# Looking ahead to next year



## dkg1 (May 31, 2002)

Who do you guys see the the dominant teams being next season? Living in the heart of Big Ten country, let me tell you this conference will be loaded! Michigan State is going to be awesome. Paul Davis is going to have a huge breakout next season, as is Anderson. They did a great job in the tourney this year w/out a true PG. Next year they will have one. Illinois is going to be pretty darn good too with their freshman backcourt and Luther Head returning. They will also have a good frontcourt with Charlie Villanueva added to the mix. Minnesota and Rick Rickert will be improved as will Iowa. Purdue will make some noise as will Indiana with Marshall Strickland, AJ Moye and Bracey Wright returning. Tommy Amaker has Michigan headed in the right direction. Bo Ryan as always will have Wisconsin playing good ball. 

I haven't sat down and researched a lot of teams outside of the Big Ten. I assume Texas will be awesome with everyone returning. Misouri should be a top 10 team as well. Duke as always is going to be loaded. UNC should be better coached and has top 10 talent coming back (we'll see about transfers). I like ND with Chris Thomas and Torrin Francis returning. 

How about the SEC, Big East and PAC 10? Who will be the top teams in those conferences?

Who loses the most this year? It looks like Kansas and Arizona are loaded with seniors. Will they be able to reload like they always do?


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## kansasalumn (Jun 9, 2002)

I think Kansas would be just fine.

Aaron Miles-One of the best young Pointguards in the nation
Michael Lee-Very solid defender, can rebound, and has a good solid outside shot.
Keith Langford-Is an up and coming star
Jeff Graves-is a Force inside. stay out of foul trouble would be great
Wayne Simien-Powerful Power Forward. If stay heathly, watch out.
Bryant Nash-Solid SF/PF role player. Senior.
Jeff Hawkins-Quick little PG. Did not see a lot this seson, but may see him a lot next. 
Moolaye Niang-a Project. He is very quick for a 6'11" giuy. Use to play soccer . Good defender

incoming Frosh
Jermey Case-Top 250 player. most likly see some bench time, possbile redshirt candidate
Omar WIlkes-Son of former NBA player Jamael Wikes. Can shoot from the outside that KU is missing
David Padgett=Project to be a 2 inch taller version of Nick COllision, and a coach's son
JR Giddens-should help team imediatly. Great upside.


Then we ahve a good solid group of walkons

Top 20 team not top 10 next season.


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## The Truth (Jul 22, 2002)

Texas is going to be incredible, especially if Ford stays.

Mizzou will be top 5.

Duke will be better. 

Illinois will be good.

Depending on the coach, UNC could be very good.

Michigan State will be good.

If Okafor stays, UCONN will be excellent.

Michigan State will be much improved.


Overall, the college game is going to be much improved next year. There will be a lot more upper tier teams next year.


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## grizzoistight (Jul 16, 2002)

*duke will be unreal*

duhon
ewing
reddick
williams
randolph
and loul deng whos supposed to have just as much potential as bron hes just really raw

zona will be good
stoudamire 
shakur
ebi
igauldua
lattimore
adams
frye

i think everyone of those guys will be in the leauge



melo 
warrick
mcneil
edelin
mcnamara
and 3 big time recruits

all of these teams are top 6


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## allenive21 (Jul 28, 2002)

Michigan State and Illinios have really strong recruiting classes coming in, Mich. St's prize is Shannon Brown and Illinois's is Villanueva. Illinios also returns 4 starters including 2 great guards in Dee Brown and Deron Williams. The Illini will also get Aaron Spears who redshirted after being injured. The future looks bright in Champaign.


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## Tactics (Mar 6, 2003)

UConn should be good, I think they struggled this year because they are young and Taliek Brown was out for a while. UConn's incoming players are Marcus Williams and Josh Boone. Marcus Williams is a PG out of Oak Hill and Josh Boone is a PF, they are both like mid 100 ranked I think


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## dkg1 (May 31, 2002)

*Re: duke will be unreal*



> Originally posted by <b>grizzoistight</b>!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Grizzo, do you actually believe Carmelo will return to Syracuse for a second season? I think his recent talk is all a smoke screen, he'll be in the league next year. Regardless, Syracuse has some nice talent returning.


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## rocketeer (Oct 7, 2002)

here are some teams i like for next year(a little bit in order but not completely. some are too high and others too low):

texas - ford and everyone else is back
uconn - okafor, gordon, and both browns(talik and denham) should be good
unc - may is back and they were top 15 with him this year
missouri - everyone is back and they add conley in december
cincinnati - maxiel gets more help with whaley and white coming
arizona - lose walton and gardner but get ebi and have good young guys
florida - good and young
syracuse - higher if anthony comes back but even without him they are still good
kansas - simien, miles, langford, graves
duke - all the young guys are getting older(but they lose jones)
illinois - lose cook but get some great freshman
michigan state - some good young guys and great freshman
st joe's - i think nelson is a junior(if not or if he leaves then take them off the list)
pittsburgh - they lose some starters but other guys should step up
xavier - sato will step up(he's a junior, right?)
nc state - hodge, melvin, and powell
oklahoma - again good freshman and some good returning guys
notre dame - if thomas comes back

i'm sure there are more i'm forgetting but these should all be in or around the top 25.


