What improvements or falling offs do you expect from your team this year?

[della]

This question may be more applicable to teams that have a lot of returning players.

Tennessee- We will have more offensive prowess this year. IMO. Losing Ziegler in the postseason hurt us last year, but he will be back. We also picked up some nice offensive players.

I don't expect us to fall off from being an elite defensive team.

Whatcha got?

 

[della]

Okie dokie then...

 

[ExitFlagger]

Improvements:

Post scoring
Team defense
Depth
W vs Tennessee 😁

 

[della]

Improvements:

Post scoring
Team defense
Depth
W vs Tennessee 😁

I think we whipped y'all pretty good last year and with the offensive improvements y'all will more than likely get buried in an avalanche of Orange points.

I admire your attitude in the face of certain destruction, though.

 

[ExitFlagger]

I think we whipped y'all pretty good last year and with the offensive improvements y'all will more than likely get buried in an avalanche of Orange points.

I admire your attitude in the face of certain destruction, though.

 

[mtsuhog85]

Hogs will up their 3% and will open up the floor.

Got a great schedule, hope we get over the hump.

 

[IUfanBorden]

This question may be more applicable to teams that have a lot of returning players.

Tennessee- We will have more offensive prowess this year. IMO. Losing Ziegler in the postseason hurt us last year, but he will be back. We also picked up some nice offensive players.

I don't expect us to fall off from being an elite defensive team.

Whatcha got?

Della I have no idea what to think of my Hoosiers.

Return XJ, Reneau and Galloway, of value. Hoping to get the XJ of 2022...I expect Remeau to improve with more minutes...If we get the same from Galloway, I will take that; although I'd like to see him shoot more, and improve his ball handling.

After that----I dunno. Ware(7'0) a 5*, Top 10 kid from Oregon...Mgbako, another 5*, Top 10-15 kid, who decommitted from Duke. Payton Sparks, 6'9 transfer from Ball State. Averaged 13/9---All MAC performer. Need Cj Gunn to arrive. Very, very good shooter in HS. Very athletic. Can score. Game seemed to fast for him last year, and PT wasn't there. Hoping he can or has adjusted. Gabe Cupps , 4* frosh, could supply some help at PG....Kaleb Banks is a kid who I htink can sneak up. Was hoping Jakai Newton could play, but seems he wont. IMO, very overlooked, forgotten about kid. Was hurt his senior year, and only played 5 games...Still rated Top 60 or so.

We will be alot more athletic, long, and have better speed. But a ton of questions.

TBH, this team , IF everything meshes, could be a problem. Then again, could not be. I expect some early sstruggles.

 

[della]

Della I have no idea what to think of my Hoosiers.

Return XJ, Reneau and Galloway, of value. Hoping to get the XJ of 2022...I expect Remeau to improve with more minutes...If we get the same from Galloway, I will take that; although I'd like to see him shoot more, and improve his ball handling.

After that----I dunno. Ware(7'0) a 5*, Top 10 kid from Oregon...Mgbako, another 5*, Top 10-15 kid, who decommitted from Duke. Payton Sparks, 6'9 transfer from Ball State. Averaged 13/9---All MAC performer. Need Cj Gunn to arrive. Very, very good shooter in HS. Very athletic. Can score. Game seemed to fast for him last year, and PT wasn't there. Hoping he can or has adjusted. Gabe Cupps , 4* frosh, could supply some help at PG....Kaleb Banks is a kid who I htink can sneak up. Was hoping Jakai Newton could play, but seems he wont. IMO, very overlooked, forgotten about kid. Was hurt his senior year, and only played 5 games...Still rated Top 60 or so.

We will be alot more athletic, long, and have better speed. But a ton of questions.

TBH, this team , IF everything meshes, could be a problem. Then again, could not be. I expect some early sstruggles.

Great well thought out response. You clearly understand all the pieces, but the variables are too vast to make an accurate prediction.

I was hoping we would get some Tarheels and Blue Devils in here to gives us some info on the pride of the ACC. I find them to be some of the most knowledgeable CBB fans out there.

 

[della]

@dukedevilz you know everything Duke. How do you see the Blue devils looking going into the season?

 

[dukedevilz]

@dukedevilz you know everything Duke. How do you see the Blue devils looking going into the season?

We have 2 potential All-Americans in Filipowski and Proctor, an experienced guard in Jeremy Roach who started in the Final Four, and a versatile & defensive-minded forward in Mark Mitchell. We also bring in four 5-star recruits. Lots to like about this roster.

