Following up on a post earlier in the week, here is my 2020-21 preview for teams 1-7:
1. Iowa:
--Luke Garza……………6’11” 260 lbs
--CJ Frederick…….…….6’3” 195 lbs
--Joe Weiskamp………..6’6” 210 lbs
--Joe Toussaint…………6’0” 185 lbs
--Jordan Buchanan….....6’1” 185 lbs
--Conner McCaffery...….6’5” 205 lbs
--Jack Nunge…………...6’11” 155 lbs
--Ahron Ulis……………..6’2” 175 lbs
--Patrick McCaffery….....6’9” 190 lbs.........medical redshirt
--Comments & Questions: Fran must have done something right in a prior life to develop and keep a player like Garza. He’s great to watch. This whole team is great to watch. Good enough to get to the FF? To the final game? Hard to do without great D, but we’ll see. Nunge is back from injury---he started at the beginning of last year. And they added Pat M., who dropped a little on Rivals his SR year but still ended up at #75. They added 5 freshmen. Josh Ogundele, 6’11” 245 lbs was not a Ricals top 150 guy but might help if there’s an emergency…
2. Illinois:
--Ayo Dosunmu………6’5” 185 lb
--Kofi Cockburn………6’11 250 lbs
--Georgi Bezhanishvili 6'9" 245 lbs
--Da'Monte Williams....6'3" 200 lbs
--Trent Frazier..............6'2" 175 lbs
--Austin Hutcherson.....6'6" 175 lbs......TR from Wesleyan Coll. (CT)
--Jacob Grandison........6'6" 175 lbs......TR from Holy Cross
--Adam Miller.................6'3" 170 lbs......Freshman, Rivals #34
--Andrew Carbelo..........6'1" 175 lbs......Freshman, Rivals #38
--Coleman Hawkins.......6'9" 210 lbs......Freshman, Rivals #142
--Comments & Questions: So the question here appears to be outside shooting. Hutcherson & Grandison were brought in as shooters. Hutcherson was Div 3, Grandison played at Holy Cross. Both had good shooting #s at that level. Can they contribute in the BT? Miller was Mr. Basketball in Illinois. He's a scorer, both on outside shooting & on taking it to the basket. 2 other questions for me: Can Frazier develop any consistency? Can Georgi adapt his game to be a little better playing alongside Cockburn. Carbelo is a pass first pg who should get a lot of time. Hawkins will probably be the #3 big...he might get 5m/game.
3. Wisconsin:
--D'Mitrick Trice........6'0" 185 lbs
--Brad Davidson.......6'4" 206 lbs
--Nate Teuvers..........6'11" 235 lbs
--Micah Potter...........6'10" 248 lbs
--Aleem Ford,,,,,,,,,,,,,6'8" 217 lbs
--Taylor Wahl.............6'7" 214 lbs
--Trevor Anderson.....6'2" 200 lbs
--Ben Carson.............6'8" 210 lbs..........Freshman, #105 Rivals.
--Lorne Bowman........6'2" 180 lbs..........Freshman, NR Rivals
Comments & Questions: You have to give it up to them. No way they should finish this high, but they probably will, or better. They were dead in the water last year........just amazing. Anyway......everyone's back. The biggest question is will Potter blow up to AA level? If so, they could be FF material. Carson should get some time. Bowman wasn't highly rated, but may need to play some.
4. MSU:
--Rocket Watts............6'2" 185 lbs
--Aaron Henry..............6'6" 210 lbs
--Gabe Brown..............6'7" 200 lbs
--Malik Hall...................6'7" 215 lbs
--Marcus Bingham.......6'11" 225 lbs
--Julius Marble.............6'8" 225 lbs
--Thomas Kithier...........6'8" 230 lbs
--Foster Loyer...............6'0" 175 lbs
--Josh Langford.............6'5" 200 lbs........medical red shirt
--Joey Hauser................6'9" 225 lbs........TR from Marquette
--Mady Sissoko..............6'9" 225 lbs........Freshman, #46 Rivals
--AJ Hoggard.................6'2" 190 lbs........Freshman, #75 Rivals
--Comments & Questions: As I'm writing this I'm questioning why I have MSU behind Wisconsin, and even Illinois. But my main question about this team is....who will play pg? The forecasters I've seen say Rocket.....but he sure looks like more of a scoring guard, where he's big-time. It didn't look like Loyer would be the answer. Perhaps Hoggard will be, by the end of the year. The other question I have is.......there's great depth here, and some very nice players (Henry, Hauser, Langford (if healthy), Brown), but where's the star power? I don't think after last year Henry will be that guy. They'll miss Tillman, of course, but they've got plenty of depth for the 4 & 5 positions. So getting back to the original question....this looks like a typical MSU team that will have to figure it out as the year goes along, but with plenty of talent to do so. They may finish 4th in the BT and still make it to the FF............