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## BigMike (Jun 12, 2002)

*All I know is...*

If Melo or TJ stays, then Syracuse/Texas will OWN.


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## FSH (Aug 3, 2002)

for all of u that think melo is gonna to go to nba there is a big pep ralley today at 3:15(in 15 mins) at manley field house for syracuse before they leave for new orleans and i heard melo is gonna tell everyone that he is comming back for one more year..and melo keeps telling everyone over and over again up at su campus that he is gonna stay(i have even talk to his once with a bunch of other people on the campus) and he loves it in college so i think he is gonna stay..and syracuse will be a top 5 team next year if melo stay which he is going too


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## JuniorNoboa (Jan 27, 2003)

Look, Carmelo will say that so his staying or leaving is not a story this week. What he says today or tomorrow, to his friends or to media this week is totally irrelevant to whether he stays or go.


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## spartanfan2003 (Jul 12, 2002)

Yes, Michigan State will be great next year, but I think that Michigan will have two top twenty-five teams. Michigan and Michigan State. Michigan should have great year. Robinson Jr. will be a senior and Abrahm with Horton will be two of the best Sophmores in the country. They have great recruiting class with top 50 recruit, power forward Brent Petway, comming in. He is really a fan favorite, high flying leaper too. They have Mr. Michigan in basketball, Dion Harris. Then they have top 50 recruit, seven foot center Courtney Sims out of Massachuesets. Not to mention Amaker will probably fit in better this season than the last with more of his own recruits.


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## ATLien (Jun 18, 2002)

SEC will be painful to watch for years to come, ACC will be AWESOME next year and beyond


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## Hollis (Jun 4, 2002)

Top 5: Texas, Mizzou, Duke, Arizona, UCONN.

Oklahoma and Kansas, especially OU, is a wildcard team....if Lavendar lives up to the hype then they should have another top 10-type season.


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## UKfan4Life (Mar 5, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>GeorgiaSports</b>!
> SEC will be painful to watch for years to come, ACC will be AWESOME next year and beyond


I wouldn't say that neccessarily. Sure, it won't be the best of years the next few years, but Florida as long as they've got Billy Donovan will be a huge competitor (and as long as they don't choke!).

Arkansas should be good next year, nothing special, but in 2 years Arkansas should be a HUGE competitor because they will have gotten back on track, back on their feet, and they will have more experienced players.

Georgias future basically depends on who their new coach will be.

Vanderbilt actually shows a promising future, with Mario Moore and Matt Freije. 

Who knows what happened to Alabama. They were number one for a while and just fell apart. They might not be too good for a while.

Ole Miss's future is a little fuzzy. It all basically depends on how the recruiting process goes. They definitley need better players.

Mississippi State should have a pretty decent team for the next few years as well.

Of course, next year Kentucky should have a pretty good year, no matter what new coach they get if Tubby leaves. Why? Cliff Hawkins, Chuck Hayes, Erik Daniels, Gerald Fitch, and Antwain Barbour will all be returning. Marquis Estill has the choice of coming back as a 5th year senior and Kelenna Azubuike will probably seeing a lot more play time a long with Bernard Cote and (possibly) Ravi Moss and Brandon Stockton. Preston LeMaster, who will be in his sophomore year next year, might not see much play time. However, in his junior and senior years, he will be one hell of a player (remember, hes the son of Jim LeMaster, so what do you expect?)

Tennessees future is a little "iffy". Ron Slay is leaving and he really holds that team together.

You can say the same thing for South Carolina. They really didn't have a good year at all this year, so their future will also be iffy. 

LSU was over-looked this year I think. They were a good defensive team and a good offensive team (so they were a good all-around team). I think in the next few years, they should be able to pose a threat to opposing teams.

Auburn, like Tennessee and South Carolina, has an iffy looking future. I'm not sure but I believe Kyle Davis will be returning and that definitley means something good for Auburn.


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## ATLien (Jun 18, 2002)

Kentucky will be lucky to be a 2 seed next year IMO. The main reason they went on that roll, was because of Marquis Estill. It wasn't until he had his break out game that UK started the streak. And Estill won't be back.

