The Gophers are two games in, and I have very little to say since there is still so much unknown about this team. They seem like they play pretty decent defense, but they can't rebound at all. The pass the ball well and Carlos Morris seems like the only ball stopper, but they shoot way too many threes for a team that hasn't shown much of an ability to make them. As people always like to say, we won't really know about this team until they play a real opponent. Even if this event isn't exactly loaded with top tier teams, there's enough here that we should, indeed, know quite a bit more about this team afterwards.
First up is Temple on Thursday. The Owls have only played one game this year and they got their doors blown off by the Tar Heels, but since the Gophers have a wee bit less fire power than Carolina who knows what that means. Temple was maybe an NCAA snub last season, but they also lost two of their top three guys from last season so this is probably a decent test for our Gophers here.
Generally Fran Dunphy's teams vary their statistical profile based on personnel, which means he's a good coach, but they almost always have two things in common - tough defense, and they don't turn the ball over. Since we don't really know what we have in the Gophers the tough defense will be a good test, but I'd feel better if they weren't playing such a traditionally disciplined team. Overall, given the Owls have a decent team but not a good one, this game should tell us a ton about the Gophers this year.
Which is good, because the second game won't tell us anything, either way. If the Gophers lose they will most likely play Missouri State, who is a bottom tier Missouri Valley team that lost to Oral Roberts by 15 in their only game this year. Nothing is a guaranteed win, especially for a team like the Gophers this year, but this would be as close to one as any game they've played this year.
On the other hand if the Gophers win, they'll most likely play Butler, who has holes like any other team but is a tremendously awful matchup for them. Butler will pound the paint, crash the offensive boards, defend like hell, and take care of the basketball. They aren't a great team because they don't really have much size, but that won't matter against the Gophers. Basically if I was engineering a team to beat the Gophers, Butler is really close. If this matchup happens I'll have money on Butler, which is always fun because if you lose your bet that means your team won! (or did well).
The final game would be against Utah, Miami, Mississippi State, or Texas Tech. Utah is legit and is the favorite to win. In fact if they don't most likely they had a really bad tournament, so if the Gophers do end up playing the Utes that would mean good things for the Gophers. Plus it would be fun to watch the Gophers try to find a way to stop seven-foot monster Jakob Poeltl. Miami might not be completely terrible and we'd get to watch that jerk Ja'Quan Newton and see if Tonye Jekiri can get to 20 rebounds. Mississippi State is bad and just lost to Southern which is in the SWAC who should never beat anyone, but Malik Newman is a super stud freshman who would be fun to watch. Texas Tech is still mostly a garbage fire and it would suck to play them because the whole Gophers vs. Tubby narrative would drive me insane.
So there you go. Should be pretty fun.
Showing posts with label Texas Tech. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Texas Tech. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Gophers to play Syracuse in Maui Invitational
The Brackets were revealed for the Maui Invitational today, and your favorite team will play Syracuse in the first round, a game that is interesting not just because playing a team like the Orange is pretty sweet, but also because the rumored package deal of Isaiah Whitehead and Ja'Quan Newton is also considering the Cuse along with Minnesota. WINNER TAKES ALL.
Interesting clash here, considering the Gophers are almost totally perimeter based right now thanks to the graduation of Mbakwe and Rodney Williams, while the Orange lost Brandon Triche, Michael Carter-Williams, and James Southerland and will be more reliant on inside play than ever with nearly every impact returnee an inside (or wing at best) player. Of course, this being Jim Boeheim and Syracuse and they don't rebuild they just reload, they are bringing in ESPN's #5 point guard (#20 overall) in the country in Tyler Ennis as well as a couple forwards in the Top 100, which means the Cuse will have a huge size advantage over Minnesota but will be relying on a freshman point guard against a veteran laden opposing backcourt as well.
Speaking of point guards and dealing with some difficulties, the Gopher guards will have to contend with Syracuse's vaunted 2-3 zone. The good news is Coach Pitino has experience in game planning for it from his days with Louisville. The bad news is Syracuse's zone will likely be made up of Ennis and four guys who are at least 6-8 with wing spans that could probably cover the entire court end-to end. The other good news, is without the guys who left Syracuse has almost no 3-point shooting unless one of the incoming freshmen is a marksman. The other bad news, is I'm terrified of the Gopher guards going up against this zone, but that's from years of scarring after watching Monson and Tubby coached teams go up against zone defenses and collectively lose their shit. Things should be different with Pitino at the helm. Could be different. Hopefully. Please please please be different.
Anyway, this is a pretty sweet draw, and then in round two they will face either Arkansas or Cal, depending on win/lose. I'm too tired to look it up, but I'm pretty sure Arkansas still sucks and Cal is a fringe NCAA team, so Cal would be the much better match-up but the Gophers would have to beat Cuse to get to them most likely. Right now I'm not sure I see that happening, but hey, hooray for optimism. Looking forward to it.
Elsewhere, brackets for a bunch of the other tournaments were announced as well. Of note:
OLD SPICE CLASSIC (Big Ten rep: PURDUE): The Boilers caught a rough draw in the first round in National Champion contender Oklahoma State (you heard it here first), especially much of the rest of this tournament is blah at best. Outside of Memphis (and OK St) the best team might be LSU (who is supposed to be better this year) and that's an ugly tournament. The good news for the Boilers is they should be able to run right through the loser's bracket to end up going 2-1.
VEGAS INVITATIONAL (Big Ten rep: NORTHWESTERN): It's not a tournament because the matchups are already set between four teams (Northwestern, UCLA, Missouri, and Nevada) with UCLA and Missouri each playing Northwestern and Nevada. Because we aren't getting that UCLA vs. Missouri match-up this is a super boringtournament invitational.
PUERTO RICO TIP-OFF (Big Ten rep: MICHIGAN): Assuming the Wolverines can get past Long Beach, and they should, and VCU can get past FSU, and they should thank you very much Andrew Wiggins, that's a heck of a second round match-up. After Michigan blew up everyone's bracket in dramatic fashion by blowing the doors off VCU last year, I'm interested to see how they handle havoc without either Burke or Hardaway. Georgetown should come out the other side, now that Bruce Weber has another year under his belt at Kansas State and should begin dismantling everything Bob Huggins and Frank Martin built.
LEGENDS CLASSIC: No Big Ten rep in this one, but notable because of Texas Tech and Tubby Smith's appearance. The Red Raiders actually may be able to win their semifinal match-up (there are only 4 teams) against Pitt since the Panthers lost a ton off last year's team, but then they can expect to get their doors blown off by either Stanford or Houston. Neither team is great, but Texas Tech is significantly worse than either. Then again, Tubby has shown an aptitude for getting the most out of his teams in these early tournaments, so maybe his magic will work again. Just watch out for February.
WOODEN LEGACY: This is kind of a crappy tournament with teams like Fullerton and George Washington involved (and on the same side of the bracket for some reason) but there's probably enough intrigue to make this interesting considering how much people want to make sex to Doug McDermott of Creighton. I'm most interested in seeing if Maurice Creek (transferred to GW) can make an impact or if those knees are 100% shot.
There's other tournaments too but they're mostly boring and holy crap did I ever just run out of steam. Go to ESPN or whatever. I'm done here.
