I've just got to first off say that it's amazing that we did this to a team that will be playing for the national championship tomorrow night.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnIZ82y0jJ0


With that being said, who do you have as your early favorites to win it all next year? A lot of people are saying that UNC will be back next year. While I know that they will be better next year, I don't believe they are solving their biggest weakness, which is finding a good ballhandler. Marshall doesn't fit into Roy Williams' fast-paced type of style. He doesn't have the foot speed of Lawson and Felton.

I think Purdue could be pretty good next year.

My way too early conference champion predictions for the 2010-2011 season

Power 6
ACC: Duke
Big East: Georgetown
Big Ten: Purdue (Tough pick here. tOSU has a monstrous class, MSU can never be counted out, and Wisconsin is always in the thick of it.)
Big 12: Kansas (I know they lose a lot, but they always seem to bounce back and win the Big 12)
Pac-10: Who cares? Nah, but really I think Arizona might win it and be much improved under Sean Miller.
SEC: Right now I'd have to pick Tennessee, and then Florida, but if UK gets a great class, then Calipari might be able to repeat as champions.

Mid-majors
A-10: Temple (perhaps a little sentimental on my part)
C-USA: Memphis (have you seen their incoming class! )
Horizon: Butler
Mountain West: New Mexico
WAC: Nevada
WCC: Gonzaga

4/4/2010 10:16:34 PM

if Evan Turner decides to come back then I think Ohio State will be picked to win it all. If he doesnt, they will still be a good team, probably top 10-15 caliber. Their entire starting 5 this year were juniors or sophs...

Kentucky will probably do the same thing next year that they did this year, maybe to a slightly lesser degree since they will lose the seniors and Patrick Patterson.

I think Duke will be great next year, Singler and Nolan will be back, Dawkins will likely step up and fill in for Scheyers absence. Seth Curry and Kyrie Irving with also contribute a lot. The Plumlees will continue to grow into one of the more physical frontcourts in the country. I really think they will have a decent chance at winning back to back titles if they can win tomorrow night

4/4/2010 10:39:21 PM

Yeah I think Evan Turner goes pro (mostly b/c of the scare of the back injury), so that's why I put Purdue in as the Big Ten champ instead. Make no mistake about it though, the Buckeyes will be pretty good next year regardless.

4/4/2010 10:41:34 PM

wow, butler is gonna be strong again next year, Heyward and Mack are only sophomores, Matt Howard is a junior.

georgetown and west virginia are also relatively young as well

I think the ncaa as a whole is going to be better

4/4/2010 10:46:23 PM

at least we might make the tournament this year!

4/4/2010 10:54:10 PM

i dont see the acc being as good

4/4/2010 11:09:35 PM

Quote :

"Mountain West: New Mexico"

New Mexico/BYU could be one of the best races in America next year

Jimmer Fredette (22.1ppg) and Jackson Emery (12.5ppg) will return for their senior years and Tyler Haws (11.3ppg) will be a sophomore

they're returning 4/5 starters and there's no reason why BYU won't have another 30-win season

4/4/2010 11:26:38 PM

Quote :

"at least we might make the tournament this year!"

State gets an automatic bid to the ACCT.

Quote :

"i dont see the acc being as good"

So Duke and everyone else? Again?

4/4/2010 11:28:21 PM

What do your algorithms say?

4/4/2010 11:30:20 PM

I cant wait to see what Seth Curry does next year

4/4/2010 11:31:42 PM

^^^^ Yeah I think it will be between New Mexico and BYU, but UNLV, San Diego State, and Utah will make them battle tested for the tournament, just like many on the East Coast have attributed the Big East and ACC's past NCAA tournament success on the competition they face in conference play.

[Edited on April 4, 2010 at 11:37 PM. Reason : ^]

4/4/2010 11:35:59 PM

was talking about NCAAs

4/5/2010 12:52:09 AM

4/5/2010 1:37:31 AM

What do you think will be the strongest conference next year?

