It's a total waste of time until we know who is returning and what recruits go where.
http://onlinesportsfanatic.com/2009/...for-2009-2010/
I hope G comes back.
It's a total waste of time until we know who is returning and what recruits go where.
Calm down, this season just ended an hour ago.
Did he say "if Ty Lawson returns"? Is that even a possibility?
I think that is my neighbor's dogs blog...
I didn't know he could type...
Not to be a wet blanket, but if he and the other underclassmen at UNC come back, they are probably again the number one team and have one of the most talented starting five again.
Lawson, Ellington, Ginyard, Davis and Thompson.
Not a chance that happens, but it just shows the talent Roy has assembled.
they ain't coming back. They better be glad they got it this year. I hope they're enjoying it. I heard a Carolina fan say the other day that he was used to partying on Franklin Street cause they beat Duke all the time they've beaten us the last 4 times he said. Man they have short memories over there.
Well, I guess if you are going to start making predictions before you know who is leaving and who is staying, April 1 is as good a date as any.
But the guy is certainly honest enough to include plenty of caveats.
He has Thabeet supposedly staying for #5 UCONN? What are the chances that he'll stay like zero? This is further compounded by the fact that Calhoun has gotten himself into a real mess. Who would want to stick around for the NCAA investigation of that?
I believe that top 5 could go in any order. Duke could be 1st, or 5th. I think that if those UNC players go (Davis, Lawson, and Green and Hanswhoever are leaving) they would be a little lower in the seeding, no doubt.
Projecting next season's rankings without knowing rosters is like projecting next season's starting line ups without knowing rosters.
Fun, perhaps, and a way to kill time, but ultimately futile.
-jk
Futile, yes, but that word applies to 95% of these [and 100% of my] posts; so, it's ok to have a little fun.... Starting with being very, very skeptical of any 09-10 preseason top 25 that fails to include Villanova and Texas, save as "also under consideration." Both are very likely to have 4-5 solid players returning, and both have strong recruiting classes. I got Nova and Tex in my top 6-7, along with Kansas, Mich St, UNC, and Duke.
It will be fun, if only slightly less futile, to revisit this preseason stuff when the early departures ... depart.
http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/bozich/blog.html
Rick Bozich, and apparently whoever was near him on press row in Detroit, don't consider us Top 10.
Here's their list:
A decent assessment; they assume Jonny Flynn returns and Ellington/Lawson go. Signs have pointed to both assumptions being correct.This is what we settled on, in reverse order.
10. Texas
9. West Virginia
8. Villanova
7. North Carolina
6. UCLA
5. Purdue
4. Wake Forest
3. Syracuse
2. Michigan State
1. Kansas
I do a year-in-advance Final Four prediction, good for occasional gems but often wrong. Click the link in the signature if you're interested, but I went with Syracuse, Ohio State, Kansas, and Purdue. Ohio State is the question mark -- well, they all are question marks at this point, but I feel the least confident about the Buckeyes. They won't be as tall next year, but I think losing BJ Mullens is a case of addition by subtraction.
I also considered West Virginia and California, but had serious doubts that either Bob Huggins or a Pac-10 team could get the job done. (Duke could make it, but I'd rather view that as a mild surprise than an adherence to expectation. They should be in the preseason top 10.)
As for conferences, the Big Ten should be the strongest next season, as it seems to lose the least amount of talent to graduation and the draft. Michigan State may slip a little, but Purdue, Ohio State, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, and Penn State all look a little better. Of course, it is the Big Ten, so they'll just beat up on each other again and fail to look impressive on a national scale.
MSNBC sports page has a link to "14 to watch next year" - sans Duke.
Dickie V's top 5
5. Mich. St
4. Purdue
3. Syracuse
2. Duke
1. Kansas
The video is on the front page of ESPN's website.
V said that if Henderson returns, with "the S&S boys in Scheyer and Singler" Duke will be dynamite. He also didn't even mention the possibility of Wall, which could boost us to numero uno.
Per NBC Sports these are the 15 teams to watch next year. Where's Duke??? I will heretofore disregard anything MSNBC sports has to say about anything. They list the Tar Heels and Wake. This is such bull.
Last edited by -jk; 04-07-2009 at 10:44 PM. Reason: language