Conference Preview: Big Twelve

Posted on October 12, 2017 by Chad

Click HERE for all of Jon Teitel’s season preview interviews and Chad Sherwood’s conference previews

BIG TWELVE

When one hears the term “basketball conference,” thoughts of the ACC or the Big East quickly come to mind.  When one looks at the numbers over the past four seasons, it becomes clear that the Big 12 should be in those thoughts.  Kenpom.com has rated the Big 12 as the #1 conference in the country four years in a row, and with the depth and talent in the league again this season, it could become five.  Of course, when we talk Big 12, it all starts with the Kansas Jayhawks, who have won or shared a mind-boggling 13 straight conference regular season titles.  There is no reason to suspect that number will not reach 14 this season, as the Jayhawks have one of the most talented teams in the nation and may find themselves in San Antonio cutting down nets at the end of the day.

Beyond the Jayhawks, a pair of up-and-coming teams look to make big strides this year, as TCU will try to ride an NIT championship last year to an NCAA berth this one, and Shaka Smart may finally have a roster of “his” players capable of leading Texas into the conference’s upper echelons.  West Virginia and Baylor should both be very good again while Oklahoma will try to rebound from a disappointing 2016-17 season.  Finally, don’t overlook Texas Tech as Chris Beard is doing an excellent job elevating the Red Raiders despite the surprise departure of Tubby Smith a year ago.  This conference certainly has depth, enough so that if the team we are predicting for last place, Oklahoma State, can put aside its off-court problems, they might have enough weapons to finish several spots higher and contend for an NCAA Tournament bid.

Predicted Order of Finish

  1. Kansas – Frank Mason, Josh Jackson and Landen Lucas combined to average over 45 points and 20 rebounds per game last season.  All three are gone, and yet the Jayhawks still enter the season with a real shot at heading to the Final Four.  Devonte’ Graham will lead the way, joined in the backcourt by Mississippi State transfer Malik Newman, who was once the No. 2 overall prospect in the nation, and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk who passed on a chance to enter the NBA draft.  Down low, the Jayhawks are young but very talented, with Udoka Azubuike healthy after only playing 11 games as a freshman and another top prospect in forward Billy Preston.  This team has all the pieces necessary for another Big 12 title, and a lot more beyond that.
  2. TCU – No, this is not a typo.  Jamie Dixon led the Horned Frogs to 24 wins and the NIT Championship last season — and returns his entire starting lineup.  This team now has experience and depth, and added in one of the conference’s top recruiting classes.  Kenrich Williams and Vladimir Brodziansky are legitimate double-double threats every time out, and with added depth this season, TCU will be dancing for the first time since 1998.
  3. Texas – The Longhorns have a roster filled with freshmen and sophomores, but those sophomores all got a ton of playing experience last season despite losing 22 games.  Andrew Jones should score a ton of points this year, especially with Matt Coleman arriving to help solve the point guard problems and Mo Bamba, the potential #1 NBA draft pick in 2018, coming in add a ton of size, strength and power.  Shaka Smart’s team has a chance to be very good this season, and could finish even higher than this.
  4. West Virginia – Press Virginia led the nation in turnover margin last season, and this year should be more of the same.  Bob Huggins has another solid, deep team.  Although they are not likely to dethrone Kansas, the Mountaineers, led by Jevon Carter, Daxter Miles, Jr. and Esa Ahmad (assuming he is reinstated from an indefinite suspension by the time conference play begins), will cause opponents problems on a nightly basis and should be wearing their home uniforms in a first round NCAA Tournament game in March.
  5. Baylor – The Bears will once again be difficult to beat with Manu Lecomte running the point and seven-footer Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. down low.  However, another finish in or near second place will be difficult as they have to find a way to make up for several offseason losses, most notably Johnathan Motley.
  6. Oklahoma – Lon Kruger’s team gained a ton of valuable experience last season despite losing 20 games.  With the majority of last year’s team back and the addition of stud freshman point guard Trae Young, there is nowhere to go but up for the Sooners.  The team will need to compensate early for a lack of depth in the frontcourt, especially with Kristian Doolittle academically suspended for the fall semester.
  7. Texas Tech – Head coach Chris Beard has an intriguing mixture of senior leaders (Justin Gray, Keenan Evans and Zach Smith) and heralded prospects (point guard Davide Moretti and shooting guard Zhaire Smith).  The Red Raiders failed to win a single road game last season — if they can change that and get the new players to blend with the veterans, it would not be a complete shock to hear their name called on Selection Sunday.
  8. Kansas State – The Wildcats have a pair of very good guards in Kamau Stokes and Barry Brown, but the team may not have as much talent down low or as much depth as they did last season, when they barely snuck into the NCAA Tournament as a member of the First Four.  Kansas State will win some games, but probably not enough to dance again.
  9. Iowa State – The Cyclones could be in for a long season as they lost their top four starters from last season’s team.  The good news is that a few highly-rated recruits will get some playing time.  They will also get some help from senior guard Donovan Jackson and UTSA transfer forward Jeff Beverly.
  10. Oklahoma State – The Cowboys lost three of their top four players from last season and saw their head coach bolt for the Illinois job after just one season.  As if that wasn’t bad enough, they were one of the programs targeted by the recent FBI investigation, including a massive document subpoena request that just made headlines this week.  Despite a few solid players, including returnee Jeffrey Carroll, Cal State Northridge transfer Kendall Smith and St. John’s transfer Yankuba Sima (eligible after the fall semester), the off-court issues may be too much to keep this team out of the cellar in a very deep conference.
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NCAA Commission on College Basketball: reaction