UGA will hire a very good locale coach but will be banned from the tournament for about 2 years IMHO. Florida will be alright, but choke. Arkansas, though, they got prime time potential


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## UKfan4Life (Mar 5, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>GeorgiaSports</b>!
> Kentucky will be lucky to be a 2 seed next year IMO. The main reason they went on that roll, was because of Marquis Estill. It wasn't until he had his break out game that UK started the streak. And Estill won't be back.
> 
> UGA will hire a very good locale coach but will be banned from the tournament for about 2 years IMHO. Florida will be alright, but choke. Arkansas, though, they got prime time potential


They didn't go on a roll because of Estill, or any single player. They went on a roll because the loss to Louisville hit them hard and they decided to actuallly start listening to Tubby and they became the best team in the nation because they worked as a team. Truth be told, Estill was a huge, I mean HUGE, factor for the team and they couldn't have come anywhere close to doing it without him. But why do I say the team went on the streak because they started listening to Tubby? They said it themselves at the 100 Years of Kentucky Basketball Anniversary Banquet where an estimated 115 people were invited, not including the former-all americans or Adolph Rupps son.

True, Kentucky won't be as good next year but they will still be a strong competitor.

I wouldn't say Estill won't come back just yet, however. When I went to the Mississippi State game in Lexington earlier in the season, my dad read the Lexington paper and on the front page they had a whole cover story on Estill. I read it and he says hes going to look at the NBA draft to decide whether he will stay. The NBA is also pushing him to stay another year for development purposes.


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## spartanfan2003 (Jul 12, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>Ukfan4Life</b>!
> 
> 
> I wouldn't say that neccessarily. Sure, it won't be the best of years the next few years, but Florida as long as they've got Billy Donovan will be a huge competitor (and as long as they don't choke!).
> ...


I think that most of your assesments are poor. And I can assure you, this is not because I dislike the SEC. Lets start with Kentucky. If Tubby Smith leaves it will hurt you more than you think. Tubby was a great coach and will be hard to replace. Unless they get another high profile coach like Lavin, Harrick, Richardson, Kruger, etc. then they will have a tough time. The new coach's style might be hard for Smith's players to adjust to. Bogans and Camara are leaving, and if Estill leaves things will get ten times worse. They have no high school All-Americans, and no BIG name players left. The guys that you mentioned are nothing special. I am sure that if you were just a regular NCAA fan you wouldn't know any of their names. You usually say that they don't need High School All-Americans or high profile players because they play a great team game, but I don't know if that will still be there if Tubby leaves. Don't get me wrong, I think they'll make the tournament, and be ranked on and off, but I ultimately think it will be a down year for them. As you said, Arkansas will be improved, but I still don't think they will make the tournament. They have Lampley, and Canadian Olu Famatimi (one of my fav. ballers) comming in next season, but those two Freshmen will definitely not be enough to get them into the tournament. Their record was God-awful this season, and it will take more than two fab frosh to change that. I don't think Tennessee is "iffy". I think it is almost certain they will have a bad year. They only thing that even got them in the NIT, Ron Slay, will be departing. The only upside that I see for them is 6-0 PG Dane Bradshaw from White Station High School in Memphis Tennessee, but again, Freshmen never really make and exceptional impact. Mississippi State's future is "iffy". Zimmerman will be gone, and if Outlaw declares for the draft the situation will look pretty bad. The thing that will determine their season is whether or not Mario Austin stays. He is a man among boys on that team. If Outlaw, Zimmerman, and Austin all escape Mississippi State's grasp, then they could have a below average season. Timmy Bowers can't really propel a team into the rankings in my opinion. And come on, Vanderbilt? Sure Freiji is great and all, but do you honestly think they will be half good next season? That is highly unlikely. Georgia's future is a questionable one. If Jarvis Hayes leaves, which it looks like he will, they will have a sub-par season. If he stays, I think they will be a good or maybe even great team, but the odds of him staying are slim in my opinion. Auburn's program is 75% based on one player, Marquis Daniels, who is leaving for the pros and wont be coming back. I doubt that they can be anything special, with or without Davis. South Carolina actually looks good in my eyes. They have returning Junior, Rolando Howell, who came close to averaging a double-double last season. I think that they will suprise a lot of people next season and make the tournament, or at worst, the NIT. LSU is questionable. They have a decent recruiting class this season, a talented soon-to-be-Sophmore in Darrell Mitchell, and a great post player in Jamie Lloreda, but three out of their four leading scorers and rebounders are leaving. I think as of now, they have the same status as South Carolina does. Unless Alabama gets Lang, and maybe even if they do get Lang, they will be terrible. Ole Miss will be as usual, terrible. The only exceptional team that I see will be Florida. They have a great young talented team.


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## spartanfan2003 (Jul 12, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>Ukfan4Life</b>!
> 
> 
> They didn't go on a roll because of Estill, or any single player. They went on a roll because the loss to Louisville hit them hard and they decided to actuallly start listening to Tubby and they became the best team in the nation because they worked as a team. Truth be told, Estill was a huge, I mean HUGE, factor for the team and they couldn't have come anywhere close to doing it without him. But why do I say the team went on the streak because they started listening to Tubby? They said it themselves at the 100 Years of Kentucky Basketball Anniversary Banquet where an estimated 115 people were invited, not including the former-all americans or Adolph Rupps son.
> ...


