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College basketball's way-too-early preseason top 25 teams for the 2020-21 season

LOL. I didn't change topics once. You keep wanting to bring the Big 12 into it (shocker). Apparently you think that because Baylor is a Big 12 team, they'd be less likely to beat Kentucky in the tournament. Which is why I mentioned the final four teams. We'll set aside the fact that a weak K-State team bounced Kentucky just a few years ago.

Btw, no one will ever agree with you that the SEC is superior. Florida had some good years and even that's in the past. They're extremely average now. We're back to the usual. The occasional program steps up with a decent year (decent being the operative word for a league that's had like 2 top 15 teams other than Kentucky in 12 years). The occasional fluke run by a South Carolina or Auburn doesn't really say anything about the overall quality of the league.

I've never portrayed the Big 12 as any kind of superleague, but it generally has pretty good depth, and at least one top 10ish team (other than KU) in any given year.

Kentucky was trending up and Baylor trending down? Because they finally lost a few games? One to KU and one in Morgantown? While Kentucky was scraping by weak teams and losing at home to Tenn? Okay. The problem here is that you guys never use the same fine toothed comb on your own team as you do with everyone else.

And yeah, I know that players don't get their info from NBAdraft.net. But you're apparently convinced that Dotson should leave. Are you talking to NBA scouts?

FWIW Sam Vecenie on The Athletic has Dotson going 30 on his mock draft from yesterday.

Vecenie said:
30. Boston Celtics (via MIL)
Devon Dotson | 6-2 guard | 20 years old, sophomore | Kansas

Dotson just finished a season that will likely result in a second-team All-American berth, after he averaged 18 points, four rebounds and four assists. He was the catalyst on offense for Kansas, a creator with terrific quickness and ballhandling ability. And while he’s slight, he’s extremely tough. He finishes well inside and defends hard at the point of attack on the perimeter. Center Udoka Azubuike’s presence on the backside allowed him to be more aggressive in going for steals out front, but his tenacity on that end is legitimate. Still, he’s very small and slight of build for an NBA lead guard, and that makes his defense a bit less than the sum of its parts. And offensively, concerns around his shooting consistency exist after he hit just 30 percent from distance this season. Still, for a Boston team that could maybe use a different option as a backup than Brad Wanamaker, this isn’t a bad flier to take as it’ll allow for competition with Tremont Waters.
 
I'm firmly convinced that you only skim through most posts and pick out certain things and argue them without reading the entire sentence that you poached them from.

Sighhhh, go back and read what I said about Dotson going to the draft. I simply said that he should go if a team told him they would take him in the first round.

Also, my opinion is the SEC >>> BIG12. Sorry, I value Final Fours and Titles. You can say South Carolina and Auburn had fluke runs that landed them in the FF, but not say the same for Texas Tech and Oklahoma.

But besides KU in 2008 and 1988, who else has won a title in the last 80 years?

There, that should piss you off.

Of course that's your opinion. But when your opinion is not matched by any unbiased parties, that's called homerism.

Not sure what ancient history even has to do with the current state of the leagues, but I know you like to make random shifts in an attempt to "win," so I'll play along.

Pulled up a list of champions from the NCAA site. Not taking the time to look up every final four from every team in each league, but this at least gives me the champs and runners-up. Most important, right? Excluding KU and Kentucky, the Big 12 has twice as many champs/runners-up as the SEC, 9 to 4.
 
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Wieskamp was rated #42 overall by Rivals, and that is what happened to him,
Garza was as 4* top 100 by ESPN here are his numbers
FR 12.1 ppg
6.2 rpg
32 blocks

SO 13.1 ppg
4.5 rpg
17 blocks

JR
23.9 ppg
9.8 rpg
55 blocks

gee stats don't agree with your assessment

boy it must really piss you off that Iowa is ranked #7 in a preseason poll and #6 in another.

now that Garza is coming back the polls will respond in the same well knowing that the
NPOY, BTPOY, 1st Team AA is returning
and will be joined by these
3rd team All BT player Jordan who was a 4* by ESPN
3rd team All BT player Wieskamp top 100 4* by ESPN #42 by Rivals
All BT FR team member Fredick
and their top 19 recruit in top 100 4* Patrick McCaffrey will join the team
4* Top 100 Connor will be back.
4* by ESPN Toussaint will be a 2nd year starter at the point. this is the most talented players on his team in his tenure.

this is why they are being voted to be in the top 10.

