bench mold, and he's not remotely afraid to shoot.  He is sixth on the Aggies in minutes played, but is third in scoring and first in three point attempts, but has a 1/2 assist to turnover ratio.  Unlike Roland, he struggled vs the cupcakes but has really turned it on in Anaheim, averaging 19 points per game in the tournament.  He sounds an awful lot like that midget J.T. Campbell, right down to having initials for his first name.  This guy makes me nervous.

The other guy who makes me nervous is Byran Davis, who, along with David Loubeau, make up the Aggies front court.  Davis, now a senior, was a top 60 recruit when he signed on to play at College Station, and his career had followed a pretty good path - more minutes each year, better stats, and a better all-around game.  He seemed prime for a nice breakout season - and it hasn't happened.  His stats have actually taken a step back this year in almost every respect.  Could be that the defection of last year's front court mate to the NBA NBDL somewhere in Europe has hurt him, but he should have been ready for that spotlight.  He's a banger and not particularly athletic, but he has excellent footwork and both Sampson and Iverson showed they are vulnerable defensively against Portland.  Let's hope this isn't his breakout game.

I've written a lot here about the Aggies, but the real key is how the Gophers play.  This will be the third game in a row (well, six really) where they are the more talented team, but as we saw last night that doesn't always equate to wins.  It's simply a matter of hitting your shots, making the most out of your chances, playing smart, and playing with intensity on both ends.  This "pass the ball around the perimeter for 35 seconds and then rush a shot offense" can't make a comeback, or you can engrave that NCAA First Round Loss trophy already.  I really don't like what I saw last night, and I see no reason to expect anything better against another good team.

Texas A&M 71, Minnesota 64.

FUN FACT:  Acie Law's #1 hangs in the rafters at Reed Arena - the only number retired by Texas A&M in any sport.

NCAA Basketball Preview: The Big 12

There are two teams here that are clearly head and shoulders above the rest of the conference, but most of the rest of the conference's teams are no slouches following them.  Other than a couple of bottom feeders, almost everybody should be in the mix for an NCAA bid at some point. 

1.  Kansas.  There are some loaded teams this year, but it would be hard to argue that another team out there is as talented or as loaded as the Jayhawks.  They have it inside with Cole Aldrich, who makes my heart hurt every time I see him.  They have it outside with Sherron Collins, who transition from supporting player to lead-dog brilliantly last season.  They have experience, with everybody back from last year's Sweet 16 team.  They have youth coming in, with three very talented sophomores who should be even better this year, as well as one of the top recruiting classes in the country coming in, topped by SG Xavier Henry, Rivals #8 prospect.  They deep at every position, with 8 guys who averaged more than 12 minutes per game last season.  Simply put, there's nothing not to like about Kansas this year, as long as they don't get in any more fist fights with the football team.

2.  Texas.  One of the few teams in the country who can legitimately claim they might have a better recruiting class this year than the Jayhawks, Texas brings in two Top 10 recruits in guards Avery Bradley and Jordan Hamilton, and two others in the top 75 as well.  If that's not enough, PG Jai Lucas, a top 50 recruit when he originally signed with Florida, has transferred in and should fit in well since he won't need to score.  The Longhorns only really significant loss was guard A.J. Abrams, who you will remember as the Gopher destroyer, but I don't think that will hurt much.  In a couple of the games I watched last year, their offense would some times get caught up in trying to force him the ball, and that won't be a concern this year.  Like Kansas, Texas is loaded in every way and everywhere.

3.  Oklahoma.  It's always tough to start over when you lose a guy like the genetically engineered in a lab Blake Griffin, and the Sooners also lose their Cooper Manning in Blake's brother Taylor as well as starting guard Austin Johnson and his freaky-deaky mohawk.  So why pick them third?  Simple:  Willie Warren (who I actually thought was Johnson at one point, mostly because I liked the 'hawk) and a recruiting class right on par with KU and Texas.  Warren is a complete guard who can score inside and out, and managed to average nearly 15 points per game in a role where his job was to compliment Griffin (Blake not Taylor), with him turned loose this season, he could be a superstar.  Tony Crocker and his stupid long-sleeved T-shirt are also back to annoy you.