 This is why I say if they lose Estill and Tubby they will be a thirtyish ranked team, but if both stay then they could be great again. A little worse, but still great none the less.


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## spartanfan2003 (Jul 12, 2002)

Get ready for an angry SEC/UK fan post...........


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## UKfan4Life (Mar 5, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>Spartanfan2003</b>!
> I think that most of your assesments are poor. And I can assure you, this is not because I dislike the SEC. Lets start with Kentucky. If Tubby Smith leaves it will hurt you more than you think. Tubby was a great coach and will be hard to replace. Unless they get another high profile coach like Lavin, Harrick, Richardson, Kruger, etc. then they will have a tough time. The new coach's style might be hard for Smith's players to adjust to. Bogans and Camara are leaving, and if Estill leaves things will get ten times worse. They have no high school All-Americans, and no BIG name players left. The guys that you mentioned are nothing special. I am sure that if you were just a regular NCAA fan you wouldn't know any of their names. You usually say that they don't need High School All-Americans or high profile players because they play a great team game, but I don't know if that will still be there if Tubby leaves. Don't get me wrong, I think they'll make the tournament, and be ranked on and off, but I ultimately think it will be a down year for them. As you said, Arkansas will be improved, but I still don't think they will make the tournament. They have Lampley, and Canadian Olu Famatimi (one of my fav. ballers) comming in next season, but those two Freshmen will definitely not be enough to get them into the tournament. Their record was God-awful this season, and it will take more than two fab frosh to change that. I don't think Tennessee is "iffy". I think it is almost certain they will have a bad year. They only thing that even got them in the NIT, Ron Slay, will be departing. The only upside that I see for them is 6-0 PG Dane Bradshaw from White Station High School in Memphis Tennessee, but again, Freshmen never really make and exceptional impact. Mississippi State's future is "iffy". Zimmerman will be gone, and if Outlaw declares for the draft the situation will look pretty bad. The thing that will determine their season is whether or not Mario Austin stays. He is a man among boys on that team. If Outlaw, Zimmerman, and Austin all escape Mississippi State's grasp, then they could have a below average season. Timmy Bowers can't really propel a team into the rankings in my opinion. And come on, Vanderbilt? Sure Freiji is great and all, but do you honestly think they will be half good next season? That is highly unlikely. Georgia's future is a questionable one. If Jarvis Hayes leaves, which it looks like he will, they will have a sub-par season. If he stays, I think they will be a good or maybe even great team, but the odds of him staying are slim in my opinion. Auburn's program is 75% based on one player, Marquis Daniels, who is leaving for the pros and wont be coming back. I doubt that they can be anything special, with or without Davis. South Carolina actually looks good in my eyes. They have returning Junior, Rolando Howell, who came close to averaging a double-double last season. I think that they will suprise a lot of people next season and make the tournament, or at worst, the NIT. LSU is questionable. They have a decent recruiting class this season, a talented soon-to-be-Sophmore in Darrell Mitchell, and a great post player in Jamie Lloreda, but three out of their four leading scorers and rebounders are leaving. I think as of now, they have the same status as South Carolina does. Unless Alabama gets Lang, and maybe even if they do get Lang, they will be terrible. Ole Miss will be as usual, terrible. The only exceptional team that I see will be Florida. They have a great young talented team.


Once again, about Kentucky, you base their future off "big-name-players". Even if they don't play as a team next season as good as they did this season, doesn't mean they won't be good. So what if they're not big name players? That doesn't mean their not good. Hawkins was by far our best defender this year, Gerald Fitch our best 3-point shooter, Chuck Hayes our best hustler and motivator, Erik Daniels who is the same as Chuck Hayes, and of course Antwain Barbour who is a devastating 3 point shooter and can play at any guard position. Speaking of Chuck Hayes, remember the Wisconsin game? Remember how Kirk Penney devasted us with his 3 point on-slaught? Yeah, Tubby asked who wanted to guard him and Chuck Hayes took the option and he allowed Penney to get off only 4 shots the whole second half-Penney made one. 

Cote will have to step up too, but that shouldn't be a problem. He's the same size as Estill and can shoot a 3 point shot (Tubby says he likes shooting NBA-3s at practice). 

I'm not angry, because I agree with a lot of the things you said, but saying these guys are nothing special is absolutely absurd.


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## spartanfan2003 (Jul 12, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>Ukfan4Life</b>!
> 
> 
> Once again, about Kentucky, you base their future off "big-name-players". Even if they don't play as a team next season as good as they did this season, doesn't mean they won't be good. So what if they're not big name players? That doesn't mean their not good. Hawkins was by far our best defender this year, Gerald Fitch our best 3-point shooter, Chuck Hayes our best hustler and motivator, Erik Daniels who is the same as Chuck Hayes, and of course Antwain Barbour who is a devastating 3 point shooter and can play at any guard position. Speaking of Chuck Hayes, remember the Wisconsin game? Remember how Kirk Penney devasted us with his 3 point on-slaught? Yeah, Tubby asked who wanted to guard him and Chuck Hayes took the option and he allowed Penney to get off only 4 shots the whole second half-Penney made one.
> ...


