College Basketball 2009-2010 (part 1)

[hawing]

Rather than add to the long college hoops threads from prior seasons, I thought I'd start anew. It's on my mind because we have tickets to watch tonight's epic clash between Wisconsin and Bemidji State.

 

We attended the red and white scrimmage the weekend before Halloween and I almost immediately decided that Mike Bruesewitz is my favorite new Badger. (Of course, with those two frosh gone after the first weekend of the school year, there are only two true freshmen now.) Mike Bruesewitz is just begging for a Bruiser nickname.

Also, redshirt frosh Jared Berggren kind of looks like Brian Butch on the court (down to the same starting-to-recede hairline), only Jared appears to be able to jump.

 

Anyway, let the hoops begin, I guess.

[pitchleague]

I saw Syracuse lost to a D-II school last night. Nice.

[homer]

I saw Syracuse lost to a D-II school last night. Nice.

I saw a headline that said "LeMoyne stuns 'Cuse" and thought it was some guy named LeMoyne that had hit a three or something.

[jjfanec]

The Big Ten is going to be tough this year. Mich St, Purdue, Michigan, Ohio State, Illinois, and Minnesota are all ranked in the AP top 25. Minnesota has had a rough couple days as three players have been suspended one until the end of an assault trial, and 2 indefinitely after one got caught shoplifting and then resisting arrest. Who knows when they will be back. But none of the three started last year, two Royce White and Trevor Mbawke were supposed to play significant minutes, so Minnesota should still be solid.

 

The Badgers will be an interesting team. They have a lot of guys back who played significant minutes. Bohannon and Hughes in the back court. Leuer and Nankavil in the front. It will be interesting to see what the young guys add. I still think they will jump in front of a couple of the teams ranked ahead of them in the Big Ten.

[valpocrewsader]

Hey, even the best teams can lose to DII teams amidst the nonchalance of the exhibition season... http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[homer]

The Badgers will be an interesting team. They have a lot of guys back who played significant minutes. Bohannon and Hughes in the back court. Leuer and Nankavil in the front. It will be interesting to see what the young guys add. I still think they will jump in front of a couple of the teams ranked ahead of them in the Big Ten.

Could go a number of different ways with Bucky. I can see them as a bubble team when March rolls around. They just aren't athletic or physical enough down low to be much more than that in my opinion. Of course, some guy always comes out of the woodwork to contribute for them so maybe a guy like Evans can help in that regard. In any event, I love watching them play - it's like old time hockey....except basketball.

[PaulRigdon]

Bucky will be really good next year with Vander....ohhh wait...

[Menotti80]

my pre-season prediction:

 

Duke makes the Final Four

[TooLiveBrew]

(Of course, with those two frosh gone after the first weekend of the school year, there are only two true freshmen now.)

 

Can you fill a Badger in on what happened here? It seems I'm horribly out of the loop.

 

 

Could go a number of different ways with Bucky. I can see them as a bubble team when March rolls around. They just aren't athletic or physical enough down low to be much more than that in my opinion.

 

I can't wait to see them in action. Imo a backcourt of seniors Hughes & Bohannon is incredibly valuable. I like Nankivil & Leuer a lot... especially Leuer on offense. I can't see him being an impact post defender though, and Nankivil's lack of height relative to D-1 post players will probably keep him from being a force on D as well (though I'd expect him to be better than Leuer). I think this will be a 'typical' Bo Ryan team in that it lacks a true superstar, but they'll be well-coached & play good team defense. It looks on a cursory glance, that Berggren & Gavinski will need to step up & at least be rebounders in order for the Badgers to be respectable down low.

 

I really expect the Badgers to have a lot of options on offense. Nankivil, Bohannon, Hughes, & Leuer are all very capable scorers imo. I think Hughes is a good enough shooter & gets to the hole well enough that he can be a nice weapon with the clock (shot and/or game) winding down, with players like Bohannon & Leuer to kick to on the wings. I also like Leuer's game going to the hoop, and am excited to see if he's been able to add any slick post moves, as that would make him a potentially lethal weapon in the swing offense. I like that Bohannon can run the point capably on offense for situations where Hughes gets injured or in foul trouble, and imo Jason is that pure shooter you need to sometimes bail out your offense.