Interesting clash here, considering the Gophers are almost totally perimeter based right now thanks to the graduation of Mbakwe and Rodney Williams, while the Orange lost Brandon Triche, Michael Carter-Williams, and James Southerland and will be more reliant on inside play than ever with nearly every impact returnee an inside (or wing at best) player. Of course, this being Jim Boeheim and Syracuse and they don't rebuild they just reload, they are bringing in ESPN's #5 point guard (#20 overall) in the country in Tyler Ennis as well as a couple forwards in the Top 100, which means the Cuse will have a huge size advantage over Minnesota but will be relying on a freshman point guard against a veteran laden opposing backcourt as well.
Speaking of point guards and dealing with some difficulties, the Gopher guards will have to contend with Syracuse's vaunted 2-3 zone. The good news is Coach Pitino has experience in game planning for it from his days with Louisville. The bad news is Syracuse's zone will likely be made up of Ennis and four guys who are at least 6-8 with wing spans that could probably cover the entire court end-to end. The other good news, is without the guys who left Syracuse has almost no 3-point shooting unless one of the incoming freshmen is a marksman. The other bad news, is I'm terrified of the Gopher guards going up against this zone, but that's from years of scarring after watching Monson and Tubby coached teams go up against zone defenses and collectively lose their shit. Things should be different with Pitino at the helm. Could be different. Hopefully. Please please please be different.
Anyway, this is a pretty sweet draw, and then in round two they will face either Arkansas or Cal, depending on win/lose. I'm too tired to look it up, but I'm pretty sure Arkansas still sucks and Cal is a fringe NCAA team, so Cal would be the much better match-up but the Gophers would have to beat Cuse to get to them most likely. Right now I'm not sure I see that happening, but hey, hooray for optimism. Looking forward to it.
Elsewhere, brackets for a bunch of the other tournaments were announced as well. Of note:
OLD SPICE CLASSIC (Big Ten rep: PURDUE): The Boilers caught a rough draw in the first round in National Champion contender Oklahoma State (you heard it here first), especially much of the rest of this tournament is blah at best. Outside of Memphis (and OK St) the best team might be LSU (who is supposed to be better this year) and that's an ugly tournament. The good news for the Boilers is they should be able to run right through the loser's bracket to end up going 2-1.
VEGAS INVITATIONAL (Big Ten rep: NORTHWESTERN): It's not a tournament because the matchups are already set between four teams (Northwestern, UCLA, Missouri, and Nevada) with UCLA and Missouri each playing Northwestern and Nevada. Because we aren't getting that UCLA vs. Missouri match-up this is a super boring
PUERTO RICO TIP-OFF (Big Ten rep: MICHIGAN): Assuming the Wolverines can get past Long Beach, and they should, and VCU can get past FSU, and they should thank you very much Andrew Wiggins, that's a heck of a second round match-up. After Michigan blew up everyone's bracket in dramatic fashion by blowing the doors off VCU last year, I'm interested to see how they handle havoc without either Burke or Hardaway. Georgetown should come out the other side, now that Bruce Weber has another year under his belt at Kansas State and should begin dismantling everything Bob Huggins and Frank Martin built.
LEGENDS CLASSIC: No Big Ten rep in this one, but notable because of Texas Tech and Tubby Smith's appearance. The Red Raiders actually may be able to win their semifinal match-up (there are only 4 teams) against Pitt since the Panthers lost a ton off last year's team, but then they can expect to get their doors blown off by either Stanford or Houston. Neither team is great, but Texas Tech is significantly worse than either. Then again, Tubby has shown an aptitude for getting the most out of his teams in these early tournaments, so maybe his magic will work again. Just watch out for February.
WOODEN LEGACY: This is kind of a crappy tournament with teams like Fullerton and George Washington involved (and on the same side of the bracket for some reason) but there's probably enough intrigue to make this interesting considering how much people want to make sex to Doug McDermott of Creighton. I'm most interested in seeing if Maurice Creek (transferred to GW) can make an impact or if those knees are 100% shot.
There's other tournaments too but they're mostly boring and holy crap did I ever just run out of steam. Go to ESPN or whatever. I'm done here.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Old Spice Classic Primer
As I'm sure you are aware, the Gopher hoop team will be in Orlando for the Old Spice Classic over Thanksgiving rather than spending it with their families, simply so the unwashed masses can be entertained rather than actually talking to their family members. I, for one, could not more be thrilled by this. Of course, the last time the Gophers played in this particular tournament it was an absolute disaster when they finished in 8th place (out of 8) after getting swept by the murderer's row of Marist, Southern Illinois, and Montana on the way to the end of Dan Monson and the two least enjoyable seasons ever. Should we fear a repeat? Yes. Absolutely yes.
The DePaul Blue Demons will be the Gophers first round opponent on Thursday, and even though that's a scary name they're still the worst program in the Big 6 conferences over the past like 20 years or so - how ever long Mark Aguirre graduated. DePaul is 2-52 over the last three years in Big East (no that is not a misprint), play in one of the worst arenas in the world, and although they come into the game 2-0 those two wins are over two of the worst programs in history (TX-Pan American and Miss Valley State) and they haven't exactly impressed (beat MVSU by only 10). So yeah, they're pretty terrible.
That doesn't mean they don't have some interesting pieces/players and can't be dangerous, however. Cleveland Melvin (nice name, poindexter) is one of the best players you've probably never heard of. He was originally a UCONN commit before they told him they expected him to be a power forward (he prefers to play SF) and he won the Big East Rookie of the Year last season after averaging 14 & 5 per game. He's kind of like Rodney Williams in that he's a small forward with no jump shot who uses his athleticism to get the rim, only if Rodney paid attention all game and actually, you know, wanted to score on something other than a put back dunk over a small white kid.
The other legit scoring threat on this team is fellow sophomore Brandon Young, who is averaging 15.5 per game with four boards and six assists per to follow up a nice freshman year (13, 2.5, and 4). Young and Melvin actually give the Blue Demons a nice 1-2 punch and they are the reason the Gophers can't show up and just sleep walk through this game. Luckily, however, I don't think they have much else to get worked up about.
Senior guard Jeremiah Kelly is actually leading the team in scoring at 17.5 per on the strength of 4.5 made 3s per game and a .500 shooting percentage from deep. This despite being a career 32% 3-point shooter, so I'm sure this will last. They have two other players who are averaging 10 per game but I don't know who they are and I'm pretty sure Mt. Saint Mary's point guard could score 10 against the competition DePaul has faced.
Oh, and speaking of that competition, guess what DePaul is absolutely dreadful at so far this year - allowing offensive rebounds. Against TX-Pan American and Miss Valley State they've given up offensive boards on 39.7% of all missed shots, good for 315th in the country. Against Pan American and MVSU. Trevor might get 20 boards. Gophers roll: Minnesota 80, DePaul 63.
Following that rout, the Gophers will face the winner of Texas Tech and Indiana State, and defeating either shouldn't be all that daunting of a task.