I wouldn't say that saying that they are nothing special is absurd. Sure, every team has role players, but the good ones have stars. Like I was saying, that cast will be good enough to keep them popping in and out of the Top 25, but there is no way that they will be ranked in the top 15 over teams like Arizona, Florida, Duke, and Michigan State. Be realistic. The team will be good, but not exceptional. You had your exceptional year this year. Things can't last forever. Anyway, to be levelheaded, the season is about two hundred days away. It is fun to talk about it, but there is no reason to argue this early.


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## UKfan4Life (Mar 5, 2003)

I don't mean to argue, I'm "speculating".  

But after this season, I wouldn't say they aren't going to be in the top 15. I was expecting to have a god-awful year this year, and it turned out to be one of the best seasons. So anything is possible with this team.


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## spartanfan2003 (Jul 12, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>Ukfan4Life</b>!
> I don't mean to argue, I'm "speculating".
> 
> But after this season, I wouldn't say they aren't going to be in the top 15. I was expecting to have a god-awful year this year, and it turned out to be one of the best seasons. So anything is possible with this team.


Your joking, even I thought that they would be a top 10 team this year. Especially since Barbour was so hyped going into the season, as was Camara. Their only big loss was Prince, and I was fooled by the media to think that Barbour would easily take his place. Anyway, point is, ESPN, USA Today, a lot of people, and I didn't think that they would be bad this year. To say that you did has to be an extension of the truth in some way or another, or maybe you are just trying to assure yourself that Kentucky will have an alright team next season, but hey, I am just speculating. 

BTW - Muuuuuuuuuuuu should be better too. :grinning:


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## UKfan4Life (Mar 5, 2003)

Lol, yeah thats true.
I ENCOURAGE EVERYONE ON THESE BOARDS TO READ THIS. Believe it or not, a Louisville newspaper actually wrote this in todays issue.


Cats have legs for another long run 
Smith's, Estill's statuses are topics for next season 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Michael Smith 
[email protected]
The Courier-Journal 

http://www.courier-journal.com/cjsports/news2003/04/01/sp040103s390179.htm

*Sorry about the copyright thing.


I'd like to show everybody whos to lazy to read what Tubby said:

''Where else would I go from here?'' Smith said. ''I've got one of the best jobs, not just in college basketball, but in sports. 

Sounds like hes staying. If he does, we'll be awesome next year, mark my words.


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## ATLien (Jun 18, 2002)

the only way the SEC remains top 3 in the country is if UGA hires a great coach and re-recruits Jarvis and the all-americans... but that won't happen. UGA will probably want to clear themselves of Harrick, and that means his recruits


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## spartanfan2003 (Jul 12, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>Ukfan4Life</b>!
> Sounds like hes staying. If he does, we'll be awesome next year, mark my words.


I have a question. When was this written? Tubby, as well as any other coach, would be a fool to say that they have intentions to leave while the tournament or regular season is still in progress. Unless this was written in the last four days or so, I wouldn't take it so seriously. Think about it. Put yourself in Tubby's place. You are about to go against Marquette but you have to do this stupid Louisville paper interview. You are asked if you will stay. What are you going to say? Of course you are going to say that you will stay! If you said you were leaving, then your team might not even play for you that night. You might get jumped in the VIP parking lot by crazy ******* UK fans. If this was written afterwards, then my apologizes. Bottom line, the way I see the SEC next season is the way I saw the Big 10 this season, having a down season. Believe me, missing a team leader like Bogans alone, and a great role player/ star in Camara will drop you 10 spots or so. The SEC next season will have Florida somewhere around 8,9,10. (Like the Illini were this season) And UK will be somewhere around 11,12,13,14,15 (Like Wisconsin was this season) Other than that, the SEC will have no ranked teams, and maybe just two, three at the most other teams make the tournament. BTW - I was thinking about it, and Tennessee gets Scooter McFagdon next season, but still, they couldn't make it with Slay, and Scooter isn't exactly any better.


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## spartanfan2003 (Jul 12, 2002)

This is 365 days away, but still, my SEC seeding predictions -

#2 seed - Florida
#3 seed - Kentucky
#9 seed - South Carolina (shocking isn't it?)
#9 seed - LSU

Like I said, if TN couldn't go with Slay, how will they go without him. Plus, Buzz Petterson might leave. Mississippi State has too many players coming and going. It is still too early to say anything about them.

I would like to stay and argue now, but I have some serious makeup work to do, peace.


