Way too early: So who is going to be good next year?

[Devil2]

If Hunter stays- Bennett will overtake Roy in convincing players to hang around the program. Roy has certainly lost his touch. Hunter is a legit top 10 pick.

Hunter has also taken a red shirt year. Hunter also explored his draft stock last year. Given his play in the Final four, it is hard to believe his stock is going to get any higher

[Hartford Dukie]

Can't remember where he ranked us previously. Even with Cole Anthony, #8 is too high for the Cheats.

1. Michigan State
2. Duke
3. Kansas
4. Gonzaga
5. Oregon
6. Louisville
7. Kentucky
8. North Carolina
9. Villanova
10. Auburn
11. Alabama
12. Michigan
13. Maryland
14. Seton Hall
15. Baylor
16. Ohio State
17. Houston
18. Texas Tech
19. Utah State
20. Florida
21. St. Mary’s
22. Creighton
23. Arizona
24. Virginia
T25. Purdue
T25. Marquette

https://247sports.com/college/arizon...-25-131440696/

[Steven43]

Well, Virginia fans I have talked to today think they are a shoo-in, since everyone returns except for Jack Salt. Hah! Dream on! I expect DeAndre is gone and maybe Jerome and/or Guy.

Kindly,
Sage

Boy, were you right. What are those Virginia fans saying now?

[ElliottHoo]

Twits gonna twit, but Goodmans #24 sounds about right, assuming we don’t lose Diakite, too.

[Dukebasketball2020]

I think right now the top teams will be.
1. Michigan state.
2. Duke
3. Gonzaga
4. Kentucky I think they land a few more guys or get someone to reclassify
5. Memphis

[DavidBenAkiva]

I think right now the top teams will be.
1. Michigan state.
2. Duke
3. Gonzaga
4. Kentucky I think they land a few more guys or get someone to reclassify
5. Memphis

I am skeptical of Gonzaga being that good. They will be very young. They lose Perkins, Hachimura, and Clarke from their starters and important bench players Geno Crandall and Jeremy Jones. Zach Norvell, Killian Tillie, and Filip Petrusev have declared for the NBA Draft and I expect at least one of them will go pro. They bring in a very talented and deep recruiting class, but none of them are of the Top 25 variety. If they lose Tillie and Norvell, it will be essentially a brand new team a la Duke and Kentucky of recent years. The difference being that no one knows if anyone can create their own shot or defend. I think they will be a good team, a top 25 squad. But being in the top 10 or even 5 is a stretch.

Memphis would need RJ Hampton to be a top 5 in my mind, and to land Precious Achiuwa as it seems they will. Even then, they will look a lot like recent Duke and Kentucky teams but without the coaching staff that has a track record of coaching that kind of team. I would put them in the Top 10 if they land Hampton and Achiuwa.

Michigan State is a lock for #1 and I do think Duke and Kentucky are right there at #2 and #3 in some order.

[Troublemaker]

Can't remember where he ranked us previously. Even with Cole Anthony, #8 is too high for the Cheats.

1. Michigan State
2. Duke
3. Kansas
4. Gonzaga
5. Oregon
6. Louisville
7. Kentucky

Champions Classic will be interesting again. Let's hope we can get our first win against Kansas.

[UrinalCake]

#2 feels too high for us. We have some nice pieces and a lot of depth but not the high-end talent we’ve grown accustomed to. With that said, when I look at the other teams I can’t say that they’re necessarily better than us either. The ACC should definitely be wide open.

[Troublemaker]

#2 feels too high for us. We have some nice pieces and a lot of depth but not the high-end talent we’ve grown accustomed to. With that said, when I look at the other teams I can’t say that they’re necessarily better than us either. The ACC should definitely be wide open.

I see parity. It really should be a 10-way tie for preseason #1. With Tre back, I love Duke's chances. I always ask of a team: how good is your point guard? And we might have the best two-way PG in the country.

Not sure the ACC is really wide-open. I'll re-evaluate once all the rosters are settled, but Duke should be a pretty heavy favorite. "Wide open" would suggest to me that Duke, Louisville, UNC, UVA, etc are all basically even.

