Originally Posted by
dkbaseball
No quarrels about how good Purdue might be. As an alum of Duke, Wisconsin and Indiana, I fear them mightily. But I do expect Wisconsin to be at least as good as this year. Every year people talk about what they've lost -- coming into this season they weren't even in the top 40 because the loss of Tucker and Taylor was supposed to be insurmountable -- but I had thought by the end of the season the conventional wisdom had finally caught up to the fact that Bo Ryan runs the ultimate system, and just plugs in new parts every year selected for their suitability to the system.
Flowers had a great motor that will be hard to replace. Butch was a terrific rebounder and his 3-point shot could be a real equalizer. (Greg) Steimsma could block shots and take up space. But look at what they bring back. Landry and Krabbenhoft will be the most experienced forward tandem in the country with lots of different capabilities between them, some of which they haven't really unwrapped yet. In the backcourt, Flowers is replaced by Jason Bohannon -- the Big Ten sixth man of the year and a better scorer than Flowers, if not quite as athletic. Point guard Trevon Hughes has tremendous talent and played most of this season with a high ankle sprain. In the middle they bring in Keaton Nankivil, a strong power player who didn't play much this past season because Butch and Steimsma were in the way, but supposedly looked great in practice and is ready to go. Another soph, 6-10 Jon Leuer, is quicker than Butch and potentially has at least as good a shooting touch. He dropped in 27 in the first conference game against Michigan, but then his shot went south. The five-man freshman class coming in is supposed to be very competitive.
I don't see them falling off any.