Dude I acknowledge that it’s gonna be diff for every player. I could lob back Jordan Nworas frosh to soph improvement and how it’s hand down better than his soph-junior season which are basically the same. It proves nothing. Let me reinterare no one wants to banter with you about Iowa, bc no one cares about Iowa outside the big 10. Yall are not liked y’all are not hated y’all are just there.

Start a thread about Iowa and go nuts, mention every players complete medical history going back thru high school so maybe we can figure out why y’all are so injury prone.

We were talking about Montgomery for UK. UK doesn’t do jrs. I can only think of a few that ever stayed 3-4 years during cals tenure. We’d literally have to try and use Darius miller and John hoods stats to coorelate.
 
Of course that's your opinion. But when your opinion is not matched by any unbiased parties, that's called homerism.

Not sure what ancient history even has to do with the current state of the leagues, but I know you like to make random shifts in an attempt to "win," so I'll play along.

Pulled up a list of champions from the NCAA site. Not taking the time to look up every final four from every team in each league, but this at least gives me the champs and runners-up. Most important, right? Excluding KU and Kentucky, the Big 12 has twice as many champs/runners-up as the SEC, 10 to 5.

Big 12 is the better league but I would argue that in having more teams the sec usually has more garbage teams, and the difference between the two conferences is at the bottom not at the top. Like u said uk/ku cancel each other out then a random team makes the final four every year or three. No real continuity from the second tier, will be interesting if Pearl or Barnes or strong a$& offer wade can get there and maintain, as well as beard and drew.
 
Dude I acknowledge that it’s gonna be diff for every player. I could lob back Jordan Nworas frosh to soph improvement and how it’s hand down better than his soph-junior season which are basically the same. It proves nothing. Let me reinterare no one wants to banter with you about Iowa, bc no one cares about Iowa outside the big 10. Yall are not liked y’all are not hated y’all are just there.

Start a thread about Iowa and go nuts, mention every players complete medical history going back thru high school so maybe we can figure out why y’all are so injury prone.

We were talking about Montgomery for UK. UK doesn’t do jrs. I can only think of a few that ever stayed 3-4 years during cals tenure. We’d literally have to try and use Darius miller and John hoods stats to coorelate.
, if you say so. but it is changing now. with the most talent on paper since Lute's BT Championship and FF teams, even better than Dr. Toms teams that reached the Elite 8 and Sweet 16's,
9-0 in the NCAAT 1st RND with 6 of the 2nd rnd losses coming to the eventual NCAAT Championship. keep telling yourself Iowa is just there.
 
Big 12 is the better league but I would argue that in having more teams the sec usually has more garbage teams, and the difference between the two conferences is at the bottom not at the top. Like u said uk/ku cancel each other out then a random team makes the final four every year or three. No real continuity from the second tier, will be interesting if Pearl or Barnes or strong a$& offer wade can get there and maintain, as well as beard and drew.

I think you're allowing last year to influence your opinion of the SEC too much. It was definitely much better than the norm. I don't remember the exact stat, but I think the SEC has literally had two top 10 teams other than Kentucky in the last 10 to 12 yrs (14 Florida and last year's Tennessee).

The Big 12 has averaged more than 1 top 10 team per year (not including KU) over that span.

I'd say the SEC has a better argument for depth than strength at the top. They generally have a bunch of halfway decent teams, but rarely any major challengers to Kentucky. Those Florida teams were outliers.
 
