2012-2013 College Basketball thread

[fondybrewfan]

As for next year.....they might struggle with a guard heavy team but the next two years after that - watch out.

 

Why do you say that? Do they have some sort of stud big man recruit that I don't know about? Surely no one on the current roster is going to turn into anything more than a role player. Is there some Wisconsin kid that is a big prospect coming up?

 

Too bad they could get the kid out of Germantown that is going to Indiana next year. That would have been a nice get.

[FVBrewerFan]

Every year the same question is asked. And every year Bo finds a way to win with what he has.

[homer]

As for next year.....they might struggle with a guard heavy team but the next two years after that - watch out.

 

Why do you say that? Do they have some sort of stud big man recruit that I don't know about? Surely no one on the current roster is going to turn into anything more than a role player. Is there some Wisconsin kid that is a big prospect coming up?

 

Too bad they could get the kid out of Germantown that is going to Indiana next year. That would have been a nice get.

 

 

They don't have a 6'10" guy or anything but they have a very solid recruiting class of forwards coming in the next two years including Vitto Brown and Nigel Hayes. All are 6'7" - 6'9". Brown and Hayes are big dudes. Match that with Dekker and and Koenig and that's a solid group.

 

And a lot of people thought Berggren would only be a role player too. Don't write off Kaminsky just yet.

[homer]

Need to avoid a big letdown at Iowa this weekend.

 

Iowa is having a special ceremony to honor the memory of Chris Street, who died exactly 20 years ago Saturday in that car accident. Seems like whenever things like that are going on the affected team plays their game of the season. Going to be really tough for Bucky to pull one out under those circumstances.

 

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I dunno if the Chris Street thing will have a huge impact. He died before most of the student body was born.

[fondybrewfan]

I guess I should just trust Bo that he will come up with a Leuer / Bergren / Wilkinson / Landry / Nankavil by this time next year. You are right; he will always find his guy. Although it will be pretty tough to rely on Hayes and/or Brown to contribute as freshman. Hayes, Brown, Koenigs has to be one of his more decorated recruiting classes.

 

Really would have been nice if Marquette or UW could have kept Tokoto, Fischer, or Thomas in state recently; the level of talent at UW and Marquette would look pretty incredible right now.

[FVBrewerFan]

Sure, Tokoto would have been nice, but Marquette has a top 10 recruiting class for 2013, so they can't have everyone. Only so many scholarships to go around. If they can get Looney for 2014, that would be huge get.

[jjfanec]

I dont get the sense Looney is staying in the state of Wisconsin. Everything makes it sound like he is going to one of the big boys.

 

I am wondering if Tokoto is starting to wish he would have stayed home. Limited playing time and we all know UNC will recruit a lot more top guys at his same position. I wish him the best but that is a tough place to get playing time with who they recruit

[brwrsfan]

Tokoto took a risk, as do all the players that go to UNC, Duke, Kentucky, etc. They will almost always have a chance to win it all (though not UNC this year) and while he could have come to WI and been a starter almost from day 1, there is a limit to how big of a star he can become. Stars at UNC, Duke, etc become almost national celebrities in a way that no player at WI has ever really reached, and probably never will. Just based upon how those programs are looked at, national games on ESPN, etc.

 

As for Looney, unless he really wants to stay close to home, I see him leaving as well. UNC, Kentucky, Kansas have all expressed an interest so far. He also seems to project much more like a one and done type of player. So my guess is Calipari buys him if he wants him that badly.

[brwrsfan]

Tokoto took a risk, as do all the players that go to UNC, Duke, Kentucky, etc. They will almost always have a chance to win it all (though not UNC this year) and while he could have come to WI and been a starter almost from day 1, there is a limit to how big of a star he can become. Stars at UNC, Duke, etc become almost national celebrities in a way that no player at WI has ever really reached, and probably never will. Just based upon how those programs are looked at, national games on ESPN, etc.

 

The flip side being of course, that they have to compete with other McDonald's all americans and might wind up on the bench...something that would likely never happen at Wisconsin.

