Big South Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on November 1, 2022 by David Griggs

CLICK HERE for All of Hoops HD’s Continued and Extensive Preseason Content

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:

  1. Longwood
  2. Winthrop
  3. UNC Asheville
  4. Gardner Webb
  5. High Point
  6. Campbell
  7. Radford (tied 6th)
  8. USC Upstate
  9. Presbyterian
  10. Charleston Southern

 

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-BIG SOUTH 1ST TEAM:

-Drew Pember – SR, F – UNC Asheville
-Isaiah Wilkins – SR, G – Longwood
-Jordan Gainey – SO, G – USC Upstate
-Zack Austin – SO, F – High Point
-Cory Hightower – SR, F – Winthrop

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-BIG SOUTH 2ND TEAM:

-DeShaun Wade – SR, G – Longwood
-Tajion Jones – SR, G – UNC Asheville
-Winston Hill – SR, F – Presbyterian
-Kareem Reid – SR, F – Gardner Webb
-Ricky Clemons – SR, G – Campbell

 

COMMENTS FROM DAVID:

-Longwood is one hell of a success story!  They have gone from being one of the poorer programs in all of D1 to now being one of the better programs in the Big South.  They nearly ran the table last year (going 15-1), won the conference tournament, and advanced to the NCAAs. Four starters are back from that team so the expectations are once again really high.  They did lose their top player to the transfer portal but they have enough coming back to where they should be at or near the top of the league again.

-Winthrop has been a Big South frontrunner for the last several years and it looks as though they will be again this year.  Just two starters return, but they have a good-looking recruiting class, some good-looking transfers, and some others who look like they can step into bigger roles.  Mark Prosser had a good debut as head coach last year and they should be good again this year.

-UNC Asheville was a modest 8-8 in league play last year, but it was a huge overall improvement from the year before, and with three returning starters as well as some other guys who look like they can step up this team could take another big step forward this year.

-Gardner Webb, like a lot of teams, seemed positioned to have a big year this year, but lost some key players to the transfer portal and are now kind of rebuilding, especially at the guard position.  They will be relying on guys who were not exactly stars and have them try to mesh with some non-D1 transfers.

-High Point might be a bit of a dark horse.  They have four starters back and while they were just a modest (if that) 11-18 overall last year, they were looking a little better at the end of the year and played Longwood really tough in back-to-back games in the latter part of the season.  With the experience they have coming back I think they can finish in the top half of the league.

-Campbell has a decent nucleus of players coming back and also adds a couple of freshmen to the roster that could be contributors right away.  They are picked to finish around the middle of the league…and that does kinda sound right.

-Radford is in a rebuilding mode and it may be a while before we see them contend for a conference title.  They won just 11 games last year and are now in the process of rebuilding their roster.

-USC Upstate has a good all-around player in Jordan Gainey, who can really shoot from the outside, but their other pieces are questionable.  I am a little surprised to see them picked as low as 8th, but having said that, picking them to finish in the top half of the conference feels like a bit of a stretch.

-Presby has four starters back and they should be at least somewhat improved with all of that experience…but it still looks like it will be a rough year.

-Charleston Southern is picked last but they also have some decent players back, and if they can stay healthy this year they should be able to do at least a little better than dead last.

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Season preview: HoopsHD interviews new Georgia State coach Jonas Hayes

Posted on November 1, 2022 by Jon Teitel

We are less than 1 week away from the tip-off of the college basketball season, which means that we still have time to start preparing for the action ahead. We will do so via a series of season previews featuring the best players/coaches in the country. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel continues our coverage with new Georgia State coach Jonas Hayes, who talked about his new job and his expectations for this season.

As a freshman at Western Carolina your 63 FG% was #12 in the nation but you later decided to transfer: what made you choose Georgia? I was born/raised in Atlanta.

Last April you were hired as head coach at Georgia State: why did you take the job, and how is it going so far? The transition is going well. We have a lot of new people in new positions but our guys are mature and have handled it seamlessly. This is a university that embraces its location: we will not put a fence around the state but rather put our arms around it and paint a picture of the experience here.