Indiana State isn't a great team by any means, but they should end up in the top half of the Missouri Valley, and go ahead and take that for what it's worth. They come into the tournament sitting at 4-0 with wins over some nobodies (East Ill, LA-Monroe, Ball St., and Green Bay) and they've won those four games by a grand total of 27 points so you could say they know how to play in a close game. You could also say that they haven't looked very good thus far. Don't forget though, this is the same team that made a run in the MVC Tournament to get into the NCAA Tournament, and they've got four starters back so they ain't no slouch.
They're woefully undersized with their top two scorers and rebounders both being guards, and only two major contributors are 6-8 or bigger and one of them is a freshman. Despite that they do a good job of keeping their opponents off the boards and take care of the basketball. This is a team that the Gophers are immensely more talented then, but are the disciplined type of team that could give them a real problem if they're enjoying Orlando too much and don't focus Rodney and Ralph. If the Gophers play Indiana State they shouldn't have any real problems: Gophers 74, Indiana State 65.
On the other hand, if the get the Texas Tech Red Raiders they should be fine, because T Tech is horrible and I'm starting to think they should be kicked out of Division I or at least have to go play in the SWAC or the Southland or something. They're 3-0 but the beat Troy by 5, North Texas by 5, and Steve F. Austin by 12. And no, none of those are sleeper teams. They're absolutely brutal defensively, but could get a little pesky because they play an uptempo style and are very efficient with the basketball (#1 offensive efficiency in the country despite turning the ball over constantly thanks to 44% shooting from three and 61% from 2).
The only real danger from Tech is getting caught up in their style, taking dumb shots, and letting them run-out to get open lay-ups and good looks at the hoop. They can obviously shoot it, but they haven't gone up against a D-I level defense yet, and even if Tubby is a terrible offensive coach he can handle it on the other end. Gophers 85, Texas Tech 70.
Then on the other side of the bracket, game 3 will come against either Fairfield, Arizona State, Dayton, or Wake Forest. You can read about Fairfield here and here. Arizona State has three guys I'd actually be interested in watching play in Trent Lockett, Carrick Felix, and Keala King but they also come in at 1-2 with losses to New Mexico (understandable) and Pepperdine (gross). Dayton would be semi-interesting because they actually have some size and their fans are tools, but they already lost to Miami-Ohio so yuck. And Wake is desperately trying to rebuild their program after one of the worst years in major college history that included a 1-15 conference record and an 8-24 overall mark that included losses to teams like Stetson and Presbyterian. In other words, the Gophers are better than every team on this side of the bracket as well.
Look, the Gophers are the best team in this tournament and it's not close. Every one is picking them to win, and they should because they're an obvious pick. The way I see it this can go one of four ways:
1. Gophers cruise to the title. Good, great, grand, wonderful. Everything is happy and it looks like the team is likely headed for an upper division Big 10 finish and a comfortable Selection Sunday.
2. Gophers win the title by winning some tight games. Nothing hurt and it's always excellent to win a tournament. It might not have been pretty but they won the games they needed to win, it's early and the team's first games away from Williams, and maybe grinding out these wins will help in the future. I'd still feel good about the team's bid chances, but with a little less confidence.
3. Gophers win 2 of 3. Bad, but not a complete disaster. None of these teams are terrible enough that a loss would spell doom to the season even though the Gophers should be around a 6-8 point favorite or so against everybody. This would be a pretty big disappointment, and would probably mean that us fans are in for a long year with a lot of inexplicable losses and just enough wins to keep the nail biting going in March.
4. Anything else. Complete meltdown. It doesn't matter if it's one win or zero wins, it means the same thing because losing to two of these teams is just completely unacceptable. Anything fewer than two wins means the season is done, sell all your tickets before everyone else catches on, and fire up downwithtubby.com because it would be a complete disaster. Please please please don't let this happen.
I'm terrified.
The DePaul Blue Demons will be the Gophers first round opponent on Thursday, and even though that's a scary name they're still the worst program in the Big 6 conferences over the past like 20 years or so - how ever long Mark Aguirre graduated. DePaul is 2-52 over the last three years in Big East (no that is not a misprint), play in one of the worst arenas in the world, and although they come into the game 2-0 those two wins are over two of the worst programs in history (TX-Pan American and Miss Valley State) and they haven't exactly impressed (beat MVSU by only 10). So yeah, they're pretty terrible.
That doesn't mean they don't have some interesting pieces/players and can't be dangerous, however. Cleveland Melvin (nice name, poindexter) is one of the best players you've probably never heard of. He was originally a UCONN commit before they told him they expected him to be a power forward (he prefers to play SF) and he won the Big East Rookie of the Year last season after averaging 14 & 5 per game. He's kind of like Rodney Williams in that he's a small forward with no jump shot who uses his athleticism to get the rim, only if Rodney paid attention all game and actually, you know, wanted to score on something other than a put back dunk over a small white kid.
The other legit scoring threat on this team is fellow sophomore Brandon Young, who is averaging 15.5 per game with four boards and six assists per to follow up a nice freshman year (13, 2.5, and 4). Young and Melvin actually give the Blue Demons a nice 1-2 punch and they are the reason the Gophers can't show up and just sleep walk through this game. Luckily, however, I don't think they have much else to get worked up about.
Senior guard Jeremiah Kelly is actually leading the team in scoring at 17.5 per on the strength of 4.5 made 3s per game and a .500 shooting percentage from deep. This despite being a career 32% 3-point shooter, so I'm sure this will last. They have two other players who are averaging 10 per game but I don't know who they are and I'm pretty sure Mt. Saint Mary's point guard could score 10 against the competition DePaul has faced.
Oh, and speaking of that competition, guess what DePaul is absolutely dreadful at so far this year - allowing offensive rebounds. Against TX-Pan American and Miss Valley State they've given up offensive boards on 39.7% of all missed shots, good for 315th in the country. Against Pan American and MVSU. Trevor might get 20 boards. Gophers roll: Minnesota 80, DePaul 63.
Following that rout, the Gophers will face the winner of Texas Tech and Indiana State, and defeating either shouldn't be all that daunting of a task.
Indiana State isn't a great team by any means, but they should end up in the top half of the Missouri Valley, and go ahead and take that for what it's worth. They come into the tournament sitting at 4-0 with wins over some nobodies (East Ill, LA-Monroe, Ball St., and Green Bay) and they've won those four games by a grand total of 27 points so you could say they know how to play in a close game. You could also say that they haven't looked very good thus far. Don't forget though, this is the same team that made a run in the MVC Tournament to get into the NCAA Tournament, and they've got four starters back so they ain't no slouch.
They're woefully undersized with their top two scorers and rebounders both being guards, and only two major contributors are 6-8 or bigger and one of them is a freshman. Despite that they do a good job of keeping their opponents off the boards and take care of the basketball. This is a team that the Gophers are immensely more talented then, but are the disciplined type of team that could give them a real problem if they're enjoying Orlando too much and don't focus Rodney and Ralph. If the Gophers play Indiana State they shouldn't have any real problems: Gophers 74, Indiana State 65.
On the other hand, if the get the Texas Tech Red Raiders they should be fine, because T Tech is horrible and I'm starting to think they should be kicked out of Division I or at least have to go play in the SWAC or the Southland or something. They're 3-0 but the beat Troy by 5, North Texas by 5, and Steve F. Austin by 12. And no, none of those are sleeper teams. They're absolutely brutal defensively, but could get a little pesky because they play an uptempo style and are very efficient with the basketball (#1 offensive efficiency in the country despite turning the ball over constantly thanks to 44% shooting from three and 61% from 2).