[Dukehk]

Really feels like a "down" year in college basketball. With the seemingly unending declarations for the NBA by any and almost all underclassmen, it feels as if no team is returning a significant number of players outside of michigan state (and even they might lose nick ward).

I feel that louisville might be a bit underrated provided that they get jordan nwora back. I can see them being a really tough veteran team because they return almost everyone whilst adding another piece in grad transfer from st josephs - Lamar Kimble.

I'd have them as the early favorites for acc champs with us closely in 2nd place just based on not knowing how our freshmen will pan out.

If all goes to plan though, we have the depth and talent to make yet another run at the national title next year.

No real dominant teams on paper other than msu and I don't feel like they are unbeatable by any stretch of the imagination. I'm hoping we come full circle and meet them again in the tournament.

[OldPhiKap]

I don't know about teams, but I plan to train this off-season and really up my posting game. It's gotten sloppy from entropy and does not have the urgency needed to become known as a top-level poster. Please be patient with me on the journey -- it is a process not an event.

[Troublemaker]

Really feels like a "down" year in college basketball. With the seemingly unending declarations for the NBA by any and almost all underclassmen, it feels as if no team is returning a significant number of players outside of michigan state (and even they might lose nick ward).

I feel that louisville might be a bit underrated provided that they get jordan nwora back. I can see them being a really tough veteran team because they return almost everyone whilst adding another piece in grad transfer from st josephs - Lamar Kimble.

I'd have them as the early favorites for acc champs with us closely in 2nd place just based on not knowing how our freshmen will pan out.

To be precise/accurate, MSU has already lost Ward and they also graduate two starters in Goins and McQuaid. (McQuaid in particular is underrated as he was a great 3-and-D role player.) I'm certain there are teams returning more than MSU.

As for Louisville, they do lose their point guard Cunningham and they are building on a 20-14 season (10-8 in the ACC). They did recruit a great freshman class (but still lower-ranked than Duke's) but that's not typically the profile of the preseason favorite to win the conference.

[scottdude8]

#2 feels too high for us. We have some nice pieces and a lot of depth but not the high-end talent we’ve grown accustomed to. With that said, when I look at the other teams I can’t say that they’re necessarily better than us either. The ACC should definitely be wide open.

I agree that No. 2 "feels" too high for us. But the question is if not us, who? Michigan will still be great, but not the No. 2 team many projected with Poole and (possibly) Iggy surprisingly leaving. Kansas will essentially be a brand new team next year (although Azubuike returning will be a big help if he stays healthy). Gonzaga will be good because they always are, but they also lose a majority of their contributors from this year's squad. Same situation applied to Kentucky. Nova could be in for a bounce back year with a great recruiting class, but that's also a huge unknown.

I could continue going on and on (and will when I get around to Part 3 of my 2020 outlook, haha), but basically besides MSU there is almost zero "known quantities" in CBB next year. You could argue that Tre is the most impactful returning player for any top 10 team besides MSU. If Javin and/or Marques return, Duke will also have as much upperclass leadership as any non-MSU team as well. So I understand why these writers who are forced to put numbers next to team names, when faced with a handful of teams that are arguably interchangeable, go with the most known quantity, us, first.

[MChambers]

To be precise/accurate, MSU has already lost Ward and they also graduate two starters in Goins and McQuaid. (McQuaid in particular is underrated as he was a great 3-and-D role player.) I'm certain there are teams returning more than MSU.

As for Louisville, they do lose their point guard Cunningham and they are building on a 20-14 season (10-8 in the ACC). They did recruit a great freshman class (but still lower-ranked than Duke's) but that's not typically the profile of the preseason favorite to win the conference.

But MSU does get back Langford, an experienced wing who is more talented than Langford, so that will probably offset the loss of McQuaid, and Ahrens. They will be a little thin inside, however.

[CDu]

But MSU does get back Langford, an experienced wing who is more talented than Langford, so that will probably offset the loss of McQuaid, and Ahrens. They will be a little thin inside, however.

