A look ahead to 07-08' Big Ten Season

[Bestbuck36]

I'd like to hear what that guy has to say about our chances next year after a great summer by our guys. Kosta has been absolutely crushing in Europe, Lighty has had an outstanding season for the US team and the newest member of the group in PJ Hill will be contributing right away. I also think that if Diebler picks up his defensive assignments early on that he will be murder on the offensive end. Its football season right now so I'm unable to concentrat fully here, but the outlook is definitely good.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

IndyStar

IU Basketball
Ratliff to miss 1st part of season
Senior guard ruled academically ineligible during 1st semester, can return Dec. 15

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Former Indianapolis Star Indiana Mr. Basketball A.J. Ratliff has been ruled academically ineligible for the first semester of the upcoming season and will miss nine games, IU coach Kelvin Sampson confirmed Saturday.

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[LitlBuck]

Dispatch Sports Wire

Illinois coach Bruce Weber says promising recruit Quinton Watkins won't play or attend school this fall because he isn't academically eligible.
Weber announced last week that junior guard Jamar Smith will sit out the year after pleading guilty to drunken driving.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

cnnsi.com

9/10/2007 01:18:00 PM
The Decline of the Illini

Fans outside the die-hard basketball contingents of Illinois and Kentucky may have missed an innocuous headline from late last week: Tracy Webster, the Illini's third assistant, opted to depart for an identical position on Billy Gillispie's staff at Kentucky. It was the sort of low-level carousel move that tends to get coaching job applicants more excited than reporters.

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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

cnnsi.com

Postcard from Indiana

Distractions aside, the Hoosiers could have it all

Posted: Friday October 19, 2007 2:29PM; Updated: Friday October 19, 2007 3:03PM


BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- I had asked Kelvin Sampson to pick out a good lunch spot, so he took me to a corner store across the street from Assembly Hall on Thursday afternoon and recommended the meatloaf sandwich. He ordered the same, but when we took our sandwiches to the cash register, Sampson told me to put my wallet away and insisted on paying. "Listen, I know you're out 500 large," I told him. "I'm only trying to help."
Sampson shot me a sideways glance and managed half a smile. It was a look that said: That line would be pretty funny if it were about someone else.

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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

cnnsi.com

Postcard from Michigan State

The Spartans will be deeper, tougher and a contender

By playing fewer minutes, coach Tom Izzo hopes senior guard Drew Neitzel will be an even more dangerous scorer.


EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Toward the end of a grueling two-and-a-half-hour practice last week, Drew Neitzel, Michigan State's senior guard, found himself matched up against 6-foot freshman Kalin Lucas. Operating from the left wing, Neitzel drove on Lucas with his left hand, spun to his right, and then took two dribbles toward the three-point line. Having created a little space, Neitzel quickly turned back to his left and drained a feathery 15-foot jump shot over Lucas' outstretched hand. In his haste to answer the bell, Lucas fumbled the ensuing inbounds pass and then flopped to the floor in a futile effort to save the ball from going out of bounds.

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[crazybuckfan40]

My prediction...This will probably change after the first couple games and actually seeing some of the teams play, but after reading all teams previews, here is how I see it playing out...

1. tOSU (Gotta go with them, we are young, but we have talent at every position and will present a great deal of mismatches, and will play great D)

2. MSU (Have everyone back, with a solid incoming class. Neitzel and Walton will lead them, and Morgan and the other guys I can't spell their names will man the front court.)

3. IU ( Should be interesting to see Gordan and how good he actually will be, which will really determine how good IU is going to be, and with White in the front court they will be a good team. I just think that defensively MSU and tOSU can shut them down, and present mismatches on the offensive end to score enough points to beat them.)

4. Purdue (This team is going to be fun to watch, they will be young, and don't have a great deal of size and could play a lot of 4 guard lineups, but they should run and gun, and could sneak up into the top 3 of the big ten if their young guys step up)

5. Wisky (They are going to be good in the front court with the return of Butch and Landry and the other big bodies they have, and they have a solid backcourt with Hughes, Bohannon and Flowers, but will they be able to score enough points to keep them in games.)