Dude I acknowledge that it’s gonna be diff for every player. I could lob back Jordan Nworas frosh to soph improvement and how it’s hand down better than his soph-junior season which are basically the same. It proves nothing. Let me reinterare no one wants to banter with you about Iowa, bc no one cares about Iowa outside the big 10. Yall are not liked y’all are not hated y’all are just there.

Start a thread about Iowa and go nuts, mention every players complete medical history going back thru high school so maybe we can figure out why y’all are so injury prone.

We were talking about Montgomery for UK. UK doesn’t do jrs. I can only think of a few that ever stayed 3-4 years during cals tenure. We’d literally have to try and use Darius miller and John hoods stats to coorelate.

All things Iowa are located in the B1G thread. Don’t spread the virus.
 
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WVU has two 4 Star wing players in Jalen Bridges and Isaiah Cotrell coming in to a young team that went through growing pains last season. Along with MD AA Oscar Tshiebwe and if 4 Star PF Culver comes back.

If Duece McBride can lockdown the PG role this might be Huggins best team ever at WVU.

McCabe doing anything for you?
 
Thanks for the feedback. But it's called stirring up discussion during a lull. If you don't like it, go hang out in the thread about Tyler Herro's spending habits.

you were doing this long before the lull
you constantly try to downplay the accomplishments other bluebloods
you come off as very envious and jealous of the success that other bluebloods have
 
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I think you're allowing last year to influence your opinion of the SEC too much. It was definitely much better than the norm. I don't remember the exact stat, but I think the SEC has literally had two top 10 teams other than Kentucky in the last 10 to 12 yrs (14 Florida and last year's Tennessee).

The Big 12 has averaged more than 1 top 10 team per year (not including KU) over that span.

I'd say the SEC has a better argument for depth than strength at the top. They generally have a bunch of halfway decent teams, but rarely any major challengers to Kentucky. Those Florida teams were outliers.

Fair assessment I was looking at the leagues going forward, not the past, which would make my point pretty irrelevant to the topic. Sec was pretty trash a few of those years. And I agree, while they count, Florida hasn’t done much without billy D And what may stand the time as the best recruiting class ever bc they won bk to bk titles.
 
Of course that's your opinion. But when your opinion is not matched by any unbiased parties, that's called homerism.

Not sure what ancient history even has to do with the current state of the leagues, but I know you like to make random shifts in an attempt to "win," so I'll play along.

Pulled up a list of champions from the NCAA site. Not taking the time to look up every final four from every team in each league, but this at least gives me the champs and runners-up. Most important, right? Excluding KU and Kentucky, the Big 12 has twice as many champs/runners-up as the SEC, 9 to 4.
Wow, this is rich, you calling me a homer. Everyone on this board knows you're the biggest homer on the board.
KU first and BIG12 second.
I guess we're all a little homerish, but you take it to another level.
 
Wow, this is rich, you calling me a homer. Everyone on this board knows you're the biggest homer on the board.
KU first and BIG12 second.
I guess we're all a little homerish, but you take it to another level.

And yet you can never name an irrational take.

Meanwhile, you’ve got two in this thread alone. Kentucky > Baylor and SEC > Big 12.

Ask a third party if you need homer confirmation.
 
And yet you can never name an irrational take.

Meanwhile, you’ve got two in this thread alone. Kentucky > Baylor and SEC > Big 12.

Ask a third party if you need homer confirmation.
You would be better at this message board thing if you could recognize when someone is trying to get your goat.

You're wound too tight. Loosen up.
 
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LOL. I didn't change topics once. You keep wanting to bring the Big 12 into it (shocker). Apparently you think that because Baylor is a Big 12 team, they'd be less likely to beat Kentucky in the tournament. Which is why I mentioned the final four teams. We'll set aside the fact that a weak K-State team bounced Kentucky just a few years ago.