5. Michigan:
--Isaiah Livers...............6'7" 220 lbs
--Eli Brooks...................6'1" 185 lbs
--Brandon Johns...........6'8" 240 lbs
--Franz Wagner.............6'9" 220 lbs
--Adrien Nunez..............6'6" 210 lbs
--Austin Davis................6'10" 210 lbs
--Mike Smith..................5'11" 185 lbs.........TR from Columbia
--Chaundee Brown**......6'5" 220 lbs..........TR from Wake
--Hunter Dickerson.........7'1" 255 lbs..........Freshman, Rivals #40
--Terrance Williams.........6'7" 240 lbs..........Freshman, Rivals #106
--Zeb Jackson.................6'5" 180 lbs..........Freshman, Rivals #91
--Comments & Questions: Michigan will be one of the more interesting teams to watch this year. The first 4 players listed are a nice building block. 2 'near-stars' in Livers & Wagner. But the big story is the infusion of talent. The big question is the 5 position....Dickerson will have to start there, sooner or later. They have issues if he's a bust. Smith was a very good player at Columbia, and one of the top grad transfers this year. He'll start. Williams will play some, as there's not a lot of beef here. The wild card is Brown, who was a nice player at Wake. He's seeking a waiver, which Michigan fans think will be granted. (Query: Why do Michigan fans feel more confident of a waiver here than Minnesota fans do for Goth, the transfer from Utah?....I can't imagine) If he gets denied Jackson may have a greater role.
6. Rutgers:
--Geo Baker....................6'2" 180 lbs
--Ron Harper...................6'6" 200 lbs
--Myles Johnson.............6'9" 245 lbs
--Montez Mathis..............6'4" 190 lbs
--Caleb McConnell..........6'5" 175 lbs
--Paul Mulcahy................6'6" 190 lbs
--Jacob Young.................6'2" 185 lbs
--Cliff Omoruyi.................6'10" 230 lbs..........Freshman, #42 Rivals
--Comments & Questions: I feel bad having RU ahead of IU, and I know many will disagree, but the first 7 players listed are a very good foundation on which to build. The questions here are....1. is there star power here? ; and 2. who's going to shoot? I think #2 is the bigger issue when it comes to the goal of making a final 16/final 8 run. This team has to manufacture points.....Baker, Mathis, and Harper are all capable but also streaky. That seems unlikely to change this year. McConnell seems like a lock to join those 3 as borderline stars....but there's the question of exactly what role he (and Mulcahy) are supposed to play. The remaining question I have is Johnson's play. He seems to have come a little unhinged last year. From descriptions, Omoruyi reminds of Illinois' Cockburn, maybe not as good offensively but perhaps even better on D. It doesn't look like he & Johnson can play together much. If they split the 5 position it may take pressure off of Johnson, and also motivate him.
7. Indiana:
--TJD.......................................6'9" 245 lbs
--Joey Brunk............................6'11" 245 lbs
--Al Durham.............................6'4" 185 lbs
--Rob Phinisee.........................6'1' 190 lbs
--Jerome Hunter.......................6'7" 220 lbs
--Race Thompson....................6'8" 235 lbs
--Armaan Franklin....................6'4" 195 lbs
--Khristian Lander.....................6'2" 165 lbs.........Freshman, Rivals #26
--Jordan Geronimo...................6'6" 190 lbs.........Freshman, Rivals #90
--Trey Galloway........................6'4" 200 lbs..........Freshman, Rivals #143
--Anthony Leal..........................6'5" 195 lbs..........Freshman, Rivals #127
--Comments & Questions: Taking off the cream & crimson glasses, I still have more questions about IU than I do about Michigan or RU. The biggest, of course......just how good will Lander be, and how will Rob react to his presence? Both would seem to want the ball in their hands. Will Rob finally shake his health issues and become the player we thought he could be? Will Jerome Hunter be as enthusiastic about D as about shooting? Specifically, will he be able to guard the quicker forwards that are too fast for Race? The rest of the guys other than TJD are, I think, all role players, not that there's anything bad about that. But the keys, I think, will be 1. How good is Lander? 2. Will Rob take charge? 3. Will Jerome play D?