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## UKfan4Life (Mar 5, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>Spartanfan2003</b>!
> 
> I have a question. When was this written? Tubby, as well as any other coach, would be a fool to say that they have intentions to leave while the tournament or regular season is still in progress. Unless this was written in the last four days or so, I wouldn't take it so seriously. Think about it. Put yourself in Tubby's place. You are about to go against Marquette but you have to do this stupid Louisville paper interview. You are asked if you will stay. What are you going to say? Of course you are going to say that you will stay! If you said you were leaving, then your team might not even play for you that night. You might get jumped in the VIP parking lot by crazy ******* UK fans. If this was written afterwards, then my apologizes. Bottom line, the way I see the SEC next season is the way I saw the Big 10 this season, having a down season. Believe me, missing a team leader like Bogans alone, and a great role player/ star in Camara will drop you 10 spots or so. The SEC next season will have Florida somewhere around 8,9,10. (Like the Illini were this season) And UK will be somewhere around 11,12,13,14,15 (Like Wisconsin was this season) Other than that, the SEC will have no ranked teams, and maybe just two, three at the most other teams make the tournament. BTW - I was thinking about it, and Tennessee gets Scooter McFagdon next season, but still, they couldn't make it with Slay, and Scooter isn't exactly any better.


Well for your information, he said this 2 days ago. March 31, 2003.
Yes, missing Bogans and Camara will hurt, but either Hawkins or Fitch (more likely Hawkins) will be more than willing to take up the job as team leader. And they can do pretty much just as good of a job as Bogans did as a leader. By the way, if you thought Kentucky was going to have an excellent season this season before it actually began, then you must have a job on their coaching staff because I can quote from every pre-season prediction magazine, show, or whatever when they said "Kentucky won't be good this year" or something along those lines. I can remember every Kentucky game highlight with Dick Vitale saying "Tubbys done an amazing job with this team, I mean I can't think of a single person that predicted Kentucky being this good. All I can say is, great job Tubby!"

You're right though, Tennessees going to have a crap year next year.


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## rocketeer (Oct 7, 2002)

if estill leaves, i think kentucky will be in and out of the top 25 but make the ncaa tournament. if he stays, i think they will be at the back of the top 15 and get a 3 or 4 seed. the thing is, kentucky is going to be worse than they were this year and a lot of other teams are getting better. so kentucky will move down a lot as other teams pass them.


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## spartanfan2003 (Jul 12, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>rocketeer</b>!
> if estill leaves, i think kentucky will be in and out of the top 25 but make the ncaa tournament. if he stays, i think they will be at the back of the top 15 and get a 3 or 4 seed. the thing is, kentucky is going to be worse than they were this year and a lot of other teams are getting better. so kentucky will move down a lot as other teams pass them.


Exactly what I was saying. The SEC will be crap next season, and the sad part is, they are never good in the tournament like the Big ten is. What I mean by this is, the Big Ten had a down year this year, but they still got two teams in the Elite Eight. (25%!) And those two teams were five and seven seeds. While the SEC struggles to put a 1 or 2 seed in the Elite Eight most of the time. They have so called "great regular seasons", but they can't convert that into great tournament play like the Big Ten can.


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## JuniorNoboa (Jan 27, 2003)

The Big Ten had two teams in the sweet 16 not in the elite eight. Not nearly as impressive.


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## GNG (Aug 17, 2002)

The Big 10 only had one team in the Elite Eight, and just two in the Sweet 16, which puts them on par in Tournament play.

Illinois bowed out early to an overrated Notre Dame team, and Wisconsin was rescued from Tulsa on a buzzer beater. Michigan State had a nice run, but then again, so did Auburn (a team that everyone was outraged that the selection committee chose).

Not to say that Mississippi State or Florida didn't choke in the tourney, but you are such an SEC hater that it's hilarious to read your "predictions" and "analysis" because you have absolutely zero credibility when it comes to the SEC.


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## GNG (Aug 17, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>Spartanfan2003</b>!
> 
> Exactly what I was saying. The SEC will be crap next season


You said earlier that the SEC will have a season next year similar to the Big 10's this year. So by this post, using simple logic, I assume you admit that the Big 10 was "crap" this year.

About the tournament success, I'll use a span from 1990-present.

Kentucky is arguably the most successful program in NCAA history, and undisputably in the top 3 programs. How many championships do they have again? They've won two as recently as 1996 and 1998.

Arkansas won it all in 1994.

Florida was in the Final Four with Arkansas that same year.

Mississippi State made it to the Final Four in 1996, with Kentucky. 

Every single team in the SEC has made at least one appearance in the Big Dance in the last seven seasons. All together, since 1993, the SEC has sent nine teams to the Final Four, trailing only the ACC, who has ten.