6. Illinois (They have a solid front court with Pruitt and Randall, but after that there are lots of problems off the court, and I havent really read enough to know who is still on the team, and who is injured, and things to get a good enough read on the whole situation...With the addition of some of them players, the Illini could be higher, and with the lose of some of them they could be even lower.)

7. Minny (They have some solid returning players with McKenzie, Tollackson, and Coleman, and have a solid coach on their bench. They could be a team that could manage to get into the top half of the league, should be interesting to see how well Tubby does there, as this will probably be his best team he will have for a couple years, unless he can pull in some big time recruits.)

8. PSU (Don't be surprised if this team takes a leap to the top half of the big ten as well. They have 3 double digit scorers returning, they will have a little size down low, and a solid back court, might be too low, but PSU has never shown much in basketball, so they will need to show me a little something to rise up the list)

9. Northwestern (They bring back star frosh Kevin Coble, and Craig Moore. They will need some help from their incoming frosh this year, but look for another year for them towards the bottom of the big ten.)

10. Michigan (They don't return much of anything, and have to solid incoming frosh with Harris and Grady. It is going to take Belien a while to put Michigan back on the map.)

11. Iowa (They really have nothing with losing Haluska, and losing Tyler Smith to the transfer to Tenn. They are going to struggle to win games this year...That is why I see them in the cellar.)


Right now I really think it is a 3 team race for the title between us, MSU, and IU, but teams like Purdue, Wisky, Illinois, Minnesota, and PSU should make for a very solid middle of the pack race in the big ten, and I see at least 6 teams, maybe 7 making the big dance this year, and maybe another 1 or 2 in the NIT...

 

[BrutusBobcat]

CB40, I like your breakdown. Your top three are pretty much interchangeable, though I like Izzo and Matta as coaches a little better than Sampson. They have that intangible ability to get the most out of their talent, and I agree that both will field teams that play strong defense. The OSU-MSU games are going to be fantastic this year.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

CB40, I like your breakdown. Your top three are pretty much interchangeable, though I like Izzo and Matta as coaches a little better than Sampson. They have that intangible ability to get the most out of their talent, and I agree that both will field teams that play strong defense. The OSU-MSU games are going to be fantastic this year.

I love the fact that we have MSU twice and IU twice...I hope that MSU and IU play each other twice as well...Havent looked that deep into the schedule to know tho...

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Link

Spartans at top of Big Ten class

Unofficial poll gives Michigan State edge on Indiana for conference title

October 28, 2007
BY HERB GOULD [email protected]

Ohio State, which lost Greg Oden and Mike Conley Jr. to the NBA, edged Wisconsin for third in the poll. Under super recruiter Thad Matta, the Buckeyes should reload nicely. Senior Jamar Butler and sophomores David Lighty and Othello Hunter will be bolstered by another impressive set of freshmen, led by 7-foot Kosta Koufos.

 

[osugrad21]

Dispatch


Big Ten men's basketball preseason polls

Monday, October 29, 2007 5:52 AM

Preseason media picks

Predicted team finish

1. Michigan State
2. Indiana
3. Ohio State
All-conference team

C Shaun Pruitt, sr., Ill.; F D.J. White, sr., Ind.; G Drew Neitzel*, sr., Mich. State; G Jamar Butler, sr., Ohio State; G/F Geary Claxton, sr., Penn State
*Player of the year




Cont...

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

I am still having a hard time with Indiana in the top three......I really see a team that is better on paper than on the court......Gordon will make an impact but most of the average team from last year is back.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Link

Coaching changes add new wrinkle in Big Ten

CHICAGO ? It didn?t take long for Thad Matta to come up with three reasons he welcomes the challenge of coaching basketball in the Big Ten.

At the conference?s annual preseason tipoff Sunday, the coach of two-time defending Big Ten champion Ohio State pointed to the newcomers who will be on the bench at Iowa, Michigan and Minnesota on this season.

