A Boneyard Top 25?

[Kitaman]

Am I the only one alarmed that @scrappy2.0 hasn't made a preseason prediction, or is it unnecessary?

 

[mauconnfan]

Am I the only one alarmed that @scrappy2.0 hasn't made a preseason prediction, or is it unnecessary?

We just need him to talk to Subba so they can find a middle point in their predictions.

 

[James]

Couple of highlights from @champs99and04 top 25 I enjoyed and agreed with. a few I didn't

-Iowa state is woefully overrated, they just lost a coach that was a technical/hands on sort of coach. so moving them down is appropriate imo

- Indiana is rightfully slotted behind their hyped espn ranking. And Marylands loss of Well is underrated,he was their best player.

-I'm extremely high on Kansas, tons of experience and depth.

- Duke is quite overrated as they haven't brought in imeddiate impact star power ( ingram is behind guys like okafor+Jones+winslow and Parker)

-Dont agree with michigans ranking, low talent level on that roster. no height either. also much lower on UNC, there are new crop of guards in the d1 landscape that are better than paige/berry.

can't put together a top 25 dont know enough about every contending team. Here are my ten best teams as far as roster composition imo.

1. Kansas
2. Kentucky
3. Zags
4.Uconn
5. Wichita state
6. Virgina
7. Nova
8.UNC
9. Cal
10.Maryland

Have no clue about OU, would like watch more tape of them. All i know is about the stud hield

 

[Walker11]

Maryland is a big wild card for me. I think they have an extremely high ceiling but who knows if Turgeon can help them reach it. I always value the opinion of James and champs - that said - I feel like you both emphasize their loss of Wells a lot more than our loss of Boat. The difference between Boat and our #2 was a helluva lot larger than the gap between Wells and Trimble - you can argue Trimble was better, but you can't argue that D Ham or whoever was better than Boat. They are also adding two beefy posts with top level interior scoring skills. The composition of that roster is going to be 180 degrees different. I would love to see KO small ball them with a Miller/Ham/Purv/Adams/Gibbs lineup.

I also think UNC is overrated. Show me a recent UNC team that has over-achieved and I'll give you a buck. In fact, I think they-under achieve almost ever year which they don't have overwhelming talent. I like that roster, but the talent is not overwhelming and I don't think Roy is a great coach, titles be damned.

Other random thoughts...

I don't think Kansas has a championship level backcourt. They have talent all over that backcourt in Mason, Selden, Svi, Greene, etc. but I am not trusting Mason as the lead guy for an elite team. They will probably win the Big XII, get a 2 seed, and lose in the Elite 8 IMO. If Gonzaga can get some good perimeter shooting from their wings, they will be scary. Perkins is going to do a terrific job distributing and their front court is easily the best in MCBB. No idea about Duke or UK but I sure hope they both underwhelm. I think champs is trying to reverse jinx 'Cuse cus I don't see them as a top 15 squad. They need Richardson to be good right away and hope Coleman can be healthy or that one of their other bigs can become competent. Christmas was their best player last year by far. I look at Virginia's roster and think they will slip but I'm sure Bennett will prove me wrong. He is one of the few difference makers when it comes to in game coaching.

 

[Walker11]

And for thoughts on top posters - pretty much anyone who watches a ton of basketball is good in my book. I'm a big NBA fan so I appreciate the guys who have knowledge on both games. I look forward to posts by champs, tcf, james, nomar, bruce, aceboon, bigern, etc. (missing many) because even though half of them may be s, they all know their stuff.

 

[Rocktheworld]

I think champs is trying to reverse jinx 'Cuse cus I don't see them as a top 15 squad. They need Richardson to be good right away and hope Coleman can be healthy or that one of their other bigs can become competent. Christmas was their best player last year by far.

I imagine they're hoping Cooney improves

 

[Walker11]

I imagine they're hoping Cooney improves

I think Cuse fans realize that Cooney is who he is at this point.

 

[James]

I'm putting a lock of stock into selden making a serious leap this year, which i'm confident he's capable of. And ofcourse the development of that barely used ukranian yougnster . Perry Ellis should be polished and poised, i mean he has been in college since 1997.

 

[Horatio]

CTbasketball deserves a "Life Time Achievement Award" for the often imitated "Pizza Thread".