Well, there it is. Let me know if you see errors, and what you think.
1. Iowa:
--Luke Garza……………6’11” 260 lbs
--CJ Frederick…….…….6’3” 195 lbs
--Joe Weiskamp………..6’6” 210 lbs
--Joe Toussaint…………6’0” 185 lbs
--Jordan Buchanan….....6’1” 185 lbs
--Conner McCaffery...….6’5” 205 lbs
--Jack Nunge…………...6’11” 155 lbs
--Ahron Ulis……………..6’2” 175 lbs
--Patrick McCaffery….....6’9” 190 lbs.........medical redshirt
--Comments & Questions: Fran must have done something right in a prior life to develop and keep a player like Garza. He’s great to watch. This whole team is great to watch. Good enough to get to the FF? To the final game? Hard to do without great D, but we’ll see. Nunge is back from injury---he started at the beginning of last year. And they added Pat M., who dropped a little on Rivals his SR year but still ended up at #75. They added 5 freshmen. Josh Ogundele, 6’11” 245 lbs was not a Ricals top 150 guy but might help if there’s an emergency…
2. Illinois:
--Ayo Dosunmu………6’5” 185 lb
--Kofi Cockburn………6’11 250 lbs
--Georgi Bezhanishvili 6'9" 245 lbs
--Da'Monte Williams....6'3" 200 lbs
--Trent Frazier..............6'2" 175 lbs
--Austin Hutcherson.....6'6" 175 lbs......TR from Wesleyan Coll. (CT)
--Jacob Grandison........6'6" 175 lbs......TR from Holy Cross
--Adam Miller.................6'3" 170 lbs......Freshman, Rivals #34
--Andrew Carbelo..........6'1" 175 lbs......Freshman, Rivals #38
--Coleman Hawkins.......6'9" 210 lbs......Freshman, Rivals #142
--Comments & Questions: So the question here appears to be outside shooting. Hutcherson & Grandison were brought in as shooters. Hutcherson was Div 3, Grandison played at Holy Cross. Both had good shooting #s at that level. Can they contribute in the BT? Miller was Mr. Basketball in Illinois. He's a scorer, both on outside shooting & on taking it to the basket. 2 other questions for me: Can Frazier develop any consistency? Can Georgi adapt his game to be a little better playing alongside Cockburn. Carbelo is a pass first pg who should get a lot of time. Hawkins will probably be the #3 big...he might get 5m/game.
3. Wisconsin:
--D'Mitrick Trice........6'0" 185 lbs
--Brad Davidson.......6'4" 206 lbs
--Nate Teuvers..........6'11" 235 lbs
--Micah Potter...........6'10" 248 lbs
--Aleem Ford,,,,,,,,,,,,,6'8" 217 lbs
--Taylor Wahl.............6'7" 214 lbs
--Trevor Anderson.....6'2" 200 lbs
--Ben Carson.............6'8" 210 lbs..........Freshman, #105 Rivals.
--Lorne Bowman........6'2" 180 lbs..........Freshman, NR Rivals
Comments & Questions: You have to give it up to them. No way they should finish this high, but they probably will, or better. They were dead in the water last year........just amazing. Anyway......everyone's back. The biggest question is will Potter blow up to AA level? If so, they could be FF material. Carson should get some time. Bowman wasn't highly rated, but may need to play some.
4. MSU:
--Rocket Watts............6'2" 185 lbs
--Aaron Henry..............6'6" 210 lbs
--Gabe Brown..............6'7" 200 lbs
--Malik Hall...................6'7" 215 lbs
--Marcus Bingham.......6'11" 225 lbs
--Julius Marble.............6'8" 225 lbs
--Thomas Kithier...........6'8" 230 lbs
--Foster Loyer...............6'0" 175 lbs
--Josh Langford.............6'5" 200 lbs........medical red shirt
--Joey Hauser................6'9" 225 lbs........TR from Marquette
--Mady Sissoko..............6'9" 225 lbs........Freshman, #46 Rivals
--AJ Hoggard.................6'2" 190 lbs........Freshman, #75 Rivals
--Comments & Questions: As I'm writing this I'm questioning why I have MSU behind Wisconsin, and even Illinois. But my main question about this team is....who will play pg? The forecasters I've seen say Rocket.....but he sure looks like more of a scoring guard, where he's big-time. It didn't look like Loyer would be the answer. Perhaps Hoggard will be, by the end of the year. The other question I have is.......there's great depth here, and some very nice players (Henry, Hauser, Langford (if healthy), Brown), but where's the star power? I don't think after last year Henry will be that guy. They'll miss Tillman, of course, but they've got plenty of depth for the 4 & 5 positions. So getting back to the original question....this looks like a typical MSU team that will have to figure it out as the year goes along, but with plenty of talent to do so. They may finish 4th in the BT and still make it to the FF............