4/5/2010 5:07:53 PM

Why would Turner even consider coming back?

He's a top 3 lock this year and he already had a major scare with that fall earlier

Get the fuck out and get paid

4/5/2010 5:10:36 PM

^^ I always pick the ACC. Conference pride!

4/5/2010 5:24:43 PM

How do you think each ACC team will compare to this year?

Duke (slightly worse, but still the frontrunner- lose Scheyer, Thomas, Zoubek- gain Curry, freshmen and return talent)
Maryland 13-3 24-9 (worse, losing Vasquez and Hayes obviously but Williams can coach)
Florida State 10-6 22-10 (better if Alabi returns, they should return Singleton and about everyone else)
Virginia Tech 10-6 25-9 (Delaney watch)
Wake Forest 9-7 20-11 (much worse, fall to bottom tier of ACC without Smith, Aminu, McFarland)
Clemson 9-7 21-11 (about the same, others will fill void left by Potter and Booker)
Georgia Tech 7-9 23-13 (worse, quintessential Paul Hewitt dropoff year after losing draft picks)
Boston College 6-10 15-16 (who knows, program looks to be in a mess unless they pull off a surprising hire)
Virginia 5-11 15-16 (probably on the edge of bottom and middle tier, Landesberg is gone but Bennett begins to establish program identity)
North Carolina 5-11 20-16 (significantly better, great recruiting class coming in and they won't be down for long)
NC State 5-11 20-16 (slightly better, looking to push back into middle of conference as only Horner is gone, Howell should develop, and backcourt help on the way--but they are freshmen, prospects could improve depending on what happens to 3rd scholarship)
Miami 4-12 20-13 (no change, they are missing Clemente)

4/5/2010 5:35:16 PM

Anyone see ESPN's interview with Bob Knight on the game?

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=5059349

It's funny how he says "schools pay a kid to come play for one year". Hmm...I wonder who he could be talking about.

4/6/2010 12:24:38 PM

duke vs. butler pt.2 next year???

4/6/2010 12:31:06 PM

ALL ACC FINAL FOUR

4/6/2010 2:06:34 PM

seriously, how early do people have to start this shit? can't we wait until football season to talk about next year's basketball season?

4/6/2010 2:08:35 PM

Why the hell do you care if people want to have a conversation about next year's season.

If folks want to talk about it, so be it.

4/6/2010 2:10:56 PM

markgoal, we also lose Degand this year.

also, i see duke being better next year "talent wise" especially if Singler stays. forgive me if he has already stated that. Irving is a real deal pg and if Seth Curry is half the shooter his brother was then holy shit they will be a tough team to beat.

i think we / hope we significantly improve next year with better guard play. lets just hope brown can get here.

4/6/2010 2:26:42 PM

because this happens with everything these days. politics, sports, entertainment, everything...it would just be nice for a change to take a few minutes and just sit in the here and now.

4/6/2010 2:45:59 PM

Thoughts on the ACC:

BC: Really depends on the coach. If he knows what the fuck he's doing they're going to be better next year. If not, they suck again.
Clemson: Really depends on the coach. The right hire and Clemson is about as good as last year. The wrong hire and they take 2-3 steps back.
Duke: If Singler stays they're the class of the ACC and as good as last year.
Florida State: Assuming everyone stays they're better next year.
Georgia Tech: Decent backcourt, no talent in the front court, and a bad coach. They'll be a bit worse
Maryland: Wth Vasquez they take a few steps back, hopefully that won't get Gary fired
Miami: Should be much better next year. They have the talent to make some noise. Maybe could win 7 games in the ACC
UNC: Should be much better next year, if nothing more than experience + losing Ginyard and Graves. Barnes is legit, and their backcourt can only get better. Should sneak back into the top third.
NC State: Should be much better next year. Experience + Talent + solid coaching = wins. I'd say with Leslie we're a Sweet 16 team for sure.
Virginia: Should be about the same as this year. Decent coach, returns a decent group adds a good class.
VT: If Delaney stays they're a much better team. If not, they're about as good as this year
WF: Should take several steps back without Ish and keeping a HS gym teacher as a coach.

