Big West Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on November 19, 2020 by David Griggs

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MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:

  1. UC Irvine
  2. UC Santa Barbara
  3. UC Davis
  4. Hawai’i
  5. UC Riverside
  6. Long Beach State
  7. Cal State Bakersfield
  8. Cal State Northridge
  9. Cal State Fullerton
  10. Cal Poly

 

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL CONFERENCE TEAM:

-Arinze Chidom – SR, F – UC Riverside
-Chance Hunter – JR, G – Long Beach State
-Ezra Manjon – SO, G – UC Davis
-JaQuori McLaughlin – SR, G – UC Santa Barbara
-Amadou Sow – JR, F – UC Santa Barbara
-Collin Welp – JR, F – UC Irvine

 

COMMENTS FROM DAVID:

-UC Santa Barbara is probably the team I am most excited about.  They have four starters back, including two preseason all-conference players, which gives them the experience they need to win the league.  This team has won 20+ games in each of the last three seasons and appears to be set up to do so again.

-UC Irvine has to completely reload with just one returning starter, but they are still among the preseason picks to win the conference.  Two years ago the Eaters made the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament and last year they were the first place team, so they have definitely been the class of the league.  It will not be easy this year, though.  Collin Welp is back, as well as some guys that contributed off the bench last year, but it appears that they are at the bottom of their talent cycle and are in rebuilding mode.

-UC Davis is another team with four starters back.  Although they only won 14 games a year ago, they seemed to pull it together in the second half of conference play so it would not shock me if we see a ton of improvement out of them this year.

-UC Riverside contemplated cutting athletics altogether.  So far they have not, and I am really hoping it does not come to that.  UCR has been very blah in basketball for…oh…the past couple of decades, but they did make some big steps forward last year.  Their 17-15 record was their first winning season in quite some time, and with four starters back they should be able to keep that improvement going.  Hmmm, a team that is looking at cutting athletics but is also set up to have their best season in recent memory: a possible “Team of the People”??!!

-Hawai’i has undergone quite a few changes, and appear to have lost what were their three best players.  Some younger players from a year ago are mixed in with some transfer players who will be expected to contribute.

-Long Beach State has four starters back, but in recent years the program has declined and you gotta start to wonder how much more time Coach Dan Monson has.  He’s had some very good teams, and his formula of playing a killer OOC schedule to give them chances at the national stage as well as getting them ready for league play has worked at times, but not all the time and not recently.  While four starters are back, this team failed to win even ten D-1 games last year, so there is not much to be excited about.

-Cal State Bakersfield joins the Big West and they are in a similar boat as The Beach.  Four starters are back…but from a team that failed to win ten games.

-Cal State Northridge, Cal State Fullerton, and Cal Poly bring up the year of the league.  It could be a long and frustrating season for all of them.

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Big South Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on November 19, 2020 by David Griggs

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MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:

  1. Winthrop
  2. UNC Asheville
  3. Charleston Southern
  4. Gardner-Webb
  5. USC Upstate
  6. Radford
  7. High Point
  8. Longwood
  9. Hampton
  10. Campbell
  11. Presbyterian

 

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL CONFERENCE 1ST TEAM:

-Phlandrous Fleming – SR G – Charleston Southern (Conference Player of the Year)
-DJ Burns – SO F – Winthrop
-DeVon Baker – JR G – UNC Asheville
-Chandler Vaudrin – SR G – Winthrop
-Jaheam Cornwall – SR G – Gardner-Webb

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL CONFERENCE 2ND TEAM:

-Tommy Bruner – SO G – USC Upstate
-LJ Thorpe – JR G – UNC Asheville
-John-Michael Wright – SO G – High Point
-Everette Hammond – JR G – USC Upstate
-Kareem Reid – SO F – Gardner-Webb

 

COMMENTS FROM DAVID:

-Winthrop has consistently been the class of this league, and looks to be the near-unanimous favorite this year.  Coach Pat Kelsey has done a tremendous job with this program, they won 24 games a year ago, and have 11 players back from that team.  This is probably a UTR Top-Ten team, as well as a team that could give someone fits in March if they can get up onto the 12 or 13 line, which is about where they would probably end up.  They are a team with a lot of depth and plenty of weapons and it would not shock me if they ran away from the rest of the league.

-UNC Asheville has all five starters back, which is presumably why the media seems to like them to come in second.  Two years ago they won just four games, last year they won 15 and were much improved.  This year they could take another huge step forward, so Coach Mike Morrell has done a fantastic job at the helm and is one of the more exciting young coaches in the game.

-Gardner-Webb has some nice pieces coming back, including Jaheam Cornwall and last year’s conference freshman of the year Kareem Reid.  Expect to see them toward the top of the standings this year.