Btw, no one will ever agree with you that the SEC is superior. Florida had some good years and even that's in the past. They're extremely average now. We're back to the usual. The occasional program steps up with a decent year (decent being the operative word for a league that's had like 2 top 15 teams other than Kentucky in 12 years). The occasional fluke run by a South Carolina or Auburn doesn't really say anything about the overall quality of the league.

I've never portrayed the Big 12 as any kind of superleague, but it generally has pretty good depth, and at least one top 10ish team (other than KU) in any given year.

Kentucky was trending up and Baylor trending down? Because they finally lost a few games? One to KU and one in Morgantown? While Kentucky was scraping by weak teams and losing at home to Tenn? Okay. The problem here is that you guys never use the same fine toothed comb on your own team as you do with everyone else.

And yeah, I know that players don't get their info from NBAdraft.net. But you're apparently convinced that Dotson should leave. Are you talking to NBA scouts?

Look at the top 10 teams 2020 recruiting. Notice the SEC teams. The SEC is gradually getting stronger.
 
You would be better at this message board thing if you could recognize when someone is trying to get your goat.

You're wound too tight. Loosen up.

So is everybody who gets in any sort of debate on here wound too tight? It's almost like turning this into a ghost town is encouraged.
 
So is everybody who gets in any sort of debate on here wound too tight? It's almost like turning this into a ghost town is encouraged.
Lots of people get into debates, but you always take it to another level. You're in multiple back-and-forth's on here every day and 99% of them are you shoving KU, Bill Self or the BIG12 is someone’s face.

IDK, maybe you don't realize it, but you're the biggest homer I have ever debated with. You're even worse than dragonhawk.

The only way to end it is to compliment KU, Self or the BIG12, even that doesn't work sometimes.
 
you were doing this long before the lull
you constantly try to downplay the accomplishments other bluebloods
you come off as very envious and jealous of the success that other bluebloods have

Actually, I just responded to something I didn't agree with. I don't agree that Duke has been consistently peaking at the end of the year. Facts don't back it up. You don't seem to have a problem with your fans piling on UNC (or Duke or KU, for that matter).

The last time I went to Rupp Rafters, there were 6 or 8 threads about KU on the first page. Jealousy?
 
Lots of people get into debates, but you always take it to another level. You're in multiple back-and-forth's on here every day and 99% of them are you shoving KU, Bill Self or the BIG12 is someone’s face.

IDK, maybe you don't realize it, but you're the biggest homer I have ever debated with. You're even worse than dragonhawk.

The only way to end it is to compliment KU, Self or the BIG12, even that doesn't work sometimes.

Blah, blah, more nonsense, blah blah. And I'm wound too tight? Laughing

Nothing compares to the homerism of your fanbase, and you're pretty high on that list. But you'll never see it.
 
Blah, blah, more nonsense, blah blah. And I'm wound too tight? Laughing

Nothing compares to the homerism of your fanbase, and you're pretty high on that list. But you'll never see it.
I'm not talking about a fanbase being homers, would anyone be surprised that a home board would be full of a bunch of homers??? Come on man, stop deflecting.

Heck, go to Louisville's home board, there are, maybe, 20 people on there and every single one is a homer, but that's what home boards are for.

But over here, you play captain-home board-man and you're relentless and it's pretty obvious that UK has touched you in your no-no place on more than 1 occasion.
 
I'm not talking about a fanbase being homers, would anyone be surprised that a home board would be full of a bunch of homers??? Come on man, stop deflecting.

Heck, go to Louisville's home board, there are, maybe, 20 people on there and every single one is a homer, but that's what home boards are for.

But over here, you play captain-home board-man and you're relentless and it's pretty obvious that UK has touched you in your no-no place on more than 1 occasion.

Right, it's just the homeboard. Read any of Bert's posts lately? The one about UK getting "screwed" in 16 of 16 games he attended at Florida was a good one. Read any of JC's posts? Do you read your own posts?

