2015-16 College Hoops Discussion Thread

[tcf15]

Let's have the one and only Chris Smith start it off:

 

[tcf15]

A couple of opponents on CBS Top 10 Glue Guys list a while back...

JAYLEN BOND
Temple Owls | Forward
Comment: There's one way to describe Bond -- he's the epitome of a junkyard dog. The 6-8, 240-pound power forward had five games last season where he grabbed 14 rebounds or more. Bond added some much needed toughness and intangibles for Temple last season and should be even better this year as a fifth-year senior.

KYLE DRANGINIS
Gonzaga Bulldogs | Guard
Comment: Mark Few lost three veteran perimeter players following last season in Kevin Pangos, Gary Bell, and Byron Wesley, but he's still got Dranginis and that's a good thing for Gonzaga fans. The 6-5 wing knows how to blend his talents within the team concept and is selfless on both sides of the ball. The Bulldogs will have an entirely different look in the back court next season and Dranginis' presence will be critical during that transition. This is the epitome of a program guy who's all about the most important thing in the sport -- winning.

 

[tcf15]

5 teams that could overachieve: Oklahoma State could surprise

Houston Cougars
You didn't expect Kelvin Sampson to be down for long, did you?

Me neither.

The veteran coach returned to college basketball a few years because he had his sights set on making Houston's program relevant for the first time in decades and he should have a chance to do just that this season.

The Cougars return four of their top five scorers -- Devonta Pollard, L.J. Rose, Danrad “Chicken” Knowles, and LeRon Barnes -- from last year's team that won 13 games while adding several key newcomers.

Ronnie Johnson (Purdue) and Damyean Dotson (Oregon) are two transfers who should be instant starters while Rob Gray is a junior-college import who scored the ball well on this team's foreign tour to China in August. Sampson is also high on freshman point guard Galen Robinson, a true floor general in the Fred Van Vleet mold.

Cincinnati, SMU, and UConn look like they're clearly the top three teams in the American Conference, but the Cougars should be right in the mix of the next tier with Memphis, Tulsa, and Temple.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebas...ieve-in-2015-16-oklahoma-state-could-surprise

 

[tcf15]

Q&A: Cincinnati's Mick Cronin on returning after health scare

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebas...in-on-returning-after-last-years-health-scare

 

[tcf15]

B.J. Tyson inspired by family loss

Sources of inspiration are everywhere for B.J. Tyson.

His East Carolina basketball coaches and teammates push him to get better on a daily basis. Questions linger about whether Tyson can live up to the hype he helped create by having a stellar freshman season, and those doubts become fuel for his competitive fire.

But the primary source of motivation for Tyson comes from a little boy who died when Tyson was young. The little boy was even younger.

“Before every game, I pray with him. I tell him to be there with me through hard times because I know sometimes when I’m out there playing, things don’t go my way,” Tyson said of a brother who passed away at 10 months of age when Tyson himself was an infant. “But I hear that little voice in my head telling me to keep going. That’s him.”

http://blog.ecu.edu/sites/dailyclip...-inspired-by-family-loss-the-daily-reflector/

 

[James]

Q&A: Cincinnati's Mick Cronin on returning after health scare

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebas...in-on-returning-after-last-years-health-scare

'Heroes are made in March boys, this is all BS' - the moment cronin lost all credibility. No respect for a better program and clearly better player ( is kilpatrick in the league? no.)

 

[tcf15]

'Heroes are made in March boys, this is all BS' - the moment cronin lost all credibility. No respect for a better program and clearly better player ( is kilpatrick in the league? no.)

Loved that Kilpatrick was still bitter about that loss during last year's conference tourney when he was complaining that UConn always gets calls. I remember he tweeted out a screenshot from the 2014 semifinal between UConn and Cinci saying there was basket interference against UConn or something lol

 

[tcf15]

 

[OkaForPrez]

Loved that Kilpatrick was still bitter about that loss during last year's conference tourney when he was complaining that UConn always gets calls. I remember he tweeted out a screenshot from the 2014 semifinal between UConn and Cinci saying there was basket interference against UConn or something lol

Daniels did grab the net...

 

[champs99and04]

Daniels did grab the net...

If the refs didn't call it then it didn't happen.

 

[tcf15]

If the refs didn't call it then it didn't happen.

Exactly.

 

[mauconnfan]

How dare we have a hoops discussion thread when there's things like beer, pizza, mac and cheese and wings to worry about

 

[UConnSwag11]

Daniels did grab the net...

