Ok everyone im finally ready to put a release on the Big 10 Conference for the 2010-2011 Campaign. I have worked extremely hard on this conference as it is my favorite conference. This conference is extremely tough to project and I did everything I could to place the teams properly. You can make a lot of arguments for where I place the following teams in the league but either way there is no real way I can break this league down and be correct in all spots. I could place Penn State near the bottom but they have the pieces to finish at the top of the league this year and I could put the league favorites MSU and Purdue in the #1 and #2 spots and one of them could implode completely. But here is the break down of all the teams. Starting with my home state team U of I ( Illinois)
The Fighting Illini of Illinois University are going to be entering the year with a very very well rounded team full of depth, youth, experience and heart. This team has the makings to be a potential Final 4 team this year and are currently placed at 20-1 odds to win the NCAA Championship for the 2011 NCAAs. That places them tied for the 4th highest bid with 3 other schools in the Division 1 currently. They return every single player with the likes of Demetri McCamey pulling out of the NBA draft. The Illini have a heralded recruiting class coming in to play for them led by future Phenom JEREME RICHMOND out of Waukegan High School a 4A program in Illinois. Waukegan was showcased on ESPNs High School showcase in the late December. They ended up taking the loss but were the traveling team. Coach Weber grabbed Meyers Lenoard a 7 foot Center out of Robinson High School in the 2A division. I watched Robinson High School play in the 2A State Championship this year. This was an excellent grab for the program. And last but not least Crandall Head of Rich South High School a school maybe 20 to 25 minutes from me that is a poorer district in the state and sucks at every sport except basketball and even at that there not even the greatest at basketball. Rich South would easily get trampled by the inner city programs as Rich South is in the South Suburbs of Illinois. But he is the younger brother of Illinois past star Luther Head. All 3 of the recruit s are ESPN top 100 Recruits. With the likes of Mike Tisdale there big man currently returning and the more experienced sophmore crew which includes DJ Richardson, Brandon Paul, and Tyler Griffey all 3 who were ESPN top 100 players in the 2009 class this team could reak complete HAVOC on the teams in the BIG 10. But all of this can only be done if Demetri McCamey steps up and takes complete leadership of his team. This is his team and he has to get things done to lead this young team to the promise lands.
The Hoosiers of Indiana are back and Tom Crean is getting hungry for success that is badly needed for this program. I am not going to say Tom Crean should have a winning year this year as I still think he needs another 1 or 2 years atleast to bring the program back up. But he does return 4 out of his 5 starters and his leader Jeremiah Rivers who doesnt shoot the ball often but creates and handles the ball with ease for his team. They return Maurice Creek and Christian Watford both of whom were ESPN top 100s in the class of 2009. Maurice Creek is a marvel to watch play though. When he gets hot from behind the arc he is unbeatable. Crean was unable to get a hold of any top 100 recruits this year but does have a small class of freshmen coming in to play. I can not give an indepth analysis on the players because I have not seen them play before but I do see that there top recruit who has a scout rating of 90 is from DeMatha Catholic High School a powerhouse every year in basketball. There are a total of 18 games in conference play for the Big 10 and the Hoosiers went 4-14 last year in conference play. They should finish better and go at the very least 8-10 perhaps even 10-8. Im unable to give a good prediction because the schedules havnt been released yet. They will but a lot stronger next year though.
Ahhhh Iowa the low of the low in the Big 10 when it comes to basketball. No history no elite players, no magical runs, but wait things could be on the verge of going up this year with the hiring of Siena's old coach Fran McCafferey. The stadium is usually pretty empty for the Hawkeyes but there is hope for this program. Personally I think this program is bust already but many are being optimistic about the new coaching hire. The Hawkeyes only graduated 1 senior in Bawlwinkle who was strictly a perimeter shooter but came off the bench for them. The team went 4-14 in conference play and lost to Texas,Wichita State,Iowa State, and Virginia Tech in out of conference play. There are 3 recruits coming in to play. There going to be impact players for the program but werent highly recruited by any other programs. This team is going to rely on Junior Captain Matt Gatens who was a Top 100 Recruit in the class of the 2008 to continue leading his team. I do notice would big thing that is gonna cause a lot of teams problems when they play this team and its size. The hawkeyes are going to give teams problems matching up all over the place.
