Official NCAA Basketball Thread

[NOVoodoo]

I wanted to post Jay Bilas' Preseason Top 25 earlier, but I accidentally deleted my long-winded post right before I hit "reply," so I'll post a more concise version of my thoughts on it.

Preseason Top 25's, especially at this point, are more or less meaningless, but I respect Bilas' opinion enough to actually give his opinion some credence. There are a few notable exclusions though - Oklahoma State, Ohio State, Gonzaga, Baylor, and maybe even SMU.

With Nash and Smart now coming back, I think you have to consider Oklahoma State a favorite to win the Big 12.

Ohio State had problems scoring this season when Thomas wasn't going, so losing him will be a serious blow to their offense, and they don't have a great recruiting class coming in by their standards, but they have two players in Ross and Thompson that are primed for breakout years with more responsibility on offense, Amir Williams has showed flashes of greatness himself in the post, and at the end of the day, I'll never bet against Aaron Craft. I have a hard time seeing a team with that much remaining talent and being led by Craft not being in the top 25 at the end of the season.

As far as Gonzaga goes, I'm interested to hear MickZagger's opinion, but I think they have the same situation as Ohio State, in that they lost a lot of talent in Olynyk and Harris, but they have one the best backcourts in the country coming back next season, with Bell and Pangos, and that means a lot in college ball. More than anything, it's not like they don't have a replacement upfront for Olynyk/Harris. Knowing Few's track record developing 'awkward' talent, Przemek Karnowski is set for a break out season. Even if he lives up to half of his potential next season, the Zags should easily handle the WCC and will most likely be ranked when it's all said and done.

If Isaiah Austin decides to come back, Baylor will be relevant, even without Jackson, and as far as SMU is concerned, they're my wild-card, but they have a lot of transfers coming in, the best recruiting class in school history, and will be playing in the new AAC with Louisville, UConn, Memphis, Cincinnati, Temple, etc. With Larry Brown at the helm, I can easily see SMU not only breaking into the tournament but the top 25 as well.

1. Kentucky Wildcats
The Wildcats will take their NIT disappointment out on the rest of the field with the nation's top recruiting class and some very confident returnees. John Calipari's incoming class is ridiculous, with Julius Randle, James Young, Dakari Johnson and Andrew and Aaron Harrison. This Kentucky team will be the first in basketball history where players declared for the NBA draft because they feared they couldn't play on their college team if they came back.

2. Louisville Cardinals
Rick Pitino's Cardinals should not be expected to contend after losing a backcourt that led him to two straight Final Fours. But he has a juco point guard, Chris Jones, who will help make up for the loss of Peyton Siva and Russ Smith. Jones is the real thing.

3. Michigan State Spartans
Tom Izzo has another Final Four team as long as his backcourt of Keith Appling and Gary Harris stays healthy. Adreian Payne should blossom into a frontcourt star and Matt Costello will take off in the middle.

4. Duke Blue Devils
The Blue Devils lose a trio of seniors who led the way, but incoming freshman phenom Jabari Parker and Mississippi State transfer Rodney Hood will provide punch to a small but very talented lineup. Duke will be quick, athletic and attacking, and will be a Final Four threat.

5. Arizona Wildcats
The Wildcats were as talented as any team they played this season, but weren't as experienced or mentally tough as they will be in 2013-14. Mark Lyons will be replaced with Duquesne transfer T.J. McConnell, and newcomers Aaron Gordon and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson will be immediate factors in making Arizona a title contender.

6. North Carolina Tar Heels
Roy Williams gets high marks for his flexibility and decision-making when he went to the smaller, quicker and simply better lineup in 2013. The Tar Heels add newcomers Isaiah Hicks, Nate Britt and Kennedy Meeks and have an outside shot at No. 1 recruit Andrew Wiggins.

7. Florida Gators
Billy Donovan has solidified his Hall of Fame resume with three straight Elite Eight appearances, falling short of the Final Four all three times. Florida can defend in the half court and can score. Freshmen Kasey Hill and Chris Walker should play right away, and Virginia Tech transfer Dorian Finney-Smith can really rebound and defend.

8. Marquette Golden Eagles
The Golden Eagles return Vander Blue, Jamil Wilson and Davante Gardner. Buzz Williams will have a new point guard, but he has had new pieces every year and has been money in the NCAA tournament.

9. Michigan Wolverines
John Beilein has always done more with less. This year, Beilein did more with more, and he'll have more and less next season. The key will be the development of a new backcourt, as Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr. will likely be gone.

10. Indiana Hoosiers
Without Victor Oladipo and Cody Zeller, Indiana will have players in new roles. However, Tom Crean has an excellent forward in Noah Vonleh coming in. Indiana will be competitive with anyone.

11. Syracuse Orange
Jim Boeheim returns a veteran group of winning players and brings in Tyler Ennis to run the point and Tyler Roberson up front. Losing Michael Carter-Williams hurts, but when was the last time Syracuse didn't lose top talent? The most important returnees are Boeheim and assistant Mike Hopkins.