?This conference is constantly evolving, and the new coaches will all add something to the mix,? Matta said, referring to the Hawkeyes? Todd Lickliter, the Wolverines? John Beilein and the Gophers? Tubby Smith.

?They all will impact how we all play, how we all prepare and what shape this conference takes in the years to come. When you add great coaches, you can?t help but alter the landscape.?

Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said those alterations can take many shapes.

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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Link

No one wants to be the best in October

Big Ten coaches imply they're all starting over

Skip Myslenski | ON COLLEGES October 29, 2007 The leaves are turning and the basketballs are bouncing, and that means it's time to indulge in an addiction as old as the world of sports itself. It's time, of course, to make predictions.

But then we ask Ohio State coach Thad Matta where his team is after two weeks of practice. He laughs.

"We are ..." he says, then stops and laughs again.

"You know the old story of the bus driver?" he asks. "He tells the kids on the bus, 'I've got good news and bad news. The good news is we're making great time. The bad news is I have no idea where we are.' "

That was reality Sunday for most of the Big Ten coaches gathered for the conference's annual basketball media day. Looming just ahead for the conference is a season of transition and uncertainty.

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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

cbssportsline.com

Big Ten preview: Two stars, a few OKs and a bunch of nothing


Ten's preseason poll, and then the league released the top three vote-getters. Not one through 11. Just the top three. And while I've never understood the practice, I actually get it now because if I was in charge of the Big Ten I'd cease talking about anything other than the top of my league, too.
Seriously, this conference -- No. 5 in my countdown of basketball leagues -- is simple to breakdown.

1. Michigan State

The good: The return of Drew Neitzel, Raymar Morgan and every relevant player (besides Maurice Joseph) from last season's 23-win team would be enough to make the Spartans a Big Ten contender. But when freshmen phenoms Chris Allen, Durrell Summers and Kalin Lucas -- the last of whom had 29 points in a Sunday scrimmage -- were added to the equation they turned Michigan State into a legitimate Final Four threat.
The bad: Though Allen, Summers and Lucas are great, they are all guards. So in the spirit of nitpicking, it would be nice if the Spartans could've also added a high-level big man who can score. But again, I'm just nitpicking.
The bottom line: How Tom Izzo won 23 games last season is still a mystery given the talent level he possessed, and it's evidence that he's one of the best coaches in the business. But there is no longer a talent problem that'll require Neitzel to play 36 minutes a game. So expect the Spartans' All-American to get a breather every once in a while, and the Spartans to make another deep NCAA Tournament run.

2. Indiana

The good: Eric Gordon and D.J. White give the Hoosiers arguably the best inside-outside duo in the country. Jamarcus Ellis provides a third possible pro, and that's a good number to have if the goal is to win a national title.
The bad: Kelvin Sampson's phone call drama has turned almost all of the attention off basketball in Bloomington. Consequently, anything the Hoosiers accomplish will be tainted in some way, if only because writers, radio hosts and TV talking heads -- not to mention opposing student sections -- won't cease bringing it up.
The bottom line: Regardless of your opinion on Sampson, there is no denying he can coach basketball. He's averaged 25 wins the past eight years, and if you're a gambling man I'd advise taking the over on '25' and sleeping well.

3. Ohio State

The good: Thad Matta secured a nice class to replace the mass exodus. Kosta Koufos is the star, and Jamar Butler, David Lighty, Othello Hunter and Matt Terwilliger provide a quartet of veterans from last season's national runners-up.
The bad: Greg Oden is gone. So is Mike Conley. And Ron Lewis. And Daequan Cook. There isn't a program in America that could endure such losses and not slip.
The bottom line: Matta has averaged 26 wins in seven years as a coach, but matching that record could be difficult. He's high on talent, low on experience. So anybody wanting to get a win over the Buckeyes had better do it this season, because with the way recruiting is going Ohio State seems destined to be competing for Final Fours again as early as 2008-09.

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