The Wolverines of Michigan University are back and reloading with a talented class of freshmen coming to play. Evan Smotrycz and Tim Hardaway Jr. lead the way both being classified as top 100 players. In the Wolverines 4 man freshmen class. They graduated Deshawn Sims though who was the second leading scorer on the team with 16 points a game on average. Manny Harris comes back though to lead his team to victory and will increase his average points per game from 18ppg to 20-22ppg im feeling with the likes of Hardaway and Smotrycz handling the ball and distributing it to him. Zack Novak also returns and he was a character of a player to watch because he could make or break a victory for the team. He is an extremly hard working player and will be a force. The wolverines have the pieces to make it back to the NCAAs this year the question is though how well are they going to mold and are they going to be able to work through the deep and talented Big 10. They went 7-11 in Conference last year and have the makings of going 11-7 instead this year. Im almost willing to bet they will be on the bubble come next march playing for there birth to the NCAAs trying to win crucial do or die games in the Big 10 tourney like this years Minnesota and Illinois.
The Spartans of Michigan State are back and peaking this year. They have one of the ELITE class of players coming to play for them but graduated Raymar Morgan a star player on the team. Tom Izzo is easily one of the greatest coaches in this erra and will continue to make his resumé even better looking to put together another Final 4 run this year. He has 4 recruits coming to play for him and 3 of them are top 100 ESPN players the 4th being right on the bubble of being a top 100 player. Adreian Payne leads the way coming in at 6'9 215lbs playing the Power Forward spot. And then add the #4 and #20 shooting guards in the country with Keith Appling and Russel Byrd this team is gonna be a menace. Especially since Byrd is a 6'7 Shooting Guard he is going to be extremely hard to match up against especially if you have Appling playing at the same team your gonna have 2 excellent shooters out there. And lets not forget that Kalin Lucas is back and ready to lead his team along with Summers, Allen , Roe, Lucious, Nix, and Green this team is extremely deep and will run teams out of gas with there deep bench. Im looking for an Elite 8 run no matter what and a possible Final 4 birth again for back to back to back final 4 runs. Tom Izzo knows what he has to do and he has another group of players who will get the job done for him. Watch out for the Spartans this year they will beb put to there first battle test though when the go to Duke for the ACC Big 10 Challenge. The winner of that games moves up 2 spots in the rankings no matter what and the loser drops 3 spots im guessing. Because both of them are going to be ranked in the top 10 no matter what.
Tubby Smith is back again and is going to be rebuilding after losing the teams leading scorer in Laurence Westbrook. Justin Cobbs also decided to transfer out. Hafarber returns though along with Colton Iverson and Damian Johnson. This team is scrappy and plays solid basketball. They managed to squeak into the NCAAs last year by beating Michigan State and Purdue in the Big 10 tourney. Smith has a extremely highly recruited player coming to play for him. He was a bubble top 100 player but was scouted by the likes of Pitt,Uconn,Rutgers, and Marquette. He has a scouts grade of 92 and is the #9 center in the class of 2010. He comes from Brewster Academy which is a powerhouse program and comes in at 6'10 270lbs holy shit that is one big kid . I cant wait to see this guy play if he is 270lbs and the #9 rated center in the country thats unbelievable.
Northwestern University is still seeking its first NCAA appearance ever and they have the pieces to make it this year. I can seem them ranking in the top 25 preseason polls easily. They graduated Jeremy Nash who was a very ball handler and was a great spark plug for the team. John Shurna averaged almost 19 points a game followed by Michael Thompson who averaged 14 points a game. And returns Kevin Koble who broke his foot last year and was unable to play . They have 1 recruit coming to play for them and he has a scout grade of 88 which is pretty good for the likes of Northwestern. They have the pieces to go deep this year. They beat the likes of UNI, ND, Stanford, and Iowa State out of conference last year and went 20-14 all together.