The only real danger from Tech is getting caught up in their style, taking dumb shots, and letting them run-out to get open lay-ups and good looks at the hoop. They can obviously shoot it, but they haven't gone up against a D-I level defense yet, and even if Tubby is a terrible offensive coach he can handle it on the other end. Gophers 85, Texas Tech 70.
Then on the other side of the bracket, game 3 will come against either Fairfield, Arizona State, Dayton, or Wake Forest. You can read about Fairfield here and here. Arizona State has three guys I'd actually be interested in watching play in Trent Lockett, Carrick Felix, and Keala King but they also come in at 1-2 with losses to New Mexico (understandable) and Pepperdine (gross). Dayton would be semi-interesting because they actually have some size and their fans are tools, but they already lost to Miami-Ohio so yuck. And Wake is desperately trying to rebuild their program after one of the worst years in major college history that included a 1-15 conference record and an 8-24 overall mark that included losses to teams like Stetson and Presbyterian. In other words, the Gophers are better than every team on this side of the bracket as well.
Look, the Gophers are the best team in this tournament and it's not close. Every one is picking them to win, and they should because they're an obvious pick. The way I see it this can go one of four ways:
1. Gophers cruise to the title. Good, great, grand, wonderful. Everything is happy and it looks like the team is likely headed for an upper division Big 10 finish and a comfortable Selection Sunday.
2. Gophers win the title by winning some tight games. Nothing hurt and it's always excellent to win a tournament. It might not have been pretty but they won the games they needed to win, it's early and the team's first games away from Williams, and maybe grinding out these wins will help in the future. I'd still feel good about the team's bid chances, but with a little less confidence.
3. Gophers win 2 of 3. Bad, but not a complete disaster. None of these teams are terrible enough that a loss would spell doom to the season even though the Gophers should be around a 6-8 point favorite or so against everybody. This would be a pretty big disappointment, and would probably mean that us fans are in for a long year with a lot of inexplicable losses and just enough wins to keep the nail biting going in March.
4. Anything else. Complete meltdown. It doesn't matter if it's one win or zero wins, it means the same thing because losing to two of these teams is just completely unacceptable. Anything fewer than two wins means the season is done, sell all your tickets before everyone else catches on, and fire up downwithtubby.com because it would be a complete disaster. Please please please don't let this happen.
I'm terrified.
Monday, September 19, 2011
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.
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.
Monday, October 4, 2010
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.
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.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Week in Review - 12/7/2009
Well, that was an unimpressive Vikings performance. Favre sucked, there was no running game, they refused to get any pressure on Kurt Warner, and as a result he carved them up like Portland against the Gophers. I'm not inclined to make too big a deal out of it though. They were pretty much due for a stinker, and it may even be a bit of a help in the "kick-in-the-ass" kind of way. So it's alright.
The Gophers were good this weekend as well, but it was much like the exhibition games against UMD and Mankato or whoever else it was - the opponent was just too terrible to make any kind of real judgement. Tuesday is Morgan State, which will likely be more of the same based on name alone (I will do a little research and maybe a preview if you are lucky), but Saturday will at least be a ok opponent in St. Joe's. Not a good opponent, but ok. The Gophers can't afford any stumbles, and will still have their work cut out for them in the conference season, but I am still cautiously optimistic.
WHO WAS AWESOME
1. Wisconsin. It was tempting to put the whole Big Ten here for finally shedding the embarrassment of never winning the Big 10/ACC challenge, but then I remembered that Michigan and Minnesota both sucked and couldn't bring myself to do it. Instead I have to praise the red menace, the most hated of hateds, the Roy to my Jim, the Mondego to my Dantes, the Crimson King to my Roland (actually that's a great description with the whole Crimson in the title) - the dirty Badgers. And what ever happened to Jim Caviezel anyway? I thought he was a great Dantes in the movie (which I saw in Ames, by the way - and it was better than the book, yeah, I said it) and he was also excellent in a little time-travel movie called Frequency (and had a nice supporting part in that army court movie with a still hot as hell Ashley Judd). Then he was in a movie with J-Lo and played Jesus. Those are both career killers, and he did both in a 3-year span and killed his career (to the best of my knowledge). Whoops. Oh, and anyway I guess Wisconsin had a good week and Trevon Hughes looks like Al Nolen with a jump shot, a three-point shot, and an ability to finish in the lane. Whatever. Redneck queers.
2. Texas Tech. First of, let me just say that I don't believe that Texas Tech is a good team this year. Second of all, I don't think it much matters what I think, because they just keep winning. They rolled through their super easy schedule to start the season, and were then matched up against Washington this week in the Pac 10/Big 12 Hardwood Challenge, in a game I expected Washington to win by 20. Not so much. Tech ended up beating the Huskies by seven in overtime after scoring a ridiculous 19 in the five minute extra period to run their record to 8-0. Mike Singletary (not that one) and John Roberson are very good all-around players and give them a nice back court. It seems this team is worth keeping an eye on.
3. Alabama. For the football, obviously, genius. That was an absolutely brilliant game they put together against Florida, and although Teblow did choke a bit - particularly on that INT in the endzone - but make no mistake, the Tide played brilliantly. I was most impressed by Greg McElroy, the Tide's quarterback, who may not be the most talented player out there but was definitely the most valuable on Saturday. His stats are nice (12-18, 239yds, 1 TD, 10 rushing yards) but not eye-popping, but he made the throws when he needed too and, more importantly, the runs. McElroy had two huge runs, one for a first down while the Tide were driving that saw him hopping down the sideline to pick up a big first down by mere inches, and the second was a nice run down to the 2-yard line on the game sealing drive - a run that had the announcers embarrassingly calling it "Tebow-esque." And that's the best part of Alabama winning - no more Tebow. Actually it's not so much him that bothers me - he is a very good college QB - it's the constant Teblowing of him by the media and his image and his holiness and his goodness and all that crap that bothers me. I like my football players to be semi-literate thugs, thank you very much.
4. Charlotte. I don't believe the 49ers were really considered as an NCAA team this year, maybe on the fringe, but after a complete dismantling of Louisville - at Louisville - it's time to take a deeper look. Charlotte beat the Cardinals 87-65 by holding them to 36% shooting, destroying them on the boards 46-35, and forcing someone named Mike Marra to take the most shots of any Cardinal player. This win runs the 49ers record to 6-1, with only a loss to Duke in the negative column. Outside of Louisville there isn't really a good win in those six (Hofstra would be the closest), but this team could be sneaky. The have a nice inside/outside balance (of the top five scorers, 55% of the points come from the backcourt, 45% from the front court), take care of the basketball (35th in turnover percentage), and might have a legitimate star in Shamari Spears (19.7ppg, 5.8 rpg). In a two week span at the end of the month/beginning of January, they play Old Dominion, Georgia Tech, and Tennessee, so pay attention to see if this team is a contender, or just a lucky team that caught Louisville on a bad day (*cough* last year's gophers *cough).