Your twin brother Jarvis was your teammate at Georgia and has been an assistant coach at Georgia State since 2018: how close are you 2, and how excited are you to work with him? We are extremely close, as we shared a womb and most of our classes. I am blessed to work with him: I wonder how many twins are coaches at the D-1 level?!

1 of your “new” players is Dwon Odom, who scored 18 PTS for you in the NIT title game win last spring: do you 2 act as “security blankets” for each other because you both understand your coaching philosophy better than anyone else on the roster? We each have a level of knowledge about each other. I can point to him as an example of what is expected on both ends of the court, which has helped. He gives me a level of comfort, which goes a long way.

Your non-conference schedule includes a home game vs. Georgia Tech and a trip to Auburn: which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? I have not really studied the whole schedule: I am just trying to win Friday and then the weekend and I will just worry about the other games once we get there. Every game gives the team a phenomenal opportunity so I want to see how they will handle that.

What are your goals for this season, and what are your expectations for this season? Our leadership is emerging: I am a firm believer that the cream rises to the top organically. It is not just from 1 guy and I am thankful for that. I wanted to see how guys responded to different levels of adversity and we have a group of guys who are comfortable being uncomfortable. We need to be able to take a kicking or a licking and keep on ticking!

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Big 12 Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on November 1, 2022 by David Griggs

CLICK HERE for All of Hoops HD’s Continued and Extensive Preseason Content

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:

  1. Baylor
  2. Kansas
  3. Texas
  4. TCU
  5. Oklahoma State
  6. Texas Tech (tied 5th)
  7. Oklahoma
  8. Iowa State
  9. West Virginia
  10. Kansas State

 

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-BIG 12 TEAM:

-Adam Flagler – SR, G – Baylor
-Jalen Wilson – JR, F – Kansas
-Avery Anderson III – SR, G – Oklahoma State
-Mike Miles – JR, G – TCU
-Timmy Allen – SR, F – Texas
-Marcus Carr – SR, G – Texas

 

COMMENTS FROM DAVID:

-Baylor has been a consistent top-ten program for the last several years and chances are that will not change this year.  They are the preseason favorites to win the conference and return two key starters from last year’s team.  They are also adding some high-caliber freshmen and appear to be totally reloaded for yet another top-ten-caliber season.  The job that Coach Scott Drew has done building up this program is Hall of Fame worthy!

-Kansas is the defending national champion.  They are always good and always talented.  So, it is no surprise that coming into this year they appear to be good and talented.  They have lost one of their top players from a year ago, but with two key starters returning and with their usual highly-rated recruiting class coming in, the Jayhawks will once again be in the mix for a spot at the top of the conference and a protected seed come March.

-Expectations are also high for Chris Beard’s Longhorns this year as he enters his second year as head coach.  Beard has a history of exceeding expectations that are already set pretty high so having the Longhorns high in the preseason rankings makes a lot of sense.  Three key starters are back from a team that won 22 games and advanced to the Round of 32 a year ago.  They appear to be balanced, experienced, and have a fair amount of depth coming off their bench.

-Everyone, including myself, is big on this TCU team coming into this year.  They do not have a history of being a blue blood, but this year’s edition could be a top-20-caliber team.  All five starters are back from a team that won 26 games and advanced to the Round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament.  With all that experience, the Horned Frogs should be even better this year.  They are (understandably and deservedly) beginning the season in the Top-25 and it would not shock me to see them stay there all year long.

-I love Oklahoma State this year.  People think I am crazy but I think they are a dark horse both in this conference and on the national stage as well.  They are so tough to beat at home that I think they can run the table in their home games this year.  Hell…I think they can actually win the league!!  Four starters are back from a team that was a modest 15-15, but they also showed some high-caliber moments in a season where they were ineligible for the NCAA Tournament.  With so much returning and with so much to play for this year, plus having the pieces they need to win big, I think the Pokes are going to win big this year!