12. Tennessee Volunteers
Cuonzo Martin flirted with the NCAA tournament and has most of his roster back, including Jeronne Maymon. A key for them will be the play at the point with Trae Golden and Darius Thompson.

13. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
The Irish have a good core returning, including an outstanding backcourt in Jerian Grant and Eric Atkins, plus a top-rated recruiting class with point guard Demetrius Jackson leading the way.

14. Virginia Commonwealth Rams
The Rams return everyone from a near-dominant team, and head coach Shaka Smart was the most important person retained. VCU can shoot it and guard.

15. Kansas Jayhawks
Breaking news ... Kansas loses all five starters, but is still a national contender because Bill Self decided not to declare for the NBA draft. That's good enough for The Bilastrator. Plus, Kansas brings in Conner Frankamp to run the point and Wayne Selden to light it up.

16. Connecticut Huskies
After the ridiculous postseason ban, the Huskies return one of the best backcourts in the country in Shabazz Napier and Ryan Boatright.

17. Memphis Tigers
The Tigers lose Tarik Black and Adonis Thomas but bring in a top-rated group of newcomers to one of the most athletic teams in the nation. This will be Josh Pastner's best team at Memphis.

18. Colorado Buffaloes
The Buffs bring back the heart of Tad Boyle's team and will continue to defend and rebound. However, Colorado needs to score more efficiently.

19. Villanova Wildcats
The Wildcats made the NCAA tournament with a young team and will continue to get better. Ryan Arcidiacono will be one of the nation's best guards.

20. Wichita State Shockers
Gregg Marshall loses Malcolm Armstead and Carl Hall, but returns the core of his Final Four team, including Cleanthony Early and Ron Baker.

21. New Mexico Lobos
The Lobos lost Tony Snell to the NBA draft and Steve Alford to UCLA, though everyone else will be back. Craig Neal inherits a really good program.

22. Harvard Crimson
Tommy Amaker retains most of his rotation from a team that won its third Ivy League title in a row, earned its second straight NCAA tournament bid and its first-ever NCAA win. Amaker also brings in star recruit Zena Edosomwan and gets Kyle Casey and Brandyn Curry back.

23. Virginia Cavaliers
The Cavaliers were an NCAA tournament team in 2013; it's just that the selection committee didn't notice. Four of five starters return, including All-ACC guard Joe Harris.

24. Wisconsin Badgers
Sam Dekker should take over as a star for Bo Ryan, and even though the Badgers don't look it on paper, Ryan will make this into a top 25 team.

25. Stanford Cardinal
The Cardinal return Dwight Powell, Chasson Randle, Aaron Bright and Josh Huestis from a team that won 19 games and lost a ton of close ones.

 

[NOVoodoo]

So now that Brad Stevens is gone, apparently Butler is going to act quickly to hire a new head coach -

Assistant coaches Brandon Miller, a former player for the Bulldogs, Terry Johnson, who has been with the program for nine years and Michael Lewis, a former Indiana University player, are among those expected to be interviewed for the job.

http://www.wthr.com/story/22758871/2013/07/04/next-butler-coach-could-be-hired-quickly

They know their assistants better than anyone, but with Butler moving to the Big East, this has a much higher profile job than most that were on the market after the season. I'm surprised they're not taking the time to interview guys like Seth Greenberg or Bruce Pearl.

 

[Haakzilla]

So Kentucky will officially return Willie Cauley-Stein, Kyle Wiljter, and Alex Poythress, while losing Archie Goodwin and Ryan Harrow.

I understand that this year's team was a disaster, but a large part of the problem came from the backcourt with Harrow and Goodwin. Watching the Harrison twins in the McDonald's All-American game, I've got to think they'll have that problem solved next season. And with six freakin' McDonald's All-American coming in, they'll have depth next year as well.

I'll have to look at who all stays and goes around the NCAA, but do ya'll think this makes Kentucky the 2014 favorite?

PG - Andrew Harrison
SG - Aaron Harrison/James Young
SF - Alex Poythress/Kyle Wiltjer
PF - Julius Randle/Marcus Lee
C - Willie Cauley-Stein/Dakari Johnson

They don't have depth at backup pg, but that's the only weakness I see in that rotation. That's a ridiculously stacked roster... 11 former McDonald's All-Americans.

...so is Wiltjer transferring or pretending?!

 

[NOVoodoo]

...so is Wiltjer transferring or pretending?!

Funny thing is that post was from over three months ago, and still... no one's quite sure...

He was returning, then transferring, then returning, then transferring, and now he might redshirt...

He really should go to Gonzaga, for the betterment of his own career, but at this point, I'm just tired of him reneging.

That's really a lot of publicity and "to-do" over a prospect that's never proven to be anything more than a tall jump shooter.