Big Ten HOOPS PREVIEW
The conference that gets no respect snatched their own respect in March. Michigan State made it all the way to the NCAA Championship game. Penn State won the NIT. Six Big 10 teams made the NCAA tournament. Some of the names will be familiar. Michigan State fans expect a return trip to the final four. They always do. There are two big sets of shoes to fill. And there are capable feet to fill them with. Kalin Lucas returns to run the team. Forward Raymar Morgan is a possible conference all-star. Remember these names, Durrell Summers, Chris Allen and Delvin Roe. A trip to Indy in March is a distinct possibility. The non-conference schedule will test as usual. Tom Izzo needs to develop some depth in the middle, likely beginning with more playing time for seven footer Tom Herzog. For Michigan State, the season doesn’t begin until there are brackets in place. You might consider keeping a spot open for them in the final four.
Purdue is also expected to lead the resurgence of the conference. Their course had quite a few twists and turns a year ago. That they got to the round of 16 was one of the positives for Matt Painter’s team. They were highly touted last year too. Robbie Hummel was hurt for a good portion of the season, but he led the late charge the Boilers put together. Hummel and the rest of Purdue’s top six is back. Add in JaJuan Johnson, E’Twaun Moore, healthy Keaton Grant and Chris Kramer and this team will be a handful for the rest of the Big Ten. Lewis Jackson ran into some off season trouble, and won’t be available at the beginning of the season, but that should be a small distraction. This is a solid team, and program and should help the league gain back some lost respect.
Illinois returned to a level of prominence last season, but their quick exit in the NCAA tournament left a bad taste in the collective Illini mouths. Even though there were multiple graduations, the nucleus is strong and the reinforcements could be great. Three starters return including point guard Demetri McCarney and center Mike Tisdale. You may see a freshman in Bruce Weber’s starting lineup. Guard D.J. Richardson could step right in. McCarney’s maturity will be tantamount to the team’s growth. Three other freshmen could all have an impact on this team. Weber’s recruiting class was four strong, but a very strong four. And the next group could be even better.
What does one get from an NIT championship? High expectations from their fans. And for Penn State, they’re hoping a trip to the bigger post season tournament. It won’t be easy. Although one of the best, point guard Talor Battle is returning, the Nittany Lions lost a lot to graduation. Not many points return to Ed DeChellis’ team. Freshmen may play a key role in keeping Penn State in the top half of the Big Ten. 6-6 Ohio Player of the Year, Bill Edwards is a highly anticipated addition. Another freshman, Tim Frazier, is highly thought of. Andrew Jones had a terrific NIT tournament run and will be counted upon in ‘09-‘10. Perhaps most important in the long run, Penn State’s record against a better non-conference schedule.
Thad Motta is moving his Ohio State Buckeyes around trying to get the best complete puzzle out of all of the pieces. Point guard is the big issue and Motta has a Forward there for now. Evan Turner was all Big 10 up front. Junior David Lighty missed most of last season with a broken foot, he’ll be back. David Lauderdale will miss a month due to injury. Motta will be using the same players he used a year ago, since there were no recruits. Turner will surely be the team leader. Interestingly enough, none of the current Buckeyes will graduate this year either. UAB transfer Zizis Sarikopoulos is seven feet tall and comes from Greece. Next year’s recruiting class is thought to be one of the best in the nation already.
Wisconsin managed to squeak into the NCAA tournament a year ago, fighting off a mid season period of the doldrums. Bo Ryan usually gets the most out of his players. Ryan may have to work a miracle or two if the Badgers are to return to the dance. They will have point guard Trevon Hughes and shooter Jason Bohannon to count on. There are enough good players to make a nice run, but they’ll need to improve and mesh as Wisconsin teams usually do. They will likely need to return to the tenacious defensive unit they’d been before last season. Redshirt freshman Jared Berggren is expected to step in and patrol the middle at 6-10. While some don’t over-schedule pre-conference games, Wisconsin should know a lot about their potential when conference play begins. Their out of conference games are brutal.
Minnesota is excited about the possibilities this season. Tubby Smith returns his top nine from a year ago and adds in a strong recruiting class with immediate impact expected. Lawrence Westbrook, last year’s leading scorer may actually not be a starter for the Gophers. You should hear from Royce White, a top 50 recruit, Trevor Mbakwe back with Minnesota after a year at the JC level, and Point guard Justin Combs, all newcomers. Their depth will be the best in the Big 10. Add their electric atmosphere for home games and Minnesota expects another bid to the NCAA Tournament.
There is some maneuvering needed from John Beilein in Michigan. They went to the NCAA tournament but they have some key replacements to make. However, he’s got a good starting point to build around. Junior Manny Harris and senior DeShawn Sims are back. They were the top Wolverine scorers a year ago. Sophomore Stu Douglas and freshman Darius Morris are expected to plug the graduation holes. The pre-season schedule is tough again, so this team should be able to grab some quality brownie points with the NCAA committee before conference play begins.
A better Big Ten Tournament showing may have resulted in Northwestern’s first ever NCAA tournament bid. That didn’t happen, but their NIT appearance left the Wildcats with high expectations for this season. They graduated just one starter off of last year’s squad. Bill Carmody will expect point guard Michael “Juice” Thompson and forward Kevin Coble to lead the way for the ‘Cats. Newcomer Drew Crawford could contribute immediately. Sophomore John Shurna had a good summer overseas. Northwestern has realistic high hopes for the new year.
What can Iowa expect this season? Exactly. They’ve suffered graduations and defections, even to Division II schools. If Todd Lickliter’s team has a great season, it will be a surprise, perhaps even to Lickliter. Matt Gatens and Devan Bawinkel are the only two players on the roster to average 20 minutes a year ago. The Hawkeyes did travel to Europe over the summer, but they may wish they were anchored there before the end of this season.
Indiana is reloading. They’re coming out of probation and reinforcements are on the way. Point guard Verdell Jones III and deep shooter Matt Roth will be counted on heavily to aid in resurgence. Jeremiah Rivers transferred in from Georgetown and six other freshmen will have a huge roll in prying Indiana off the bottom of the Big 10 pack.
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