4.  Oklahoma State.  The Cowboys finally broke through last year, reaching the NCAA Tournament (and beating Tennessee) after three straight NIT trips, and their reward is losing their entire starting back court.  Luckily for them, they will have two of their top players back, both wing types in James Anderson and Obi Muonelo.  Anderson is really impressive, a 40% three-point shooter who is also nearly impossible to stop when he's driving to the basket and plays his best against good teams (his two highest scoring outputs last season were 35 against Texas and 37 against Oklahoma).  His 1/1.4 asist to turnover ratio is troubling, however.  OSU also has a good recruiting class that would have been better if their top recruit wouldn't have been bounced for academics.  Three of the newcomers are point guards and one of them will have to be able to step in for departed PG Byron Eaton - that could be the key to their season.

5.  Kansas State.  A few short years ago, K-State picked up Beasely and Billy Walker and was suddenly relevant to the college basketball landscape.  Huggins then bolted for West Virginia, Beasley and Walker headed to the NBA, and the Wildcats were in danger of sinking back into obscurity.  Luckily for them, it turns out Frank Martin is a pretty good recruiter, too, and he brings in a very nice class.  The star is Rivals #19 recruit Wally Judge, a 6-9 power forward who was named a McDonald's All-American and will make a big impact.  He's joined by two other top 150 guys, as well as UCONN transfer small forward Curtis Kelly, who was a top 30 recruit in 2006.  Add in a good returning back court in Denis Clemente (who dropped 44 on Texas last year) and frustratingly awesome point guard Jacob Pullen, who is equally likely to score 20, dish ten assists, or go 1-13 and turn it over seven times (which he did against Texas), and KSU is going to be an interesting team.

6.  Texas A&M.  Every year I dismiss the Aggies as a fluky school that managed to somehow wrangle an NCAA bid despite being mediocre team.  Then I was doing some research for this, and read that they have now made the tournament four straight years, winning at least one game each year.  It may be time to pay more attention - especially because they have top shelf recruiting classes coming in 2009 and in 2010.  The most exciting newcomer to me is Khris Middleton, although not the highest ranked (two other guys rank above him).  He's gone from a non-ranked player to breaking into the Rivals 150 (#140) after averaging over 24 points a game his senior year.  He's 6-7 and the reports I have read describe him as a "slasher", an "athlete", and a "terrific outside shooter."  Sounds outstanding - I'm giddy and I'm not even a fan.  I'm so excited, I'm actually going to give him his own label.  Look below, it's there.  I might even have to try to find him on facebook.  They also have improving center Bryan Davis back, mostly known for looking like an older Shelden Williams.  You read that right.
  
7.  Baylor.  Man did this team break my heart last year.  They were my secret bargain futures bet at 40-1 to win the whole thing, with a team loaded with good guards, everybody back from an NCAA tournament team last year, and just a good vibe.  They beat both Providence and Arizona State, and hung tough with Wake in an early season tournament and I was feeling it.  Then they won just five conference games and didn't even make the big dance, settling for an NIT bid whereupon they got their collective shit together and made it to the championship game.  Too little, too late, asshats.  Anyway, they lose two of their good guards but still have two more back, and they gain something they haven't had in years - a big time inside defensive presence in Ekpe Udoh, a transfer from Michigan who you may remember as offensively challenged but a very good shotblocker.  They will need someone to become a third scorer, but with two very good recruiting classes the next two years (and another on the way in 2010), they should be just fine.

8.  Iowa State.  The Cyclones have probably the best player in the conference back in power forward Craig Brackins, who averaged 20.2 points (2nd in conf.) and 9.5 rebounds (3rd) per game last season and was a near-lock as a lottery pick for the NBA draft before he surprisingly decided to return to Ames, which is even more shocking since it seems every season since Jake Sullivan graduated has seen a mass exodus of players every offseason.  Not this year, since almost the entire team returns and should be much improved this season.  They are also joined by a couple of top 100 JuCo players, although that list can be a mixed bag at best, but both are described as very athletic and one was a highly regarded prospect coming out of high school and the other was named the Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year.  McDermott seems to have Iowa State back on the right track, especially if the hometown squad can snag Harrison Barnes away from Duke or UNC - which is starting to sound less and less likely.

9.  Missouri.  A very fun team to watch last year, and a pretty fun program ever since the days of Rickey Paulding and Big Artie, I'm not sure what to make of the squad this season.  With Coach Mike Anderson back, you can expect them to continue with the "40 minutes of hell" style game plan, but they will have to do without last year's top three scorers, including star forwards Leo Lyons and DeMarre Carroll who were not only good players, but also fit the system perfectly.  Luckily, they are getting back all their main ballhandlers, including starters J.T. Tiller and Zaire Taylor and add in the Missouri High School Player of the Year in Michael Dixon, so the backcourt is in good shape - key for an uptempo attack.  They will just need somebody to stand out in the frontcourt, and while there are plenty of candidates, there's no obvious option.