Ohio State University has one of the most Heralded Classes in the country coming in to play and are showcasing 4 top 100 players and 2 INSTANT impact players at almost any other program in the country. 6 Freshmen are leading the way and looking to cause damage in the Big 10. Jarred Sullinger is the Elite player in the class receiving a scouts grade of 98 out a a possible 100. He is the #1 Power Forward in the Country and has the #3 small forward helping him out with Deshaun Thomas coming to play also. And if you want elite shooting guards then well theres Lenzelle Smith and Jordan Sibert the #24 and #25 shooting guards in the country. With the likes of Evan Turner declaring for the NBA draft , Thad Matta prepared extremely well for all of this. William Buford will be returning and lead the way most likely along with the sharpshooter John Diebler and David Lighty also back. This team will have experience and depth. This team wont be in to many tight spots because even though there are gonna be so many elite freshmen there is also going to be elite talent already there to bail them out. Buford was the #4 Shooting guard in the class of 2008 and will be ready to take over what Evan Turner did. Sullinger will be on tv every single day next year though and is said to have the frame of Kevin Durant. This team is going to be crazy good next year though.
Penn State is back and reloaded with experience this year. And there team leader Talor Battle is back for his Senior Campaign. The Nitanny Lions finished dead last in the Big 10 last year going 3-15 in conference play but were an extremely youthful team last year. Battle carried his team with 19 points a game and is easily one of the best players in the country. But look at this his half brother Taran Buie is coming to join him and he is a ESPN TOP 100 player. He is the #29 shooting guard in the country and will be a combo effect with Battle in transition play. Jackson comes back along with Babb the #2 and #3 scorers on the team. This team should average around 68 to 74 points a game I feel and have the rights to not finish in dead last. But with this being Battles last year he is going to go balls out and be a complete force this year. I would have to expect him to almost be a potential Big 10 player of the year candidate.
Ah the Boilermakers of Purdue are back and ready to make a run at the Final 4. They were a #1 seed until the teams leading scorer Robbie Hummel was injured then they went down hill. Keaton Grant and and Chris Kramer graduated though. They were both huge roll players for the team especially Kramer who was a football player playing basketball. But none the less Moore and Johnson pulled out of the NBA draft and are back with Hummel, Barlow and Jackson. This team is ready to make another statement but I dont expect them to win the Big 10 this year. Chris Kramer's stats dont show it but he was a huge huge huge factor for this team and losing him hurts there chances. But Painter recruited a decent class of players this year because he didnt need elite talent for this years campaign. His plan from what im seeing in his recruits was just to build off of these players once Moore,Hummel and Johnson all leave. There a talented group of freshmen and would easily all start at Iowa, Northwesterm Indiana, and Penn State in the Big 10. There all scouted at 90-92 with there being 4 of them. There going to be Painters next group of players once his current graduates and then the process starts again like nothing even happened though.
And finally after almost 2 hours of writing this we have the Wisconsin Badgers. Im really rather unsure of where this team is going to fall in the Big 10 next year. But coach Ryan is a coach that always manages to make his team quality in the conference. He graduated Trevon Hughes and Jason Bohannon though but returns John Leur and Keaton Nankivil. Along with a rather questionable recruiting class. He has 4 freshmen coming in to play one of them being an elite player reciving a 93 but falling on the bubble of the top 100. His is a 6'11 250lb Center named Evan Anderson being the #8 Center in the country. His other 3 recruits are questionable recruits for a program like Wisconsin to recruit. There top 50 players in there category in there positions but i feel like Bo Ryan could recruit better. The Badgers are gonna fall in the conference a few spots this year though and will struuggle to make the NCAAs.