 

As for Looney, unless he really wants to stay close to home, I see him leaving as well. UNC, Kentucky, Kansas have all expressed an interest so far. He also seems to project much more like a one and done type of player. So my guess is Calipari buys him if he wants him that badly.

[Funketown]

Tokoto has been averaging 11 minutes this season and he's been at about that level since ACC play started. If he develops the way he should, he'll have no trouble finding minutes even if he doesn't start over the next four seasons. He probably moves a spot down the depth chart if Wiggins decides to commit, but he's a four year player and he will certainly have a chance to make an impact.

[FVBrewerFan]

Well, it's early but neither NC or Kentucky have made an offer to Looney yet. I don't see Kansas as big of a draw as they used to be. So there's still a chance he's a Warrior. It must help to have Burton and Wilson working on him too. I think he's still a bit of a project, and NC and Kentucky want polished players and can recruit only the very top players they want. We'll see....one can hope.

[patrickgpe]

didn't get to see or listen to the marquette game tonight, but from what i read it was a great almost comeback. i am hoping to find audio of buzz's post game press conference somehow.

 

marquette really isn't a good shooting team, but they have heart. they are going to be really fun to watch down the stretch.

[brwrsfan]

Both MU and WI played just way too poorly in the first halves tonight to win. That being said, both didn't get any help from the officials. There was an obvious travel not called on Cincy in the last minute of the game and what appeared to be a very clear jump ball in the WI game that was called a foul. Should have been WI ball, down 3 with 15 seconds left. I don't know how the official from that side could possibly call that a foul.

 

Neither is a bad loss, but both were games I had hoped they had won. They were certainly beatable opponents but when you play brutally bad offensively for half a game, it's awfully tough to win.

[brwrsfan]

Well all the shine from the IU win is gone. Losing a game by 2 points when you score 4 points in the last 8 minutes, miss 11 or 18 FT (including 6 in the last 5 min and 2 with 4 seconds left) and shoot 29% for the game and expect to win. It's simple fundamental basketball that just cost them a win over a ranked team at home. This was a very winnable game and they blew it.

 

I thought for sure after the IU game this was a tournament team but the last two games have sure taken a lot of that away. We'll know a lot more in a couple weeks...as the next seven include 2 vs OSU, 2 vs Minn, Iowa, @ Illinois and Michigan. They could very well be sitting at 4-9 in conference after that great start. That would force them to win the last 5 just to have a shot at the tournament IMO. Without a .500 conference record, I don't see how you make it and they really had to have one of these last two games.

[fondybrewfan]

Not going to win many games going 7-18 from the FT line. Free Throw shooting sure seems like UW's achilles heel this year. I am not to worried about the tourney yet; but they really need a win against MN this weekend.

[homer]

Not going to win many games going 7-18 from the FT line. Free Throw shooting sure seems like UW's achilles heel this year. I am not to worried about the tourney yet; but they really need a win against MN this weekend.

 

Yep. They win that game if they shoot even 62% from the line(11/18 is like 61.6). So sad. Hard to believe every returning player got significantly worse at shooting free throws. Berggren was just awful last night.

[Funketown]

Kenpom had an article up about Ryan Evans today. I haven't watched him shoot FT's, but it must be almost like he has the yips or whatever they call it when a catcher can't throw it back to the mound.

 

To be fair, he's still better than UNC "starter" Desmond Hubert, who is 4/27 (14.8%) in his career. I mean honestly, I could probably work on free-throws for fifteen minutes on my driveway and hit better than 4/27, and I'm abysmally bad at basketball.

 

Duke has looked horrible over the past two seasons without Ryan Kelly. Over that time, he has missed seven total games. Here are the results of those games:

 

3/3/12 vs. UNC L 88-70

3/9/12 vs. VTech W 60-56

3/10/12 vs. FSU L 62-59

3/16/12 vs. Lehigh L 75-70

1/12/13 @ NCSU L 84-76

1/17/13 vs. GT W 73-57

1/23/13 @ UMiami L 90-63

 

The smart money is on Miami right now to win the ACC, which is pretty incredible given the league's history.