-Mark Adams’s first season at Texas Tech last year was a roaring success.  He proved himself to be a high-caliber coach.  The Red Raiders won 27 games and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.  This year just one starter returns.  The question is can this program sustain that success now that the roster has turned over?  I am not going to say that they cannot, but I’m also not going to say that I am all in on them having a big year this year either.

-Porter Moser’s first year at Oklahoma was not too bad last year.  They won 19 total games and played in the NIT.  The top of the league is so good that it is hard for me to see them finishing in the top half of it, but if they can play well at home and win against the bottom three or four teams at the bottom of the league, then they could end up playing their way onto the bubble this year.

-Iowa State shocked the world last year.  They are one of the many reminders that none of the preseason rankings or previews really mean anything.  Expected by many (including myself) to be the worst teams out of all the multi-bid conferences last year, they won 22 games, spent much of the season in the rankings, and made it to the Sweet Sixteen.  This year, I do not think they’re an NCAA Tournament team.  They just do not appear to have the pieces… but what the hell do I know??

-I think West Virginia will be decent this year.  They are always tough defensively and likely will be again this year.  I just do not think they are good enough to compete with most of the teams in this league, and certainly not good enough to play with anyone in the top half of it.  They will be a decent overall team with a poor conference record that will likely miss the NCAA Tournament again.

-Kansas State…I do not even think is decent.  If they finish higher than 10th I will consider them to have exceeded expectations.

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2022-23 Preseason Media Bracket

Posted on October 30, 2022 by John Stalica

With the college basketball season only 8 days away from beginning, we now have all the conferences weighing in on who will be predicted to win each conference along with the release of the preseason Top 25 polls in both the AP and the Coaches’ Poll. What I have attempted to do is build a seed list based on the average ranking of the top 36 at-large teams along with the 32 projected conference champions of each league.

Below is the media bracket:

North Carolina is the consensus preseason #1 team and is seeded accordingly. As far as teams receiving votes in the Top 25, preference is given to teams receiving votes in both the AP and Coaches’ Polls; beyond that, preference is given to teams that are receiving the most votes in a singular poll. Notre Dame would be the first team out of the field based on the polls.

Also noteworthy is the placement of teams like UAB and Toledo – both teams received votes in both polls and are ranked above the First Four for purposes of this exercise. Drake received votes in one of the polls and is the top-ranked team below the First Four. This year, the Under-The-Radar teams were seeded based on overall KenPom ratings. (Northern Kentucky and Purdue-Fort Wayne tied for 1st in the preseason Horizon poll, but NKU was chosed by virtue of a higher KenPom rating).

Later on this week, we will also have our Under-The-Radar preview podcast along with Chad’s preseason bracket reveal of who he thinks will be in the field come March. (I will go out on a limb and guess that Louisville will not be included anytime soon.)

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Big Ten Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on October 30, 2022 by David Griggs

CLICK HERE for All of Hoops HD’s Continued and Extensive Preseason Content

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:

  1. Indiana
  2. Illinois
  3. Michigan
  4. Michigan State
  5. Purdue
  6. Ohio State
  7.  Iowa
  8. Rutgers
  9. Wisconsin
  10. Maryland
  11. Penn State
  12. Minnesota
  13. Northwestern
  14. Nebraska

 

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-BIG TEN TEAM

-Terrance Shannon – G – Illinois
-Trayce Jackson-Davis – F – Indiana
-Kris Murray – F – Iowa
-Hunter Dickinson – C – Michigan
-Jamison Battle – F – Minnesota
-Jalen Pickett – G – Penn State
-Zach Edey – C – Purdue
-Clifford Omoruyi – C – Rutgers
-Chucky Hepburn – G – Wisconsin
-Tyler Wahl – F – Wisconsin
-Malik Hall – F – Michigan State

 

COMMENTS FROM DAVID:

-Indiana is picked to finish first in the Big Ten, and it seems like it has been a long time since that has happened.  They are certainly talented and have a lot of experience with four starters returning.  They are also starting off the season ranked #13 in the AP Poll.  There is something that gives me a little bit of pause about them, though.  They barely made the NCAA Tournament last year.  I think they will be better this year, but to go from barely making the NCAAs to 13th and atop the Big Ten would be quite a jump.