Flip-Proctor-Roach-Mitchell should be the main 4 guys. But, there are quite a few different combinations we can put on the floor together. If we want more playmakers on the court, we may want to throw McCain and/or Foster in there. If we want more shooters, maybe McCain, Power, and Schutt. If we want more defense, we may look to Stewart or Blakes. My biggest concern is rim protection. Lively was such a defensive menace. He was so good on switches - and he erased a lot of points around the rim. I'm guessing Flip and Young will see most of the minutes at the 5. Their ability to defend the rim is a bit limited. I think Sean Stewart and Christian Reeves could protect the basket well, just not sure they'll see a great amount of minutes. Stewart might get 15 minutes and Reeves might see spot minutes.

Would also like to see Proctor and Roach shoot a little better from deep. All in all, not too many holes. Worthy of a preseason top 5 ranking, IMO.

 

[JonBuckley]

MSU:
Rebound Margin
Bench Points Per Game

 

[WeAreDePaul]

DePaul: I don't think we'll get worse.

 

[Necessary Roughness]

Just hoping with the new coach we don't fall off the map. I'm going into this season with fairly low expectations but we do have a solid roster, so maybe we can do well enough to make the tourney.

 

[della]

DePaul: I don't think we'll get worse.

The Blue Demons return Da’Sean Nelson, Jalen Terry, Caleb Murphy, Zion Cruz and K.T. Raimey but outside of Nelson, the frontcourt is bare with a few departures. Chico Carter Jr. (South Carolina) should give They’ll need Jeremiah Oden (Wyoming) and Jaden Henley (Minnesota) to make an impact right away to be a competitive squad in Year 3 under Coach Stubblefield.

Nelson will lead the way for DePaul in the painted area, but he’ll need their transfer additions to step up as well. He put up 10.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg and 1.7 apg on 52.8 percent shooting from the field in his debut season in the Big East. He’ll look to continue his adjustment period since joining DePaul out of Kilgore College (TX).

 

[della]

We have 2 potential All-Americans in Filipowski and Proctor, an experienced guard in Jeremy Roach who started in the Final Four, and a versatile & defensive-minded forward in Mark Mitchell. We also bring in four 5-star recruits. Lots to like about this roster.

Flip-Proctor-Roach-Mitchell should be the main 4 guys. But, there are quite a few different combinations we can put on the floor together. If we want more playmakers on the court, we may want to throw McCain and/or Foster in there. If we want more shooters, maybe McCain, Power, and Schutt. If we want more defense, we may look to Stewart or Blakes. My biggest concern is rim protection. Lively was such a defensive menace. He was so good on switches - and he erased a lot of points around the rim. I'm guessing Flip and Young will see most of the minutes at the 5. Their ability to defend the rim is a bit limited. I think Sean Stewart and Christian Reeves could protect the basket well, just not sure they'll see a great amount of minutes. Stewart might get 15 minutes and Reeves might see spot minutes.

Would also like to see Proctor and Roach shoot a little better from deep. All in all, not too many holes. Worthy of a preseason top 5 ranking, IMO.

Everything suggests that Duke will be elite and go deep if not all the way in the Dance, thanks for posting.

 

[della]

MSU:
Rebound Margin
Bench Points Per Game

Vols play MSU in an exhibition game Oct 29th. MSU isn't afraid to play anyone anywhere at anytime.

 

[della]

@boilerzz you are a leading expert on all thing Boiler Maker. Would you give us some insight on what we can expect from perennial powerhouse Purdue Team?

 

[Sparty_57]

Vols play MSU in an exhibition game Oct 29th. MSU isn't afraid to play anyone anywhere at anytime.

You got that right, sister.

Sidenote: I'm old enough to have watched Josiah-Jordan James' father, Kurt, play for the Spartans in the late '70s and early '80s. Izzo tried to land Josiah Jordan, but obviously, that didn't pan out.

 

[della]

You got that right, sister.

Sidenote: I'm old enough to have watched Josiah-Jordan James' father, Kurt, play for the Spartans in the late '70s and early '80s. Izzo tried to land Josiah Jordan, but obviously, that didn't pan out.

DANG!!! that was before my time.

I think the only thing holding James back from being elite is his lack of aggressiveness. I hope he puts it all together this year.

 

[boilerzz]

@boilerzz you are a leading expert on all thing Boiler Maker. Would you give us some insight on what we can expect from perennial powerhouse Purdue Team?

A couple of thoughts:

Our true freshman backcourt will be a year older and hopefully won't wear down like they did late in the season last year.

That, and the personnel changes we've made should result in us reverting back toward our mean as a 3P shooting team.