 

Oh, and I should admit to not knowing much of anything about any of the sophomore or freshman players on the team... so I'd also love to hear what players I'm overlooking or overrating (in terms of role/impact for '09-'10).

[PKBadger]

(Of course, with those two frosh gone after the first weekend of the school year, there are only two true freshmen now.)

 

Can you fill a Badger in on what happened here? It seems I'm horribly out of the loop.

 

Diamond Taylor and Jeremy Glover were kicked off the team for being idiots - stole some stuff from dorm rooms. Taylor transferred to Southern Illinois. Glover is still at UW, not sure if he has a chance to earn his way back with good behavior or not.

 

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/57777562.html

[hawing]

Glover appealed his athletic department suspension and it was denied this week: State Journal/Cap Times link

He apparently would still like to prove to the UW-Madison community that the doofus who stole stuff from dorm rooms his first weekend in college is not the real Jeremy Glover. I guess that's relatively stand-up, though it would have been even more stand-up to not make such a doofus choice to begin with.

 

In separate, older-school UW basketball news, 1980s player Darin Schubring is in critical condition after being punched in a bar on Halloween night, then hitting his head badly as he fell from the blow. I know it's relatively few of us here at Brewerfan who'd remember him, but he was a starter while I was an undergrad. Geez.

[homer]

Oh, and I should admit to not knowing much of anything about any of the sophomore or freshman players on the team... so I'd also love to hear what players I'm overlooking or overrating (in terms of role/impact for '09-'10).

The two freshman guards from last year, Robert Wilson and Jordan Taylor, should make good progress. Wilson has the ability to drive the lane and finish which I think was missing from their offense last year. Ryan Evans is a redshirt freshman this year that is really athletic from all accounts but very raw. He played very well against Bemidji (12 pts) but I believe his range is limited so any scoring he does will be off rebounds and layups. His calling card will be on the defensive end.

 

One thing to note is the Badgers are very deep this year. They don't have a "star" but they can play 9 legit guys and maybe 10 or 11 if a few make improvements.

[yoshii8]

I've also heard that Tim Jarmusz is going to have a bigger impact this season, apparently he was playing w/ a bad groin injury last season, and that limited his athleticism a lot.

 

I'm excited about both Marquette and UW this season. Both teams have a lot of newer players that will be very fun to watch.

[TooLiveBrew]

Thanks to everyone who got back to me. Much appreciated.

 

 

One thing to note is the Badgers are very deep this year. They don't have a "star" but they can play 9 legit guys and maybe 10 or 11 if a few make improvements.

 

This is a trademark of Bo Ryan, dating at least back into his UW-Platteville days. I have a hard time thinking of a Bo Ryan team that wasn't very deep. The Badgers imho are lucky this guy wanted to be in Madison. He's an excellent coach, and on top of that, he maintains his program very well year to year.

[heresrobin]

I am excited to see what kind of numbers Hayward and Butler are going to put up for Marquette. They have some experience in the backcourt with Acker and Cubillan, but both of them are pretty small and don't shoot well.

 

I like the trio of Hughes/Bohannan/Leuer as well. But as some alluded to already, I'm worried about the rebounding/toughness void left by the departed Landry/Krabbenhoft. Somebody really needs to step up. Vander Blue backing out of his commitment and choosing another school I think is a bit of a blow to the Badger program. But at least he stayed in state, so I get to actively cheer for him.

 

Marquette and WI both sort of look like Bubble teams to me that are going to be fighting to stay within the top half of their respective conferences. Plenty of room for guys to step up and exceed my expectations though.

[FVBrewerFan]

Wow, another great recruiting year for Marquette. They didn't need quantity, but they got big time quality with Blue and Jones. This year will be interesting, we'll see if guys like Fulce and Otule, Buyks, and Maymon can step up. But they should be loaded for the 2010 season. They lose Hayward, Acker, and Cubey but add two great PGs in Blue and Cadougan. One could argue they'll have more talent that they did with the trio they had the past 4 years. They have some taller athletic guys, guards that can really play, and if Yo Mbao develops into a legit starting Center.....they really have a shot at being a great team.