In your world, the NCAA is out to get you at every turn (gotta love that one), every reporter is out to destroy Cal and will stop at nothing, every official is trying to screw you, Kentucky's freshmen are automatically better than proven upperclassmen, and the SEC is secretly one of the top conferences year in and year out. Because once every 5 years or so it has a top 10 team other than Kentucky.

But.....preach on. Laughing
 
Right, it's just the homeboard. Read any of Bert's posts lately? The one about UK getting "screwed" in 16 of 16 games he attended at Florida was a good one. Read any of JC's posts? Do you read your own posts?

In your world, the NCAA is out to get you at every turn (gotta love that one), every reporter is out to destroy Cal and will stop at nothing, every official is trying to screw you, Kentucky's freshmen are automatically better than proven upperclassmen, and the SEC is secretly one of the top conferences year in and year out. Because once every 5 years or so it has a top 10 team other than Kentucky.

But.....preach on. Laughing
Yeah, all those guys are almost as bad as you. I have yet to see you compliment… or NOT trash a non BIG12 team. If you have, it's rare.

Like I said, you're a bigger homer than Dragonhawk and that's saying something.
 
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Yeah, all those guys are almost as bad as you. I have yet to see you compliment… or NOT trash a non BIG12 team. If you have, it's rare.

Like I said, you're a bigger homer than Dragonhawk and that's saying something.

Enlighten me. When have I talked about getting screwed by refs, or NCAA conspiracies against cash cows, or reporters who comb the streets for evidence on Bill Self, or any of the other ridiculous crap you spew?

Hint: If I post something like "KU's going to dominate you," that's tongue in cheek.

Maybe you're confused about what homerism is. Your definition seems to be anyone who talks about their team a lot and isn't a Kentucky fan. Yes, I talk about KU more than any other program. Shocking, isn't it, considering I watch every KU game and only sporadically watch other teams? Jesus, a person only has time for so much unless they're unemployed or have absolutely no other interests.

If you've never seen me take shots at a Big 12 team, I don't know what you're reading. I have zero delusions about what the Big 12 is. It's one elite program and a bunch of average programs. The Big 12 and SEC are both football conferences, but the Big 12 offers more legit challengers to KU on a yearly basis than the SEC does for Kentucky. It's just fact.

Excluding KU and Kentucky, here are the numbers from ESPN.com (only goes back to '03):

15 AP top 10 teams from the Big 12, 7 from the SEC.

27 top 15 teams vs 12.

46 ranked teams vs 28.

Are you telling me that you’d think conference B was stronger than A if you weren’t a fan of a team from that league? Ha.

The fact that Florida had a great recruiting class that won back to back titles does not mean that the SEC is consistently producing high-level competition for Kentucky. Not sure why this is such a difficult concept.

I've never hyped the Big 12 as a great league. Just better than the SEC. The SEC is not very good. Others recognize this. You? You make up theories about tourney committee conspiracies and claim that the polls are biased against the poor SEC, and zero in on flukey runs by programs like South Carolina while ignoring what a typical SEC season looks like.

Hilarious that you’d call someone else a homer.
 
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Yeah, all those guys are almost as bad as you. I have yet to see you compliment… or NOT trash a non BIG12 team. If you have, it's rare.

Like I said, you're a bigger homer than Dragonhawk and that's saying something.
I am a hawkeye FAN and I talk about them. didn't know I had to really talk about any other BT team.
 
Enlighten me. When have I talked about getting screwed by refs, or NCAA conspiracies against cash cows, or reporters who comb the streets for evidence on Bill Self, or any of the other ridiculous crap you spew?

Hint: If I post something like "KU's going to dominate you," that's tongue in cheek.

Maybe you're confused about what homerism is. Your definition seems to be anyone who talks about their team a lot and isn't a Kentucky fan. Yes, I talk about KU more than any other program. Shocking, isn't it, considering I watch every KU game and only sporadically watch other teams? Jesus, a person only has time for so much unless they're unemployed or have absolutely no other interests.