Additionally, we are adding some athleticism in the backcourt with transfer Lance Jones, RS freshman Camden Heide (former top 50 recruit who was hurt last year) and true freshman Myles Colvin (son of Purdue and Chicago Bear great Roosevelt Colvin). TBD on how minutes are allocated but it will at least give us options against more athletic teams.

The only potential negative I see (outside of injury) is if the stigma of how last season ended lingers and affects these guys psychologically. I don't think it will happen but you never know.

 

[F-Duke]

Arizona should be infinitely tougher with more guys who can create their own shot. Defense should be a big upgrade and create a more balanced team. Shooting is definitely a big question mark.

 

[della]

A couple of thoughts:

Our true freshman backcourt will be a year older and hopefully won't wear down like they did late in the season last year.

That, and the personnel changes we've made should result in us reverting back toward our mean as a 3P shooting team.

Additionally, we are adding some athleticism in the backcourt with transfer Lance Jones, RS freshman Camden Heide (former top 50 recruit who was hurt last year) and true freshman Myles Colvin (son of Purdue and Chicago Bear great Roosevelt Colvin). TBD on how minutes are allocated but it will at least give us options against more athletic teams.

The only potential negative I see (outside of injury) is if the stigma of how last season ended lingers and affects these guys psychologically. I don't think it will happen but you never know.

Y'all are #1 preseason and from what you're saying that seems justifiable.

 

[della]

Arizona should be infinitely tougher with more guys who can create their own shot. Defense should be a big upgrade and create a more balanced team. Shooting is definitely a big question mark.

You must have chased down and mugged a UNC fan to come up with that name. Zona is always a tough out. The Vols came up short on our visit there last year. Sounds like y'all are poised to ride Big Mo into another great year.

 

[boilerzz]

Y'all are #1 preseason and from what you're saying that seems justifiable.

If Purdue can get the 3P shooting back to 36%, I'm not sure how teams will defend us. You can't play Edey one on one and he's a much better passer than he was his freshman and sophomore season. When we ran WVU, Gonzaga and Duke off the court at the PK85, we shot 25-61 from three (41%). We lost that late in the season with the young guys wearing down and a couple of our older guys losing confidence. That's the X factor for this season.

We'll forever be known as the team who became the 2nd #1 seed to lose to a 16 seed but Purdue was playing nowhere near a 1 seed entering the tournament. From February 3rd forward, Purdue was 7-5, ranked 30th in efficiency according to Bart Torvik and shot 28.6% from three point range. We were a Charmin soft 1 seed and it showed.

 

[AWilli6995]

Only one, making the tournament.

 

[Courtsensetwo]

Indiana lost it's top two players to the NBA

Big Space

Indiana regains a top three on ball defender in the league and a reportedly developing MR

Serious potenial incoming talent including a heady guard and big body banger.

No idea, but it would be a significant underperformance if they finish out of the top three in the league and don't make it to the second weekend of the dance.

 

[JonBuckley]

Indiana lost it's top two players to the NBA

Big Space

Indiana regains a top three on ball defender in the league and a reportedly developing MR

Serious potenial incoming talent including a heady guard and big body banger.

No idea, but it would be a significant underperformance if they finish out of the top three in the league and don't make it to the second weekend of the dance.

Top 3 is going to be tough for Indiana. They could easily finish behind Purdue, MSU, OSU, Illinois, Maryland, and Wisconsin.

 

[Courtsensetwo]

Top 3 is going to be tough for Indiana. They could easily finish behind Purdue, MSU, OSU, Illinois, Maryland, and Wisconsin.

THAT would be a complete meltdown.

I didn't want to get too far into the weeds, but you may wan to take a look at the roster

 

[della]

Only one, making the tournament.

Would you mind elaborating on UNC the team and it's prospects or name a UNC fan that keeps up with that sort of thing? Tennessee rarely gets to play a classy Blueblood team like y'all and it's a real treat for us when we do. We did get to play Duke last year and y'all the year before. I think we get y'all in the SEC/ACC challenge. It will be exciting.

 

[dukedevilz]

I didn't want to get too far into the weeds, but you may wan to take a look at the roster

Hard to know about Indiana, because their 3 most important pieces, IMO, have big question marks.

-How is XJ going to perform after recovering from a long-term foot injury?
-How impactful will Mgbako be? The hype is there, so I'm sure expectations are reasonably high. What can IU expect to get from an unproven freshman? Will he lead the team in scoring? Will be a nice role player?
-Is Ware going to develop into an all-conference/1st Round-type player? Will he show more grit?

The range for IU is pretty wide. Could be a second weekend team, yes. But, I could also see them being on the bubble if the three aforementioned players are inconsistent.