4. Jersey Shore. This is the new show on MTV and I'm telling you, find it, record it, watch it, live it, love it. Simply the greatest show I've ever seen. It's basically the Real World, with eight strangers thrown together in a house they couldn't afford if they pooled their future lifetime earnings, but there's a delicious twist this season: every one is a Guido or Guidette, and they are put right in Guido Heaven - the Jersey Shore. The comedy is simply off the charts. If you aren't sure what a Guido is, look at this:
And every single guy on the show is just like this guy (and the girls are basically female versions who, for reasons that are impossible to fathom, are attracted to guys like this). What's even better, is these kind of people don't even realize the rest of the world is laughing at them, and all worship the exact same traits that 99.9% of the population can't stop pointing and laughing at. If you've ever seen the True Life: I have a Summer Share episode, it's like that, but even better.
The breakout star is without a doubt Mike, who calls himself "The situation" and constantly refers to himself in the third person. Such as, "Yo baby, you know you want to get with the situation." Yes, it really is that awesome. He's like Rickey Henderson crossed with the Gotti kids. I love it. This show gets my highest recommendation since "The King of Kong." You know MTV is rerunning it constantly, so find it and watch it. You'll be pleased.
WHO SUCKED
1. Ryan Fitzpatrick. Good god, is there a curse of Jim Kelly now? Or is it a curse of QB Bills? That second one there makes more sense, so let's go with it. The curse of QB Bills is out of control, and the latest poor victim who would otherwise have great skills is Fitzpatrick, who was 9-23 for a whopping 98 yards (and one INT) on Thursday (including just 31 yards to T.O., who I took a chance on starting in a must-win fantasy game). Thanks, dick. But it's not really his fault, it appears nobody can play QB in Buffalo anymore. Here are the main QB rating scores since Kelly retired in 1996 (wow I am way old): 69.5, 87.4, 75.1, 82.2, 76.4, 86.0, 73.0, 76.6, 85.6, 84.9, 70.4, 85.4, and 74.1. How bad is that? I have no god damn clue. Who the hell can make heads or tails out of that formula? What I do know, is that T-Jax's career mark is 77.8, which means Buffalo's QB has only been better than T-Jax level six out of thirteen years. The best a Buffalo QB has done since QB Bills retired was Flutie's 87.4 in 1998. That's basically what Kyle Orton has done this year. So the best Buffalo QB in the last 13 years was Kyle Orton. Yoinks.
2. Evan Turner. Not so much for sucking, since he put up yet another ridiculous line earlier this week against Florida State (25-13-6), but for getting hurt and making a really fun team to watch a lot less fun. In case you missed Turner went up for a dunk against Eastern Michigan on Saturday, got fouled, could quite catch his balance on the rim and fell, breaking his back. No, seriously he broke his back. Luckily it's not the paralyzed kind, but he is expected to be out for the next two months at a minimum. What this really means is that William Buford and David Lighty are going to have to become stars instead of complimentary players, and if they pull it off and Turner comes back at full strength the Buckeyes are going to be awfully tough. Of course, it's just as likely that the team collapses in on itself without it's do-everything guy. I'm rooting for that second option right there.
3. The Pac 10. I know this is at least the second and maybe the third time I've singled this conference out, but sheesh they are just awful. Nobody in the conference can beat any decent competition. This week Washington State lost to Gonzaga, Arizona lost to UNLV at home and got killed by a bad Oklahoma team, Cal lost to New Mexico, Washington lost to Texas Tech, UCLA didn't bother to put up a fight against Kansas at Pauley, Arizona State lost to Baylor at home, Oregon got crushed by Missouri, USC lost by 26 against Georgia Tech, Washington State got blown out by Kansas State. The conference's record this week was 5-11, which included wins over CS-Bakersfield, CS-Northridge, and Arkansas-Pine Bluff, and this is a supposed top-six conference? The best win any Pac-10 team has managed so far this season is either Arizona State's win over LSU or Cal's win over Iowa State - both about the equivalent of beating Penn State. Wow. Just ugly. This might be the worst major conference in history. They might end up being lucky to get two teams in the NCAA Tournament.
4. Portland. So much for them being at-large bid kind of team. The Pilots got crushed by Idaho of all teams, and looked awful doing it. The Vandals beat them 68-48, and held Portland to just 32% shooting. Remember that damn midget T.J. Campbell who destroyed your beloved Gophers? He shot 1-11 for the game and turned the ball over four times. Remember Mr. Do-Everything Nik Raivio? He shot 3-13. How about Robin Smeulders, who you may remember destroying Iverson and Sampson? He shot 1-6 and turned it over three times. Seeing as how this team has already lost to CS-Northridge and Texas Southern, I'm going to go ahead and say this damn near kills Portland's shot at an at-large bid, barring a nearly undefeated run through the WCC, and certainly doesn't make the Gophers' loss look any better. Thanks Pilots. You couldn't have at least ended being a really good small conference team, could you? And I just know noticed that they lost earlier in the week to Portland State as well. So much for not having to worry about the Portland loss going down as a "bad loss."
5. NCAA Fascists. You dicks. You total dicks. I get that you can't put someone like TCU or Boise State in the championship, not when you have an undefeated Alabama and an undefeated Texas. Ok, fine. I think TCU could hang with and possibly beat either team, but I get it. What really sucks is that you are sending TCU to the Fiesta Bowl to play........BOISE STATE! Come on, man! We want to see these schools play some of the big boys and find out if it's true that non-BCS teams can't hang with the big boys, or if the Horned Frogs and Broncos are really every bit as good as the big time teams. How can we find that out if you make them play each other, fascists? But I'm guessing you know that, don't you? You know that's what everybody want to find out, but if TCU beats Florida and/or Boise beats Georgia Tech, suddenly it's time to take the non-BCS teams seriously. Apparently Utah beating Alabama last year wasn't quite enough, so you manage to completely sabatoge everything so the "BCS" conferences get to keep their stranglehold on the National Title. Real god damn fair.
The Gophers were good this weekend as well, but it was much like the exhibition games against UMD and Mankato or whoever else it was - the opponent was just too terrible to make any kind of real judgement. Tuesday is Morgan State, which will likely be more of the same based on name alone (I will do a little research and maybe a preview if you are lucky), but Saturday will at least be a ok opponent in St. Joe's. Not a good opponent, but ok. The Gophers can't afford any stumbles, and will still have their work cut out for them in the conference season, but I am still cautiously optimistic.
WHO WAS AWESOME
1. Wisconsin. It was tempting to put the whole Big Ten here for finally shedding the embarrassment of never winning the Big 10/ACC challenge, but then I remembered that Michigan and Minnesota both sucked and couldn't bring myself to do it. Instead I have to praise the red menace, the most hated of hateds, the Roy to my Jim, the Mondego to my Dantes, the Crimson King to my Roland (actually that's a great description with the whole Crimson in the title) - the dirty Badgers. And what ever happened to Jim Caviezel anyway? I thought he was a great Dantes in the movie (which I saw in Ames, by the way - and it was better than the book, yeah, I said it) and he was also excellent in a little time-travel movie called Frequency (and had a nice supporting part in that army court movie with a still hot as hell Ashley Judd). Then he was in a movie with J-Lo and played Jesus. Those are both career killers, and he did both in a 3-year span and killed his career (to the best of my knowledge). Whoops. Oh, and anyway I guess Wisconsin had a good week and Trevon Hughes looks like Al Nolen with a jump shot, a three-point shot, and an ability to finish in the lane. Whatever. Redneck queers.
