A Boneyard Top 25?

[Matt1010]

I will give it a shot. Mine is likely to be more radical than most, but this is the most middle-heavy year of college basketball I can remember in all my time following the sport (in other words, if I rank one team #2 and one #21, it doesn't necessarily mean I think one is way better than the other). This is just a rough copy that is likely to be changed quite a bit between now and November, but it isn't without thought - I literally went back and looked at the Rivals top 150 from the last five years and distributed the various players to different teams in an excel document (with their kenpom ranking from last next to it). I've been trying to come up with a formula to weigh all the different variables but I'm not exactly the mathematical type - if somebody on the boneyard wants to give it a try I'll gladly send them the information. Anyway, here goes:

1. UNC - Easy pick in my opinion, they're loaded with talent and experience.
2. UConn - Call me a homer, I try as hard as I can to eliminate bias when I do these things. But this team is loaded.
3. Virginia - If Anderson hadn't declared, they're likely #1.
4. Gonzaga - They might be the only team in the country with two potential first team all-Americans, their front court is nasty.
5. Villanova - Josh Hart might be one of the most underrated players in America.
6. Kansas - A lot of this hinges on how good Diallo is. I think Perry Ellis is overrated.
7. Kentucky - Ridiculously talented, lost a ton of players...just kind of threw my hands up in the air on this one.
8. Duke - Ditto.
9. Oklahoma - Not entirely sold on the coach, but great infrastructure in place.
10. Iowa State - They would have been higher if Hoiberg was back.
11. Wichita State - Strong argument for them to be higher.
12. Michigan - I'm a huge John Beilein fan, this roster reminds me a lot of our 2014 team.
13. Syracuse - Get ready for a bounce back year.
14. Maryland - As you can see, I'm a lot lower on them than most. I don't think Stone is a huge difference maker right away, Sulaimon comes with a lot of baggage, and Turgeon gives me pause. They also lost Dez Wells from a team that wasn't as good as people thought last year.
15. California - Lot of talent, Cuonzo Martin has shown some stuff.
16. Georgetown - Point guard play is the one question.
17. Cincinnati - Keep an eye on Gary Clark to have a big year. You know the defense is going to be really good.
18. Texas - There is a lot of talent on this roster, I'm interested in seeing how Shaka Smart uses it.
19. Michigan State - Denzel Valentine has a lot of Draymond Green 2012 potential.
20. Arizona - Possibly the most talent in the country after Kentucky and Duke, but I think they take a step back.
21. Butler - They return a lot from a team that was an eye lash from the sweet sixteen.
22. Baylor - Scott Drew is quietly decent despite the rep.
23. Indiana - They could be higher, but Blackmon's injury gives me pause, and they played playground basketball last year.
24. Notre Dame - There may not be a tougher two man game in the country to stop than the one Demetrius Jackson and Zach Aguste will have going. As usual, the question will be on the other end.
25. SMU - I would have them higher if I was confident Brown was healthy.

There are a whole bunch of teams who just missed the cut who could dance beyond the first weekend.

This would be basically the best case scenario for us, outside of being #1 of course. Potential to play 8 ranked teams at least 1X if I counted correctly. Hopefully you're a prediction wizard!

 

[joober jones]

Might as well give in, and I'd be lying if I said I never thought it'd be interesting to rank posters. Off the top of my mind (and forgetting some people):

1. Fishy - no explanation needed
2. tcf- does more than pretty much anyone
3. Deepster- the judge
4. 3 - connected to recruiting and a world of potential in the field
5. champs - amazing writer and basketball mind
6. 99 - well connected, despite some grammar issues
7. mau- well known and respected poster
8. jfuchs - 2-time Husky summer league winner
9. Fleudy - philosopher
10. chief - Andre Drummond

This could easily turn into an annual Boneyard Awards type thing. They could be called the 'yarders.

 

[jleves]

Might as well give in, and I'd be lying if I said I never thought it'd be interesting to rank posters. Off the top of my mind (and forgetting some people):

1. Fishy - no explanation needed
2. tcf- does more than pretty much anyone
3. Deepster- the judge
4. 3 - connected to recruiting and a world of potential in the field
5. champs - amazing writer and basketball mind
6. 99 - well connected, despite some grammar issues
7. mau- well known and respected poster
8. jfuchs - 2-time Husky summer league winner
9. Fleudy - philosopher
10. chief - Andre Drummond

Any Boneyard top 10 list that doesn't have @Gurleyman on it is worthless. Any top 10 list that doesn't have Gurleyman in the top 5 is suspect and any list that doesn't have him in the top 1 is wrong. Fishy is funny and has some decent insight, tcf is awesome at providing content that he would get paid for on any other site, but Gurleyman is the guy you want to read regarding recruits, players, offense, defense or anything else that is about UConn basketball. I have a little man crush on him, both because he is so good at history/explanation/knowledge and because he happens to the AD at my Alma Mater.

 

[OkaForPrez]

Might as well give in, and I'd be lying if I said I never thought it'd be interesting to rank posters. Off the top of my mind (and forgetting some people):

1. Fishy - no explanation needed
2. tcf- does more than pretty much anyone
3. Deepster- the judge
4. 3 - connected to recruiting and a world of potential in the field
5. champs - amazing writer and basketball mind
6. 99 - well connected, despite some grammar issues
7. mau- well known and respected poster
8. jfuchs - 2-time Husky summer league winner
9. Fleudy - philosopher
10. chief - Andre Drummond

I'll put aside my queasy feelings about these superlative lists and use it as an opportunity to acknowledge my favorite posters for what they do.

1. @MakersMuppet - Divine Force
2. @tcf15 - Patron Saint of Uconn Fans. Artist. Creator of priceless treasures. Honorary mention to @gampelcrazies for his support of UconnHuskyGames.com
2. @huskies92 (not to be confused with Husky 92). Skinner gave me a floor seat to Uconn duke at the garden where I got to meet @Penfield and champs99and04. Wont ever forget that experience. Very glad to have had the opportunity to yell at the refs during that game and know they heard me. Man were they garbage that night.
5. @champs99and04 - Better content then people who get paid to do it, nice kid too boot. I'm still not sure Penfield and I met the real champs because he's way too young to put out the quality stuff he does.
4. @Zionn - IMHO the best source of recruiting info on the board.
5. @Fishy - Overrated Curmudgeon but still funny as hell. Particularly bitter since the Big East broke up.
6. @Deepster and @swami7774 - Thanks for the mojo guys. Responsible for the best memories in yard history.
7. @8893- Broke through with Orange is the new Bleak. 5 words vaulted him to #7. Might be the 2nd greatest post in Boneyard history.
8. @CTMike - always on point funny, Likeable poster
9. @Dooley - Best poster in the football forum and apparently a good guy in real life who has donated tickets to students.
10. @mauconnfan - Sliding for his incessant criticism of Amida JK - no Brimah tangent's please.

Others Receiving Votes - @HooperScooper - Digs up some good content that slips through the cracks. @jleves and @fleudslipcon board cat herders. @RichZ - steadfast defender of Haiku mojo. @Scot-e DOOOOOOOMED. @CallMeBruce - Knows his stuff. Super cbb nerd. @okaforprez sr - created a monster.

Bring Back the @G0UCONN weekly observation threads.


Thanks to all you morons and crazies who help get me through the day.

 

[UConnTrumbull]

1. @NorwalkHusky for creating the "Any ladies on the boneyard" thread
#2-10 is irrelevant

 

[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.