Here is my projected final for conference play.
1. Michigan State
2. Purdue
3. Ohio State
4. Illinois
5. Penn State
6. Michigan
7. Indiana
8. Wisconsin
9. Northwestern
10. Minnestota
11. Iowa
The Fighting Illini of Illinois University are going to be entering the year with a very very well rounded team full of depth, youth, experience and heart. This team has the makings to be a potential Final 4 team this year and are currently placed at 20-1 odds to win the NCAA Championship for the 2011 NCAAs. That places them tied for the 4th highest bid with 3 other schools in the Division 1 currently. They return every single player with the likes of Demetri McCamey pulling out of the NBA draft. The Illini have a heralded recruiting class coming in to play for them led by future Phenom JEREME RICHMOND out of Waukegan High School a 4A program in Illinois. Waukegan was showcased on ESPNs High School showcase in the late December. They ended up taking the loss but were the traveling team. Coach Weber grabbed Meyers Lenoard a 7 foot Center out of Robinson High School in the 2A division. I watched Robinson High School play in the 2A State Championship this year. This was an excellent grab for the program. And last but not least Crandall Head of Rich South High School a school maybe 20 to 25 minutes from me that is a poorer district in the state and sucks at every sport except basketball and even at that there not even the greatest at basketball. Rich South would easily get trampled by the inner city programs as Rich South is in the South Suburbs of Illinois. But he is the younger brother of Illinois past star Luther Head. All 3 of the recruit s are ESPN top 100 Recruits. With the likes of Mike Tisdale there big man currently returning and the more experienced sophmore crew which includes DJ Richardson, Brandon Paul, and Tyler Griffey all 3 who were ESPN top 100 players in the 2009 class this team could reak complete HAVOC on the teams in the BIG 10. But all of this can only be done if Demetri McCamey steps up and takes complete leadership of his team. This is his team and he has to get things done to lead this young team to the promise lands.
The Hoosiers of Indiana are back and Tom Crean is getting hungry for success that is badly needed for this program. I am not going to say Tom Crean should have a winning year this year as I still think he needs another 1 or 2 years atleast to bring the program back up. But he does return 4 out of his 5 starters and his leader Jeremiah Rivers who doesnt shoot the ball often but creates and handles the ball with ease for his team. They return Maurice Creek and Christian Watford both of whom were ESPN top 100s in the class of 2009. Maurice Creek is a marvel to watch play though. When he gets hot from behind the arc he is unbeatable. Crean was unable to get a hold of any top 100 recruits this year but does have a small class of freshmen coming in to play. I can not give an indepth analysis on the players because I have not seen them play before but I do see that there top recruit who has a scout rating of 90 is from DeMatha Catholic High School a powerhouse every year in basketball. There are a total of 18 games in conference play for the Big 10 and the Hoosiers went 4-14 last year in conference play. They should finish better and go at the very least 8-10 perhaps even 10-8. Im unable to give a good prediction because the schedules havnt been released yet. They will but a lot stronger next year though.
Ahhhh Iowa the low of the low in the Big 10 when it comes to basketball. No history no elite players, no magical runs, but wait things could be on the verge of going up this year with the hiring of Siena's old coach Fran McCafferey. The stadium is usually pretty empty for the Hawkeyes but there is hope for this program. Personally I think this program is bust already but many are being optimistic about the new coaching hire. The Hawkeyes only graduated 1 senior in Bawlwinkle who was strictly a perimeter shooter but came off the bench for them. The team went 4-14 in conference play and lost to Texas,Wichita State,Iowa State, and Virginia Tech in out of conference play. There are 3 recruits coming in to play. There going to be impact players for the program but werent highly recruited by any other programs. This team is going to rely on Junior Captain Matt Gatens who was a Top 100 Recruit in the class of the 2008 to continue leading his team. I do notice would big thing that is gonna cause a lot of teams problems when they play this team and its size. The hawkeyes are going to give teams problems matching up all over the place.