Yeah, the SEC just SUCKS in the tournament.  :laugh:


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## GNG (Aug 17, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>Spartanfan2003</b>!
> I think that most of your assesments are poor. And I can assure you, this is not because I dislike the SEC. Lets start with Kentucky. If Tubby Smith leaves it will hurt you more than you think. Tubby was a great coach and will be hard to replace. Unless they get another high profile coach like Lavin, Harrick, Richardson, Kruger, etc. then they will have a tough time. The new coach's style might be hard for Smith's players to adjust to. Bogans and Camara are leaving, and if Estill leaves things will get ten times worse. They have no high school All-Americans, and no BIG name players left. The guys that you mentioned are nothing special. I am sure that if you were just a regular NCAA fan you wouldn't know any of their names. You usually say that they don't need High School All-Americans or high profile players because they play a great team game, but I don't know if that will still be there if Tubby leaves. Don't get me wrong, I think they'll make the tournament, and be ranked on and off, but I ultimately think it will be a down year for them.


First of all, I don't see Tubby leaving. This is a popular rumor every single year he's been the coach, and it's never been true. It won't be true this year either. What? Is there some better coaching opportunity out there instead of coaching possibly the most successful NCAA program ever, taking them to an SEC championship, a perfect SEC record, a 26 game win streak, and an Elite Eight appearance? Is there? Tubby's not dumb enough to go to the NBA, so what else is he going to do. As far as basketball coaches go, he's on top of the world.

Second, I don't think or agree that Estill is coming out this year. He's still got one more year of college, and he's not polished enough to make an immediate impact in the NBA, I don't think. He's a dominant wide body that every team covets, and almost unstoppable inside the paint. He isn't projected to come out this year, and he hasn't hinted at all this year that he wants to.

Plus, this is Kentucky here. Them not at least making the tournament is akin to UNC not making it. They're in no position to have a down year if Tubby stays (LIKELY) and Estill stays (LIKELY). Will they be as good as last year? No, but they'll still be damn good. The Wildcats have normally had a good recruiting class, and absolutely no one thought they would be this good this year. THIS year was supposed to be a "down" year.[/quote]



> As you said, Arkansas will be improved, but I still don't think they will make the tournament. They have Lampley, and Canadian Olu Famatimi (one of my fav. ballers) comming in next season, but those two Freshmen will definitely not be enough to get them into the tournament. Their record was God-awful this season, and it will take more than two fab frosh to change that.


You're probably right about this one. But at least they have a future. Stan Heath is an amazing coach, and the Arkansas brass knew it when they signed him to that seven-year deal. Think three to four years down the road, and Arkansas will be back where they were in 1992-1994, at best. They'll be, at worst, a top 5 program in the SEC. And their record was 9-19. Better than Penn State (7-21). ("Let the ones who are without fault...")


> I don't think Tennessee is "iffy". I think it is almost certain they will have a bad year. They only thing that even got them in the NIT, Ron Slay, will be departing. The only upside that I see for them is 6-0 PG Dane Bradshaw from White Station High School in Memphis Tennessee, but again, Freshmen never really make and exceptional impact.


McFadgon will be playing next year. Slay is gone. I don't see too much upside to this team, either, but they'll still have an NIT year, with about a .500 overall record.



> Mississippi State's future is "iffy". Zimmerman will be gone, and if Outlaw declares for the draft the situation will look pretty bad. The thing that will determine their season is whether or not Mario Austin stays. He is a man among boys on that team. If Outlaw, Zimmerman, and Austin all escape Mississippi State's grasp, then they could have a below average season. Timmy Bowers can't really propel a team into the rankings in my opinion.


Do you EVER know anything when you post about Mississippi State? I'll say it AGAIN for you: Austin has ALREADY stated that he is coming back for his senior season. If we get Outlaw, we have a very good chance at winning the conference next year. 

I've played ball with Marcus Campbell, and the guy is coming around. He made significant improvements on his game this year, his hook shot is getting to be unguardable, and he has great form on his free throws.

Outlaw would be a moron to declare this year, without any college ball. He'd be the second coming of Darius Miles. If he's dumb (which he probably is, judging from his academics), he MAY declare. Of course, being a biased SEC hater, you will assume he's coming out. It's 50/50 right now, but I think once Outlaw figures out he's not going to be picked in the lottery, he'll come to State. Have I mentioned that Stansbury is an excellent recruiter?

I'm just going to refer you to this post:
http://www.basketballboards.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=22988
and hopefully, you'll finally give us some credit.


> And come on, Vanderbilt? Sure Freiji is great and all, but do you honestly think they will be half good next season? That is highly unlikely.


You're right, Freiji IS good, and Vandy is another possible NIT team. Not bad for the conference's perennial punching bag. No one expects much out of Vanderbilt anyways.



> Georgia's future is a questionable one. If Jarvis Hayes leaves, which it looks like he will, they will have a sub-par season. If he stays, I think they will be a good or maybe even great team, but the odds of him staying are slim in my opinion.


If this team dies, it's Harrick's fault. If they are sanctioned, Hayes is gone, and he's probably going to declare anyways, since all the scandal crap broke out. Georgia will probably be suspended, or self-sanctioned, and if that's the case, the tournament doesn't even need to be discussed. They'll still post an acceptable record, given the circumstances. It's not like Jarvis was their only player.