He didn't grab it, he lightly brushed it

 

[Kitaman]

He didn't grab it, he lightly brushed it

That's what she said.

 

[Silk31]

Loved that Kilpatrick was still bitter about that loss during last year's conference tourney when he was complaining that UConn always gets calls. I remember he tweeted out a screenshot from the 2014 semifinal between UConn and Cinci saying there was basket interference against UConn or something lol

I responded to that tweet by KilPatrick which led to him and Cincy fans flooding me with tweets - clearly they are still salty over that season. Their players and fan base clearly takes the cry baby lead from their Leprechaun HC

 

[tcf15]

Preseason All-Americans from CBS Sports: http://www.cbssports.com/collegebas...preseason-college-basketball-all-america-team

FIRST TEAM ALL-AMERICANS

KRIS DUNN
BUDDY HIELD
BEN SIMMONS
KYLE WILTJER
SKAL LABISSIERE​

SECOND TEAM ALL-AMERICANS

JAMAL MURRAY
MELO TRIMBLE
MALCOLM BROGDON
GEORGES NIANG
NIGEL HAYES​

THIRD TEAM ALL-AMERICANS

FRED VANVLEET
MARCUS PAIGE
DENZEL VALENTINE
PERRY ELLIS
JAKOB POELTL​

 

[OkaForPrez]

He didn't grab it, he lightly brushed it

Enough to make a difference and should have been called. Look at the top right cords on the net, they are all stretched and in an exact straight line vs. the slack on the other side. Meaning hes at least stretched it to the point where he could in fact be putting tension on the rim and the ball just rolled off.

 

[Kitaman]

Preseason All-Americans from CBS Sports: http://www.cbssports.com/collegebas...preseason-college-basketball-all-america-team

FIRST TEAM ALL-AMERICANS

KRIS DUNN
BUDDY HIELD
BEN SIMMONS
KYLE WILTJER
SKAL LABISSIERE​

SECOND TEAM ALL-AMERICANS

JAMAL MURRAY
MELO TRIMBLE
MALCOLM BROGDON
GEORGES NIANG
NIGEL HAYES​

THIRD TEAM ALL-AMERICANS

FRED VANVLEET
MARCUS PAIGE
DENZEL VALENTINE
PERRY ELLIS
JAKOB POELTL​

Lot of 'no names' if you ask me, must be freshman or our conference affiliation.

 

[mauconnfan]

Preseason All-Americans from CBS Sports: http://www.cbssports.com/collegebas...preseason-college-basketball-all-america-team

FIRST TEAM ALL-AMERICANS

KRIS DUNN
BUDDY HIELD
BEN SIMMONS
KYLE WILTJER
SKAL LABISSIERE​

SECOND TEAM ALL-AMERICANS

JAMAL MURRAY
MELO TRIMBLE
MALCOLM BROGDON
GEORGES NIANG
NIGEL HAYES​

THIRD TEAM ALL-AMERICANS

FRED VANVLEET
MARCUS PAIGE
DENZEL VALENTINE
PERRY ELLIS
JAKOB POELTL​

These are laughable. For me Dunn maybe and the rest I'm not so sure at all. 2 guys who haven't even seen a college game on 1st team and one on 2nd. Walter is a nice player but we will have a very weak AA year if he's a 1st teamer as well as Hield who again, nice player but volume shooter/scorer. Kris Dunn is so much better than I thought and he is the most solid of the crew but not what I deem a 1st teamer unless the pickings are slim for 15-16.

 

[Kitaman]

Enough to make a difference and should have been called. Look at the top right cords on the net, they are all stretched and in an exact straight line vs. the slack on the other side. Meaning hes at least stretched it to the point where he could in fact be putting tension on the rim and the ball just rolled off.
View attachment 10746

Looking at it with my UConn eyes, that left arm is not even Deandre's.

 

[OkaForPrez]

Looking at it with my UConn eyes, that left arm is not even Deandre's.

had no bearing on our NC. If this happened against Kentucky there's no way I would post it.

 

[James]

perry ellis is still in college?

 

[tcf15]

had no bearing on our NC. If this happened against Kentucky there's no way I would post it.

I'd call it karma for the Cincinnati poster that was trolling us throughout the season - think the handle was payday or something similar.