The Wolverines of Michigan University are back and reloading with a talented class of freshmen coming to play. Evan Smotrycz and Tim Hardaway Jr. lead the way both being classified as top 100 players. In the Wolverines 4 man freshmen class. They graduated Deshawn Sims though who was the second leading scorer on the team with 16 points a game on average. Manny Harris comes back though to lead his team to victory and will increase his average points per game from 18ppg to 20-22ppg im feeling with the likes of Hardaway and Smotrycz handling the ball and distributing it to him. Zack Novak also returns and he was a character of a player to watch because he could make or break a victory for the team. He is an extremly hard working player and will be a force. The wolverines have the pieces to make it back to the NCAAs this year the question is though how well are they going to mold and are they going to be able to work through the deep and talented Big 10. They went 7-11 in Conference last year and have the makings of going 11-7 instead this year. Im almost willing to bet they will be on the bubble come next march playing for there birth to the NCAAs trying to win crucial do or die games in the Big 10 tourney like this years Minnesota and Illinois.
The Spartans of Michigan State are back and peaking this year. They have one of the ELITE class of players coming to play for them but graduated Raymar Morgan a star player on the team. Tom Izzo is easily one of the greatest coaches in this erra and will continue to make his resumé even better looking to put together another Final 4 run this year. He has 4 recruits coming to play for him and 3 of them are top 100 ESPN players the 4th being right on the bubble of being a top 100 player. Adreian Payne leads the way coming in at 6'9 215lbs playing the Power Forward spot. And then add the #4 and #20 shooting guards in the country with Keith Appling and Russel Byrd this team is gonna be a menace. Especially since Byrd is a 6'7 Shooting Guard he is going to be extremely hard to match up against especially if you have Appling playing at the same team your gonna have 2 excellent shooters out there. And lets not forget that Kalin Lucas is back and ready to lead his team along with Summers, Allen , Roe, Lucious, Nix, and Green this team is extremely deep and will run teams out of gas with there deep bench. Im looking for an Elite 8 run no matter what and a possible Final 4 birth again for back to back to back final 4 runs. Tom Izzo knows what he has to do and he has another group of players who will get the job done for him. Watch out for the Spartans this year they will beb put to there first battle test though when the go to Duke for the ACC Big 10 Challenge. The winner of that games moves up 2 spots in the rankings no matter what and the loser drops 3 spots im guessing. Because both of them are going to be ranked in the top 10 no matter what.
Tubby Smith is back again and is going to be rebuilding after losing the teams leading scorer in Laurence Westbrook. Justin Cobbs also decided to transfer out. Hafarber returns though along with Colton Iverson and Damian Johnson. This team is scrappy and plays solid basketball. They managed to squeak into the NCAAs last year by beating Michigan State and Purdue in the Big 10 tourney. Smith has a extremely highly recruited player coming to play for him. He was a bubble top 100 player but was scouted by the likes of Pitt,Uconn,Rutgers, and Marquette. He has a scouts grade of 92 and is the #9 center in the class of 2010. He comes from Brewster Academy which is a powerhouse program and comes in at 6'10 270lbs holy shit that is one big kid . I cant wait to see this guy play if he is 270lbs and the #9 rated center in the country thats unbelievable.
Northwestern University is still seeking its first NCAA appearance ever and they have the pieces to make it this year. I can seem them ranking in the top 25 preseason polls easily. They graduated Jeremy Nash who was a very ball handler and was a great spark plug for the team. John Shurna averaged almost 19 points a game followed by Michael Thompson who averaged 14 points a game. And returns Kevin Koble who broke his foot last year and was unable to play . They have 1 recruit coming to play for them and he has a scout grade of 88 which is pretty good for the likes of Northwestern. They have the pieces to go deep this year. They beat the likes of UNI, ND, Stanford, and Iowa State out of conference last year and went 20-14 all together.