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

Great job by all the posters putting out the effort ranking teams! At the end of year we revisit and crown the KING!

This exercise is fun! Lets see the next Top25!

 

[champs99and04]

Maryland is a big wild card for me. I think they have an extremely high ceiling but who knows if Turgeon can help them reach it. I always value the opinion of James and champs - that said - I feel like you both emphasize their loss of Wells a lot more than our loss of Boat. The difference between Boat and our #2 was a helluva lot larger than the gap between Wells and Trimble - you can argue Trimble was better, but you can't argue that D Ham or whoever was better than Boat. They are also adding two beefy posts with top level interior scoring skills. The composition of that roster is going to be 180 degrees different. I would love to see KO small ball them with a Miller/Ham/Purv/Adams/Gibbs lineup.

I also think UNC is overrated. Show me a recent UNC team that has over-achieved and I'll give you a buck. In fact, I think they-under achieve almost ever year which they don't have overwhelming talent. I like that roster, but the talent is not overwhelming and I don't think Roy is a great coach, titles be damned.

Other random thoughts...

I don't think Kansas has a championship level backcourt. They have talent all over that backcourt in Mason, Selden, Svi, Greene, etc. but I am not trusting Mason as the lead guy for an elite team. They will probably win the Big XII, get a 2 seed, and lose in the Elite 8 IMO. If Gonzaga can get some good perimeter shooting from their wings, they will be scary. Perkins is going to do a terrific job distributing and their front court is easily the best in MCBB. No idea about Duke or UK but I sure hope they both underwhelm. I think champs is trying to reverse jinx 'Cuse cus I don't see them as a top 15 squad. They need Richardson to be good right away and hope Coleman can be healthy or that one of their other bigs can become competent. Christmas was their best player last year by far. I look at Virginia's roster and think they will slip but I'm sure Bennett will prove me wrong. He is one of the few difference makers when it comes to in game coaching.

This is fair, and, one could say I am more inclined to rationalize things in one way or another when it benefits my team. No question, I'm giving UConn the benefit of the doubt where I am not with Maryland.

The presumption that Ollie is an elite coach factors heavily into where I ranked them (obviously, coaching is huge in CBB, which is why I ranked coaches I really like - such as Boeheim, Beilein, K, Cal, Bennett, etc. - higher than those I'm more skeptical about. One could easily argue that Ollie has yet to solidify himself as an elite coach, and to that, only time can determine. I've seen enough from him, though, in every aspect of running a program, to think that he is. The 2014 UConn team was good, but they weren't exactly brimming with lottery picks. Essentially, they were a feisty mid-major on steroids and Ollie won a title with them. That speaks for itself.

As I will elaborate more on in the coming weeks, my bullishness on UConn as a legitimate title contender boils down to two things. One, they are extremely talented. They have a projected lottery pick, an additional potential first rounder, two all-league guys, a five star junior who began to come into his own towards the end of last season, and a five star frosh in their top six, a top six that includes four upperclassmen.

The second reason is that I think the pieces fit like a glove. This is a critical component in the construction of a college basketball team that we often overlook. Last years team was built to drive and kick, but the lack of any reliable shooters - sans Boat - would frequently submarine the attack. Obviously, that is the spark notes version, and the other end presented its own problems, but the 2015-16 team should be able to execute those principles with better precision if for no other reason than that the floor spacing should be cleaner. Gibbs is a player that can singlehandedly will an offense to competence with his shooting off the dribble, and the improvements/emergence as Adams, Hamilton, and Purvis will likely make the secondary drives that result from aggressive coverage of Gibbs ball screens more potent.

I also tend to believe UConn's upside on the defensive end is higher than Maryland - Stone will likely prove valuable from day one as a scorer and rebounder, but pick-and-roll defense tends to develop at a slower rate with big men, especially those of the plodding sort (not sure if Stone is this guy or not, but wouldn't be surprised if he was). Brimah, as a junior, should rank among the most impactful defensive players in the nation, Miller has already proven his immense value on that end at Cornell, and even guys like Facey and Nolan should rate as plus defensive players.

Of course, the one guy that could blow the roof off any Maryland projection is Trimble. If he ascends to a Trey Burke level, the sky is the limit for them.