-Illinois finished in a tie for first place last year and has high expectations again this year.  What they do not have are are any returning starters, so it is kind of hard to forecast how good they will actually end up being.  I think they have some good pieces.  It is hard not to be impressed with some of the transfers they added…but like a lot of teams in this conference I currently have more questions than answers.

-Michigan also has high expectations but has retained very little from the year before.  They won 19 games a year ago and had a nice run to the Sweet Sixteen, but they will have to rely on some new additions to their roster if they are going to repeat that kind of success this year…which could happen.  A lot of what they brought in does appear to be impressive.

-Michigan State had a decent year last year where they won 23 games, made the NCAAs, and advanced to the second round, but they just were not the protected-seed-caliber program that we are used to seeing.  It is not looking like they are going to be this year either.  They are still good, still physical, still tough defensively, and should still make The Dance, but I do not expect them to be quite as good as they have been in the recent past.

-Purdue won 29 games last season, earned a protected seed, made it to the Sweet Sixteen, and appeared to have a pretty manageable path to the Final Four…but then they lost to Saint Peter’s.  The Boilers are expected to take a step back this year but I still think this team can be pretty good.  They have two really good frontcourt players returning, they have a transfer coming in to play PG, and if he can step into that role I think this team is going to be fine.

-I think Chris Holtmann is a fantastic coach.  He has put together successful seasons when preseason expectations were almost non-existent both at Gardner Webb and at Butler, and it would not totally surprise me to see him do it again this year at Ohio State.  That being said, the Buckeyes do not appear to be as strong as they usually are.  Just one starter returns, but they have gone to the transfer portal and added several guys who were either role players at Power 5-level schools, or stars at Under the Radar schools, so…who knows?  Holtmann could surprise us…again.

-Iowa won 26 games last year and made the NCAA Tournament.  They lost Keegan Murray to the NBA, and that is a huge player to have to replace, but three starters are back and this is a program that has a history of successfully developing players and having them step into new roles.  I think they can exceed expectations this year.

-Rutgers has made a ton of progress as a program since Steve Pikiell took over.  After a very long drought, we have now seen them in two straight NCAA Tournaments (and would have seen them in three if not for COVID), and I kind of think people are overlooking them this year.  Three starters are back, they have a really solid transfer coming to Piscataway in Cam Spencer, and I think they will once again be in the NCAA mix come March.

-Wisconsin has three starters back from a team that finished in first place a year ago and won 25 total games before losing in the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament.  So…of course they are picked 9th.  They did lose their top player, but they have enough coming back and have shown in the past the ability for new guys to step up.  I think they finish WAAAAY higher than 9th this year.

After that the league starts to smell kind of bad…

-Maryland was 15-17 overall last year, just 7-13 in the Big Ten, and is not showing too many signs of being all that much better this year.  Kevin Willard takes over as head coach, and he is good, but he also has his work cut out for him.

-Some are on the Penn State bandwagon and think they can be a bit of a dark horse.  They do have four starters back, and I think they will be better than they were a year ago, but I do not see them making a run at the NCAA Tournament or competing with the top half of the conference.

-Minnesota has totally overhauled their roster.  All five starters are gone and it is looking like a rebuilding year.

-Northwestern has four starters back, and I like Chris Collins as a coach, but since he took them to an NCAA Tournament the program has been in a tailspin, and while we saw some improvement last year it was not a lot.  Expectations are not all that high again this year.

-Nebraska is just bad.  Like…really bad.