Ohio State University has one of the most Heralded Classes in the country coming in to play and are showcasing 4 top 100 players and 2 INSTANT impact players at almost any other program in the country. 6 Freshmen are leading the way and looking to cause damage in the Big 10. Jarred Sullinger is the Elite player in the class receiving a scouts grade of 98 out a a possible 100. He is the #1 Power Forward in the Country and has the #3 small forward helping him out with Deshaun Thomas coming to play also. And if you want elite shooting guards then well theres Lenzelle Smith and Jordan Sibert the #24 and #25 shooting guards in the country. With the likes of Evan Turner declaring for the NBA draft , Thad Matta prepared extremely well for all of this. William Buford will be returning and lead the way most likely along with the sharpshooter John Diebler and David Lighty also back. This team will have experience and depth. This team wont be in to many tight spots because even though there are gonna be so many elite freshmen there is also going to be elite talent already there to bail them out. Buford was the #4 Shooting guard in the class of 2008 and will be ready to take over what Evan Turner did. Sullinger will be on tv every single day next year though and is said to have the frame of Kevin Durant. This team is going to be crazy good next year though.
Penn State is back and reloaded with experience this year. And there team leader Talor Battle is back for his Senior Campaign. The Nitanny Lions finished dead last in the Big 10 last year going 3-15 in conference play but were an extremely youthful team last year. Battle carried his team with 19 points a game and is easily one of the best players in the country. But look at this his half brother Taran Buie is coming to join him and he is a ESPN TOP 100 player. He is the #29 shooting guard in the country and will be a combo effect with Battle in transition play. Jackson comes back along with Babb the #2 and #3 scorers on the team. This team should average around 68 to 74 points a game I feel and have the rights to not finish in dead last. But with this being Battles last year he is going to go balls out and be a complete force this year. I would have to expect him to almost be a potential Big 10 player of the year candidate.
Ah the Boilermakers of Purdue are back and ready to make a run at the Final 4. They were a #1 seed until the teams leading scorer Robbie Hummel was injured then they went down hill. Keaton Grant and and Chris Kramer graduated though. They were both huge roll players for the team especially Kramer who was a football player playing basketball. But none the less Moore and Johnson pulled out of the NBA draft and are back with Hummel, Barlow and Jackson. This team is ready to make another statement but I dont expect them to win the Big 10 this year. Chris Kramer's stats dont show it but he was a huge huge huge factor for this team and losing him hurts there chances. But Painter recruited a decent class of players this year because he didnt need elite talent for this years campaign. His plan from what im seeing in his recruits was just to build off of these players once Moore,Hummel and Johnson all leave. There a talented group of freshmen and would easily all start at Iowa, Northwesterm Indiana, and Penn State in the Big 10. There all scouted at 90-92 with there being 4 of them. There going to be Painters next group of players once his current graduates and then the process starts again like nothing even happened though.
And finally after almost 2 hours of writing this we have the Wisconsin Badgers. Im really rather unsure of where this team is going to fall in the Big 10 next year. But coach Ryan is a coach that always manages to make his team quality in the conference. He graduated Trevon Hughes and Jason Bohannon though but returns John Leur and Keaton Nankivil. Along with a rather questionable recruiting class. He has 4 freshmen coming in to play one of them being an elite player reciving a 93 but falling on the bubble of the top 100. His is a 6'11 250lb Center named Evan Anderson being the #8 Center in the country. His other 3 recruits are questionable recruits for a program like Wisconsin to recruit. There top 50 players in there category in there positions but i feel like Bo Ryan could recruit better. The Badgers are gonna fall in the conference a few spots this year though and will struuggle to make the NCAAs.
Here is my projected final for conference play.
1. Michigan State
2. Purdue
3. Ohio State
4. Illinois
5. Penn State
6. Michigan
7. Indiana
8. Wisconsin
9. Northwestern
10. Minnestota
11. Iowa