> Auburn's program is 75% based on one player, Marquis Daniels, who is leaving for the pros and wont be coming back. I doubt that they can be anything special, with or without Davis.


Daniels is leaving because he's graduating. To be honest, I don't see him as a solid NBA player. Nice college career though. He'll be drafted in the mid-2nd round. Auburn won't be good next year.


> South Carolina actually looks good in my eyes. They have returning Junior, Rolando Howell, who came close to averaging a double-double last season. I think that they will suprise a lot of people next season and make the tournament, or at worst, the NIT.


South Carolina is my surprise team for next season as well. Took alot of games down to the wire this year, and Odom (while never a great recruiter, IMHO) has some decent players in his lineup. NIT, certainly.



> LSU is questionable. They have a decent recruiting class this season, a talented soon-to-be-Sophmore in Darrell Mitchell, and a great post player in Jamie Lloreda, but three out of their four leading scorers and rebounders are leaving. I think as of now, they have the same status as South Carolina does.


Jamie Lloreda gives me nightmares. The guy is a beast. Like a back-to-the-basket, bigger version of James Thomas. Dupree leaving will hurt, but LSU will still be good enough to make it into the tournament.


> Unless Alabama gets Lang, and maybe even if they do get Lang, they will be terrible.


Uh...Mo Williams can play. And from all indications, I don't think he's coming out. Lang, like Outlaw, will suck in the NBA without at least a year or so of polishing at the college level. If Lang goes to 'Bama, like any smart person would, they'll be a tournament team as well. Lang is 6'11" 335lbs. He's shown great work ethic in dropping about 40 pounds, and will be unstoppable in the college ranks. His stock is dropping considerably in the draft, and I don't even think he'd be a first round pick anymore.


> Ole Miss will be as usual, terrible.


They weren't terrible this year, and they've made the tournament several times in the past few years. This will probably be the same as last year. Hovering around .500. Possible NIT team, but no better.



> The only exceptional team that I see will be Florida. They have a great young talented team.


Yep.

I think the SEC can get 5 teams into the tournament. Tentatively, I'm going to say that the big three in the conference are going to be Florida, Kentucky, and Mississippi State, with good supporting teams in LSU, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. Two of those teams will make it in the tournament, or at least be qualified to in Georgia's case.

The SEC will not be crap next year.


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## UKfan4Life (Mar 5, 2003)

Way to speak the truth. :yes: :grinning:


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## dkg1 (May 31, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>rawse</b>!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Lang looked pathetic in an all star game in Chicago recently. The media in Chicago cannot believe he is even entertaining thoughts about going to the L. As I was driving home listening to a recap of the game, the reporter said Lang looked like the worst player on the court. All accounts say he needs to lose another 70 pounds, although many of those people were probably unaware of the fact that he has lost 40 punds already. Hopefully someone gets in his ear and he ends up at 'Bama for a couple of seasons.


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## spartanfan2003 (Jul 12, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>Ukfan4Life</b>!
> Way to speak the truth. :yes: :grinning:


Too bad that you couldn't.


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## UKfan4Life (Mar 5, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>Spartanfan2003</b>!
> 
> Too bad that you couldn't.


:laugh: 

I know, I can never think of the right things to say. Plus my knowledge on the history of most other teams is slim.


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## spartanfan2003 (Jul 12, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>rawse</b>!
> I think the SEC can get 5 teams into the tournament. Tentatively, I'm going to say that the big three in the conference are going to be Florida, Kentucky, and Mississippi State, with good supporting teams in LSU, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. Two of those teams will make it in the tournament, or at least be qualified to in Georgia's case.
> 
> The SEC will not be crap next year.


Very nice series of posts, but I would like to point out that I knew Daniels was a senior, never said he wasn't. And I knew Austin was staying. I can just never remember it.  Anyway, abour this last paragraph. Yes, I would call he Big 10's season this time around crap compared to their usual sucsess. And this season the SEC will have just as many ranked teams, and just as many tournament teams, so by my standards they will be having a crap year. This is by no means a direct insult. This actually could be taken as a compliment in some ways. I say that they are crap because they are usually a power house, and this year they will only be slightly above average compared to their usual sucsess. 

BTW - I have seen LSU, and they are a great team. You are right, Lloreda was a beast, but they are losing four out of their six best guys.


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## spartanfan2003 (Jul 12, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>rawse</b>!
> Not to say that Mississippi State or Florida didn't choke in the tourney, but you are such an SEC hater that it's hilarious to read your "predictions" and "analysis" because you have absolutely zero credibility when it comes to the SEC.


I have been watching more SEC ball, and less Big Ten lately. Since you have showed me how biased I am, I have been trying to prevent it (notice I gave "love" to South Carolina  ). You only disagreed with 3.5 out of 11 of my team assesments, which were short and makeshift. Which by my standards is a good post about the SEC from a guy who doesn't watch to much SEC ball. I made some big mistakes, like Austin, Tubby & Estill, and Mo Williams, but hey I am only human.


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