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Pac-12 Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on October 30, 2022 by David Griggs

CLICK HERE for All of Hoops HD’s Continued and Extensive Preseason Content

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:

  1. UCLA
  2. Arizona
  3. Oregon
  4. USC
  5. Stanford
  6. Colorado
  7. Arizona State
  8. Washington State
  9. Washington
  10. Utah
  11. California
  12. Oregon State

 

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-PAC-12 1ST TEAM:

-Tyger Campbell – SR, G – UCLA
-Branden Carlson – SR, C – Utah
-Boogie Ellis – SR, G – USC
-Mouhamed Gueye – SO, F – Washington State
-Harrison Ingram – SO, F – Stanford
-Jaime Jaquez – SR, G/F – UCLA
-Spencer Jones – SR, F – Stanford
-Drew Peterson – SR, G – USC
-Will Richardson – SR, G – Oregon
-Azuolas Tubelis – JR, F – Arizona

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-PAC-12 2ND TEAM:

-Marcus Bagley – SO, F – Arizona State
-Tristan da Silva – JR, F – Colorado
-DJ Home – JR, G – Arizona State
-Kerr Kriisa – JR, G – Arizona
-Pelle Larsson – JR, G – Arizona

 

COMMENTS FROM DAVID:

-UCLA is again the preseason favorites to win the conference and could once again advance beyond the Sweet Sixteen this year.  With Tyger Campbell returning along with some other key players and some great new additions, they should be very strong defensively and have enough on the offensive end to finish atop the league and end up with a protected seed.

-Many were wondering, including myself, if Arizona could compete on a high level last year with a new head coach and with the threat of NCAA sanctions hovering over them.  Well, they did.  They won 33 total games, finished first in the league, and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.  Tommy Lloyd has settled in rather nicely as head coach and they look to have another top-25 team this year that is good enough to repeat their first-place finish.  Some high-level players are gone, but they have enough coming back and enough coming in to where they should still be competitive.

-Oregon missed the NCAA Tournament a year ago, but a lot of people, including most of Hoops HD, are high on them this year.  We think they will be in the Top-25 before everything is said and done.  Three key starters are back, they have several offensive weapons, a really good-looking freshman in Kel’el Ware, and some pretty strong transfer players as well.

-USC is a program that in recent years always seems to start each season off with minimal expectations and then exceeds them in a huge way.  They won 26 total games last year, made the NCAA Tournament, and have a couple of key starters back and some impressive looking incoming players as well.  I think they will be back inside the bubble again this year.

After that there is a bit of a drop-off…

-Stanford is picked 5th, and while four starters are back and that experience should help them improve this year, they were pretty far outside the NIT last year (much less the NCAAs), and I just do not see them improving so much that they are going to end up making the field.

-I personally always seem to overvalue Colorado, but I once again kind of like them this year as being a “Best of the Rest” type of team.  They have a really solid player in Tristan da Silva, they have some good looking recruits coming in, and I like Tad Boyle as a coach.

-It has been a while since we have seen Arizona State solidly inside the bubble…and I do not think we will see it this year.  Their leading scorer is back and they are adding some decent looking transfers to the roster, but if I had to guess if that is enough to get them inside the bubble: I am guessing not.

-Washington State is nowhere near a Tournament-caliber team, but their program is going in the right direction and Kyle Smith seems to be building it up.  I think they are good enough to finish a little bit better than 8th this year.  They won 22 games a year ago and made it all the way to the NIT semis, which for Wazzu is amazing.  They have lost a lot from that team, and I do not think they will be quite as good as they were a year ago, but I still think they are going in the right direction.

-It has been a while since Washington has been nationally relevant, and they likely will not be again this year.  Mike Hopkins appeared to have this program on track when he first got there, but they have done very little since then.  Just one starter returns from last year so the Huskies are looking to rebuild.

-Utah has all five starters returning and because of that experience some are picking them as a dark horse.  The problem is they finished in 11th place last year and showed no real signs of being able to compete with the top of the league with that roster, so the fact that it is all back may not mean all that much.

-California has three starters back and we may see some improvement out of them this year, but I do not think it will be enough to land them in the top half of the conference.

-Oregon State was pretty bad three years ago.  Two years ago, they were decent during the regular season but still not all that special.  They went on a crazy run where they won the Pac-12 Tournament and then advanced all the way to the Elite Eight.  Last year, they followed that up with one of the worst seasons in Pac-12 history, winning just three total game.  They are picked to finish 12th this year and I will be shocked if they end up finishing 11th.

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