Midnight Madness: College Basketball pre-season thread - Kansas #1

I will say this much -- it forced the Jayhawks into a reality check before the season began and allowed Self to run a boot camp, penalizing the entire team for the scrums, without hesitation. SI.com's Luke Winn touched on it recently ...

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/luke_winn/10/28/kansas/index.html

Self's way of putting a positive spin on it -- and there's some logic in this -- is that it might have been a necessary wake-up call. "If we were so immature that we let this stuff become a distraction," he says, "then we weren't disciplined enough to make a run at it. If anything, I think we'll be more disciplined and prepared from this point forward."

 

Well . . . more disciplined than a bunch of idiots brawling with the football team, I'll grant him that.

 

Overrated (at this point):

Tennessee (10): Really? There is an actual contingent of people who think Tennessee, as in the team that wears those ugly orange jerseys, is the 10th best team in the country? The Tennessee team that was supposedly far and away the most talented team in the SEC last year, yet lost 13 games, including two to a pretty shitty Kentucky team? That Tennessee?

Georgia Tech (22): Derrick Favors is good. Damn good. But I don't know if he's that good.

Underrated:

Georgetown (20): The Hoyas are going to rebound from a disappointing '08-'09 season, and Greg Monroe is going to lead them there. He was inconsistent at times as a freshman, but Monroe is the real deal, and he'll show it this year.

Not sure, but leaning toward Overrated:

Louisville (19): Pitino lost two guys to the NBA and his most reliable point guard. I have no doubt Samardo Samuels will develop into a big-time player this year if he can stay out of foul trouble. But since 2005, Louisville has played undisciplined basketball with little on-court leadership. Who steps up this year? Jerry Smith and Edgar Sosa are talented, but both have been headcases at times. Freshman Peyton Siva is solid, but the struggle to replace Terrence Williams and Earl Clark is going to have a huge impact on this team.

Overrated, Right Now:

Kentucky (4): Two things I'm sure of with this team. One is that Kentucky is one of the four most talented teams in the country. Two is that come March, this easily could be the best team in the country. But right now? No. The Cats will struggle to master Calipari's offense early on and could look ugly at times. But John Wall has the potential to be one of the top players in America, and Patrick Patterson is the most talented returning player in the SEC. I tend to think they'll earn this ranking come March, but I'm somewhat skeptical of all the hype, especially considering none of Kentucky's starting five has played in an NCAA Tournament game.

Who the hell knows?:

Mississippi State (18): With Renardo Sidney, this will be one hell of a team. Without him, who really knows? The Bulldogs win the SEC West regardless, but their potential to make noise in March will depend heavily on the NCAA's ruling in the Sidney case.

Overlooked:

Wake Forest (NR): Al-Farooq Aminu is a stud. And Wake Forest will finish the season in the top 25. Yet they're 10th in the "Also receiving votes" category? Don't get it.

Xavier (NR): The addition of Jordan Crawford (transfer from Indiana) is going to make the Muskies a tough team. I'm not saying they're a top 25 team right now, but like Wake, I'm not sold on them being all the way down at 36th either.

 

Aminu has zero range on his jump shot, isn't a great defender and last year struck me as completely overwhelmed down the stretch. I don't know if it was because he was deferring to James Johnson or what, but he was essentially dead weight in the final 8-10 games of the season.

Wake is an interesting team. No Teague, no Johnson. There will be a lot less "me me me" with this year's team, and I think that's a good thing. The question is, who plays point guard, and who takes over as the leader? LD Williams is a heart-and-soul kinda guy, but he's probably only the sixth- or seventh-best overall player they've got. Is that enough?

I'm also digging Xavier. They'll be fun.

And: LeMoyne 82, Syracuse 79. http://blog.syracuse.com/orangebasketball/2009/11/day_of_the_dolphin_division_ii.html Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's an exhibition. It still makes me smile.

 

Loved watching the LeMoyne-Syracuse highlights this morning. I know it's only an exhibition game, but still, I love seeing results like that. As long as it doesn't happen to KU, which made ESPN's top 10 plays on SC today. Really curious to see what the Jayhawks can do this season.

 

Words can't describe how much I want Kentucky to lose tomorrow.

My little Podunk alma mater playing at Rupp Arena ... wow.

http://www.clariongoldeneagles.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/110409aaa.html