Posted on October 11, 2017 by Jon Teitel

Earlier today it was announced that the NCAA has created a Commission on College Basketball to examine 3 specific aspects of D-1 basketball:

  1. The relationship of the NCAA and its institutions/student-athletes/coaches with outside entities (such as shoe companies, agents/advisors, etc.)
  2. The NCAA’s relationship with the NBA (specifically its “1-and-done” rule)
  3. The relationship between colleges and the NCAA national office (to promote transparency and stop any future scandals before they blow up)

The Commission will commence its work next month and then recommend changes in April.  The 14-person Commission is a fascinating mix of former players (David Robinson)/coaches (John Thompson III)/athletic directors (Jeremy Foley), current school presidents (Rev. John Jenkins), and a chairwoman who was the US Secretary of State (Dr. Condoleezza Rice).  HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel reached out to many of the Commissioners to get their reaction and has already heard back from Ohio State athletics director Gene Smith, who issued the following statement:

I am privileged and honored to serve alongside such a distinguished group committed to making the great game of college basketball even better for all parties involved.

We congratulate AD Smith on his appointment and hope to bring you further reaction from other members of the Commission in the days ahead.

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Season Preview: HoopsHD interviews Richmond head coach Chris Mooney

Posted on October 11, 2017 by Jon Teitel

CLICK HERE for all of Jon’s interviews, and the rest of our extensive and continuous preseason coverage

A lot of great coaches have come/gone through the A-10 during the past decade but there are still some very good veteran guys like Bob McKillop/Phil Martelli.  If you take a look at Chris Mooney’s record at Richmond you will not see a lot of losing seasons, which is due to the fact that he has not had a single 1 in the past 10 years.  He learned his craft at Princeton as a 4-year starter for Hall of Fame coach Pete Carril.  Last year the Spiders won 22 games including a pair in the NIT before losing to eventual champion TCU in the quarterfinals.   HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Mooney about playing for a Hall of Famer and coaching a young team this season.

As a player at Princeton you were allegedly nicknamed “Dr. Sweats” because you could not afford to buy jeans: who gave you the nickname, and how did you like it? I could afford them but came to college without any jeans (just sweats).  My teammate Galen Criqui (son of famous announcer Don Criqui) gave me the nickname: it was funny.

You played for Hall of Fame coach Pete Carril at Princeton: what made him such a great coach, and what was the most important thing that you ever learned from him? His understanding/vision of the game were incredible. What he was doing in the 1960s/1970s is very similar to how it is played at the highest level today: dribble handoffs, shooters spread around the perimeter, etc. They were a high-powered offense with future NBA players. He was always very honest so there was never any confusion about where we stood: players crave honest evaluation.

You entered the 1991 NCAA tourney on a 16-game winning streak but Lance Miller scored 19 PTS including a 6-foot jumper with 1.3 seconds left in a 2-PT win by Villanova: where does that rank among the most devastating losses of your career? I remember it really well…and it was really devastating. Villanova was a good team but we were the #8-seed and were nationally-ranked. The 2 schools had played a lot in the 1970s/1980s and Big East basketball was a very physical brand of basketball. It was a really tough loss because it felt like that was going to be the year that we advanced far in the tourney.

