Luke Winn's Top 16 Backcourts

[HooperScooper]

UConn at #7.

Luke Winn's Top 16 Backcourts

 

[UConn990411]

Wayyy too much respect for UNC's and Ohio State's backcourts - I'd take UConn's over theirs, and I'm not sure it's debatable (at least UConn>UNC shouldn't be).

And while I like Kentucky's a little better, I'm not sure how they warrant being four spots ahead of UConn.

 

[Walker11]

Its weird because there are a couple backcourts that I would probably rank ahead of Uconn which are ranked behind them, but I only see UF and Duke being better in the group of teams ranked above them. UNC has a very good point guard but their 2G spot is suspect and Ohio St has a very good 2G and an overrated Craft. If Craft was black he would be another solid player.

 

[Sportsman5]

If DD is considered a shooting guard (which he could be by the end of the year), than I think that puts us up 2-3 spots.

 

[HuskyBballFan]

Not buying UNC ahead of Uconn either.

Marshall may be > Napier/Boatright but
Lamb >>>>>Bullock/Strictland

 

[Burnsbros23]

Duke as the number one back court to me is a complete joke. They dont have a true PG other than Quinn Cook and Tyler Thronton. Duke's PG play will be their achillies heel all year its there weakest position. This is a total joke of a list to me. UF should be number one to me. And I agree we should be ranked higher we have the best SG on this list.

 

[hooskies]

Its weird because there are a couple backcourts that I would probably rank ahead of Uconn which are ranked behind them, but I only see UF and Duke being better in the group of teams ranked above them. UNC has a very good point guard but their 2G spot is suspect and Ohio St has a very good 2G and an overrated Craft. If Craft was black he would be another solid player.

seriously?

 

[Walker11]

Its just my opinion. The kid is a gritty, tough player but I think sometimes when you see a player do things that are not expected, at least based on stereotypes, their talent becomes overrated. Craft has gotten more hype for being a tough on the ball defender who is OK on offense than anyone I can remember. It reminds me of the fawning over Mason Plumlee. Very athletic 6'10 guys who are very raw are not rare

 

[UConn990411]

I actually kind of agree, and I'm a pretty big Craft fan.

Shabazz, for instance, doesn't get anywhere near the national hype, and I'd argue that he's already equal or better on both sides of the ball.

 

[UCHuskies08]

Duke at #1? Really?

 

[HuskyCarlJ]

If DD is considered a shooting guard (which he could be by the end of the year), than I think that puts us up 2-3 spots.

It's interesting that they left him out of both the frontcourt and backcourt rankings. I understand how wings are sometimes tough to categorize as front court or back court, and there will certainly be a lot of competition for minutes at the 3 spot, but they threw Giffey in the front court (as a positional comp) and Wolf in there as well (as an example of someone who is probably destined for less playing time than DD).

It's funny how the recruitment of Drummond has seemed to make Daniels somewhat of a forgotten man. I see him getting solid bench minutes for us this season.

 

[James]

If DD AND Giffey are considered 2's, than we should be top two. Lamb is a 'potential' break out star? sorry he already broke out. He is regarded as the best 2 in the country . I personally think Kraft is overrated. He isn't nearly the hound that Napier is, nor is he nearly as competent on offense. I buy Florida's backcourt though

 

[intlzncster]

I'm not going to argue our positioning, but I would think we'd be lower ranked than we could be on most lists. You don't lose Kemba Walker and not have a hole of sorts. I'm sure people look at it this way.

Not only that, but our depth kinda sucks in the back court. Realistically, we have 3 guys: Shabazz, Lamb, and Boatright. Giffey at the 2 every once in a while. I'm not buying DD at the 2 at all. JMO

Any event, UConn, sans Kemba will rank a little lower in the back court than they maybe could. Kemba's loss would create a vacuum on any team in America.

 

[Sportsman5]

Why don't you think DD can play at the 2? He certainly has the offensive game to play the shooting guard position. He appears to have really good ball handling skills and shooting seems to be his best asset. His length would make up for a quickness disadvantage.

 

[aceboon]

I think some of ya'll need to slow down with Daniels at SG. His ballhandling in the youtube videos look very good but that is AAU ball, not high level D1 ball with a 6'3" guard in his chest and him trying to complete a dribble move from the perimeter to the basket. Then you have to factor in defensively him chasing around guys 5" and 6" smaller than him. If he can play there that's great because it would help solve some depth issues(although I think Giffey will be able to play SG in a Denham type role and that will make us 2 deep at both spots), but I'm going to have to actually see it happen before I believe it.

 

[bmayuc]

Ohio State is just not very good compared to most of these lists. I thought our ranking was about right. We have the potential to be #1 on that list, but for preseason I think we're in a good spot.

 

[ctchamps]

You guys did a great job discussing this topic. No need for me to add my 2 cents. Just wrote this to be redundant.

 

[UConn3432]

Luke Winn didn't list DD in the front or back court. So i guess its safe to say we have the best midcourt/tweener in the country.

 

[Kitaman]

Louisville is underrated as well as UConn. If Siva improved over the summer he could be one of the best PG in the country. That shooting guard they have is good too.

Our ranking may be a reflection of 'no Kemba' as opposed to our skill and talent level. No one knows how our guards will adjust to not having the best player in the country on the court. Certainly it will take time, so pre-season number 7 sounds right to me.

Its actually nice to be in the top 10 for the backcourt and frontcourt positions.

 

[Sportsman5]

Our ranking may be a reflection of 'no Kemba' as opposed to our skill and talent level. No one knows how our guards will adjust to not having the best player in the country on the court. Certainly it will take time, so pre-season number 7 sounds right to me.

So how do you explain duke when they lost Irving and Smith to the draft?

 

[Kitaman]

So how do you explain duke when they lost Irving and Smith to the draft?

Good point, I don't have an answer, but dook always seem to be an exception to any rational rule. They could lose their starting 5 and still be ranked in the top 10.

 

[Walker11]

I think Cuse is low at 11 even though I am not a Jardine fan. I think Waiters will have a big year.

 

[Sportsman5]

Ya. I really like Winn. However, I think he's inconsistent on his rankings in this case. The bottom line for me is that there are 4 teams pre-season that are ahead of the rest. There will probably be 1-2 other teams that play really well together and join the group. It may be Duke, Syracuse, Florida, Louisville etc. I think Florida will emerge in a fairly weak SEC. If Duke beats Carolina, than it will have to be included in the group as legit threats to win it all.

 

[intlzncster]

Why don't you think DD can play at the 2? He certainly has the offensive game to play the shooting guard position. He appears to have really good ball handling skills and shooting seems to be his best asset. His length would make up for a quickness disadvantage.

He'd likely get crushed on penetration from the 2 against many teams. Think of Roscoe playing the two. Yeah Daniels is quicker, but not that much. And length is good, but not when you are 3 or 4 steps behind guys because you can't keep them in front of you. There might be a team or two against which it would work. Again, jmo. I'll be more than happy to be proved wrong.

 

[hungry husky]

Aaron Craft is the most overrated player in the country...