CBS Pre-season Top 50 Big Men

[Ultrarunner]

Sometimes I just have to shake my head. Mason at 12.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/20656491

The man had an excellent season playing without a quality pg to set him up. The players ahead are there due to potential rather than production. Sprinkle a little pixie dust and a freshman becomes the next reincarnation of Bill Russell.

As with Quinn, let the season speak for itself.

[licc85]

Wow, those CBS rankings are total crap. Gorgui Dieng and Jeff Withey are better than Mason Plumlee? Please . . . do these guys even watch basketball? I'm starting to doubt that.

I just wish Kyrie had been healthy in his 1 year, people would have seen what a freak athlete like Mason can do with a legit point guard throwing lobs his way. I think having a healthy Quinn this year will do wonders for Mason. I fully expect him to produce big games all year long.

[superdave]

So 6'11'' Ryan Kelly does not make this list? Are they doing a PF list or is he considered a wing by the CBS braintrust? Odddd.......

[slower]

If Mason's consistent, the ratings will take care of themselves. "Bad" Mason is lower than 12, "good" Mason is better than 12. His choice.

[CDu]

I always chuckle at complaints about pre-season rankings (of any sort). They simply don't matter. Mason will be as good as he will be, and the results are all that matter. Who cares whether the folks at CBS think he's the best, 12th best, or 77th best big man in the country?

[jipops]

I am curious how CBS can have this statement "He would have been a first-round pick in the NBA Draft" and then give him a ranking of 12. This seems to contradict.

[Wander]

Wow, those CBS rankings are total crap. Gorgui Dieng and Jeff Withey are better than Mason Plumlee? Please . . . do these guys even watch basketball? I'm starting to doubt that.


Dieng had a very good season last year. His stats are comparable to Mason's - to oversimplify it, Mason's a little better on offense and Dieng's a little better on defense. Dieng is also preseason 1st team Big East. You're selling him short. You can have them in either order, and putting Dieng just a couple spots above Plumlee isn't unreasonable (though I would probably have them both higher).

[Wander]

I am curious how CBS can have this statement "He would have been a first-round pick in the NBA Draft" and then give him a ranking of 12. This seems to contradict.

Keep in mind that CBS breaks the guys down into three positions, not the usual five. They do this in order to avoid obnoxious conversations about whether the 3rd guy in a three guard lineup should count as a shooting guard or small forward or whatever. So even if we assume that the list tracks NBA potential and that every guys on the list enters the NBA draft (neither of which is true), then a guy ranked at 12 in one category can definitely still make the first round.

[NSDukeFan]

So 6'11'' Ryan Kelly does not make this list? Are they doing a PF list or is he considered a wing by the CBS braintrust? Odddd.......

I expect Ryan will be better than 25th team all-American this year. In fact, I would be willing to put money on it.

[Edouble]

Wow, those CBS rankings are total crap. Gorgui Dieng and Jeff Withey are better than Mason Plumlee? Please . . . do these guys even watch basketball? I'm starting to doubt that.

I just wish Kyrie had been healthy in his 1 year, people would have seen what a freak athlete like Mason can do with a legit point guard throwing lobs his way. I think having a healthy Quinn this year will do wonders for Mason. I fully expect him to produce big games all year long.

But these ranking are for how good these big guys are right now, not how good they are if they are playing with the #1 pick in the draft two years ago. I think a ranking of 12 is entirely reasonable. Yes, Mason played better when he was the #3/#4 option on a team loaded with NBA talent. I think most big guys would!

[Kedsy]

So 6'11'' Ryan Kelly does not make this list? Are they doing a PF list or is he considered a wing by the CBS braintrust? Odddd.......

Yeah, I think leaving Ryan off the list is a much bigger slight than Mason at #12. Still, as CDu said, pre-season rankings (especially by bloggers) have to be the very definition of meaningless.