Overall:
-Better: 5
-About the Same: 2
-Worse: 3
-???: 2

So the ACC as a whole will be stronger. Duke challenges for another title. UNC and State make their returns to the tourney (well at 96 teams we should get 9+ in but both teams would be in if it were a 65 team field) and Wake says "Why the fuck didn't I have a PG training under Ish???"

Outside the ACC:
Big East: Georgetown seems likely
Big Ten: Michigan State (OSU second)
Big XII: Kansas (Texas a close second)
SEC: Tennessee (Kentucky second... Calipari finds ways to win and I don't have faith in UF's program right now)
Pac-10: Washington, but who gives a shit?

4/6/2010 2:49:53 PM

Brass Monkey's Way Too Early Top 25 for 2010-2011

1. Duke
2. Georgetown
3. Purdue
4. Michigan State
5. Butler
6. Ohio State
7. Memphis
8. Ohio State
9. Tennessee
10. West Virginia
11. Villanova
12. Kansas
13. North Carolina (maybe an unlucky #13 will give them bad luck)
14. Baylor
15. Kansas State
16. BYU
17. New Mexico
18. Virginia Tech
19. Syracuse
20. Temple
21. Florida State
22. Gonzaga
23. Wisconsin
24. Kentucky
25. North Carolina State


It's kind of sad that I think the Big Ten race might actually be the most interesting race next year with Purdue, MSU, and tOSU.

4/7/2010 1:35:45 AM

Ohio state is so good their 2nd string is only 2 spots behind their first string.

4/7/2010 2:22:49 AM

Oops, haha. I was second guessing my picks and rearranging them. This is what it should look like. I knew I was leaving out Gonzaga somewhere.

Brass Monkey's Way Too Early Top 25 for 2010-2011

1. Duke
2. Georgetown
3. Purdue
4. Michigan State
5. Butler
6. Ohio State
7. Memphis
8. Tennessee
9. West Virginia
10. Villanova
11. Kansas
12. Baylor
13. North Carolina (maybe an unlucky #13 will give them bad luck)
14. Kansas State
15. Gonzaga
16. BYU
17. New Mexico
18. Virginia Tech
19. Syracuse
20. Temple
21. Florida State
22. Gonzaga
23. Wisconsin
24. Kentucky
25. North Carolina State

4/7/2010 2:39:08 AM

Looks good although I would have to hold off until the draft deadline has past.

Kentucky may wind up wind a ridiculous class again so expectations would be high even though it isn't last year's class and they wouldn't have a strong veteran.

It's hard for me to place VT or FSU in the top 25 because they are such fickle teams. Maybe it's just resentment...

The only other team I disagree with in Georgetown at 2. I just don't see that happening. There isn't a super strong team anywhere in the country going into next season so with Wright and Monroe (if he stays) they could be pretty good, but I don't about them that being that high.

Purdue's position will depend upon Hummel's recovery. With him in last year's form, I could see them at #2 but torn ACLs can be iffy as far as rehabilitation.

4/7/2010 5:32:32 AM

Quote :

"UNC: Should be much better next year, if nothing more than experience + losing Ginyard and Graves."

Graves is a junior. And we know he's not attempting the draft.

Quote :

"I think Duke will be great next year, Singler and Nolan will be back"

"Junior forward Kyle Singler, who earned Most Oustanding Player honors in this year's Final Four, says he hasn't decided on his future.

"No idea," Singler tells the N&O. "I'll just talk to coach and get his opinion, talk to my family. ... I'm just going to let myself be open to what Coach (Mike Krzyzewski) has to say, because he has my best interest (at heart)."


I think Singler is stupid if he doesn't enter his name in the draft after this season. He is definitely NBA material IMO. His play reminds me of Dirk Nowitzki.