-Charleston Southern also has a lot of experience coming back, and while there was a time where they seemed to be solidly positioned in the conference standings, that time was not at the end.  They finished the season losing five of their last six.

-USC Upstate is another team with a lot of experience coming back (all five starters), but also another team that did not really do much last season to make you think they will be all that much improved.  They lost five of their last seven games down the stretch.

-High Point is another team with all five starters back, but yet another team that was not very good last year.

-Radford is completely rebuilding after a 21-win season a year ago.  It could be a long season for the Highlanders.

-Longwood finished in 4th place last year, which may not sound all that exciting, but this had perennially been not just one of the worst teams in the Big South but one of the worst teams in the nation.  Coach Griff Aldrich has made huge strides with this program in the two years that he has been there.  The problem is they lost four key players and are kind of having to start over on their talent cycle, but it will be interesting to see if Aldrich can develop the somewhat overhauled roster.

-Hampton and Campbell are both a little lower than what we have been used to seeing (well, Campbell is anyway: Hampton has only been in the league for a couple of seasons), but they still appear to have enough pieces to compete with the teams that are picked to finish in the middle of the league.  Presby on the other hand….oof!  They will be relying on a lot of newer/younger players this year.

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Big Sky Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on November 19, 2020 by David Griggs

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MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:

  1. Eastern Washington
  2. Montana
  3. Northern Colorado
  4. Montana State
  5. Weber State
  6. Southern Utah
  7. Portland State
  8. Northern Arizona
  9. Sacramento State
  10. Idaho State
  11. Idaho

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON COACHES’ POLL:

  1. Eastern Washington
  2. Montana
  3. Weber State
  4. Portland State
  5. Northern Colorado
  6. Montana State
  7. Southern Utah
  8. Northern Arizona
  9. Sacramento State
  10. Idaho State
  11. Idaho

 

COMMENTS FROM DAVID:

-If you follow this site you are well aware of this, but if you do not then you need to know that this conference has one of the greatest traditions in all of college basketball: THE HALFTIME FLOOR SWEEPERS AT THE CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT!!!  For years, on Pluto TV, the opening round games of the tournament have literally no commercials to go to, so at halftime there is no halftime show/analysis/commercial breaks…just floor sweepers!

-As for the rest of the league, Eastern Washington is the near-unanimous favorite to win, which makes sense.  They were the first place team a year ago and although they lost their starting center who averaged a double-double (Mason Peatling), the other four starters are back.  This is potentially a team that we will frequently see in the UTR Top-Ten this year.

-Montana is a team that is regularly a force in this league, and they are picked to finish near the top again this year.  They did lose quite a few pieces from a year ago, but will be replacing them with some transfer guys who should be able to contribute right away.

-Weber State, along with Montana, has been the most consistently successful team in the conference over the years, but not last year.  They finished just 8-12 in league play, and with just two starters back they appear to be in reset mode.  They do have some new JUCO transfers that they will be relying on this year to get them back into the top of the mix.

-Northern Colorado finished in 2nd place last year and has some big pieces back this year.  They have a lot of balance and depth could finish at or near the top again.

-Montana State had some really big moments last year, particularly a big upset win at UNC-Greensboro and another early season game where they nearly knocked off Utah State on the road.  They kind of crashed and burned down the stretch, though.  Still, with three starters back this team’s ceiling is potentially high.

-Portland State is getting some preseason love despite the fact that their roster has been completely overhauled.  In fact their top-seven scorers are gone.  They will be relying on 5 D-1 transfers to try and reload this year.

-Northern Arizona was .500-ish a year ago, and looks to be .500-ish again this year.

-It is worth mentioning Southern Utah, who managed 17 wins for the second year in a row last year, which is a huge improvement from just a few years ago when they were literally the worst team in all of D-1.  Coach Todd Simon has done a great job turning this program around and although just two starters return from a year ago, they still return a decent amount of experience and we should see some players step up in new leadership roles.

-And one thing that virtually everyone seems to agree on is that Sacramento State, Idaho State, and Idaho are the three worst teams in the league.

