Barstool Basketball Mailbag: Blazers Getting Help, All-Americans, Is Maryland A Destination Job & More
Basketball is a year round sport, so due to that we’re going to do a year round mailbag. We’re still going to run this every Friday like we do during the season, but we’ll be talking about college hoops, transfers, NBA Draft, NBA and recruiting questions. That’s right you get an NBA and college hoops mailbag all rolled into one every Friday. Reminder you can always submit questions on Twitter @barstoolreags
The Big East is absolutely congested after Villanova. You can talk me into about 6 teams finishing second, with Marquette being one of them. Now, Marquette should be better defensively this year with the addition of Joseph Chartouny – the transfer from Fordham. They’ll finally have some size in the guard position and while Marquette loses a bit offensively without Rowsey, they are more balanced. However, Marquette still lives and dies by the three and that won’t change, especially with Howard and Hauser still there. I think they finish somewhere in the middle of the pack, 4th-6th in the conference. If they finish 6th or lower, there will be some serious questions to ask about Wojo.
It’s getting a bit warmer, but it’s still not hot yet. The one thing Manning is doing well at Wake is recruiting. He has his best class coming in right now and considering he took over the program when it was really nothing, you have to give him some time. He’s had some bad luck losing people early to the Draft or Europe, but he’s still not on the hot seat yet. If he fails the next two season then it will be hot.
I think it’s a cool idea, but I’m out on it for the NBA/NCAA level like some are talking about. I know there is a bunch of research into getting the number at 7 points for whoever is leading, but with how much the 3-pointer is used now, I don’t love 3 possessions could end the game within 4 minutes. Plus I don’t love the drastic change of playing with a clock for 85% of the game and then going to a set number. It’s fine for events like this or if you want to use it in the NIT.
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No, he wouldn’t have. He may have gone top-5, but it really would have depended what the Hawks/Grizzlies wanted to do. Barrett is a good player, but there are questions about his game and the reason he is the favorite to be No. 1 this year is the class is down. But, look at the top-5 this year. The Suns, Kings, Grizzlies, Hawks and Mavs. The Suns made it clear they wanted Ayton, so there’s that. The Kings may have took him. The Grizzlies were the only other team that may have taken him because they needed wing help. That said, he wouldn’t have been the No. 1 prospect or pick.
No and I’m not quite sure why this is being asked now. Go back and look at Nova’s roster the last few years. There have been guys buried on the depth chart for the last few years, they just got redshirted. Nova’s system is different than most where they’ll take time with players and have a couple one and dones over the years. I don’t see this all of a sudden being a place that gets transfers.
At the end of the season? Who knows. You never know who will break out like a Trae Young or even a Keita Bates-Diop. But in the preseason I’ll go with:
Carsen Edwards (Purdue)
Caleb Martin (Nevada)
RJ Barrett (Duke)
Mike Daum (South Dakota State)
Killian Tillie (Gonzaga)
Other names that you could see pop up would be, Tremont Waters (LSU), Tyus Battle (Syracuse), Luke Maye (UNC), PJ Washington (Kentucky), Cam Johnson (UNC), Cam Reddish (Duke), Dedric Lawson (Kansas) and Romeo Langford (Indiana)
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Not without a trade. They went and tried to address wing/guard help off the bench by getting Simons and Trent in the draft and signing Stauskas and Seth Curry. But, they can’t go get help elsewhere without a trade. I’d be surprised to see any trade happen until the season happens.
Both are top-5 teams for me in the preseason, but here’s the real thing. People need to adjust how they look at the NCAA Tournament. It’s one problem a lot of people make when looking at teams/seasons. The NCAA Tournament isn’t set up for ‘a better chance’ between two teams nor does it prove who is the better team. The NCAA Tournament is based a lot on matchups. Was Loyola a better team than say Duke last year because they made the Final Four vs the Elite Eight? No, they just had better matchups. When looking at the NCAA Tournament the most important things isn’t a style of play or anything like that it’s a combo of talent, matchups and execution. Both of these teams are capable of winning it all, but without seeing a bracket it’s pointless to say who has a better chance.
I wouldn’t necessarily say overrated although I don’t think they are a top-5 team, I think they are more top-10. However, the one thing people should be worried about if you’re a Tennessee fan is did we already see their ceiling last year? They don’t have that high end talent, which matters in college basketball. But, just how much better can they get? They return pretty much everyone and they are all pretty finished growing as players. That’s not a bad thing, it just means the ceiling has been hit. That said, this is a team that is capable of making a Final Four.
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I’d pick Michigan right now. The Big 10 doesn’t have a great team this year and I think it’s a race between Michigan, Michigan State and Nebraska with Ohio State and Indiana, especially if Romeo Langford lives up to the hype being possible longer shots to win it. However, with Michigan, I just a) trust John Beilein and like what they return. I’m a big Charles Matthews fan and think he can have a big year. While they lose Wagner, they have Jon Teske, who is a really good player that can step in right away.
Yes, I think Ohio State will be a tournament team this year. Yes, they lose Keita Bates-Diop and JaeSean Tate, but there’s still plenty of talent. Plus, Chris Holtmann is one of the 20 best coaches in America. He’s a guy who always gets the most out of his players, even back at Butler. As for going forward? Ohio State is set up great for the future. Holtmann is recruiting his ass off at Ohio State bringing in guys like Luther Muhammad, Jaedon LeDee, DJ Carton and Alonzo Gaffney over the next two years. Ohio State made one hell of a hire.
No, West Virginia is not going to a win the title this year. I’m not sure why that is even a question to be honest. They aren’t going to be good as last year’s Sweet 16 team as they have to replace the backcourt and make up for losing Jevon Carter. Yes, Sagaba Konate is an absurd defender but that team went as Carter went. As for the best coach without a championship? Huggins is the most accomplished coach without a championship and I’d listen to an argument for best coach (I think Beilein is a better coach) but Huggins is the most accomplished.
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Better? No. Again, they don’t have the talent like a Miles Bridges or Jaren Jackson. That said, they might have a bit better roster fit. Last year just never felt right with Bridges at the three and not really having a wing to help fit there and letting them go with Bridges at the 4 and Jackson at the 5, where they are better suited. There’s still questions about the roster this year though and while I really like the backcourt with Winston and Langford, what do you do at the 3/4 spots? This is a top-20 team but I don’t see them as a national title contender.
It absolutely should be a destination job. You have all the amenities of Under Armour as the flagship program there. You have a loaded area to recruit from with the DMV area and arguably the best conference in high school basketball right there in the WCAC. You have one of the best AAU programs in Team Takeover located in DC. You have the history too, so, yeah, Maryland should be a desirable job. As for a good fit? It depends what you want. Someone like John Becker makes some sense as he has ties to the area, been successful at Vermont and has the personality to fit in there. Perhaps someone like Wes Miller from UNC-Greensboro makes sense too. If you’re staying mid-majors and that Mid-Atlantic/eastern seaboard area I’d also throw in Earl Grant from Charleston. I know Maryland fans would want Juan Dixon, but still think he needs to do a bit more first before he’s ready for the job.