Men's College Basketball 2003-2004 (NO SMACK)

[WarrenWallace]

Here is a general 2003-2004 college backetball thread. I feel that there will be some people out there that are already looking forward to it. And I expect one of our resident basketball experts (lucid) will be around eventually to weigh in on the season.

Also, this is a discussion thread. No smack. The moderators will try to stay on top of things in this thread with the smack talk. Posts will be edited or deleted.

Enjoy.

[WarrenWallace]

Damn, just got this press release. I guess that I am not going to any games this year.
---
"MADISON, Wis. -- The University of Wisconsin announced Wednesday that all tickets for the 2003-04 men's basketball season are sold out.

This marks the first time in Kohl Center history that tickets for all games have been sold out before the season.

Wisconsin set a school record last year, averaging 16,930 fans per game, the eighth-best figure in Big Ten history. The Badgers ranked sixth in the country in attendance and led the conference for the first time. Ten of the UW’s 17 games a year ago were sold out.

The Kohl Center seats 17,142 for basketball."

[appoo]

Just in case y'all (and Lucid) forgot what happened last season.....

**delete pictures**

Sorry. Start a smack thread if wanted. Those pictures are trolling.

[appoo]

Originally posted by appooOnU
Just in case y'all (and Lucid) forgot what happened last season.....

**delete pictures

Sorry. Start a smack thread if wanted. Those pictures are trolling.

awwww

[WarrenWallace]

Sorry.

[appoo]

Originally posted by CityIceMan
Sorry.

kidding man....


My Pre-Season Outlook

This should be a fun year of ball. The biggest news coming out of the off-season has been the coaching changes at North Carolina and Kansas. Kansas shouldn't feel much of a drop off as Coach Self can recruit nationally, and he can coach a good game. And IMHO he is a better defensive coach than Roy Williams, and defense is pretty much what stopped Kansas from winning a National Championship last season. However, Kansas must replace Kirk Heinrich and Nick Collison. Simien should step in nicely for Collison but Aaron Miles has to step up this season. He'll get help because he'll be playing along side my favorite player in the nation, Keith Langford. The guy is awsome and get beat anybody off the dribble. He was the main reason that the Jayhawk's weren't blown out by Syracuse in the National Championship game.

Williams will get the Craolina kids playing an uptempo game. And in doing so, he'll turn Raymond Felton into a human high-lite reel. He was the best point guard in the nation last season but didn't get the press because Doherety was losing his squad. But under Williams he'll be fully unleashed and the ACC is gonna feel it.

But the Big East is where the power is gonna reside. UConn, Syracuse, and Notre Dame are all legitimate Final Four Contenders. Pitt should be good (not as good as the past 2 seasons, but good all the same), and Miami has a super-star in Darius Rice (cousin of Jerry Rice).

These would be my players to watch, in no specific order. Luol Deng. Hakim Warrick, Raymond Felton, Arthur Johnson, Keith Langford, Ben Gordon, Omeka Okafer, Chris Thomas, Charlie Villenueva, Anthony Roberson, Christian Drejer, Julius Hodge, Jameer Nelson, Bracey Wright, and Gerry McNamara. I'm sure i'm missing a boatload of players. Oh yea, Dee Brown.

[Scoey]

One Pre-Season Ranking and previews here (http://www.athlonsports.com/section_id/5/)

I'm sure many are looking at that and wondering how Gonzaga could possibly be ranked 5th. I'm a huge Gonzaga fan, and even I'm a little skeptical of that praise. Our out of conference schedule is brutal again this year, and I'm guessing we'll lose a game or two and fall out of the top 10 before conference play.

Can't argue with Uconn getting so much love -- they're loaded.

It will be interesting to see how things shake out at UNC -- having a healthy Sean May will be a huge boost. How much pressure will Roy Williams be under to get results right away?

I'll also be very curious to see what happens at UCLA. I'm not sold on Howland. He's being hailed as a savior, and has already done well recruiting, but I just don't think anybody will ever make those fans happy.

I can't wait for the season to get rolling. Gonzaga plays Missouri in Seattle in December. Watch it if you can -- both these teams are loaded with talent.