2. Texas Tech. First of, let me just say that I don't believe that Texas Tech is a good team this year. Second of all, I don't think it much matters what I think, because they just keep winning. They rolled through their super easy schedule to start the season, and were then matched up against Washington this week in the Pac 10/Big 12 Hardwood Challenge, in a game I expected Washington to win by 20. Not so much. Tech ended up beating the Huskies by seven in overtime after scoring a ridiculous 19 in the five minute extra period to run their record to 8-0. Mike Singletary (not that one) and John Roberson are very good all-around players and give them a nice back court. It seems this team is worth keeping an eye on.
3. Alabama. For the football, obviously, genius. That was an absolutely brilliant game they put together against Florida, and although Teblow did choke a bit - particularly on that INT in the endzone - but make no mistake, the Tide played brilliantly. I was most impressed by Greg McElroy, the Tide's quarterback, who may not be the most talented player out there but was definitely the most valuable on Saturday. His stats are nice (12-18, 239yds, 1 TD, 10 rushing yards) but not eye-popping, but he made the throws when he needed too and, more importantly, the runs. McElroy had two huge runs, one for a first down while the Tide were driving that saw him hopping down the sideline to pick up a big first down by mere inches, and the second was a nice run down to the 2-yard line on the game sealing drive - a run that had the announcers embarrassingly calling it "Tebow-esque." And that's the best part of Alabama winning - no more Tebow. Actually it's not so much him that bothers me - he is a very good college QB - it's the constant Teblowing of him by the media and his image and his holiness and his goodness and all that crap that bothers me. I like my football players to be semi-literate thugs, thank you very much.
4. Charlotte. I don't believe the 49ers were really considered as an NCAA team this year, maybe on the fringe, but after a complete dismantling of Louisville - at Louisville - it's time to take a deeper look. Charlotte beat the Cardinals 87-65 by holding them to 36% shooting, destroying them on the boards 46-35, and forcing someone named Mike Marra to take the most shots of any Cardinal player. This win runs the 49ers record to 6-1, with only a loss to Duke in the negative column. Outside of Louisville there isn't really a good win in those six (Hofstra would be the closest), but this team could be sneaky. The have a nice inside/outside balance (of the top five scorers, 55% of the points come from the backcourt, 45% from the front court), take care of the basketball (35th in turnover percentage), and might have a legitimate star in Shamari Spears (19.7ppg, 5.8 rpg). In a two week span at the end of the month/beginning of January, they play Old Dominion, Georgia Tech, and Tennessee, so pay attention to see if this team is a contender, or just a lucky team that caught Louisville on a bad day (*cough* last year's gophers *cough).
4. Jersey Shore. This is the new show on MTV and I'm telling you, find it, record it, watch it, live it, love it. Simply the greatest show I've ever seen. It's basically the Real World, with eight strangers thrown together in a house they couldn't afford if they pooled their future lifetime earnings, but there's a delicious twist this season: every one is a Guido or Guidette, and they are put right in Guido Heaven - the Jersey Shore. The comedy is simply off the charts. If you aren't sure what a Guido is, look at this:
And every single guy on the show is just like this guy (and the girls are basically female versions who, for reasons that are impossible to fathom, are attracted to guys like this). What's even better, is these kind of people don't even realize the rest of the world is laughing at them, and all worship the exact same traits that 99.9% of the population can't stop pointing and laughing at. If you've ever seen the True Life: I have a Summer Share episode, it's like that, but even better.
The breakout star is without a doubt Mike, who calls himself "The situation" and constantly refers to himself in the third person. Such as, "Yo baby, you know you want to get with the situation." Yes, it really is that awesome. He's like Rickey Henderson crossed with the Gotti kids. I love it. This show gets my highest recommendation since "The King of Kong." You know MTV is rerunning it constantly, so find it and watch it. You'll be pleased.
WHO SUCKED
1. Ryan Fitzpatrick. Good god, is there a curse of Jim Kelly now? Or is it a curse of QB Bills? That second one there makes more sense, so let's go with it. The curse of QB Bills is out of control, and the latest poor victim who would otherwise have great skills is Fitzpatrick, who was 9-23 for a whopping 98 yards (and one INT) on Thursday (including just 31 yards to T.O., who I took a chance on starting in a must-win fantasy game). Thanks, dick. But it's not really his fault, it appears nobody can play QB in Buffalo anymore. Here are the main QB rating scores since Kelly retired in 1996 (wow I am way old): 69.5, 87.4, 75.1, 82.2, 76.4, 86.0, 73.0, 76.6, 85.6, 84.9, 70.4, 85.4, and 74.1. How bad is that? I have no god damn clue. Who the hell can make heads or tails out of that formula? What I do know, is that T-Jax's career mark is 77.8, which means Buffalo's QB has only been better than T-Jax level six out of thirteen years. The best a Buffalo QB has done since QB Bills retired was Flutie's 87.4 in 1998. That's basically what Kyle Orton has done this year. So the best Buffalo QB in the last 13 years was Kyle Orton. Yoinks.
2. Evan Turner. Not so much for sucking, since he put up yet another ridiculous line earlier this week against Florida State (25-13-6), but for getting hurt and making a really fun team to watch a lot less fun. In case you missed Turner went up for a dunk against Eastern Michigan on Saturday, got fouled, could quite catch his balance on the rim and fell, breaking his back. No, seriously he broke his back. Luckily it's not the paralyzed kind, but he is expected to be out for the next two months at a minimum. What this really means is that William Buford and David Lighty are going to have to become stars instead of complimentary players, and if they pull it off and Turner comes back at full strength the Buckeyes are going to be awfully tough. Of course, it's just as likely that the team collapses in on itself without it's do-everything guy. I'm rooting for that second option right there.
3. The Pac 10. I know this is at least the second and maybe the third time I've singled this conference out, but sheesh they are just awful. Nobody in the conference can beat any decent competition. This week Washington State lost to Gonzaga, Arizona lost to UNLV at home and got killed by a bad Oklahoma team, Cal lost to New Mexico, Washington lost to Texas Tech, UCLA didn't bother to put up a fight against Kansas at Pauley, Arizona State lost to Baylor at home, Oregon got crushed by Missouri, USC lost by 26 against Georgia Tech, Washington State got blown out by Kansas State. The conference's record this week was 5-11, which included wins over CS-Bakersfield, CS-Northridge, and Arkansas-Pine Bluff, and this is a supposed top-six conference? The best win any Pac-10 team has managed so far this season is either Arizona State's win over LSU or Cal's win over Iowa State - both about the equivalent of beating Penn State. Wow. Just ugly. This might be the worst major conference in history. They might end up being lucky to get two teams in the NCAA Tournament.