If you've never seen me take shots at a Big 12 team, I don't know what you're reading. I have zero delusions about what the Big 12 is. It's one elite program and a bunch of average programs. The Big 12 and SEC are both football conferences, but the Big 12 offers more legit challengers to KU on a yearly basis than the SEC does for Kentucky. It's just fact.

Excluding KU and Kentucky, here are the numbers from ESPN.com (only goes back to '03):

15 AP top 10 teams from the Big 12, 7 from the SEC.

27 top 15 teams vs 12.

46 ranked teams vs 28.

Are you telling me that you’d think conference B was stronger than A if you weren’t a fan of a team from that league? Ha.

The fact that Florida had a great recruiting class that won back to back titles does not mean that the SEC is consistently producing high-level competition for Kentucky. Not sure why this is such a difficult concept.

I've never hyped the Big 12 as a great league. Just better than the SEC. The SEC is not very good. Others recognize this. You? You make up theories about tourney committee conspiracies and claim that the polls are biased against the poor SEC, and zero in on flukey runs by programs like South Carolina while ignoring what a typical SEC season looks like.

Hilarious that you’d call someone else a homer.
I hope that didn't take you too long to concoct. I only read a few sentences, the delusion was too thick for me to continue.
 
its very hard to figure out why people include me in their posts, when I have posters on ignore.
 
I hope that didn't take you too long to concoct. I only read a few sentences, the delusion was too thick for me to continue.

Funny thing is, there’s no exaggeration. Those are all arguments that you’ve made.

Care to comment on the facts in the post? Probably not. You only consider details that fit your agenda.
 
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Funny thing is, there’s no exaggeration. Those are all arguments that you’ve made.

Care to comment on the facts in the post? Probably not. You only consider details that fit your agenda.
No, I'm not going to turn this into another stupid 10 page back and forth. We've been through this bs too often, nobody ever wins and it's become quite obvious that you get off on being controversial. Go use someone else to satisfy your need for arguing.
 
We've made it to the Sweet 16 more often than Kansas has in the past decade. Just as many regional finals. And more overall tournament wins.

And the 2010 was a heckuva team. Vastly underrated. They crushed the team that beat Kentucky. They beat the team that defeated Syracuse. They had a top 5 offense and defense. And they're the #8 KenPom team of all-time. Worthy of being a national champion, regardless of what some pundits might think.

The 2010 Tournament should put to rest the idea that "lol most 5 starz but no ringz" dipsh!ts, but we see them again and again. That Duke team was a really, really good college team. They had depth, experience, and a good fit, especially once the lack of a true PG was ironed out by Scheyer (sp?). In contrast, the UK team had more "talent" (i.e. athletic/NBA potential), but the team was inexperienced, thin, and had no shooting. The conventional wisdom (by UK fans and UK detractors alike) is that UK was the better college team, which ignores everything but the "talent" (which is a misnomer) angle. UK's ceiling might have been higher, but its floor was much, much lower. See, e.g., WVU Game (4-32 3-point, 16-29 FT).
 
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Who cares about these players' pro potential or draft stock? We're talking about college production.

Btw, why's it always assumed that players like Montgomery will make a huge leap, but other teams' players won't?

Very good point that is often overlooked by UK (and increasingly Duke) detractors.

FWIW, I get why people assume that players with better pedigrees are more likely to make a big leap than players without the pedigree. I don't know whether that trend holds true (Duncan/Leroux might have discussed this re: NBA "second draft"), but it makes intuitive sense. For EJ... I'm doubtful, but I'd love to be proved wrong.
 
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The fact that Florida had a great recruiting class that won back to back titles does not mean that the SEC is consistently producing high-level competition for Kentucky.

I agree that the Big 12 has been better than the SEC (although I think it's closer than you think b/c you're relying on regular season stats that rely on depth/SOS issues). But dismissing Billy D's run at Florida as just "a great recruiting class that won back to back titles" is ridiculous. In addition to the two titles, he had:
  • A title game appearance.
  • A Final Four appearance.
  • At least three other Elite 8 appearance (an OT loss to Butler, a loss to 2012 UL, and loss to 2013 Michigan).
There's more, but you get the point. For a decade or so, UF was a top 10 overall program.
 