10.  Texas Tech.  Pat Knight has done a hell of a job breaking down what daddy built in Lubbock, getting to the point where he described going into games as "going to a gun fight with a squirt gun."  Ouch.  And since he hasn't done much in terms of recruiting talent, he's turning to the JuCo ranks this year, which should be interesting at the very least.  The Red Raiders are bringing in and expecting significant contributions from three Jucos who ranked in the top 33 on Juco Junction's Top 150, highlighted by #7 Brad Reese who had originally signed with LSU.  Will it work?  Who the hell knows, junior college players are always a crapshoot, but it's an interesting strategy, especially for a team with three double-digit scorers returning.  That group includes forward Mike Singletary, who notched two double-doubles as well as a 43 point outburst in the team's last four games last year.

11.  Nebraska.  I know virtually nothing about Nebraska basketball outside of that little weiner guard a few years back who spelled his name Cochrane or something but pronounced all frenchy, but that's ok, because in my experience people in Nebraska don't know much about Husker basketball either.  When I had to go to Lincoln a couple of years ago for work, I started talking with the guy I was meeting with there about sports and mentioned that without a pro sports franchise in the state and only one major university, U of Nebraska sports must be pretty huge.  He affirmed this, and then started talking about Nebraska football.  Then Nebraska baseball.  Then women's volleyball.  Then swimming, track & field, and softball.  Didn't even mention basketball until I asked him, and then he talked about Creighton.  So, yeah, 11th place sounds about right.

12.  Colorado.  I'm really struggling to write something positive here, but I can't seem to come up with anything.  I can't remember the last time the Buffaloes were relevant, and the that includes the recent few years when they had Richard Roby, one of the better Big 12 players in his years at Boulder.  There's a sliver of hope here, with a good returning backcourt in All-Big 12 Third Teamer Cory Higgins and returning double-digit scorer Dwight Thorne, and with almost Wolves' head coach Jeff Bzdelik on board you have to think he'll get the program turned in the right direction, as he did at Air Force.  But really, the most exciting news is incoming freshman Shannon Sharpe, who obviously has a famous name, but even better is described in Athlon Magazine as "a Youtube sensation."  I haven't bothered to look him up or anything, but man, that sounds cool.


Holy crap is this conference deep this year.  There are about nine teams here with a reasonable hope for an NCAA Bid.  I don't remember who they play in their cross conference challenge thing (gun to my head I think it's the Pac 10), but I bet they end up winning it.

Other Previews
Conference USA
Atlantic 10 
Mountain West 
Atlantic Coast

Weekend Review

Since I can’t possibly write about the stupid Gophers stupid basketball team right now, I’m just going to skip it. I hope they lose in the first round and end up going to the NIT. A team that finished the season out the way they did not only doesn’t deserve to go to the NCAA tournament, but also would most likely get absolutely embarrassed. I would hate to lose Royce and/or Rodney after seeing the Gophers get beat by 40 against like, Boston College in the first round. Ugh. Let’s just move on before I jump out a window.

WHO WAS AWESOME

1. The Netherlands. I’m not going to sit here and pretend to be some fancy scientist who actually knows where the Netherlands are, but I know a pretty huge baseball win when I see one, and the they picked one up this weekend by beating the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic. The Dutch, which is what you call people from the Netherlands, which is also called Holland (really, three names?), are not exactly a baseball powerhouse, with just Sidney Ponson as a recognizable name and just one other major league player (pitcher Rick VandenHurk, who didn’t even play in the game).

It didn’t matter on Saturday though, as Ponson started and pitched ok, giving up two runs in four innings, but then four relievers with zero big league experience – including Twins minor leaguer Alexander Smit who has pitched in 131 games and never risen above A ball and is the most experienced of the group in terms of the minors – shut down a lineup that included Hanley Ramirez, David Ortiz, Robinson Cano, Miguel Tejada, Jose Reyes, and Willy Aybar amongst several other big leaguers. With The Netherlands able to scratch out three unearned runs off Edinson Volquez in the first thanks to Ramirez’s throwing error, they held on for an improbable 3-2 victory, the biggest in the country’s history.