Yeah, MSU appears to be returning a lot: Winston, Langford, Tillman, and Henry are a very good quartet of starters. Add in Rocket Watts as a combo guard and you have a potentially really strong starting five. Their bench is more unproven though, with Gabe Brown, Ahrens, and some guys who didn't play much this past year (Bingham, Loyer) and some next-tier recruits.

Still, they have a pretty good stable of returning players, to the degree that they mainly just need role players to fill in around them.

As for Louisville, a lot depends on the decisions of Nwora and Enoch. If those two guys return to join Sutton and Williams, that's a really formidable returning group. Yes, they will have questions at PG, but everywhere else would appear really strong.

Now, I'd still favor us, mainly because our recruiting class is better than theirs. But they appear to be returning a good deal more talent than we are if those two guys ultimately return to school.

If Nwora and/or Enoch stay in the draft, then no way would I put Louisville in the discussion.

[Kedsy]

But MSU does get back Langford, an experienced wing who is more talented than Langford...

He must be exceptionally experienced, if he's more talented than himself.

[MChambers]

He must be exceptionally experienced, if he's more talented than himself.

Got me! Second "Langford" should be McQuaid.

[Troublemaker]

But MSU does get back Langford, an experienced wing who is more talented than Langford, so that will probably offset the loss of McQuaid, and Ahrens. They will be a little thin inside, however.

I like McQuaid's two-way play better than Langford, but maybe Langford has a big senior season. That said, I have no issues with MSU and think they'll be very good. I was just pointing out that MSU only returns 2 of their 5 opening day starters. (Ward went to the bench after returning from injury).

As for Louisville, a lot depends on the decisions of Nwora and Enoch. If those two guys return to join Sutton and Williams, that's a really formidable returning group. Yes, they will have questions at PG, but everywhere else would appear really strong.

Now, I'd still favor us, mainly because our recruiting class is better than theirs. But they appear to be returning a good deal more talent than we are if those two guys ultimately return to school.

If Nwora and/or Enoch stay in the draft, then no way would I put Louisville in the discussion.

Is this really true?

Let's say Javin returns and Marques leaves (reasonable). I'm not sure I can come up with a Louisville team consisting of only returnees that could beat the following team comfortably. I'm not sure I could come up with one that could even just beat this Duke team.

PG - Tre Jones
SG - Alex O'Connell
SF - Joey Baker
PF - Jack White
C - Javin DeLaurier

[CDu]

I like McQuaid's two-way play better than Langford, but maybe Langford has a big senior season. That said, I have no issues with MSU and think they'll be very good. I was just pointing out that MSU only returns 2 of their 5 opening day starters. (Ward went to the bench after returning from injury).



Is this really true?

Let's say Javin returns and Marques leaves (reasonable). I'm not sure I can come up with a Louisville team consisting of only returnees that could beat the following team comfortably. I'm not sure I could come up with one that could even just beat this Duke team.

PG - Tre Jones
SG - Alex O'Connell
SF - Joey Baker
PF - Jack White
C - Javin DeLaurier

I think Nwora is better than any of our returning players. I think Enoch and Williams are better than Bolden and DeLaurier. I think Sutton is better than any of our returning wings. I think McMahon is comparable to O’Connell. I think Perry is better than Goldwire. So, yes, I think they are returning more talent (key caveat being returns of Enoch and Nwora). I think the presence of Williamson/Barrett/Reddish masked a lot of the limitations of our other players.

Again though, I think our incoming class is much more talented than theirs, so I would pick us over them in aggregate. But I do think they return more talent than we do.

[MartyClark]

I think Nwora is better than any of our returning players. I think Enoch and Williams are better than Bolden and DeLaurier. I think Sutton is better than any of our returning wings. I think McMahon is comparable to O’Connell. I think Perry is better than Goldwire. So, yes, I think they are returning more talent (key caveat being returns of Enoch and Nwora). I think the presence of Williamson/Barrett/Reddish masked a lot of the limitations of our other players.

Again though, I think our incoming class is much more talented than theirs, so I would pick us over them in aggregate. But I do think they return more talent than we do.

CDu - I've been to the last 3 Duke games at Louisville and have some contacts in their program. I agree with you. Louisville will be dangerous next year.