[jjfanec]

Huge, albeit ugly, win for the Badgers today. Good to send the neighbors to the West reeling and to pick up a much needed win. Dekker and Marshall have looked pretty solid for first year guys and T. Jackson has no fear (although at times he probably should). Their seniors are really the one's letting this team down. Berggren has been non-existent lately, Evans can hit a free throw to save his life, and Bruiser is what he is. But they are 5-2 in the best conference in the country so I cant complain too much

[homer]

Huge, albeit ugly, win for the Badgers today. Good to send the neighbors to the West reeling and to pick up a much needed win. Dekker and Marshall have looked pretty solid for first year guys and T. Jackson has no fear (although at times he probably should). Their seniors are really the one's letting this team down. Berggren has been non-existent lately, Evans can hit a free throw to save his life, and Bruiser is what he is. But they are 5-2 in the best conference in the country so I cant complain too much

 

Yeah if the seniors would start playing well on offense they'd really have something. I think I read somewhere that the three of them combined have shot like 30% the last three games.

[jjfanec]

Huge, albeit ugly, win for the Badgers today. Good to send the neighbors to the West reeling and to pick up a much needed win. Dekker and Marshall have looked pretty solid for first year guys and T. Jackson has no fear (although at times he probably should). Their seniors are really the one's letting this team down. Berggren has been non-existent lately, Evans can hit a free throw to save his life, and Bruiser is what he is. But they are 5-2 in the best conference in the country so I cant complain too much

 

Yeah if the seniors would start playing well on offense they'd really have something. I think I read somewhere that the three of them combined have shot like 30% the last three games.

 

Yeah they play really good defense but their offensive numbers are brutal. I think Dekker is right on par with Evans for points in conference games but Evans plays about 10-12 minutes more per game and puts up twice as many shots. Berggren is slumping really badly. Looks like he has no confidence. It is crazy to say they cant make free throws, they are turning it over too much, their seniors are horrible on offense right now, and their pg play is erratic and yet they are still 5-2 in the conference

[TooLiveBrew]

Just re-watched the UW-MIN game. And I'm not basing this off just this single game, but man -- Dekker looks completely legit. He's going to be an absolute star imo. I realize he wasn't exactly some unknown commodity/that's not some amazing bold statement, but I think he could easily wind up being the best player Ryan has recruited at UW. He already looks like a seasoned vet on offense (such a natural scorer), and as long as he can get his defense to Ryan-caliber, he's going to be special.

[hawing]

There is a buzz in the Kohl Center crowd every time Sam checks into a game. If I were his age, I'd have such a crush on him. As it is, he's really fun to watch play.

[jjfanec]

Just re-watched the UW-MIN game. And I'm not basing this off just this single game, but man -- Dekker looks completely legit. He's going to be an absolute star imo. I realize he wasn't exactly some unknown commodity/that's not some amazing bold statement, but I think he could easily wind up being the best player Ryan has recruited at UW. He already looks like a seasoned vet on offense (such a natural scorer), and as long as he can get his defense to Ryan-caliber, he's going to be special.

 

The fun thing is his defense has already gotten a lot better. He has terrific instincts. He just needs to get a little stronger.

 

On the offensive end he is going to be really special. He shot is great. He is tall enough to get it off whenever he wants. In transition he is silky smooth. He has great vision. It is fun watching his passing. I cant wait to see him and Koenig on the court together in a year or two as Bronson may have the best vision I have ever seen in a high school kid. Dekker as plays the boards pretty well.

 

I completely agree he will be the best or second best (devin harris) player Ryan ever coaches. He is their best offensive player right now and once the seniors graduate the offense will run through him next year.

[brwrsfan]

Good night for state hoops as Marquette just destroys USF (as they should) and Wisconsin somehow finds a way to beat Iowa in double OT. Despite the fact that they seemingly tried to give the game to Iowa on a couple of occassions (Evans TO and foul in regulation, turnovers and fouls in the last 10 seconds), but it's a win regardless.

 

Marquette is a virtual lock at this point, and unless WI really implodes, they should make it to the dance as well. Probably need 2-3 more wins to clinch a bid.

[Baldkin]

Dekker with an absolutely massive 3 pointer to give them the win, after sitting on the bench for about 40 minutes (of real time -- 15 of game time). Bo! Play that man!