NCAA Hoops Offseason Thread

[Mik 0]

Kevin Durant to the NBA.

 

Tyler Hansbrough and Tywon Lawson returning to UNC. Yay. Preseason #1 I'm guessing.

[Brett Favre 0]

Josh McRoberts and Julian Wright to the NBA.

[Corkscrew_Senton 0]

Josh McRoberts and Julian Wright to the NBA.

 

McBob's no better than Shavlik Randolph, but if he's going pro this is the year to do so. Next year's draft class will be deeper, plus another college season would further drop his already-plummeting stock.

[alfdogg 0]

Aaron Afflalo is also going into the draft.

[snuffbox 0]

NC will definitly be the big favorites next year. Unless Greg Oden does decide to return to OSU.

[Slayer 0]

More bad news for Sunflower State basketball as Wichita State coach Mark Turgeon departs for Texas A&M

[cabbageboy 0]

I heard a rumor that Oden was only taking 4 hours this semester, so if that's true he basically has to go.

 

Wanna know my very, very early Final 4 picks? UNC, Tennessee, Louisville, and Memphis.

[alfdogg 0]

Hibbert & Green into the draft from Georgetown.

[Vern Gagne 0]

I heard a rumor that Oden was only taking 4 hours this semester, so if that's true he basically has to go.

 

Wanna know my very, very early Final 4 picks? UNC, Tennessee, Louisville, and Memphis.

 

 

Lofton is considering entering the draft.

[cabbageboy 0]

Lofton shouldn't though. This is going to be one loaded as hell draft at this point. Doesn't someone actually need to be decent in the SEC next year? Cause Tennessee is really all I'm seeing in the league.

[Broward83 0]

Lil Romeo has signed with USC.

 

MSN Article

[Brett Favre 0]

Greg Oden is entering the draft.

[Mik 0]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2007/ne...tory?id=2837151

 

Link.

[AboveAverage484 0]

Kevin Durant to the NBA.

 

Tyler Hansbrough and Tywon Lawson returning to UNC. Yay. Preseason #1 I'm guessing.

 

No word on Wright yet, though. In all reality, he should probably stay one more year and bulk up a little bit, as well as work on his offensive repertoire; he has zero range and he can't just drop it in the basket over everybody in the NBA like he did in college.

[Brett Favre 0]

Nick Young entered the draft.

[alfdogg 0]

Oden, Conley, and Cook all in from Ohio State.

 

Ramon Sessions and Marcelus Kemp in from Nevada.

[ANKLELOCK 0]

Apparently Iowa Freshmen and third team all Big Ten Selection Tyler Smith is coming to Tennessee this offseason to be nearer to his father after having repaired his relationship with Bruce Pearl. His addition plus that of Arizona transfer J.P. Prince and the return of 8 of the top 9 players from last year(assuming Lofton returns) means a very solid two-deep lineup for the Vols next year. As somebody mentioned earlier, the rest of the SEC is going to be a little down next year, so it could be the Vols time.

[Brett Favre 0]

Brandan Wright and Thaddeus Young are in.

[cabbageboy 0]

Lofton has announced that he is in fact returning to Tennessee, so they should be loaded for next year. It's funny but in the Courier Journal Rich Bozich listed his very, very early FF picks and he too had UNC, U of L, Tennessee, and Memphis.

[therealworldschampion 0]

I'm actually very excited about Nova's 2 incoming recruits for next year, Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes. Fisher has been tearing up the postseason HS all-star games, and is probably the consensus best NY high school recruit this year (Dick "Hoops" Weiss, longtime basketball reporter, has said that Fisher may be the best PG recruit to come out of the NY-NJ area since Bobby Hurley in 1989.) Stokes is a McDonald's All-American who Wright beat Calhoun and UConn for, tremendous shooting range with an NBA body, should be a second scoring option behind Reynolds.

 

Next year will be a little tougher since there's no seniors, but if Nova can make the NCAAs, 2008-2009 should be a great year. 2008 recruiting only has one scholarship open, but it's being offered to either Tyreke Evans (local product, Nova likely has to beat out Pitino and U of L, and maybe UNC for him) or Ed Davis (big man from Virginia, just got into the running for him.) Many people around here want Evans because Nova lost out on Ellington and Henderson, both local products, two years ago to UNC and Duke, but I'd prefer Davis because Nova really needs another big man. A starting 5 of Fisher, Reynolds, Stokes, Cunningham, and Davis in 2008-2009 has the ability to be downright nasty.

 

Oh yeah, UK got Patrick Patterson yesterday. They pulled out 2 nice late recruits with him and Alex Legion, who got out of his Michigan verbal because Tommy Amaker got fired .

[cabbageboy 0]

I'll amend my predictions for UK now that they have Patterson. I thought they were an NIT team. Now I think they'll lose the first round of the tourney.

 

My very early FF picks are still U of L, UNC, Memphis, and Tennessee.

[Corkscrew_Senton 0]

I'll amend my predictions for UK now that they have Patterson. I thought they were an NIT team. Now I think they'll lose the first round of the tourney.

 

My very early FF picks are still U of L, UNC, Memphis, and Tennessee.

 

Enjoy the baggage that is Patterson's mama. I think she's 10 types of crazy. Same goes for Kevin Love's dad over at UCLA.

[MFer 0]

Skip Prosser dies at 56

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

Damn. That was out of nowhere.