In the 2011 postseason as head coach at Richmond you won 3 games in 3 days to clinch the A-10 tourney, then beat Vanderbilt/Morehead State to reach the Sweet 16: what is your favorite memory from that incredible run? There are a lot of good memories. We won the championship game by enough points that we were able to sub out our stars toward the end and give our bench guys a chance to play, which was really special.

In the 2017 NIT quarterfinals you lost to TCU: what did your team learn from that game that can help them this year? TCU was playing great and went on to win the NIT title in New York. When playing an opponent that good you learn that everything you do is so critical: not just every possession but every since cut/defensive positioning. You have to make everything hard for your opponent and give yourself the best chance to win, which we did not do. It takes a little extra concentration.

Last year SG De’Monte Buckingham was named conference ROY: how was he able to come in and contribute right from the start? He is a really talented player and was more physically ready than most freshmen. He has incredible instincts and a great mind for the game.  He was able to see the game at his speed and adjust far more quickly than anyone else. He is super-competitive so he was ready to attack in his 1st season.

Your non-conference schedule includes games against Cincinnati/Georgetown/Wake Forest/BC: which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? Delaware: the very 1st one. We always try to play a great non-conference schedule and are fortunate that they are not a constant string of road games. We are young enough that no game will be easy. We are younger than we are “inexperienced” so we just have to concentrate at a high level.

You only have 1 senior and 1 grad student on the roster: how do you figure out your team’s leaders when you have such a relatively young roster? Since we are around the guys so much we can recognize who they follow/believe in. We have a good feel for that since we see it transpiring every day. There are guys who played a lot of minutes as young players so I think that our leadership will be very good.

You graduated your top-2 scorers from last year (TJ Cline/ShawnDre’ Jones): how will you try to replace all of that offense? That will be really difficult. TJ was 1 of the most unique players in college basketball: he was 2nd in the conference in AST despite standing 6’9”.  ShawnDre’ was a scorer since he 1st got here. We feel we have guys who are ready to step in for them.  The major step we took last year was defensively so we have to figure out who we are on offense.  We went to TJ when we needed a basket so we need to find out who is comfortable in that position and is able to do it at critical times, which is the fun part of having a team of new contributors.

What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? We talk about goals just among ourselves. Our expectations could be really exciting because there are some guys who can emerge as great players with the right amount of seasoning. If we improve during the course of the season, as we generally have in the past, then this will be a fun team to be around.

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Conference Preview: Big East

Posted on October 11, 2017 by Chad

Click HERE for all Season Preview articles from Jon Teitel and a schedule for Chad’s conference previews

BIG EAST

Any discussion of what conference is the best in the nation better include the Big East this season.  The conference that gave us the 2015-16 national champions may have more returning depth and star power than it has since a time before it split away from its football-playing brethren.  Leading the way once again should be the Villanova Wildcats.  Jay Wright seems to easily replace every piece he loses and should do so once again this year, especially now that standout recruit Omari Spellman is eligible to play.  Seton Hall, Xavier and Providence all return a ton of big pieces and should be sniffing right at the Wildcats’ heels all season long.

The Big East is deeper this year than just those four, however.  Creighton and Butler both have a lot of question marks but enough talent to be in the NCAA Tournament.  Marquette and St. John’s could be in the picture as well.  That’s 80% of the league.  While we are not predicting 8 bids at this point, anything less than six would be a major disappointment.  And DePaul at least will have a new home court arena that doesn’t take a week to travel to from their campus.  In fact, but for Georgetown’s woes (and we are predicting a ton of them for this Hoyas team), every team should be competitive and fun to watch all season long.