Bert Blyleven was the team’s pitching coach, so I’m assuming this win was all about him, and it’s very likely we’ll be hearing him bring it up over and over and over again on Twins’ broadcasts this season. But that’s ok, because it’s a huge win for the country, and they should be ecstatic. Plus it gives me an excuse to post those broads up above.

2. USA. If I'm talking World Baseball Classic, I can't possibly not talk about the US in their quest to redeem themselves after their 8th place finish in 2006. They are sitting at 2-0 after squeaking by Canada 6-5 on Saturday and following it up with a 15-6 crushing of Venezuela yesterday. Considering Canada and Venezuela are two of the top contenders this year, this is a very good start. The hero so far has probably been Three-True-Outcomes all star Adam Dunn, who in the two games is 3-4 with 4 walks, 3 rbi, 5 runs scored, and 2 homeruns. The team also isn't missing Joe Mauer much, as catchers Brian McCann and my guy Chris Iannetta have combined to hit 3-5 with 3 walks, 2 runs scored and 7 rbi. USA has already guaranteed their advancement to the second round starting Saturday, but still plays the winner of Canada and Italy on Wednesday. As for bad news, Chipper Jones had to leave yesterday's game with strain in his side, although I don't know how bad of news that really is since he's 0-7 with five strikeouts so far.

3. Texas A&M. In a year when most bubble teams seem to be doing everything they can to NOT get into the tournament, Gophers included, it’s nice to see a team like the Aggies actually take care of business. They went 2-0 this week to push their Big 12 record to 9-7 and a fourth place finish, and set themselves up to get a nice conference tournament victory with a matchup against Texas Tech. A&M has now won six in a row, none more impressive than Saturday’s 96-86 thrashing of #15 Missouri in a game that wasn’t even that close.

The Aggies have a very nice balance, with five players scoring between 9 and 14 points per game and have experienced guards. With their resume they might already be in, and a win over Tex Tech in the conference tournament would all but guarantee it, and they could upset somebody once they get there.

4. Auburn. So here’s a team that is so far off the radar I don’t think anybody has noticed them, but suddenly they have played their way into the NCAA conversation. The Tigers won a good SEC road game over Alabama earlier in the week, and then followed it up with a win over SEC top dog LSU 69-53 on Saturday. Auburn has won 8 of its last 9 games, and finished SEC play with a record of 10-6, good enough for second place in the SEC West. The RPI is awful (#72), thanks to a horrendous strength of schedule (non-conf SOS #202), and there is a lack of quality wins (outside the LSU win and a win over Tennessee there’s nothing here) so the Tigers still have a lot of work to do. Auburn has a pretty potent offense, and as weak as the SEC is this year they could easily win a couple of games. With 20+ overall wins, a 10-6 SEC record, and an appearance in the SEC tourney semifinals they might be pretty tough to keep out.

5. Radford, Cornell, Morehead State, East Tennessee State, and Northern Iowa. Welcome to the dance boys, welcome to the dance. Most well known for Gopher fans is probably Cornell, who got here winning the Ivy League’s regular season championship by three games over Yale. Cornell tested themselves this year, playing not only the Gophers, but Syracuse, Siena, and St Joe’s as well. Just one problem – they didn’t beat anybody, and also lost to Indiana. The Big Red will probably be a fourteen or fifteen seed, and have little chance of scoring an upset.

The best chance to get an upset out of this group is from Northern Iowa, who will probably be in the 13 range. I thought the Panthers weren’t very good and wouldn’t get through the Missouri Valley tournament, but they surprised me and outlasted a very good Illinois State team in overtime in the championship – the same Illinois State team that beat Creighton in the quarterfinal. I still don’t think they can pull any kind of upset (they lost to Marquette by 30 and Iowa by 20) but they have a better chance than any of the other teams that have advanced, who will all be 15 seeds at best with a shot at a play-in game.


WHO SUCKED (other than the Gophers)

1. Penn State. As awesome as their win over Illinois was on Thursday, the Nittany Lions completely undid that by dropping a game to Iowa on Saturday. It took double overtime for the Hawkeyes to kill the Penn State dreams, which tells me it was a tough game but which also tells me Penn State had chances to win and couldn’t get the job done.

They allowed Iowa to shoot 47% while they shot just 38% themselves, and were outrebounded 39-25. Looking at those numbers, they were pretty lucky to even be close to winning this game. Pringle and Battle had their shooting touch desert them once again, going just a combined 3-16 from three point land in this one.