5. Michigan:
--Isaiah Livers...............6'7" 220 lbs
--Eli Brooks...................6'1" 185 lbs
--Brandon Johns...........6'8" 240 lbs
--Franz Wagner.............6'9" 220 lbs
--Adrien Nunez..............6'6" 210 lbs
--Austin Davis................6'10" 210 lbs
--Mike Smith..................5'11" 185 lbs.........TR from Columbia
--Chaundee Brown**......6'5" 220 lbs..........TR from Wake
--Hunter Dickerson.........7'1" 255 lbs..........Freshman, Rivals #40
--Terrance Williams.........6'7" 240 lbs..........Freshman, Rivals #106
--Zeb Jackson.................6'5" 180 lbs..........Freshman, Rivals #91
--Comments & Questions: Michigan will be one of the more interesting teams to watch this year. The first 4 players listed are a nice building block. 2 'near-stars' in Livers & Wagner. But the big story is the infusion of talent. The big question is the 5 position....Dickerson will have to start there, sooner or later. They have issues if he's a bust. Smith was a very good player at Columbia, and one of the top grad transfers this year. He'll start. Williams will play some, as there's not a lot of beef here. The wild card is Brown, who was a nice player at Wake. He's seeking a waiver, which Michigan fans think will be granted. (Query: Why do Michigan fans feel more confident of a waiver here than Minnesota fans do for Goth, the transfer from Utah?....I can't imagine) If he gets denied Jackson may have a greater role.
6. Rutgers:
--Geo Baker....................6'2" 180 lbs
--Ron Harper...................6'6" 200 lbs
--Myles Johnson.............6'9" 245 lbs
--Montez Mathis..............6'4" 190 lbs
--Caleb McConnell..........6'5" 175 lbs
--Paul Mulcahy................6'6" 190 lbs
--Jacob Young.................6'2" 185 lbs
--Cliff Omoruyi.................6'10" 230 lbs..........Freshman, #42 Rivals
--Comments & Questions: I feel bad having RU ahead of IU, and I know many will disagree, but the first 7 players listed are a very good foundation on which to build. The questions here are....1. is there star power here? ; and 2. who's going to shoot? I think #2 is the bigger issue when it comes to the goal of making a final 16/final 8 run. This team has to manufacture points.....Baker, Mathis, and Harper are all capable but also streaky. That seems unlikely to change this year. McConnell seems like a lock to join those 3 as borderline stars....but there's the question of exactly what role he (and Mulcahy) are supposed to play. The remaining question I have is Johnson's play. He seems to have come a little unhinged last year. From descriptions, Omoruyi reminds of Illinois' Cockburn, maybe not as good offensively but perhaps even better on D. It doesn't look like he & Johnson can play together much. If they split the 5 position it may take pressure off of Johnson, and also motivate him.
7. Indiana:
--TJD.......................................6'9" 245 lbs
--Joey Brunk............................6'11" 245 lbs
--Al Durham.............................6'4" 185 lbs
--Rob Phinisee.........................6'1' 190 lbs
--Jerome Hunter.......................6'7" 220 lbs
--Race Thompson....................6'8" 235 lbs
--Armaan Franklin....................6'4" 195 lbs
--Khristian Lander.....................6'2" 165 lbs.........Freshman, Rivals #26
--Jordan Geronimo...................6'6" 190 lbs.........Freshman, Rivals #90
--Trey Galloway........................6'4" 200 lbs..........Freshman, Rivals #143
--Anthony Leal..........................6'5" 195 lbs..........Freshman, Rivals #127
--Comments & Questions: Taking off the cream & crimson glasses, I still have more questions about IU than I do about Michigan or RU. The biggest, of course......just how good will Lander be, and how will Rob react to his presence? Both would seem to want the ball in their hands. Will Rob finally shake his health issues and become the player we thought he could be? Will Jerome Hunter be as enthusiastic about D as about shooting? Specifically, will he be able to guard the quicker forwards that are too fast for Race? The rest of the guys other than TJD are, I think, all role players, not that there's anything bad about that. But the keys, I think, will be 1. How good is Lander? 2. Will Rob take charge? 3. Will Jerome play D?
Well, there it is. Let me know if you see errors, and what you think.