Predicted Order of Finish

  1. Villanova – Josh Hart and Kris Jenkins are gone . . . so what?  Jay Wright’s team may be just as good, if not better, than last season’s 32-4 record with the likes of Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges and Donte DiVincenzo in the backcourt and on the wings, and prized recruit Omari Spellman finally eligible down low.  The scariest part for the rest of the Big East, and maybe the entire nation, is that there are no seniors on the roster.
  2. Seton Hall – The Pirates have a real chance to finish on top of the league standings as they return four starters and most of the key reserves from a team that won 21 games last season.  Khadeen Carrington and Myles Powell both have the ability to light up the scoreboard, and Angel Delgado is the type of monster presence down low that very few teams have the ability to matchup with.  Oh yeah, Desi Rodriguez is also still here.
  3. Xavier – Villanova may be the best team in the Big East, but like Seton Hall, Xavier should be right on their heels with the guard tandem of Trevon Bluiett and J.P. Macura leading the way.  The player to really keep an eye on is 6-10 graduate transfer (from Green Bay) Kerem Kanter.  He has the chance to be a major force down low and should be able to make up for the offseason loss of RaShid Gaston.
  4. Providence – The Friars won 20 games and finished tied for third in the Big East last season.  They return their top eight players (led by Rodney Bullock) from last year and add in a few very good new pieces, including freshman Makai Ashton-Langford.  In any other conference, that is a formula to be picked at least in the top two, but with the talent on the teams above them, fourth place may be the ceiling.  That being said, this team could be good enough to be playing on the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.  Of course, the recent announcement that senior forward Emmitt Holt is out with an injury does not help, but hopefully he will be back on the court soon.
  5. Creighton – Despite losing Mo Watson, the Bluejays should be solid in the backcourt again with Marcus Foster, Khyri Thomas and Syracuse transfer Kaleb Joseph.  The same cannot be said for the frontcourt, where a handful of newcomers, including 6-11 freshman Jacob Epperson and 6-10 D2 transfer Manny Suarez will have to find a way to make up for the loss of NBA first round pick Justin Patton.
  6. Butler – The Bulldogs are young and have their fourth new head coach in the past five seasons; however, they still appear to have the talent to make it to the Big Dance.  Sophomore Kamar Baldwin will be joined in the backcourt by a bunch of guys even younger than he is, so it will fall to senior forward Kelan Martin to provide the team with leadership.  If he does, and if the players gel under new head coach LaVall Jordan, this team should expect to hear their name called on Selection Sunday.
  7. St. John’s – Chris Mullin is proving all of his naysayers wrong as he rebuilds the Red Storm program back to respectability.  He brings back a backcourt pairing of Shamorie Ponds and Marcus LoVett, together with swingman Bashir Ahmed, that should keep the Johnnies in the game most nights and provide a ton of excitement for fans.  There are still a lot of questions down low, but if Michigan State transfer Marvin Clark and players like Tariq Owens step up their games, this team has a chance to have its dance ticket punched.
  8. Marquette – Size will be an issue for the Golden Eagles with their top two returning scorers (Markus Howard and Andrew Rowsey) being under 6 feet tall and their best interior player (SMU transfer Harry Froling) not eligible until December.  That being said, if they can hit the 3-pointers the way they did last season, there is a chance to pull off just enough wins to be in the bubble talk come March.
  9. DePaul – The Blue Demons are high on D2 transfer Max Strus, who will join Eli Cain (15.6 points per game last season) in the backcourt.  They also add some help down low with Northern Illinois transfer Marin Maric.  Most importantly, however, the Blue Demons open the new 10,000 seat Wintrust Arena, no longer having to commute across Chicago just to play games. The new building should bring out more fans; however, a finish at or near the bottom of the conference  is once again likely.
  10. Georgetown – The Hoyas went 5-13 in the Big East last season.  Their top two scorers from that team are gone.  Their head coach was fired, and his replacement (Patrick Ewing) has never been a head coach before.  If not for DePaul, the Hoyas would have been in last place last season.  Despite DePaul, they will be there this time around.
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Season Preview: HoopsHD interviews Jacksonville head coach Tony Jasick

Posted on October 10, 2017 by Jon Teitel

CLICK HERE for all of Jon’s interviews, and the rest of our extensive and continuous preseason coverage

2 signs that you are getting old: college freshmen who were born in the year 2000 and college coaches who graduated from college in the year 2000.  Tony Jasick is a a member of the latter group but has quickly risen up the ranks: assistant at Middle Tennessee in 2004, head coach at IPFW in 2011, and head coach at Jacksonville in 2014.  He has also proven that he knows how to turn a program around: he increased the Mastodons’ win total from 11 in year #1 to 25 in year #3 and increased the Dolphins’ win total from 10 in year #1 to 17 in year #3 (finishing off each year #3 with a berth in the CIT.  HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Jasick about being named the best mid-major coach in the country and the importance of 3-PT shooting to his team’s success.

You played PG at Muskegon Community College: how good a player were you back in the day, and how did you get into coaching? I was a really bad player and I got into coaching because I was not smart enough to do anything else! I was around some really good coaches in the community where I grew up and always had an affinity for it.

You were an assistant to Kermit Davis at Middle Tennessee: what makes him such a good coach, and what was the most important thing that you ever learned from him? He is fantastic at building relationships in the community and his consistency from day 1 to day 365 is remarkable to me. He does a great job of coaching his team every single day.