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Atlantic Ten Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on November 19, 2020 by David Griggs

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MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:

  1. Richmond
  2. Saint Louis
  3. Dayton
  4. Saint Bonaventure
  5. Duquesne
  6. Rhode Island
  7. Davidson
  8. UMass
  9. VCU
  10. George Mason
  11. George Washington
  12. Saint Joseph’s
  13. La Salle
  14. Fordham

 

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL CONFERENCE 1ST TEAM:

-Kellan Grady – SR, G – Davidson
-Jalen Crutcher – SR, G – Dayton
-Tre Mitchell – SO, C – UMass
-Fatts Russell – SR, G – Rhode Island
-Jacob Gilyard- SR, G – Richmond
-Jordan Goodwin – SR, G – Saint Louis

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL CONFERENCE 2ND TEAM:

-Marcus Weathers – SR, F – Duquesne
-Blake Francis – SR, G – Richmond
-Grant Golden – SR, F – Richmond
-Kyle Lofton – JR, G – Saint Bonaventure
-Ryan Daly – SR, G – Saint Joseph’s
-Hasahn French – SR, F – Saint Louis

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL CONFERENCE 3RD TEAM:

-Sincere Carry – JR, G – Duquesne
-Javon Greene – SR, G – George Mason
-AJ Wilson – SR, F – George Mason
-Osun Osunniyi – JR, F/C – Saint Bonaventure
-Javonte Perkins – SR, G/F – Saint Louis
-Bones Hyland – SO, G – VCU

 

COMMENTS FROM DAVID:

-It is almost impossible for me to not start with Dayton.  They had, if not their best season in school history, certainly the best season since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams.  They lost just two games all season long and appeared to be heading toward a #1-seed in the NCAA Tournament, and for a program that is as passionately supported as Dayton despite never really achieving that level of blue-blood type of success you just got the feeling that something really special was going to happen in the NCAA Tournament.  Of all the teams that I was sick for last year, I was most sick for Dayton.  A lot of pieces are gone from last year’s team, most notably national POY Obi Toppin, but Jalen Crutcher is back and if we learned anything last year it is that national COY Anthony Grant can develop players and surpass preseason expectations.  While Dayton missed out on a year where they could have gone deep into the NCAA Tournament, I think the program is now at a point to where they will be NCAA Tourney regulars and it would not surprise me to see them in there this year.

-Richmond is another team that people are big on, and they have even cracked several preseason top-25s.  It make sense when you consider all of the pieces they have coming back and all of the experienced upperclassmen that they have.  It could end up being a very special year for the Spiders.

-Saint Louis is another team that could really have something special.  All five starters are back from a team that won 23 games and flirted with the bubble a year ago.  If they play up to their potential they will probably do more than just flirt with the bubble, but instead be safely inside of it.

-I have been beating the Duquesne drum ever since Coach Keith Dambrot arrived, and will continue to do so this year.  They have not been in the mix for the NCAA Tournament, but they have noticeably improved each of the last four seasons and cracked the top-100 of the KenPom ratings for the first time in like forever.  With four starters back, look for them to once again take a big step forward.

-Saint Bonaventure also has all five starters back, and could also once again be a team that we are hearing about in March.  They did seem to struggle against the top half of the league last year, so they will need to step it up a notch if they want to be in the mix for first place this year.

-Rhode Island won 21 games a year ago and has remained respectable in the conference under Coach David Cox, but I do not see them being atop the league any time soon.  Just two starters are back and it looks like they are rebuilding somewhat.

-Davidson is a team we expected a lot out of in recent years, and they just have not lived up to expectations.  This year the expectations are low so they should be able to at least live up to them.  Bob McKillop is a phenomenal coach and Kellan Grady is one of the better players in the conference, so they could do more than what many are expecting them to this year, but for now I think a lot of people are trying to wash the nasty taste out of their mouth from last year’s disappointing season.

-I am not ready to declare UMass a force in the A-10, but I will say that I think they are moving in the right direction under Coach Matt McCall.  This will be his third season, they showed (some) improvement last year, and with three starters back including Tre Mitchell they should continue that improvement into this year.

-VCU is in complete rebuilding mode.  They were not particularly strong last year and lost most of their contributing players.  I do think the overall health of their program is strong and that they will be back in the mix some day…but that likely will not be this year.

-George Mason returns all five starters, but they were a crappy team a year ago so it is hard to know whether or not to get excited about that.

-George Washington, Saint Joseph’s, La Salle, and Fordham will bring up the rear of the league, and while all four of those teams are awful Fordham again looks to be the most awful.  The top of this league looks like a solid multi-bid-caliber league.  The bottom of this league looks like the Metro Atlantic, and truth be told I am not even sure how well these four teams would do in that league.

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2020 NBA Mock Draft (Final Version)

Posted on November 17, 2020 by Jon Teitel

The NBA Draft is scheduled to take place on November 18th so this is our final prediction as to where everyone will get selected. Some websites do their mock drafts based on “best player available” but we try to focus on team needs: for example, if a team like Minnesota already has Karl-Anthony Towns at the 5-spot then they are probably not selecting a center with the #1 overall pick. Please see our 1st round predictions below and then tweet us your comments regarding what looks good and what might need a re-pick.