 

[aceboon]

DeAndre was also shoved in his lower back when he went up to challenge, that proceeded him grabbing the net, if its on YouTube somewhere you can see him reach out and grab the net as almost a reaction to the shove. No foul called, let that go too then.

 

[tcf15]

http://athlonsports.com/magazines/college-basketballs-best-sophomores-2015-16

First-Team All-Sophomore

G Tyler Ulis, Kentucky

Kentucky’s best playmaker last season may have been coming off the bench. The 5-foot-9 Ulis managed to finish in the top 10 in the SEC in assists per game (3.6) despite averaging only 23.8 minutes.​

G Melo Trimble, Maryland

Trimble is a big reason Maryland has its best team in more than a decade. He enters this season on a tear, averaging 18.2 points over the final 12 games last season.​

G/F Daniel Hamilton, UConn

The talented wing should help UConn to a bounce-back season after averaging 10.9 points and 7.6 rebounds as a freshman.​

F Domantas Sabonis, Gonzaga

The son of Arvydas Sabonis will threaten to average a double-double after recording 9.7 points and 7.1 rebounds in 21.7 minutes last season.​

C Jakob Poeltl, Utah

The 7-footer may have only scratched the surface of his potential at the end of last season. His return to school was one of the more surprising NBA Draft decisions.​

Second-Team All-Sophomore

G Xavier Rathan-Mayes, Florida State
G James Blackmon Jr., Indiana
G Grayson Allen, Duke
F Justin Jackson, North Carolina
F Angel Delgado, Seton Hall​

http://athlonsports.com/magazines/college-basketballs-best-juniors-2015-16

First-Team All-Junior

G Frank Mason, Kansas

The speedy Mason solidified Kansas’ point guard position last season, averaging 12.6 points and 3.9 assists per game. Mason also improved his 3-point shooting by more than 10 percentage points to 42.9.​

G Monté Morris, Iowa State

Morris is the leader of the up-tempo Iowa State attack, averaging 4.7 assists per turnover in his career. He took a leap as a scorer last season from 6.8 points to 11.9 points per game.​

F Nigel Hayes, Wisconsin

The breakout star of the NCAA Tournament — at least personality-wise — returns as the clear leader of the Badgers. The athletic forward is poised for a career year after averaging 12.4 points and 6.2 rebounds last season.​

F Kennedy Meeks, North Carolina

Meeks transformed his physique as a sophomore and became a force on the offensive glass, averaging 2.6 offensive boards per game. In all, the 6'9", 265-pound Tar Heel averaged 11.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.​

C Damian Jones, Vanderbilt

Jones could have made a run at SEC Player of the Year if Vanderbilt had been an NCAA Tournament team. He averaged 14.5 points per game and shot 56.2 percent from the floor in a breakout season.​

Second-Team All-Junior

G Bryce Alford, UCLA
G Demetrius Jackson, Notre Dame
G E.C. Matthews, Rhode Island
F Jamel Artis, Pittsburgh
F Jaron Blossomgame, Clemson​

http://athlonsports.com/magazines/college-basketballs-best-seniors-2015-16

First-Team All-Senior

G Kris Dunn, Providence

Dunn was arguably the most underrated player in the country last season, finishing first nationally in assist rate and fifth in steal rate on KenPom. Dunn averaged 15.6 points, 7.5 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game.​

G Buddy Hield, Oklahoma

He’s a fast-talking Bahamian named Buddy who happens to be the reigning Big 12 Player of the Year. The Sooners will take aim at the Big 12 title behind Hield, who led the league at 17.4 points per game. ​

G Marcus Paige, North Carolina

Paige battled a foot injury that cut his numbers for most of the season. He found his stroke in the final month of the season, averaging 17.1 points and 4.8 assists while shooting 45.8 percent in the final eight games.​

F Georges Niang, Iowa State

Niang returns as Iowa State’s go-to player again. Though his scoring dipped by more than a point per game (15.3 ppg), he improved his 3-point shooting (40 percent) and free throw shooting (80 percent) dramatically in 2014-15.​

F Kyle Wiltjer, Gonzaga

Wiltjer could make a run at National Player of the Year honors after averaging 16.8 points per game and finishing ninth nationally in offensive rating. The question is how he fares without playmaking point guard Kevin Pangos.​

Second-Team All-Senior

G Yogi Ferrell, Indiana
G Gary Payton II, Oregon State
G Fred VanVleet, Wichita State
F Perry Ellis, Kansas
C A.J. Hammons, Purdue​