[WarrenWallace]

One Pre-Season Ranking and previews here (http://www.athlonsports.com/section_id/5/)

1. Connecticut
2. Michigan State
3. Kansas
4. Arizona
5. Gonzaga
6. Duke
7. Missouri
8. Syracuse
9. North Carolina
10. Florida
11. Wisconsin
12. Cincinnati
13. Notre Dame
14. Stanford
15. Kentucky
16. St. Joseph's


Dick Vitale Preseason Top 16 (http://espn.go.com/dickvitale/vcolumn030723Sensational16-preseason.html)

1. Connecticut
2. Michigan State
3. Kentucky
4. Duke
5. Missouri
6. Arizona
7. Kansas
8. North Carolina
9. Texas
10. Florida
11. Syracuse
12. Oklahoma
13. Gonzaga
14. Louisville
15. Illinois
16. Wisconsin

[Scoey]

Originally posted by appooOnU


These would be my players to watch, in no specific order. Luol Deng. Hakim Warrick, Raymond Felton, Arthur Johnson, Keith Langford, Ben Gordon, Omeka Okafer, Chris Thomas, Charlie Villenueva, Anthony Roberson, Christian Drejer, Julius Hodge, Jameer Nelson, Bracey Wright, and Gerry McNamara. I'm sure i'm missing a boatload of players. Oh yea, Dee Brown.

I'm stoked that Jameer Neslon came back to St. Joes. He's a stud. Did Christian Drejer come back to Florida? I thought he was MIA, for some reason. Word is he's a bit of a headcase, but he def. has talent. I like to watch Julius Hodge, too. Sort of reminds me of John Starks -- must be the NYC connection.

One player that intrigues me that you didn't mention is Ike Diagou (sp?) from ASU. He was a monster as a freshman.

I'm a mid-major fan, so my feelings are mixed regarding ESPN's revamped Bracket Buster (http://siusalukis.ocsn.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/090903aaa.html). I like that I'll get to see more teams that don't normally get tv coverage, but, damn, the field is pretty weak. I don't think more than three or four of these teams have any chance to bust anybody's bracket. I love my mid-majors, but does anybody really want to watch Northern Iowa vs. Cleveland State?

[appoo]

Originally posted by Scoey
I'm stoked that Jameer Neslon came back to St. Joes. He's a stud. Did Christian Drejer come back to Florida? I thought he was MIA, for some reason. Word is he's a bit of a headcase, but he def. has talent. I like to watch Julius Hodge, too. Sort of reminds me of John Starks -- must be the NYC connection.

One player that intrigues me that you didn't mention is Ike Diagou (sp?) from ASU. He was a monster as a freshman.

I'm a mid-major fan, so my feelings are mixed regarding ESPN's revamped Bracket Buster (http://siusalukis.ocsn.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/090903aaa.html). I like that I'll get to see more teams that don't normally get tv coverage, but, damn, the field is pretty weak. I don't think more than three or four of these teams have any chance to bust anybody's bracket. I love my mid-majors, but does anybody really want to watch Northern Iowa vs. Cleveland State?

Yep the ASU stud is a guy I forgot. As I said I'm forgetting boatloads of players. I think this will be a season marked by some really good performances. The talent level around the nation seems to be higher than ever. Some other guys I didn't list was Luke JAckson, Mustafa Shakur, Bozman at UCLA, David Lee, Julius Page, RaShaad McCaants, Patrick Ewing JR, Billy Edelin, Torin Francis, the guy from Providence, Paul Davis....

[Scoey]

Originally posted by appooOnU
Luke JAckson

I think he's going to be substantially less effective without Ridnour. The Ducks have a stud freshman pg coming in in Aaron Brooks, but it will be really hard to replace Rid, and I think Jackson will struggle a bit without him.

[needs]

The NCAA rescinded Michigan's tournament ban today. Make of that what you will. I figure they're a bubble tournament team in a relatively down Big 10. Could finish anywhere from 3rd to 7th in the league.

Heck, maybe they'll have a great year and get the 600k out of CWebb that they're looking for.

[CrewDust]

Originally posted by Scoey
One Pre-Season Ranking and previews here (http://www.athlonsports.com/section_id/5/)

I'm sure many are looking at that and wondering how Gonzaga could possibly be ranked 5th. I'm a huge Gonzaga fan, and even I'm a little skeptical of that praise. Our out of conference schedule is brutal again this year, and I'm guessing we'll lose a game or two and fall out of the top 10 before conference play.

Can't argue with Uconn getting so much love -- they're loaded.

It will be interesting to see how things shake out at UNC -- having a healthy Sean May will be a huge boost. How much pressure will Roy Williams be under to get results right away?

I'll also be very curious to see what happens at UCLA. I'm not sold on Howland. He's being hailed as a savior, and has already done well recruiting, but I just don't think anybody will ever make those fans happy.

I can't wait for the season to get rolling. Gonzaga plays Missouri in Seattle in December. Watch it if you can -- both these teams are loaded with talent.