It seems unthinkable that a team could go 10-8 in the Big Ten and not get into the big dance, but that’s what happens when you have such a soft non-conference schedule – particularly when you lose to the only two things resembling real teams (Rhode Island and Temple) on it. PSU’s non-conference strength of schedule is #303, and the best NC win they picked up was #118 Mount St. Mary’s, one of only two RPI top 200 teams they beat in the NC. Read that again. Save the MSM’s game and Sacred Heart at #180, they didn’t beat another team in the top 200 until Big Ten play. All that results in an RPI of 59, and when your fellow conference bubble teams have RPIs of 30 (Wisconsin), 32 (Minnesota), and 45 (Michigan) and have more marquee NC wins, you aren’t looking too good.

2. Maryland. Probably the poster child for bubble teams destroying themselves, the Terrapins have likely doomed themselves to the NIT with an 0-2 week. They lost a home game to Wake Forest that would have greatly helped their bubble chances, and then put their own nail in their own coffin by losing to ACC bottom dweller Virginia. The highly overrated Greivis Vasquez didn’t help, shooting a Stephen Curry-like 15-44 in the two games, including 3-14 from three. Vazquez started getting way too much press after his triple-double in the Terps’ upset of North Carolina, but if you look at the numbers he shoots just 43% from the floor and 32% from three, and turns it over almost three times a game. Even so, Maryland’s problems aren’t really his fault, since he has pretty much zero help. Although it’s probably due to those god awful yellow jerseys they’ve started wearing.

3. Cincinnati. Much like Maryland, the Bearcats managed to completely sabotage any hopes they had of getting into the tournament this week by losing to two bottom feeders in the league. They lost to South Florida on Wednesday 70-59 which probably knocked them off the bubble, but just in case there was any doubt they went ahead and removed it by losing at home to Seton Hall, 67-63. Their record in the conference dropped to 8-10, and with only a win over UNLV to point to in the non-conference season and an RPI of 63, they’ll need to win the Big East tournament to get in.

There is reason for optimism in Cincy, however, as the team played above their projections this year and are losing nothing except a walk-on going into next season (assuming Deonta Vaughn doesn’t do something stupid and try to go pro). Vaughn is their leading scorer and one of the top returning guards in the Big East. Junior Mike Williams (a transfer from Texas) gives Vaughn a nice inside compliment to his outside game. Freshman Yancy Gates was the #22 prospect on Rivals Top 150 and lived up to it, averaging 11 points and 6 rebounds per game this year. And the Bearcasts will get another talent infusion when two redshirt freshmen, point guard Cashmere Wright (the #82 prospect) and 7-1 center John Riek (the #13 center) start playing next season.

4. Davidson. Uh oh, looks like we’re going to have a big dance without it’s precious Cinderella, and I’m guessing there are a lot of “objective analysts” crying themselves to sleep after Davidson lost in the semifinals of the SoCon tournament 59-52 to Charleston. I wish I could say I was surprised, but Stephen Curry’s continual struggles this season against good teams (well documented here) I’m not. And, to continue the pattern, Curry struggled once again against a good team, not to take anything away from Charleston who did a great job. Super Stephen hit just 5 of 18 shots, including just 2-11 from three and put up just 3 assists to go with 3 turnovers. Granted, the rest of the team didn’t fare much better as they shot just 31% overall, but then again they aren’t supposed to – they haven’t been anointed the chosen one by ESPN and every other media type. Good luck in the NIT Curry, I’m sure you’ll rip right through it – at least the first few rounds while you get easy matchups.

5. Scarface. Yes, the movie. I hadn't seen it before and we watched this weekend and holy crap, how the hell does this movie continue to show up on Greatest Movies Ever lists? I'm guessing it's like a Citizen Kane kind of thing, where the movie was so groundbreaking at the time that even though it doesn't hold up anymore movie snobs continue to sing it's praises because of it's relevance when it was released.

First of all, at two hours and fifty minutes it's WAY too long. The only movies that were any good that are that long are the Lord of the Rings movies, and that's because I'm a retard for that kind of thing and I loved the books. Secondly, it's just plain boring. You wouldn't think a movie about a drug lord that involved chainsawing someones head off would be boring, but yet, here we are. I think the fact that this is the favorite movie of the rap/hip-hop culture backs up my point that it sucks. Take your three hours and rent two good movies instead. I'd rather spend three hours watching the Gophers.