4. Portland. So much for them being at-large bid kind of team. The Pilots got crushed by Idaho of all teams, and looked awful doing it. The Vandals beat them 68-48, and held Portland to just 32% shooting. Remember that damn midget T.J. Campbell who destroyed your beloved Gophers? He shot 1-11 for the game and turned the ball over four times. Remember Mr. Do-Everything Nik Raivio? He shot 3-13. How about Robin Smeulders, who you may remember destroying Iverson and Sampson? He shot 1-6 and turned it over three times. Seeing as how this team has already lost to CS-Northridge and Texas Southern, I'm going to go ahead and say this damn near kills Portland's shot at an at-large bid, barring a nearly undefeated run through the WCC, and certainly doesn't make the Gophers' loss look any better. Thanks Pilots. You couldn't have at least ended being a really good small conference team, could you? And I just know noticed that they lost earlier in the week to Portland State as well. So much for not having to worry about the Portland loss going down as a "bad loss."
5. NCAA Fascists. You dicks. You total dicks. I get that you can't put someone like TCU or Boise State in the championship, not when you have an undefeated Alabama and an undefeated Texas. Ok, fine. I think TCU could hang with and possibly beat either team, but I get it. What really sucks is that you are sending TCU to the Fiesta Bowl to play........BOISE STATE! Come on, man! We want to see these schools play some of the big boys and find out if it's true that non-BCS teams can't hang with the big boys, or if the Horned Frogs and Broncos are really every bit as good as the big time teams. How can we find that out if you make them play each other, fascists? But I'm guessing you know that, don't you? You know that's what everybody want to find out, but if TCU beats Florida and/or Boise beats Georgia Tech, suddenly it's time to take the non-BCS teams seriously. Apparently Utah beating Alabama last year wasn't quite enough, so you manage to completely sabatoge everything so the "BCS" conferences get to keep their stranglehold on the National Title. Real god damn fair.
Friday, October 16, 2009
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
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
Monday, November 3, 2008
Weekend Review
WHO WAS AWESOME
1. Texas Tech. I mentioned last week that I was curious to find out if the whole run and gun by Texas Tech was a mirage or if they were a legit title contender, and Saturday’s win over #1 Texas showed that they are definitely worth mentioning. I think both of the teams I’m going to talk about right after this are better than they are, but a win over the #1 ranked team in the country is still a huge win, even if they play like crap and still almost beat you. A semi-miraculous dropped interception by Texas following a complete Tech collapse gave them new life, and Graham Harrell took advantage hitting Michael Crabtree, who is an absolute monster, for a TD to give the Red Raiders a 39-33 win, and probably jumping them up to #3 in the polls.
2. USC. Lest you thought an early season loss to Oregon State would knock the Trojans out of national title contention, they have done more than enough the last few weeks to serve notice that they are very much one of the top teams in the country. The beat up on Washington this week, winning 56-0 after leading 42-0 at halftime, just two weeks after thumping Washington State 69-0 after a 41-0 start by half. In between those games they travelled to 5-2 Arizona and knocked off the Wildcats 17-10. I don’t know if the defenses in the Pac 10 are just terrible or if Mark Sanchez is really that good, but he’s been carving people up this season, to the tune of 15 TDs vs. 5 INTs (3 in one game) in Pac play. The Trojans may very well be the best team in college football right now.
3. Florida. If it isn’t USC, it may very well be the Gators. Currently ranked 5th, they made a statement in a very big way, going into Georgia to face the #8 Bulldogs and walking out with a 49-10 victory that was only that close because of a garbage touchdown Georgia scored late. I’m not entirely certain what to make of Tim Tebow. Obviously with his size, strength, and speed he can dominate a game, and is pretty much a TD machine, like against Georgia this weekend he rushed for three scores and passed for two more. I’m just not sure what’s going to happen NFL-wise. In any case, with this win over Georgia and a 51-21 massacre over #4 at the time LSU, the Gators have a good argument that they are the #1 team in the land.
4. Bernard Berrian? I'm really kind of unsure about this one. On the one hand, he's scored in four straight games and made a couple of really, really nice catches yesterday. On the other hand, he had one ball where he was in the corner of the end zone and seemed to have no clue where he was and didn't get his feet in bounds, and he had another one where he pulled an Eric Decker and let it go right through his hands straight to a defender. But still, four straight games with a TD? We'll put him here for now.
5. College Basketball. No, not this weekend, but everything kicks off tonight, baby, and I couldn't be more excited. Sure, it's exhibition ball, but it will be nice to see some college hoops highlights on sportscenter and get away from the constant barrage of homoerotica that is football.
WHO SUCKED
1. Gopher Football. Some things never change, right? Despite a hugely successful season thus far, it’s not even surprising that the Gophers lost on an interception return for a TD with 12 seconds left in a tie game on a ball that was perfectly thrown to the Big Ten’s leading receiver who let it go right through his hands, off a defender’s facemask, and into another defender’s hands. I figured there was no way they were going 11-1 and their lofty ranking was a bit of a mirage, but when you lose at least lose at Wisconsin or to Iowa, this was embarrassing. They had plenty of opportunities to win this game, but a stagnant offense and the inability to stop backup Northwestern QB Mike Kafka, who underwent a metamorphosis (note the awkward literary joke here) into Tim Tebow for the afternoon. This doesn’t exactly ruin the season or anything, since you’d pretty much have to be delusional to think they were BCS bound, but it just announces that things are pretty much status quo with Minnesota football. Thank god basketball starts today.
2. South Florida. What a weird team to figure out. Two seasons ago they kind of made their “We have arrived” statement by knocking off #7 West Virginia at West Virginia the last game of the season, then won the Papajohns.com bowl behind super awesome do it all quarterback Matt Grothe. Then last season, they come out of the gates on fire, starting off 6-0 including wins over #17 Auburn and #5 West Virginia, and ended up ranked all the way to #5. Immediately after they completely imploded, losing three in a row to Rutgers, UCONN, and Cincinnati and ended up in the Sun Bowl instead of anything meaningful, where they got crushed by Oregon. This year, they once again started off on fire, going 5-0 with a win over #13 Kansas and getting them ranked tenth. Same pattern held, as they have now dropped three out of the last four to inferior competition, culminating in Thursday nights embarrassing loss to Cincinnati (not technically the weekend but whatever). Once again the Bulls find themselves heading towards some insignificant bowl rather than anything even within sniffing distance of the BCS games. Grothe is a junior at this point, so they have one more chance to get it right.
3. Michigan. It’s not exactly breaking news here that Michigan football sucks this season, but since they lost to Purdue Saturday that guarantees them a losing season, which warrants mentioning. The 48-42 loss, on a sweet hook-and-ladder play, drops the Wolverines to 2-7 overall, meaning they will end up finishing under .500 and will not be playing in a bowl game for the first time in the last 34 seasons. My, how the mighty have fallen. Between the collapse of the football program and the total suckitude of the basketball team since the Fab Five left has their ever been an athletic program in such a free fall? Granted, Indiana basketball is on it’s way, but for now, the Wolverines need to be considered as the biggest collapse in the history of the world, at least since the Gophers/Texas Tech bowl game. At least Brandon Minor looks pretty good.