This preview is for Last Year, 2002-3. Look at the players to watch.

[Scoey]

Originally posted by CrewDust
This preview is for Last Year, 2002-3. Look at the players to watch.

I'm not sure what you're referring to. The individual team capsules on the front page are clearly for this year. Take the Kansas one, for example:

After two straight Final Four appearances, losing Coach Roy Williams along with team cornerstones Kirk Hinrich and Nick Collison will be hard to handle. Former Illinois Coach Bill Self, however, has an outstanding recruiting class arriving and enough talent returning to make it three straight Final Fours for the Jayhawks

[CrewDust]

Ohio State at #27,

http://www.athlonsports.com/article/1705/

Odd they didn't make the tourney last year and they are going to have to depend on some players that graduated this year.

The individual team previews are a year old. Ben Howland isn't coaching Pittsburgh anymore.

[NNCRed]

I'm looking forward to the last year of ACC basketball before it's all ruined for football. There are some question marks in the conference, but it's always fun to watch. Can Skip Prosser continue his success at Wake? How's Roy going to do in his first season at NC with players he didn't recruit? Will Chris Duhon play like his national championship year or last year? And how will Maryland do without Steve Blake running the show?

As a Duke fan, it should be a fun year. Sheldon Williams came on strong at the end of the season last year. If Shavlick Randolph can toughen up some, Duke will be better inside. I don't think losing Dahntay Jones will hurt so much, he was an enigma. Duhon has to be effective running the point. Redick just needs to keep finding open shots. That kid is lights out. Luol Deng was the 2nd rated prep player behind LeBron last year. He should be effective immediately.

This Duke team reminds me somewhat of the 2000-01 team. Lots of good sophomores, some senior leadership, and a potentially standout freshman.

[Scoey]

Originally posted by NNCRed
I'm looking forward to the last year of ACC basketball before it's all ruined for football. There are some question marks in the conference, but it's always fun to watch. Can Skip Prosser continue his success at Wake? How's Roy going to do in his first season at NC with players he didn't recruit? Will Chris Duhon play like his national championship year or last year? And how will Maryland do without Steve Blake running the show?

As a Duke fan, it should be a fun year. Sheldon Williams came on strong at the end of the season last year. If Shavlick Randolph can toughen up some, Duke will be better inside. I don't think losing Dahntay Jones will hurt so much, he was an enigma. Duhon has to be effective running the point. Redick just needs to keep finding open shots. That kid is lights out. Luol Deng was the 2nd rated prep player behind LeBron last year. He should be effective immediately.

This Duke team reminds me somewhat of the 2000-01 team. Lots of good sophomores, some senior leadership, and a potentially standout freshman.

I'm not much of an ACC fan, but I respect how much quality the conference has, and how much passion the fans bring. Why do you think their big-time football ambitions will hurt their basketball tradition? I figured strong football would help all their athletics, including b-ball, by brining in $.

[NNCRed]

Originally posted by Scoey
I'm not much of an ACC fan, but I respect how much quality the conference has, and how much passion the fans bring. Why do you think their big-time football ambitions will hurt their basketball tradition? I figured strong football would help all their athletics, including b-ball, by brining in $.

The inclusion of Miami and VT and eventually a 12th member will mean that the conference will split into divisions. That means an end to the balanced home and home schedule the ACC has. The ACC and the Pac10 are the last 2 big conferences where everybody plays each other twice, once at home, once at their place. That's what I will miss.

[skipshady]

Originally posted by NNCRed
I'm looking forward to the last year of ACC basketball before it's all ruined for football. Indeed. Money talks, I guess.
How's Roy going to do in his first season at NC with players he didn't recruit?I'm optimistic. They tuned Doh' out at the end of the season, mainly because he was a hardass without the credentials to back it up. Roy will be a hardass too but from what I understand, he has better rapport with players and his record allows him more leeway. But we'll see when practice starts.

Hopefully, we won't see the second half collapses that characterized pretty much every loss last year.
Duhon has to be effective running the point.I say this with no smack intended, don't count on it. I don't know, maybe he will settle down this year but he just didn't look comfortable running the team. They looked so much better when Ewing was running the offense. Great athlete, sure, but I'm not sold on Duhon as a playmaker.

The sophomores will be scary though, I think. I expec Randolph to be much more of a presence inside.

[appoo]

Originally posted by skipshady
The sophomores will be scary though, I think. I expec Randolph to be much more of a presence inside.

And freshman Luol Deng might be the best player on the squad. But I still think Reddick is overrated. He is a great deep threat, but he doesn't do much else.