[Edouble]

I am curious how CBS can have this statement "He would have been a first-round pick in the NBA Draft" and then give him a ranking of 12. This seems to contradict.

It doesn't. Less successful players with more pro potential are drafted ahead of players with proven college success every year.

[DukieInBrasil]

I expect Ryan will be better than 25th team all-American this year. In fact, I would be willing to put money on it.

I agree, Ryan may very well end up having a better year statistically than Mason. Heck, he had a better ppg average than Mason. But Mason is a better rebounder and actually plays inside like a "big man", so i can see how Ryan just slips off of people's radars concerning big man rankings. I suspect that Ryan will end up with a higher ppg than Mason, lower rpg and a higher apg. Hopefully Ryan and Mason improve on their interior passing, with Ryan getting lots of assists to Mason.
I would be very surprised if Ryan is not on an All-ACC squad this year, and somewhat surprised if he doesn't make 1st team All-ACC. He would have to far surpass his production to date to garner support for any of the All-American teams, but i don't think it's beyond him to produce at the level of 15ppg, 6rpg, 3 apg and 2 bpg. If he produces at that level with improved efficiency (higher 3FG% and FG%) he may very well be on one of the All-American teams.

[jv001]

Ryan will have a Danny Ferry type year for Duke. Now I'm not saying Ryan is near the player that Danny was, but if he could have a consistent year in ppg, rpg, apg. Not up and down as in the past, but score some where near 15-16ppg and improve his rpg to say 7pg. That would be huge for us. Ryan is a good free throw shooter, so getting some points in the paint should increase his free throw attempts. He's healthy from what we've heard and he worked on his game during the offseason. So I'm going out on a limb and say, Ryan makes 1st Team ACC this year. GoDuke!

[DukieInBrasil]

Ryan will have a Danny Ferry type year for Duke. Now I'm not saying Ryan is near the player that Danny was, but if he could have a consistent year in ppg, rpg, apg. Not up and down as in the past, but score some where near 15-16ppg and improve his rpg to say 7pg. That would be huge for us. Ryan is a good free throw shooter, so getting some points in the paint should increase his free throw attempts. He's healthy from what we've heard and he worked on his game during the offseason. So I'm going out on a limb and say, Ryan makes 1st Team ACC this year. GoDuke!

I think 16-7 for Ryan is certainly in the range of the possible for Ryan, although i think that would require either a) way increased efficiency on Ryan's part or b) greater focus on Ryan in the O, or both a and b. To get his rebounds up to the 7rpg level, he'd have to really focus on getting after it, and boxing out much better than he has up to this point.

[jv001]

I think 16-7 for Ryan is certainly in the range of the possible for Ryan, although i think that would require either a) way increased efficiency on Ryan's part or b) greater focus on Ryan in the O, or both a and b. To get his rebounds up to the 7rpg level, he'd have to really focus on getting after it, and boxing out much better than he has up to this point.

In the interviews that I've heard from Ryan he's seemed to be focused on doing just that. Getting after it. I don't know why I have this feeling about this his senior year, but I think he's going to have a special year. GoDuke!

[crimsonandblue]

Wow, those CBS rankings are total crap. Gorgui Dieng and Jeff Withey are better than Mason Plumlee? Please . . . do these guys even watch basketball? I'm starting to doubt that.

I just wish Kyrie had been healthy in his 1 year, people would have seen what a freak athlete like Mason can do with a legit point guard throwing lobs his way. I think having a healthy Quinn this year will do wonders for Mason. I fully expect him to produce big games all year long.

Jeff Withey led the nation in block percentage and can change how teams play on offense. Plumlee's undoubtedly got a more diverse and more attractive game, but Withey can also shoot free throws and his offensive stats and rebounding will go up as he won't have Thomas Robinson using a third of the team's possessions or leading the nation in defensive rebounding percentage. I don't see anything crazy about picking Withey ahead of Plumlee, if only for Withey's defensive presence.