You were hired as coach at IPFW in 2011: how were you able to improve your win total from 11 in year #1 to 25 in year #3? Great coaching! We were able to recruit some really good players and had a good mix of JC guys who brought some experience and a handful of high school guys who were able to grow. They were unselfish and cared a lot about winning.

In 2014 you won the Hugh Durham Award as the best D-1 mid-major men’s coach in the nation: what did it mean to you to win such an outstanding honor? The folks at College Insider are fantastic people. I am not sure if I deserved it because there are a lot of great coaches out there but it was great for our institution/program/players. It was a great honor for me personally but a lot of other people deserve credit for that.

After starting 13-6 last season at Jacksonville you closed out the year with a 4-PT loss in the regular season finale, a 3-PT loss in the conference tourney, and a 2-PT loss in the 2017 CIT: you were obviously right on the cusp but what will it take to turn those close losses into close wins this year? We have 2 completely different teams: last year was senior-laden before we were hit by the injury bug, which was part of the reason for all those close losses. We are much younger this year but have improved some of our perimeter play and have an increased commitment on the defensive end of the floor as we continue to grow.

Your team’s 40.3 3P% was #11 in the nation: is it just 1 part of a larger offensive strategy or is it a focal point where you “live by the 3/die by the 3”? You hope to not die by anything but a major part of what we do is to punch the paint, and if the defense collapses then we kick it out to an open shooter. It is a big part of what we do and the threes are a result of how we play. We try to be unselfish and recruit guys who can dribble/pass/shoot.

You lost each of your top-3 scorers from last year (JR Holder/Marcel White/Darien Fernandez): how are you going to try to replace all of that offense? We lost a handful of other guys as well but I like our group. We had the opportunity to go to Canada this summer and see where we are at, and hopefully our former freshmen can take another step as sophomores. It will be a collective effort.

You have 5 players from Florida while the rest of your team comes from 7 different states/England: what sort of recruiting philosophy do you have? Recruiting is about relationships: if you look at our out-of-state guys we have a lot from the Northeast/New England due to our academic reputation/climate. We feel the Southeast is an attractive spot and we work on our contacts/connections.

Your non-conference schedule includes games against NC State/Michigan: which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? Anytime you go into a guarantee-game situation you have to play really well to be competitive down the stretch. Our schedule provides a lot of challenges and hopefully we can build a little momentum.

What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? Our goals remain the same: get better every day. I know it is a cliché but when you have as many new guys as we do it is important to stay focused on improvement rather than on wins/losses.

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Conference Preview: ACC

Posted on October 10, 2017 by Chad

Click HERE for all Season Preview articles from Jon Teitel and a schedule for Chad’s conference previews

ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE

This is the place where we expected to be writing about North Carolina starting their national title defense and Duke coming in with another roster full of some of the best looking one-and-done players in the nation.  That all changed in the final week of September when the FBI dropped a bombshell on college basketball.  The explosion from the investigation led directly to a complete house-cleaning in Louisville that took out Athletic Director Tom Jurich, head coach Rick Pitino, and highly touted recruit Brian Bowen.  As of the moment, it is unclear if the Cardinals will even be post-season eligible, but that may not even matter.  The investigation touched a handful of other programs across the nation, including Miami, but for now at least we will assume that the Hurricanes will be playing with a full roster and eligible for the Big Dance.

Turning matters to the on-court stuff, the Tar Heels lost a ton in the offseason, but should still be strong enough to contend for the league crown.  Virginia Tech, Miami, Notre Dame and Virginia should all be in contention as well, but to win the title teams will have to get past Coach K’s Duke Blue Devils, and his team is so loaded that just does not seem possible.  The conference will be deep again, with a chance for 8 or more bids.  Georgia Tech, Florida State and North Carolina State could all push for postseason invites, though the latter two would certainly be surprises to anyone but us.  As usual, the worst team in the conference looks like it will be a pushover; however, this year that team plays in Pennsylvania – not Massachusetts.