 

Now we'll see how good of a COACH Buzz really is, but man he sure has proven he can recruit.

 

On the flip side, Bo Ryan seems to be lost in the 50s. I admire him, and obviously he's a darn good coach. But you can only go so far with "scrappy" players. What a horrific recruiting class he's bringing in for next year. With the tradition, facilities, etc. UW has they should be able to build a top flight basketball program. I don't mean to insult anyone, but you just can't make a run in the tourney with a bunch of scarappy white guys from Wisconsin.

[TooLiveBrew]

Haha! 2000's Final Four squad disagrees with you! http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

 

 

Now we'll see how good of a COACH Buzz really is, but man he sure has proven he can recruit.

 

I tend to think of "he's a good recruiter" as the college coach equivalent of "he calls a good game." Glad to see for MU's sake that it wasn't just hot air about Buzz.

 

I think calling Ryan's athletes just some scrappy guys is overstating things. Leuer, Hughes, Nankivil, and Bohannon have a lot of game, just to name a few. Ryan has recruited a lot of good players.

[hawing]

you just can't make a run in the tourney with a bunch of scarappy white guys from Wisconsin.

With apologies for nit-picking, only five guys on the Badgers' current roster are Wisconsinites, and of those only Nankivil and Jarmusz can expect to see more than mop-up time.

[blatzlight]

you just can't make a run in the tourney with a bunch of scarappy white guys from Wisconsin.

With apologies for nit-picking, only five guys on the Badgers' current roster are Wisconsinites, and of those only Nankivil and Jarmusz can expect to see more than mop-up time.

 

I think he was referring to Anderson and Gasser who just signed LOI this week. They are two white guys from Wisco with the third white guy coming form Chicago burbs.

[FVBrewerFan]

I think he was referring to Anderson and Gasser who just signed LOI this week. They are two white guys from Wisco with the third white guy coming form Chicago burbs.

I was. Look, obviously there are good players from Wisconsin, and there are good white players. But this latest recruiting class is awful, and seems to be slipping every year.

[homer]

Anderson is awful? He's the #14 center in the country.

 

And besides...it's not where you start out it's where you end up. That Duje guy from Deerfield, IL had a big time growth spurt and only recently became a hot recruit. He can dribble, shoot from the outside, drive the lane, and pass. He will be a good one.

 

Gasser is questionable, but after Diamond Taylor screwed up UW had a scholarship to fill and had to give it to someone.

[Beerambassador]

I've learned to never worry about who Ryan brings into the program. It always works out. Did it sting to lose Blue to Marquette? Sure. I still don't get it, but Wisconsin will do just fine without him.

 

And am I misremembering things, or wasn't Anderson a much higher regarded prospect before he had an injury shortened season last year? I'm not being sarcastic, but it seems to me he was a four-star prospect and had some pretty big programs offering him scholarships.

 

Edit: Nice article on Anderson

[jhart05]

Panthers should finish Top 3 in conference this year and make the NIT at least. $10 gets you a good seat. Com'on down to the Mecca.

 

Butler will be very good again. Should make the Sweet 16. If they get a good matchup and the ball bounces their way, the Final Four is not out of the question. There's my bold pre-season prediction.

[heresrobin]

jhart05, is Tone Boyle hurt right now? What is his status for the season? The only reason I ask is that I vaguely remember reading something that he could miss some time, but I could easily be mistaken.

[LouisEly]

Wisconsin and Marquette seem to be opposites - Wisconsin has plenty of big bodies (five guys 6'8" or taller, another three 6'6" or 6'7") but is a little short on guards (will really be short next year w/the loss of Hughes and Bohannon); meanwhile Marquette only has two guys on the roster taller than 6'7". I think UW will be fine this year, but next year if Taylor gets hurt they will be in a world of hurt. Same with Marquette; if Otule goes down they are going to have a tough time defending down low.