Very good point that is often overlooked by UK (and increasingly Duke) detractors.

FWIW, I get why people assume that players with better pedigrees are more likely to make a big leap than players without the pedigree. I don't know whether that trend holds true (Duncan/Leroux might have discussed this re: NBA "second draft"), but it makes intuitive sense. For EJ... I'm doubtful, but I'd love to be proved wrong.

I agree that you can't count stars to determine expected output of a team (something that a lot of Kentucky fans still need to be reminded of).

That said, I still think that Kentucky has had more capable/productive players at the college level than any other team--other than possibly Duke--in the Calipari era. For every Skal, there's a player or two that live up to their hype.
 
I agree that you can't count stars to determine expected output of a team (something that a lot of Kentucky fans still need to be reminded of).

That said, I still think that Kentucky has had more capable/productive players at the college level than any other team--other than possibly Duke--in the Calipari era. For every Skal, there's a player or two that live up to their hype.

From 2010 to 2015, I tend to agree in the aggregate (and so do the results). Since then, only the 2017 team could plausibly make that claim in a given season (and they lost on a buzzer beater in the Elite 8). Are you saying that (as an example) the 2019 team (Fr. Hagans, Fr. Herro, Fr. Quickley, So. PJ, Fr. EJ, Fr. Green, Fr. KJ, So. Richards, Sr. Travis) "had more capable/productive players at the college level than any other team?" Or 2016? Or 2018 (lol)? That's... just not plausible. See, e.g., the results.
 
I mean how many teams had 3 first round draft picks in last years draft. Duke and UK. Last years UK team was ridiculously talented. Plus y’all also had a bit of experience for a change with PJ and adding an all PAC-12 grad transfer in Travis.

Would u trade that roster for anyone else’s besides duke? Not a chance, so I guess ur kind of right, y’all had more “capable players” than than anyone but Duke.

Stick to 2016 it’s hard to remember who was even on the roster then lol
 
From 2010 to 2015, I tend to agree in the aggregate (and so do the results). Since then, only the 2017 team could plausibly make that claim in a given season (and they lost on a buzzer beater in the Elite 8). Are you saying that (as an example) the 2019 team (Fr. Hagans, Fr. Herro, Fr. Quickley, So. PJ, Fr. EJ, Fr. Green, Fr. KJ, So. Richards, Sr. Travis) "had more capable/productive players at the college level than any other team?" Or 2016? Or 2018 (lol)? That's... just not plausible. See, e.g., the results.

I'm not saying that they have the best or 2nd best roster every year. But some of the teams you mentioned had very high expectations, and for good reason, I think. There was a lot of ability on this year's and last year's team, and also 2017. 2018, I'd say, lacked the experience/talent combo needed to be a true power (although, if you remember, tons of Kentucky fans were hyping them at the end of the year as a hot team and contender).
 
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I'm not saying that they have the best or 2nd best roster every year. But some of the teams you mentioned had very high expectations, and for good reason, I think. There was a lot of ability on this year's and last year's team, and also 2017. 2018, I'd say, lacked the experience/talent combo needed to be a true power (although, if you remember, tons of Kentucky fans were hyping them at the end of the year as a hot team and contender).

And of the teams you mentioned, 2017 lost in the Elite 8 on a buzzer beater, 2018 "lacked the experience/talent combo" (the online opinions of lay fans are utterly meaningless, sorry), 2019 lost in OT in the Elite 8, and this year had no tournament. So the UK teams that you argue "had very high expectations" were literally seconds away from the Final Four in a Tournament that everyone, especially KU fans, has to admit has a lot of randomness. I guess I just don't see the point.

Also, your use of "a lot of ability" is synonymous with "talent." But we're talking about winning college basketball games now, not NBA games in 5 years.
 