Predicted Order of Finish

  1. Duke – Despite losing four double-digit scorers, the Blue Devils have a great chance to make it to San Antonio with Grayson Allen leading the way and heralded freshmen Trevon Duval, Gary Trent, Jr., Wendell Carter, Jr. and Marvin Bagley III.  Don’t forget Marques Bolden, who could be primed for a breakout season.
  2. Miami – Assuming the ongoing FBI investigation stays away from the court, the Hurricanes could have one of the nation’s best backcourts, especially if Ja’Quan Newton can improve his ball-handling skills.  Bruce Brown and Lonnie Walker have a chance to score a ton of points –  more than enough to make up for a frontcourt that will be better defensively than on offense.
  3. North Carolina – The defending national champions must make up for a ton of offseason losses but should still be strong in the backcourt with Joel Berry II and Pitt transfer Cameron Johnson.  The problems may be down low where Theo Pinson will need to step up and get help from a bunch of newcomers.
  4. Virginia Tech – Buzz Williams continues to build the Hokies into a legitimate ACC contender.  The addition of highly-touted freshman Nickeil Alexander-Walker and the return of Kerry Blackshear Jr. from injury, together with the likes of Chris Clarke, Ahmed Hill, Justin Robinson and Justin Bibbs should lead them back to the Big Dance again this year.
  5. Notre Dame – The combination of point guard Matt Farrell and power forward Bonzie Colson may be one of the best two player combos in the nation and the two of them alone may be enough to have the Irish near the top of the ACC standings.  They will need to find some more scoring help though, especially with Steve Vasturia and V.J. Beachem gone.
  6. Virginia – The Cavaliers always play great defense and this year should not be any different.  The question, as always, will be scoring.  Senior Devon Hall, an improved Kyle Guy and the additions of redshirt freshman De’Andre Hunter and Rutgers transfer Nigel Johnson could all be key factors here.
  7. Georgia Tech – Despite not making the NCAA Tournament, the Yellow Jackets were one of the nation’s biggest surprises in Josh Pastner’s first year, making a run all the way to the NIT title game when they were predicted by many to finish at the bottom of the league.  Expect even better results with year with Tadric Jackson, Josh Okogie and Ben Lammers all back and ready to go.
  8. Florida State – Most teams that lose three double-digit scorers (Dwayne Bacon, Xavier Rathan-Mayes and Jonathan Isaac) will be in rebuilding mode, but that may not be the case in Tallahassee.  Terance Mann returns at guard and is joined by five-star wingman recruit M.J. Walker.  The ‘Noles have a ton of size down low too with a pair of seven-footers leading the way.  Another 12 win ACC season is a longshot, but don’t be shocked to see FSU back in the Big Dance.
  9. North Carolina State – The Wolfpack have a chance to be the conference’s surprise team, especially with Omer Yurtseven and Lennard Freeman healthy down low.  Although Kevin Keatts is supposed to have a rebuilding project ahead of him, there are enough pieces here to be competitive this season.
  10. Louisville – After everything that happened in late September, with the FBI investigation eventually leading to Rick Pitino being placed on what will eventually be a permanent leave of absence, Brian Bowen being declared ineligible, probably never to play a minute of college hoops, and David Padgett finally taking over head coaching duties, it is close to impossible to figure out what will happen on the court this year.  The Cardinals do have some very good pieces, led by the likes of Quentin Snider and Deng Adel, but even if the team technically remains postseason eligible, it is tough to see them getting away from the offcourt issues to actually make it there.
  11. Syracuse – Tyus Battle and USF transfer Geno Thorpe will do the majority of the outside scoring, but there are lots of question marks defensively and down low.  This looks like another season riding the bubble.
  12. Wake Forest – The Demon Deacons have a pair of guards in Bryant Crawford and Keyshawn Woods good enough to keep them in most games.  However, there are way too many questions (and very few answers) down low to put this team back in the NCAA Tournament picture.  The good news is the team is very young, and the outlook may be a lot different this time next season.
  13. Clemson – The Tigers were a disappointing 6-12 in ACC play last year and that was with Jaron Blossomgame leading the way.  Without him, it is tough to see them even being able to match that mark.  Unfortunately for head coach Brad Brownell, another season that doesn’t come close to a dance ticket could be his last one here.
  14. Boston College – Ky Bowman and Jerome Robinson will help make the Eagles a fun team to watch again this year, which is more than can be said of Boston College for quite some time.  Illinois State transfer Deontae Hawkins could be a big piece inside, but there is still not enough depth or talent in Chestnut Hill to finish anywhere but near the bottom of the league standings.
  15. Pittsburgh – The Panthers won only 4 ACC games last year.  Their top five scorers from last season are gone.  They have no true point guard on the roster.  And they have Kevin Stallings as their head coach.  In other words, it is going to be bad.  Very bad.
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