4. Kansas City Chiefs. Oooooof. Brutal. They looked like they were cruising to win #2 on the season, with a 24-3 (including a TD pass TO Tyler Thigpen) lead with 2 minutes to go in the first half. They then gave up a kick return for a TD and a FG in those final two minutes, and still managed to have a lead until Tampa scored a TD from Jeff Garcia to Antonio Bryant with 19 seconds left and converted the 2-point try, and then won in overtime. Dwayne "The Show" Bowe deserves much, much better.
5. Detroit Lions. Sure, it's getting a little redundant putting them here, but yesterday was a special occasion that was quite similar to the above Kansas City paragraph. Except they were looking for their first win, and only had a 10 point lead on the Bears at half, but had knocked starting QB Kyle Orton out of the game, which is surprisingly a bad thing for the Bears this season. Except enter Rex Grossman, he of the career 32/34 TD to INT ratio, and he marched them up and down the field, throwing for one TD and running for another and saving my hopes in our Survivor Pick'em. Calvin "Megatron" Johnson deserves much, much better.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Weekend Review
WHO WAS AWESOME
1. Gopher football. I’m sure you spent most of your weekend trying to figure out where I would put them, in the awesome category or the suck category. Would I concentrate on the win on the road at Purdue, a tough place for the Gophers traditionally, and a road win in the Big Ten is never an easy task? Or would I concentrate on the ugliness of the game, and how Purdue is not only terrible, but the Gophers were facing a third string quarterback for a good chunk of the game, a guy I’m almost certain doesn’t belong anywhere near a D-I football field? Well, a 7-1 record, 3-1 in the Big Ten, and a #20 ranking nationally have me feeling pretty awesome. Please don’t F this up.
2. Penn State. Staying in the Big Ten, the Nittany Lions let everyone know they truly are the class of the Big Ten by the hated Buckeyes in Columbus 13-6 on Saturday, thanks in part to a late fumble by the right-handed Vince Young, QB Terrelle Pryor. I’m not exactly sure how high of praise “The Class of the Big Ten” really is, but look out, because they’ve picked up three #1 votes in the USA Today poll. The true good news here is that we won’t have to watch Ohio State get their asses kicked in the national championship game, we just might have to watch Penn State get their asses kicked instead. Also, I don’t know if this is true but I heard it somewhere that if Penn State goes to the championship game and the Gophers win out they go to the Rose Bowl. That would be pretty cool. I once won a chili cook-off and kicked a 40 yard field goal at the Rose Bowl.
3. Ryan Howard. Not the guy from The Office, things aren't so good for him right now, but the big fat slugging first baseman for the Phillies. After a very bad game one in which he looked mostly lost and confused and reminded me a lot of the Manatee, Craig Smith, he seems to have figured out Rays pitching, culminating in last night's 3-4 performance with 2 homers and 5 rbi, including an absolute laser of a homerun in the 8th. He has Philly on track for the win, as well as probably being the favorite for MVP at this point. Might as well toss Philly starting pitching in here as well, with Hamels (7ip/5h/2er), Myers (7ip/7h/3er), Moyer (6.1ip/5h/3er), and Blanton (6ip/4h/2er and a HR himself) pretty much dominating the Rays' bats. Congrats to the Phillies.
4. Texas Tech. You know, whenever there’s a gimmicky offensive team in college football it’s hard to take them too seriously. Whether it’s Houston or Hawaii and their super run-and-gun or Air Force with their wishbone/flexbone attack, I never really consider them a top team, no matter the record or the ranking, but it’s looking like this year’s version of the Red Raiders might be different. This weekend they beat a very good Kansas team in Kansas to the tune of 63-21, running their record to 8-0, 4-0 in the Big Twelve. The true test is still ahead, as their next four games are vs. #1 Texas, #7 Oklahoma State, and at #4 Oklahoma, and that’s where we’ll find out if their QB Graham Harrell (#1 in NCAA in Passing Yards and completions, 28 TDs vs. 5 INTs) is more Andre Ware or more Drew Brees.
5. Tyler Thigpen. If you happened to watch the Chiefs/Jets game, first of all you were probably really bored, but in contrast to Brett Favre (more on this below) you would have seen Tyler Thigpen look like an actual, competent NFL quarterback. He ended up 25-36 for 280 yards and 2 TDs with no interceptions, and more so even that that was making good decisions and showed good accuracy and arm strength. He may very well have even led the Chiefs on a fourth quarter drive with under 2 minutes remaining for the win except for a non-call on a fourth down possible pass interference. Basically, he looked like the kind of guy who could be a QB of the future for a team. If only the Vikings had drafted him, like in the seventh round or something. What? Oh. Go T-Jax!
WHO SUCKED
1. Brad Johnson. Holy noodle arm, watching him try to play QB is just painful. I knew he was a cranky old man at this point and I expected the Cowboys to slow down, but not to stop completely. Owens is worthless now. So is Witten. Barber still gets a few yards, but with 13 in the box on every play because BJ can’t throw, the going is tough. On any third down longer than 8 yards, they either run a draw, a screen, or Johnson ends up dumping it to a check down guy 3 yards down field, who then runs to just short of the first down before being tackled. Sound familiar, Vikings fans.
2. Brett Favre. As long as we’re on the subject of bad, old quarterbacks, Favre was vintage Favre on Sunday. No, not the “fourth quarter comeback”, although that’s all I heard from the announcers all day, I’m talking about the poor decisions and interceptions thrown right into the defenders arms. Favre had three of those, and I can’t adequately describe how poor these throws were, including one that the Chiefs took back for a TD, as well as another one right in the linebackers arms that was dropped. Look, he threw three picks to a team that had three thus far in the season, he had an INT returned for a TD in the fourth, losing the lead, and on the TD to take the lead back he horribly underthrew Laveraneous Coles who made an incredible catch to win the game. But all you heard about was the fourth quarter comeback and what a great throw he made by intentionally underthrowing Coles, although I’m 99% sure he was actually supposed to lead him and he made a great play. The media love for Favre continues, any other QB would have been ripped to shreds for this performance. I also heard he’s hooked on pain pills and young Asian boys.
3. Northwestern. I think pretty much every knew Northwestern was pretty much a sham at 6-1, but Saturday’s loss to Crapdiana pretty much seals the deal for any believers out there. Pretty much tells you the state of the Big Ten right now when this team is in fifth.
4. Big 12 Defenses. I always thought of the Big 12 as kind of a smashmouthy type of conference, but clearly that is not the case this season. The lowest scoring game in the conference this weekend was 28-24. In terms of scoring offense, Oklahoma is #2, Texas Tech #3, Missouri #4, Texas #5, Okla State #6, and K State #13. In passing yards, Tex Tech is #1, Oklahoma #3, Missouri #4, Kansas #8, Texas #11, Nebraska #12, and K State #13. That’s a lot of ball slinging, and a whole hell of a lot of fun to watch. Will be interesting to see if it’s just good offense, or bad defense once bowl season rolls around.
5. Evan Longoria. He's still a stud, he's still handsome, and it's a very small sample size no doubt, but Longoria has looked completely befuddled at the plate and in the field in the series. He's currently running at 0-16 with 9 strikeouts, and a whole bunch of fielding plays that he should have made, even if they don't show up as errors. I'm not exactly ready to give up on him or anything, but it would do him well to get a couple of hits tonight at least, so this isn't hanging over his head all offseason.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
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.
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