COLLEGE HOOPS PREVIEW: The Big 12

With practice starting around the nation on Friday (except at Illinois, who got to go early) I figured it's about time to start previewing a little college hoops action. I know it's not as controversial as college hockey or major league baseball, but it's still the main point of this retarded blog.

If you were around last year, you'll remember that I started to preview my top 50 teams, but got tired and bored after doing around 20 of them and quit. I've learned my lesson, I think, so I'm just going to hit on a few of the conferences here and there. I'll get around to the Big Ten eventually and do a bit bigger right up, but for now, I'm going to start with the Big Twelve, which should be a fairly deep and very good conference this season:

1. Baylor
A few short years ago the program was in total disarray, to the point that the non-conference season was canceled and people were dying. Then Aaron Bruce showed up and helped bring Baylor back into the national picture, even leading the team to the NCAA tournament last season. Now he's gone, but the team should be even better. The Bears are led on the perimeter by a quartet of awesome guards in Curtis Jerrells, LaceDarius Dunn, Henry Dugat, and Tweety Carter. Any of them can score, with Jerrells leading the way and also leading the team in assists. Dunn is an explosive scorer off the bench, and Dugat is a top flight defender. Baylor also has an outstanding inside presence in Kevin Rogers who has a shot at the Big 12 First Team this season after averaging 12.5 points and 8.5 rebounds last season. Help arrives in 6-9 freshman Anthony Jones, #44 on the Rivals Top 150. He can run, a must on this team, and can score inside and out. This team will score a lot of points. If you can still get them at 80-1 to win the National Championship, do it.

2. Texas
Every year, I'm like, "Texas is losing too much this year" and every year they prove me wrong. So, finally this year, I'm a believer in Barnes, his program, and his system. Even with DJ Augustin bolting for the NBA, the Longhorns are loaded and ready for another run. AJ Abrams is back, and is one of the best shooters in college hoops with a lightning quick release. An interesting wrinkle this season is that Abrams withdrew from the NBA draft after getting feedback that he will need to learn to play the point, so that will be the plan going into this year. All the other pieces are in place, with Justin Mason, Damion James, and Connor Atchley all back, with James an All-American candidate. The freshmen class will help with depth, but everything hinges on point guard play, whether it's Abrams sliding over or one of two freshmen getting up to speed quickly. Without that, they will struggle all year.

3. Oklahoma
Everyone loves Blake Griffin. I don't. And I like his gay brother Taylor even less. Seriously, way to go Griffin parents: Taylor and Blake? Anyway, even though I'm not a fan, he's good, even if incredibly boring. Like a Dusty Rychart with talent basically. Throw in a couple of good, experienced guards in Tony Crocker and Austin Johnson, and a top recruiting class, and they'll be in the Big 12 title hunt and in line for an early exit in March. Their class is highlighted by point guard Willie Warren, the #4 point guard for 2008 and the #10 overall prospect. Not only can he create and play the true PG role, but he can score too, and led all scorers in the McDonald's all star game. This team could be dangerous but probably won't be since their coach is an ex-Dookie.

4. Oklahoma State
It will be interesting to watch this team this season, with Travis Ford taking over for Sean Sutton and changing the team from halfcourt lockdown defense to a more up tempo type team. Almost as a symbol of the change, defensive stopper Marcus Dove is the only major contributor gone from last season's enigmatic squad. Good news for Ford is that the Cowboys strength lies in it's wing players, keys to an up tempo team. Wings James Anderson, Terrel Harris, and Obi Muonelo were three of the top four scorers for the Cowboys, and assuming Harris is let off his suspension they should be solid. The key for the team's success will be point guard Byron Eaton, who averaged over 20 points a game in a five game winning streak towards the end of last season. He's battled weight problems and inconsistency in his career, and hopes to put it all together for his senior season.

5. Kansas
National title, yes. Nobody coming back, also yes. Well, except Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich. Aldrich could end up being the star on this team, breaking Minnesotan hearts all across the land. He looked good against UNC in the final four, and with Danny Manning there to help teach him he could make a big leap this season. Collins is the only returnee who averaged more than 9 minutes per game this season, and it will be up to him to lead Aldrich and a whole mess of newcomers. Of note are freshmen twin forwards Marcus (Rivals #29) and Markieff (#49) Morris and guards Travis Releford (#70) and Tyshawn Taylor (#77), all of whom have a chance to start. The newcomer most likely to make a big impact is junior college transfer Mario Little, the #1 ranked JuCo player by Rivals. Although as I wrote previously, when it comes to JuCo's you never really know what you're gonna get.

