BYU has reinstated Brandon Davies both to the school and to the basketball team. But being Jimmer-less will mean the Cougars will be mediocre at best. Davies is a role player who can’t carry the team; neither can anyone else on the team.
Even with LaQuinton Ross being declared ineligible due to academic shortcomings, Ohio State still has a fantastic recruiting class and will still be my favorites in the Big Ten. But expect the Minnesota Golden Gophers to put together a decent season. I’m not saying they’ll be a contender for the title, but Sweet 16 or Elite Eight is not out of the question for Tubby Smith’s team. If they don’t perform, expect Tubby to be searching for another job, simply because he’s tired of losing.
Although the Wildcats lost Williams, they add a solid recruiting class of four featuring point guard Josiah Turner (ESPNU No. 15 in his class), shooting guard Nick Johnson (No. 22), and power forwards Angelo Chol (No. 61), and Sidiki Johnson (No. 94).
Miller will need the freshmen to contribute immediately, especially Turner and Johnson. While Arizona returns several main contributors like Kyle Fog and Solomon Hill, Williams was the difference between NIT first round and NCAA Elite Eight last year, and someone is going to have to be the new star.
Arizona has one of the tougher non-conference schedules in the country lined up with trips to Florida, Madison Square Garden to face St. John’s, and Seattle to play Gonzaga. They also draw a road trip to California and Stanford as part of the Pac-12′s new unbalanced schedule.
Last year’s Shockers team hit their stride a little too late, but still ended the year with 29 wins and a NIT championship. The team this year looks different, but not too much worse. They have not one, but two seven-foot centers, and they have one of the hottest coaches in the country right now.
Most surprising to me is how far off of most people’s radar they are. The sexy pick in the MVC appears to be the Creighton Blue Jays, who are a fantastic team, but I think they’ll play second fiddle to Shockers this year. Wichita State’s average victory in their NIT championship run was 76-60, including wins over teams that had received votes in top 25 polls previously in the year. They’ll continue that kind of success this year, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they won 30 games.
A player to watch for Wichita State is Garrett Stutz, a 7’0″ junior center. In games in which he scored 10 or more points last year, the Shockers were 10-0, but they were 6-7 when he scored 5 or less. He didn’t play much last year (he never played more than 23 minutes in a single game), but in games in which he played at least 20 minutes, he averaged 14 points per game. If he’s given the playing time he probably deserves, he could average around 16 points and 8 rebounds per game this year.
This year’s Butler team isn’t going to be that much worse than the 2010-2011 version that made it to the national championship game. I’m not saying they’ll make it that far again — I don’t think they will — but their level of talent is comparable to last year’s squad. Some players, like incoming freshman Roosevelt Jones, have very high ceilings and haven’t yet had a chance to show what they can do with 25-30 minutes per game.
One player to watch may be Sophomore Khyle Marshall. He only played more than 26 minutes one time last year, and in that game he recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. The 6’6″ Forward may get considerable playing time with Matt Howard gone, and if he does, don’t surprised if he averages something in the vicinity of his numbers from that game
Northwestern State Demons’ William Mosley averaged 4.9 blocks per game last season. He had three games with double-digit blocks. The last time he didn’t record a block was on January 23, 2010. This guy must be 7’4″ right? Wrong. He’s 6’7″.
