Monday, April 13, 2009

Preseason BP65

Here we go, the first BP65 of the 2009-10 season. The next BP65 will be out around the NBA Draft:


1. KANSAS (BIG 12)
1. VILLANOVA (BIG EAST)
1. PURDUE (BIG TEN)
1. NORTH CAROLINA (ACC)

2. KENTUCKY (SEC)
2. West Virginia
2. Clemson
2. WASHINGTON (PAC 10)

3. Texas
3. Minnesota
3. Tennessee
3. Ohio State

4. Maryland
4. California
4. Florida
4. Michigan State

5. Louisville
5. Duke
5. BUTLER (HORIZON)
5. Texas A&M

6. Oklahoma
6. UCLA
6. DAYTON (ATLANTIC 10)
6. Georgia Tech

7. Wisconsin
7. Cincinnati
7. BYU (MWC)
7. Vanderbilt

8. GONZAGA (WCC)
8. UConn
8. Missouri
8. Michigan

9. SIENA (MAAC)
9. Georgetown
9. UTAH STATE (WAC)
9. Arizona State

10. Virginia
10. Mississippi State
10. USC
10. NORTHERN IOWA (MVC)

11. Oklahoma State
11. Wake Forest
11. UNLV
11. Pittsburgh

12. MEMPHIS (CONFERENCE USA)
12. Xavier
12. WESTERN KENTUCKY (SUN BELT)
12. Creighton

13. Illinois
13. VCU (COLONIAL)
13. KENT STATE (MAC)
13. CORNELL (IVY)

14. HOLY CROSS (PATRIOT)
14. VERMONT (AMERICA EAST)
14. VMI (BIG SOUTH)
14. IUPUI (SUMMIT)

15. WEBER STATE (BIG SKY)
15. LONG BEACH STATE (BIG WEST)
15. WOFFORD (SOUTHERN)
15. SAM HOUSTON STATE (SOUTHLAND)

16. MURRAY STATE (OVC)
16. MERCER (ATLANTIC SUN)
16. MORGAN STATE (MEAC)
16. MT SAINT MARY'S (NORTHEAST)
16. JACKSON STATE (SWAC)


Other teams considered, but that missed the cut:
Boston College, NC State, Virginia Tech, Duquesne, Seton Hall, Syracuse, Northwestern, Penn State, Baylor, Kansas State, UTEP, Tulsa, Wright State, Niagara, Bradley, Utah, Oregon, Oregon State, Alabama, Auburn, LSU, South Carolina, Portland, Saint Mary's, Nevada, New Mexico State

Other teams I'm keeping my eye on:
Florida State, Miami (Fl), La Salle, St. Joseph's, Saint Louis, Marquette, Notre Dame, Providence, Rutgers, St. John's, Indiana, Nebraska, George Mason, Old Dominion, UAB, UCF, Valparaiso, Rider, Akron, Ohio, Illinois State, Southern Illinois, Wichita State, New Mexico, TCU, Wyoming, Arizona, Arkansas, Mississippi, Davidson, North Texas, Troy, Santa Clara, Boise State, Fresno State
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4 comments:

DMoore said...

UNC in the top 4? Do they have a point guard I don't know about? Larry Drew is not the answer. Heck, he's not as good as Duke's top THREE point guards. As opposed to this year, when Duke's three point guards combined couldn't match UNC's.

Or will they just chuck it up against the backboard so they can rebound and get a better shot? Well, I do recall Mateen Cleeves' team getting a national championship that way...

April 14, 2009 7:55 PM
Jeff said...

I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss Larry Drew. North Carolina people seem to be very high on him, and it's not fair to judge him on such small playing time. It's not his fault that the team was so ridiculously good this season that he couldn't get on the floor.

Remember, a team doesn't need a true point guard to earn a 1 seed. They will certainly have a lot of options at shooting guard, with Dexter Strickland probably competing for a lot of playing time right away. And Marcus Ginyard is a pretty good starting shooting guard himself.

And North Carolina very well might have the best front court in the nation. Ed Davis is might be an All-ACC player. And people forget how good of a prospect Tyler Zeller is. I heard several NBA scouts say that they thought Zeller was the best NBA prospect on this past year's UNC team. Give him a full year to get healthy and in shape and he could be dominant.


It is kind of ridiculous to think of a team losing so much (Green, Hansbrough, Lawson, Ellington) and still being a 1 seed, but I can't think of another team ever bringing in so much in a single year. You have the #1 recruiting class in the land, and that doesn't even include Zeller and Ginyard, who effectively didn't play this year. When you put it in that perspective, it's easy to see why UNC might very well get another 1 seed.

April 14, 2009 10:46 PM
DMoore said...

I saw a lot of UNC's games this year, so I have seen Drew play a good amount. I'm convinced he's nowhere near ready. UNC may very well have the best frontcourt in the nation next year (Kansas fans will probably disagree with that one), but they have no one to get them the ball. Drew was the third string point guard on that team -- Frasor was second.

Even with all UNC's weapons, I think they will struggle at times on offense to get the ball to the right people. On top of that, they will have issues with turnovers.

Mayeb you're right that a team doesn't need a true point guard to get a 1 seed. But it's awfully hard to get a new team to mesh without one.

April 15, 2009 4:04 AM
Jeff said...

Well I do agree that their offensive efficiency will suffer without a true point guard, but their defense and rebounding should be even better next season. And despite what many people thought, UNC's defense was actually pretty good this past year (Pomeroy rated them 2nd in the conference behind only Florida State) - they gave up a lot of points because they had a high number of possessions, not because they were inefficient defensively.

A number of teams have had success moving shooting guards to point guard (Tyreke Evans being an obvious example from this past year). With so many shooting guards, they might just move one to the point.

But besides, these are 18, 19, 20 year old kids, and they can develop a lot in short periods of time. If UNC's people are high on Larry Drew, I think we need to give him a shot in the fall. I'm sure they'll be quick to pull him from the starting lineup if he isn't pulling his weight.

But as you agree, at the 2-to-5 positions, UNC is going to be as good as anybody in the nation. With a lot of depth, I just feel like they've got to find somebody who can play the point to make it work.

April 15, 2009 9:27 AM

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