I mean how many teams had 3 first round draft picks in last years draft. Duke and UK. Last years UK team was ridiculously talented. Plus y’all also had a bit of experience for a change with PJ and adding an all PAC-12 grad transfer in Travis.

Would u trade that roster for anyone else’s besides duke? Not a chance, so I guess ur kind of right, y’all had more “capable players” than than anyone but Duke.

Stick to 2016 it’s hard to remember who was even on the roster then lol

Who fvcking cares? Honestly? Often it is the case that "talent" = college production. But it's a lazy argument that is increasingly crumbling in the face of one-and-done culture. Also love the "a bit of experience" bar being (i) a sophomore and (ii) a graduate transfer in his first year with the program. That just proves my point (and that team lost in OT in the Elite 8... big time failure, I guess).
 
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I agree that the Big 12 has been better than the SEC (although I think it's closer than you think b/c you're relying on regular season stats that rely on depth/SOS issues). But dismissing Billy D's run at Florida as just "a great recruiting class that won back to back titles" is ridiculous. In addition to the two titles, he had:
  • A title game appearance.
  • A Final Four appearance.
  • At least three other Elite 8 appearance (an OT loss to Butler, a loss to 2012 UL, and loss to 2013 Michigan).
There's more, but you get the point. For a decade or so, UF was a top 10 overall program.

I know that Florida’s achieved more than the titles. The reason I posted this is that Jeff likes to go Bill Walton and pretend it's the "conference of champions."

Florida was a really solid program under Donovan. Several final fours and some other solid runs. But even they weren't a perennial power. For every year that they were good, they had a mediocre season or two.

Add a couple good Arkansas teams from the mid-90s, a random run here and there, and that about summarizes the history of the SEC outside of Kentucky.

Like I said, both are football leagues. The Big 12 is nothing special either, but it does consistently have at least one high seed other than KU. Generally a good percentage of the league is tourney-caliber and all teams play twice. There's no one program that is as good as Florida historically, but there are several that aren't far below that level.
 
Idk how good Clarke and Boston are from three. Maybe they're adequate shooters? That's a small sample size - and they have plenty of time to improve. Just thinking of Duke's 2019 team, and it was a struggle at times when teams packed the paint and we were forced to jack up threes. One or two lethal shooters could easily change the dynamics, so perhaps a moot point.

Sam Hauser was 2nd Team All-Big East last year. You know who else was on that 2nd Team? Kamar Baldwin, Naji Marshall, and Alpha Diallo. Anyone of those three guys easily could have made 1st Team All-ACC. And yes, I absolutely believe Hauser will be 1st Team All-ACC next year. Good chance he'll make one of the All-American teams. I expect UVA to consistently be in the top 5 next year. Defense is already there. Hauser will completely transform the stuttering offense.

Gonzaga can easily absorb the loss of Petrusev. They have Drew Timme, who honestly needs more playing time. He'll be a force next year. He's tough and physical, unlike Petrusev, who is very finesse. Anton Watson was a talented freshmen who had a season-ending injury. And Oumar Ballo sat out the year, as he was ruled academically ineligible. He was regarded as the best international prospect in the 2019 class... The backcourt should be very strong with Jalen Suggs, Joel Ayayi, and Corey Kispert. That has a chance of being the best backcourt in the country.

As far as Baylor, Bandoo's loss is not the least bit material. He was a role player. You could make more of an argument for Gillespie. Tristan Clark was one of the best players in the Big XII in 2019. Led the nation in FG%. Probably would have been at least 2nd Team All-Conference. He's been very rusty since returning from his injury. If he can return to form, I expect Baylor to be a top 5 team again. They're also bringing in a couple of 4-star recruits. They'll be more than fine.

Baylor red shirted 2 players will be big editions to the team. They are also bringing in 3- 4 star freshman . If Tristan can return healthy Baylor will be a handful for anyone.
 
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