#. TEAM: NAME, POSITION (SCHOOL/YEAR OR COUNTRY)
1. Minnesota: Anthony Edwards, SG (Georgia/FR)
2. Golden State: James Wiseman, C (Memphis/FR)
3. Charlotte: LaMelo Ball, PG (INTL)
4. Chicago: Obi Toppin, PF (Dayton/SO)
5. Cleveland: Deni Avdija, SF (Israel)
6. Atlanta: Patrick Williams, SF/PF (Florida State/FR)
7. Detroit: Onyeka Okongwu, PF/C (USC/FR)
8. New York: Isaac Okoro, SG/SF (Auburn/FR)
9. Washington: Tyrese Haliburton, PG (Iowa State/SO)
10. Phoenix: Killian Hayes, PG (France)
11. San Antonio: Devin Vassell, SG (Florida State/SO)
12. Sacramento: Saddiq Bey, SF (Villanova/SO)
13. New Orleans: Kira Lewis, PG (Alabama/SO)
14. Boston: RJ Hampton, PG/SG (INTL)
15. Orlando: Precious Achiuwa, PF (Memphis/FR)
16. Portland: Aaron Nesmith, SG/SF (Vanderbilt/SO)
17. Minnesota: Jalen Smith, PF (Maryland/SO)
18. Dallas: Aleksej Pokusevski, C (Serbia)
19. Brooklyn: Tyrese Maxey, SG (Kentucky/FR)
20. Miami: Cole Anthony, PG (North Carolina/FR)
21. Philadelphia: Desmond Bane, SG (TCU/SR)
22. Denver: Theo Maledon, PG (France)
23. Utah: Tyrell Terry, PG (Stanford/FR)
24. New Orleans: Isaiah Stewart, C (Washington/FR)
25. Oklahoma City: Leandro Bolmaro, SG (Argentina)
26. Boston: Malachi Flynn, PG (San Diego State/JR)
27. New York: Vernon Carey, PF/C (Duke/FR)
28. LA Lakers: Jaden McDaniels, SF/PF (Washington/FR)
29. Toronto: Cassius Winston, PG (Michigan State/SR)
30. Boston: Xavier Tillman, PF (Michigan State/JR)

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Mountain West Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on November 17, 2020 by David Griggs

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MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL

  1. San Diego State
  2. Boise State
  3. Utah State
  4. UNLV
  5. Colorado State
  6. Nevada
  7. New Mexico
  8. Fresno State
  9. Wyoming
  10. Air Force
  11. San Jose State

 

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL CONFERENCE

-Derrick Alston – SR, G – Boise State
-Isaiah Stevens – SO, G – Colorado State
-Matt Mitchell – SR, F – San Diego State
-Bryce Hamilton, JR, G – UNLV
-Neemias Queta – JR, C – Utah State

 

COMMENTS FROM DAVID

-San Diego State was one of the great stories in college basketball last season playing their way into the top-five, and then looking like they would be at least a #2-seed in the NCAA Tournament with a real chance of going to the Final Four.  I do not think we will see the Aztecs finish in the top-five again, but they do have a good core group of players coming back and should be a top 25 caliber team.

-Utah State won the Mountain West Tournament last year, which capped off a 26-win season, and although three starters are back Sam Merrill is not one of them.  Some new players will have to step up if Utah State wants to go dancing again this year.

-Boise State is getting quite a bit of media day love.  This is a team that I always seem to pick as a dark horse every year, so it is a little strange that I am not as big on them as some others seem to be heading in to this year.  They do have one of the better players in the conference in Derrick Alston, and they will have several players available that had to sit out a year ago, so it is not totally unreasonable to think this is a team that could go dancing.

-I kind of like this Colorado State team.  Four starters back from a team that won 20 games a year ago gives them the experience they need to take another step forward this year.  And, it is worth saying, we at HoopsHD love the Front Range!

-We all keep waiting for UNLV to be good.  They do have a lot of young players and it seems to me that they still got a lot to figure out before we start talking about them as a league frontrunner.

-Nevada has just one regular starter back and looks to be in complete rebuilding mode.  I do think that over time they will get back to being one of the better teams in the conference, and I actually have a fair amount of confidence in Coach Steve Alford.  While many are quick to criticize him, he has done well everywhere he has been including taking Missouri State to a Sweet Sixteen, earning a protected seed and winning multiple Big Ten Championships at Iowa, earning multiple protected seeds at New Mexico, and having some big years at UCLA.  I do not get the lack of love for this guy!

-Not a whole lot to say about everyone else.  New Mexico looks to be in rebuilding mode with just one starter back, the same with Fresno State who probably has even more rebuilding to do than New Mexico does, and San Jose State has won 15 games (which is respectable) but it has taken them three years to do it (which is NOT respectable).  As for Wyoming and Air Force…well, we at HoopsHD love the Front Range!!

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