 

[JonBuckley]

THAT would be a complete meltdown.

I didn't want to get too far into the weeds, but you may wan to take a look at the roster

I would prefer you to go into the weeds so I don't have to. The rankings I've seen have them 6th or 7th.

 

[AWilli6995]

Would you mind elaborating on UNC the team and it's prospects or name a UNC fan that keeps up with that sort of thing? Tennessee rarely gets to play a classy Blueblood team like y'all and it's a real treat for us when we do. We did get to play Duke last year and y'all the year before. I think we get y'all in the SEC/ACC challenge. It will be exciting.

We have a pass first PG who can score when needed, quality depth but if Hubert doesn't use it it may be a similar year to last year, hopefully he'll play his bench.

From what our insiders are saying Cormac Ryan, the ND transfer has been impressive in practice, so has Harrison Ingram.

Also the game is in Chapel Hill so I'm thinking we should get a win, had this game been in Knoxville I wouldn't be as confident.

 

[CB3UK]

I'm anxious to see the Blue White game this weekend and see all these new guys. If I'm being honest this is probably the least knowledgeable I've ever been about a UK roster going into the season. I spent virtually zero time this offseason studying basketball. Been pretty heavy into baseball and football. But now that the season is upon us I'm getting excited to see UK basketball again. But like I said, I've still got to learn our roster.

 

[della]

We have a pass first PG who can score when needed, quality depth but if Hubert doesn't use it it may be a similar year to last year, hopefully he'll play his bench.

From what our insiders are saying Cormac Ryan, the ND transfer has been impressive in practice, so has Harrison Ingram.

Also the game is in Chapel Hill so I'm thinking we should get a win, had this game been in Knoxville I wouldn't be as confident.

Hopefully, we can make a game of it.

 

[Courtsensetwo]

I would prefer you to go into the weeds so I don't have to. The rankings I've seen have them 6th or 7th.

Then don't post what you posted. Big claim to say "could easily" finish so low when you know nothing about the rester.

 

[IUfanBorden]

Hard to know about Indiana, because their 3 most important pieces, IMO, have big question marks.

-How is XJ going to perform after recovering from a long-term foot injury?
-How impactful will Mgbako be? The hype is there, so I'm sure expectations are reason in M high. What can IU expect to get from an unproven freshman? Will he lead the team in scoring? Will be a nice role player?
-Is Ware going to develop into an all-conference/1st Round-type player? Will he show more grit?

The range for IU is pretty wide. Could be a second weekend team, yes. But, I could also see them being on the bubble if the three aforementioned players are inconsistent.

A lot of questions with this team. I feel good with X, Galloway and Reneau. After that---no ****ing clue. As you hit on---worlds of talent in Mgbako and Ware. IF they deliver? IU could be a problem.

I'd be disappointed with no NCAAT. Just cant see this roster doing that.

 

[IUfanBorden]

I would prefer you to go into the weeds so I don't have to. The rankings I've seen have them 6th or 7th.

Right now after PU/MSU, its a crap shoot. I'd put IU's roster up against any team in the conference. Three 5*'s in Ware, Mgbako and Reneau. Two starters return in Galloway and XJ. Need the soph class to pitch in, with Gunn and Banks.

I have no issue with IU being picked around 6th or so. But its not inconceivable that this team could be much beter than that.

 

[Courtsensetwo]

Hard to know about Indiana, because their 3 most important pieces, IMO, have big question marks.

-How is XJ going to perform after recovering from a long-term foot injury?
-How impactful will Mgbako be? The hype is there, so I'm sure expectations are reasonably high. What can IU expect to get from an unproven freshman? Will he lead the team in scoring? Will be a nice role player?
-Is Ware going to develop into an all-conference/1st Round-type player? Will he show more grit?

The range for IU is pretty wide. Could be a second weekend team, yes. But, I could also see them being on the bubble if the three aforementioned players are inconsistent.

Good observations and I would replace the Ware queston with how our Freshman guard performs.

 

[Courtsensetwo]

Right now after PU/MSU, its a crap shoot. I'd put IU's roster up against any team in the conference. Three 5*'s in Ware, Mgbako and Reneau. Two starters return in Galloway and XJ. Need the soph class to pitch in, with Gunn and Banks.

I have no issue with IU being picked around 6th or so. But its not inconceivable that this team could be much beter than that.

and MS and PU are hardly guarantees.

 

[IUfanBorden]

and MS and PU are hardly guarantees.

I mean Purdue returns everyone...MSU damn near. Both are gonna be really good.