If Singler stays, we could be a unanimous #1. If he goes, we are still probably top 3 (at least top 5) since everyone is so high on Irving and we don't really have any question marks in the starting lineup even with the departures.
You know, cause I'm excited about college basketball, and I only have to wait 7 months for another game!
Here's a stupidly early look at what I think will be the top 25 next year:
1. Duke (Probably top 5 if Singler goes)
2. Michigan State
3. Purdue (Might be #2 if Hummel comes back 100%)
4. Butler (How big of a defensive drop-off will loss of Veasley be?)
5. Georgetown (assumes Monroe comes back)
6. Villanova (Reynolds is awesome, but will this be a better, more balanced team?)
7. Baylor (Dunn is that good)
8. Pitt
9. Kansas State
10. Xavier
11. Syracuse
12. Texas
13. Ohio State
14. Florida
15. Virginia Tech
16. Illinois
17. Memphis (I believe that juniors and seniors > potential freshman studs)
18. Kansas
19. North Carolina
20. Vanderbilt
21. Florida State (maybe should be higher...)
22. Minnesota
23. Wisconsin (has to be in any top-25 list)
24. West Virginia
25. Missouri
Obviously, much will change depending on who leaves early and which top recruits go where. The coaching carousel also should factor in...
Your thoughts?
If Singler stays, we could be a unanimous #1. If he goes, we are still probably top 3 (at least top 5) since everyone is so high on Irving and we don't really have any question marks in the starting lineup even with the departures.
Where's Kentucky?
Seth Greenberg is pissed that the Hokies were not considered one of the best teams for next season!
I think losing Zoubek, Scheyer, and Thomas might drop Duke down a few spots. Replacing three starting seniors isn't going to be easy.
I would not rank UNC. Barnes is good but not that good, UNC is likely to lose its two big man if Davis goes pro. They will be better but not that good.
This person thinks the ACC will be the Big Two. Georgetown should be good they beat Butler and Duke and everyone should be back
http://www.onlinesportsfanatic.com/?p=2086
I have seen Mich St ranked very high but I am not so sure Lucas comes back near 100%. An Achilles tear can be a very bad injury speaking both as a physician and someone who has suffered this injury (playing basketball). You always lose some strength and it is highly possible even probable he will never return to his preinjury level of play.
Greg Monroe for Georgetown said right after the Gtown loss he was coming back but as one of the posters says don't believe what they say when they are upset after a loss. If he goes GTown takes a step back.
Where are the other ACC teams?
unc had the talent this year to be good. With their recruiting class, even if ed davis goes pro they should still be a top 25 team. There luck can't be so bad that they have the same string of injuries two years in a row. They probably will cut down on turnovers too. I can't imagine roy will stuck with ld3 if he is still making the same mistakes next year as he was this year, especially if kendall marshall is as good of a passer as the people in chapel hill claim he is.
They will be a tournament team next year regardless of whether the field is 65 or 96 or any number in between.
If Monroe comes back for Georgetown (which I don't think has any chance of happening) they need to be in the 2-3 conversation.
Butler too high IMO. I think theres a good chance Hayward leaves.
UNC too low. Even if Davis leaves I think they are a top 20 or so team. If he stays I think they are top ten. If he stays they have guys with a ton of ability at each of the starting position Marshall I think is overrated but still solid, I think Bullock is great and is ranked close to Irving (people seem to forget that since Barnes is their higher rated recruit) Barnes will be very good and Henson and Davis would be a really good frontcourt. But whatever - we are champs.
Well let's hope singler stays.
I think UNC is top 10 at some point next year. They have alot of talent and should have better outside shooting next year which was a big weakness this past year (what an incredible run to the NIT title game). But they have to figure some things out and chemistry could still be an issue with some of the characters they have coming in. One of their problems this past year was effort. How do you get better at that? I just hope no one transfers. Keep the headcases. No addition by subtraction please.
Of couse I said the same thing about them last year and was totaly wrong. I never in a million years saw them sucking like they did this year. They were my favorite comedy on the tube this year. Watching Roy on the sidelines was like watching a one man comedy troupe.
I will likely be in the minority here, but I think Duke is top 5 maybe, but not 1 or 2 (if we lose Singler of course... with Singler, clearly #1).
Hear me out:
We lose Zoubs and Lance. We will have to start Miles or Mason without the comfort of other bigs (either play them together, or one with Kelly or Hairston or Felix is yet to be decided). We lose much of our offensive rebounding prowess. I'm going out on a limb here, but I think that our team's potential success next year will be dependent upon the improvement of the Plumlees and to a lesser extent, Felix, Kelly, and Hairston.
I fully expect Kyrie, Seth, and Nolan to highlight the best guard trio in the country. I wonder if we go small and play these 3 at the same time.
In the end, it will be as this year, what will the Bigs bring. If they bring it, I smell a trip to the promise land once more...
on probation?
Hoping the NIT doesn't go away just yet?
...I'm not sure which of these made me smile more, but thanks for the laughs!
The rebounding was huge for Duke this year. Obviously, the ability of next year's bigs to fill that gap will be a key story throughout the season.
One thing that I suddenly realized (and I feel stupid for taking so long to come to this realization) that we are really going to miss Lance's defense next year... even moreso if Kyle leaves. Duke will not have that kind of tall, versatile defender who can guard a variety of scoring threats... well, at least not one that is proven. It will be interesting to see how K compensates for this particular loss.