[Nate 0]

Skip Prosser dies at 56

 

yea i read that, God Bless his family and may he rest in peace

[Mik 0]

ESPN/USA Today Poll

1. North Carolina (10) 0-0 739

2. UCLA (12) 0-0 734

3. Memphis (8) 0-0 731

4. Kansas (1) 0-0 669

5. Georgetown 0-0 625

6. Louisville 0-0 620

7. Tennessee 0-0 598

8. Michigan State 0-0 503

9. Indiana 0-0 479

10. Washington State 0-0 464

11. Duke 0-0 390

12. Marquette 0-0 381

13. Oregon 0-0 360

14. Gonzaga 0-0 252

14. Texas A&M 0-0 252

16. Texas 0-0 216

17. Arizona 0-0 205

18. USC 0-0 189

19. Arkansas 0-0 173

20. Pittsburgh 0-0 160

21. Stanford 0-0 158

22. Kentucky 0-0 155

23. Southern Illinois 0-0 137

24. North Carolina State 0-0 119

25. Villanova 0-0 111

 

I'm psyched beyond belief for this UNC season. Hansbrough coming back was the key. Thank God he'll be a terrible NBA player.

[cabbageboy 0]

Let's have a look at this shall we.

 

1. UNC: Agree with this. They should have the best team returning and the guys that left aren't so critical they can't be replaced.

 

2. UCLA: I don't buy this for some reason. They lost Afflalo and frankly UCLA just can't score enough points to win it all. They've gotten to the FF the past two years due to never having to leave CA in the tourney. If they had to step outside the state, they might go down.

 

3. Memphis: They'll win a bunch of games again, and of course lose in the Elite Eight yet again.

 

4. Kansas: They'll be in the mix, but let's face it....is there a bigger choker team come tourney time?

 

5. Georgetown: Not sure why they are ahead of U of L considering they lost Jeff Green. Green was the only consistent threat they had last year, so where are all the points coming from?

 

6. U of L: I like that we might be a little underrated. Everyone is back and provided the usual injuries can be avoided I think we have a real shot at the FF.

 

7. Tennessee: If the Vols can improve a bit defensively they will be a major threat. In fact I have them in my very early FF picks.

 

8. Michigan State: Bleh. Sweet 16 and that's about it. At least god I hope so.

 

9. IU: I'd like to see IU go far this year, but for some reason I just can't see them getting farther than the Sweet 16.

 

10. Washington State: Ha. Probably a 2nd round upset waiting to happen, like last year.

 

11. Duke: Duke will be better than last year (could they be worse?). That said, this is still just a Sweet 16 team at best.

 

12. Marquette: I actually think Marquette will finish 2nd in the conference behind U of L. Who knows how they will fare in the tourney, since I don't really trust Tom Crean if there isn't Dwyane Wade.

 

13. Oregon: Eh, they'll be pretty good but not much beyond 2nd round or maybe Sweet 16.

 

14. Gonzaga: They lost Raivio so I dunno who will step up to lead this team. 2nd round and done.

 

14. Texas A & M: This is a joke right? They lost the one good player they had and their coach as well. They might be an NIT team.

 

16. Texas: No Durant, so I don't see them going all that far. They really didn't go all that far WITH Durant. Could be a first round upset.

 

17. Arizona: Probably ranked just out of habit, but I don't think this team is going much of anywhere. One and done.

 

18. USC: I dare say these guys might be a bit underrated, but who knows how Mayo will turn out. They may well repeat their Sweet 16 efforts.

 

19. Arkansas: I'm surprised this team is actually ranked. They might make the tourney, but I can't see anyone being scared.

 

20. Pitt: They'll be their usual boring, plodding selves. Rack up wins vs. scrubs, then struggle a bit more in conf. Sweet 16 is the glass ceiling for Pitt.

 

21. Stanford: I see that Brook Lopez has been suspended, which makes me hesitant to think these guys will go far. Just a slow, plodding team really, which has always hurt the Cardinal in March.

 

22. UK: Without Morris I have no idea who UK is going to use at center, and the guards are the same dubious Tubby era guys like Bradley and Crawford. UK will make the tourney as usual, but it might be the time they are 1 and done.

 

23. S. Illinois: They have Falker. They have Shaw. They have the same physical defense. Why is this team so low? Bias against the mid majors? Gonzaga is ahead of them and I think SIU would beat the crap out of the Zags.

 

24. NC State: I honestly have no feelings on this one way or the other. About a 6 seed, which is what this ranking would indicate.

 

25. Villanova: Can Reynolds flat out carry a team? I don't know. Depending on his development they could either make a surprising NCAA run or end up in the NIT.

[Bored 0]

21. Stanford: I see that Brook Lopez has been suspended, which makes me hesitant to think these guys will go far. Just a slow, plodding team really, which has always hurt the Cardinal in March.

Brook I'm sure will miraculously begin to enjoy his school work right before the Pac-10 season starts. Luckily they have an almost embarrasingly weak non-conference schedule with Texas Tech and Fresno State as their only mildly tough opponents. So even without their best player they very likely will be undefeated and highly overrated by the polls going into conference play.

[AboveAverage484 0]

I don't know how bad Hansbrough would suck in the NBA, I think he'd make a pretty decent "lunch pail" player who can grab some boards and get to the line.

[alfdogg 0]

Michigan State lost to Div-AA Grand Valley State in double-OT today. Will this upset make any factor in the rankings, even though it was exhibition?