4/7/2010 10:29:17 AM

Quote :

"I think Singler is stupid if he doesn't enter his name in the draft after this season. He is definitely NBA material IMO. His play reminds me of Dirk Nowitzki."

that's nice that he reminds you of nowitzki, but nowitzki is 4" taller than singler.

4/7/2010 10:33:23 AM

Singler is fringe first round. He'll probably carve himself out a niche but you're comparing him to one of the Top 10 scorers in the game. Nowitzki is ten times the shooter Singler is and has about 3" on him too.

4/7/2010 10:33:24 AM

I love how everyone compares a white player to another white player every single time

or a black player to a black player ever single time

Like how Jason Heyward is being compared to Willie McCovey, Willie Stargell, Darryl Strawberry, Dave Parker, Fred McGriff and Ken Griffey Jr.

4/7/2010 10:37:29 AM

attn: tww sports talk

look at what i have discovered

4/7/2010 10:42:24 AM

Quote :

"I knew I was leaving out Gonzaga somewhere."

You got them twice now

4/7/2010 11:36:13 AM

I said his "play" reminds me. That means his style and tendencies. I didn't say that he was Nowitzki. Even if Singler is a little shorter, that doesn't mean he can't still play like him.

Tall athletic player (and white)
Dribble-drive
Decent post moves
Fade-away jumpers
Deep threat

4/7/2010 12:31:44 PM

in the nba 4" is a ton of height. it does, in fact, mean that he can't play like nowitzki.

4/7/2010 12:41:38 PM

Except Singler isn't "tall" or "athletic", at least by NBA standards.

What I think you mean to say was:

Perimeter-oriented forward
white
white
white
white

4/7/2010 2:28:36 PM

Singler has terrible lateral quickness, which will expose him as a defender in the NBA...on the other hand I'm not sure he's really going to improve his draft stock with another season at Duke.

4/7/2010 2:52:35 PM

Evan Turner to announce he's going pro at a 4pm presser. As an OSU fan, I'm fucking elated that the turnover machine will be gone.

4/7/2010 2:54:05 PM

Quote :

"As an OSU fan, I'm fucking elated that the turnover machine will be gone"

4/7/2010 2:59:32 PM

even though he was the runaway player of the year, and had great numbers, his 4.5 TO/game was fucking brutal to watch.

4/7/2010 3:05:25 PM

The best players always have the most turnovers, simply because they handle the ball more than anyone else

The top 7 NBA players in turnovers per game this year

Monta Ellis,
Steve Nash
LeBron James
Dwight Howard
Kevin Durant
Dwyane Wade
Kobe Bryant

Man, fuck those guys

4/7/2010 3:08:20 PM

Monta Ellis's TO% this season: 13.5%
Evan Turner's TO% this season: 21.5%

I'm guessing the rest of the players on your list have similar numbers.

4/7/2010 3:12:48 PM

He obviously needs to cut down on his TOs but how many games do you think OSU realistically wins without his 20 pts, 9 boards and 6 assists per game? Not nearly as many as they did with him.

[Edited on April 7, 2010 at 3:17 PM. Reason : .]

4/7/2010 3:17:22 PM

Yeah, obviously. I'm just pointing out that he did turn the ball over a lot -- and a lot more than the NBA guys Slave listed.

4/7/2010 3:25:07 PM

Point taken

I only saw Turner play 3-4 times

4/7/2010 3:30:28 PM

right, but how many times did he dribble into a double team, costing his team points in the process? sure, he did a lot of good things, but I think with Lighty and Diebler providing senior leadership, and Buford being a go to scorer, along with the incoming class, OSU will be better off.

4/7/2010 3:31:26 PM

Quote :

"OSU will be better off."

Maybe so, but saying "good riddance" to the reigning NPOY who led the team to a 29-8 record and a sweet sixteen appearance is kind of fucking ridiculous. You're acting like OSU pisses National Championships.

4/7/2010 3:38:16 PM

no i'm not.. again, this is me disliking Turner's play and his penchant for costly turnovers. there's a difference btw the two.

4/7/2010 3:40:14 PM