6. Missouri
This is a weird team. I could totally seem them finishing anywhere between 2nd and 11th in the conference this year. They play the 40 minutes of hell style coach Mike Anderson inherited from Nolan Richardson, and it is as inconsistent as it is fun to watch. A group of trouble-makers are gone, and the team now belongs to senior forwards DeMarre Carroll and Leo Lyons, who can score in bunches. The biggest question is at point guard, with last year's primary ballhandlers Stefhon Hannah, Jason Horton, and Keon Lawrence all gone. Look for freshman Miguel Paul to end up the starting PG, and look for him to do well. Last name Paul? Point guard? Yep, he's Chris Paul's cousin, and if he's even half as good as Paul these guys could really fly. When Baylor and Missouri play, expect the scores to be in the eighties.

7. Texas A&M
I really don't know much about this team. They lost solid guard Dominique Kirk, fat Joseph Jones, and overrated and very tall DeAndre Jordan, and I'm not really sure where that leaves them. Josh Carter is one of the best shooters in the Big Twelve, but without Acie Law IV his accuracy took a huge hit last year. Donald Sloan is back, but he never really impressed me much. The biggest key here is forward Bryan Davis (not the crying dude from Duke back in the day). He's a decent player who is really the only returning big man. He'll need to be more than decent to make A&M at all relevant this year. The most notable frosh is PG Dashan Harris (rivals #93), a true PG on a team lacking one.

8. Texas Tech
The Red Raiders were a perimeter oriented (dominated) team last year, and look to be again this season, except without last year's top player Martin Zeno. Alan "Don't call me Jake" Voskuil and John Robertson are talented guards with excellent outside shots, but who knows where any offense will come from beyond those two. Last season's top inside guy was Trevor Cook who averaged all of 4.9 points per game. They did little to address this weakness, pinning their new guy hopes on 6-8 freshman Corbin Ray, and the nicest thing I can find anybody writing about him was "Plays like Christian Laettner." Hopefully for Tech it's the college version and not the pro version.

9. Nebraska
Do you know how excited Cornhusker fans were to make the NIT last year? Really excited. How that's how awful their program is there. The NIT is their NCAA tournament, and nothing much looks like it's going to change, with last year's top player Aleks Maric graduating and nothing much coming in to help out. They have four starters back, but really, who cares? There best player is Ryan Anderson, who has the same name as that awesome dude for Cal last year, so I guess that's something.

10. Iowa State
Ouch. Remember Fred Hoiberg? Marcus Fizer? Jamaal Tinsley? Hell, even Mike Taylor before he went all J.R. Rider? The Cyclones have fallen, and fallen hard with mass defections. They continued again this off season, as their top returning player, Wesley Johnson, decided to transfer to Syracuse. Still, there is a little bit of talent here with Craig Brackins, a pretty tough post player, and Diante Garrett, who could develop into a solid pass first point guard. A deep, if not immensely talented freshmen class will help. Look out for freshman Dominique Buckley to make an impact.

11. Kansas State
With Mike Beasley and Bill "Sky" Walker bolting to the NBA, the cupboard is pretty bare at K State. The season hopes rest in the backcourt, with sophomore Jake Pullen and transfer from Miami Denis Clemente. They are definitely fast, and they are definitely streaky. Pullen was electric at times last season, running the break and finding those two awesome forwards on the wings as well as getting his own shot and dropping 20 on Kansas. I love this little dude even though sometimes his decision-making skills rival those of Tavaris Jackson. As far as the front court, there's really nothing to talk about there. Empty and worthless.

12. Colorado
What kind of outlook to you have when you go 3-13 in conference last season, and then lose possibly the best player in your program's history in Richard Roby, along with two other starters? I don't know, maybe it's time to defect and head on over to the WAC. The Buffaloes biggest hope is that freshman transfer from Wake Forest Casey Crawford is better than advertised. He's more of a post type banger, not really a program changer type, but still will probably end up as one of Colorado's best players this season along with Cory Higgins (Rod's kid). With a decent recruiting class, highlighted by familiar Austin Dufault, things are looking slightly up at CU, where they can look forward to finishing as high as seventh in the next ten years. With a little luck.


P.S. Cole Hamels is sick good.