sensei_hanson
New Member
Time to start this one up again as well. For some odd reason, this thread usually does better than the NBA thread. It probably has a lot to do with the Captain's continual mockery of fundamentally sound white basketball players (aka "donkeys" or "big honkey stiffs"), KNVB and Sandman's blind devotion to the Duke Blue Devils, my constant bitching about an 8-20 Tar Heels team, and, of course.....
March Madness.
Last night saw the first minor upset of the year as Alabama knocked off last year's final-four darling, Oklahoma. Hollis Price was ass yesterday, didn't have any flow to his game and really got picked apart by an underrated Crimson Tide backcourt. Mo Williams looked VERY good last night.
Obviously, the traditional powerhouses are still going to be competitive. Duke returns Duhon, Jones, and Ewing. Freshmen recruits Shavlik (who is the biggest, whitest donkey of them all) Randolph and Sean Dockery. Duhon is hurt at the moment but Duke doesn't really play an important game until early December. He should be good to go.
The best team right now is Arizona. They're the only team with two preseason All-Americans on their roster - Jason Gardner and Luke Walton. Walton is a huge talent, an excellent big man with good skills and passing ability. They're also returning all five starters, including SG Stoudamire, PF Anderson and the big wildcard, 6'10 manchild center Channing Frye in the middle. They've also got a great 6th man in Will Bynum, a sophmore PG.
Kansas returns a trio of talent with Kirk Hinrich, Nick Collison and Aaron Miles. Big question here is whether or not they can fill the void left by Drew Gooden and Jeff Boschee. I don't think they have enough up front to do it, but their backcourt is so damn strong they'll be top three all year.
Texas will be good, with arguably the best PG in the nation - TJ Ford. He looked excellent as a freshman last year, leading the Horns into the sweet 16. He's got a good center to work with in James Thomas as well.
Here are the AP and Coaches Top-25 Polls:
AP Poll - Team Record Points Prev
1. ARIZONA (50) 22-10 1,773 7
2. KANSAS (14) 33-4 1,715 2
3. OKLAHOMA (6) 31-5 1,640 3
4. TEXAS 22-12 1,422 --
5. PITTSBURGH (1) 27-5 1,404 9
6. DUKE 31-4 1,394 1
7. FLORIDA 21-8 1,298 15
8. ALABAMA 27-8 1,295 8
9. MICHIGAN ST 17-12 1,117 --
10. XAVIER 26-6 1,016 22
11. OREGON 26-9 995 11
12. MISSISSIPPI ST (1) 24-7 800 17
13. MARYLAND 31-3 789 4
14. UCLA 21-12 747 --
15. CONNECTICUT 27-7 722 10
16. GEORGIA 22-10 703 23
17. KENTUCKY 22-10 627 16
18. MARQUETTE 26-7 509 12
19. MISSOURI 24-12 506 --
20. WESTERN KY 28-4 480 19
21. INDIANA 24-11 415 --
22. GONZAGA 29-4 381 6
23. CINCINNATI 27-4 303 5
24. MINNESOTA 18-13 183 --
25. TULSA 24-7 146 --
Coaches Poll:
1. ARIZONA (27) 24-10 770 10
2. KANSAS (3) 33-4 740 2
3. OKLAHOMA (1) 31-5 680 4
4. PITTSBURGH 29-6 613 9
5. TEXAS 22-12 583 18
6. DUKE 31-4 574 5
7. FLORIDA 22-9 554 23
8. ALABAMA 27-8 494 14
9. OREGON 26-9 475 6
10. MICHIGAN ST 19-12 439 --
11. XAVIER 26-6 386 24
12. UCLA 21-12 322 20
13. MISSISSIPPI ST 27-8 321 21
14. CONNECTICUT 27-7 314 6
15. MARYLAND 32-4 285 1
16. GEORGIA 22-10 269 --
17. KENTUCKY 22-10 262 13
18. MISSOURI 24-12 221 15
19. MARQUETTE 26-7 215 18
20. CINCINNATI 31-4 168 8
21. INDIANA 25-12 167 3
22. GONZAGA 29-4 163 16
23. WESTERN KY 28-4 151 --
24. MINNESOTA 18-13 86 --
25. ILLINOIS 26-9 83 11
March Madness.
Last night saw the first minor upset of the year as Alabama knocked off last year's final-four darling, Oklahoma. Hollis Price was ass yesterday, didn't have any flow to his game and really got picked apart by an underrated Crimson Tide backcourt. Mo Williams looked VERY good last night.
Obviously, the traditional powerhouses are still going to be competitive. Duke returns Duhon, Jones, and Ewing. Freshmen recruits Shavlik (who is the biggest, whitest donkey of them all) Randolph and Sean Dockery. Duhon is hurt at the moment but Duke doesn't really play an important game until early December. He should be good to go.
The best team right now is Arizona. They're the only team with two preseason All-Americans on their roster - Jason Gardner and Luke Walton. Walton is a huge talent, an excellent big man with good skills and passing ability. They're also returning all five starters, including SG Stoudamire, PF Anderson and the big wildcard, 6'10 manchild center Channing Frye in the middle. They've also got a great 6th man in Will Bynum, a sophmore PG.
Kansas returns a trio of talent with Kirk Hinrich, Nick Collison and Aaron Miles. Big question here is whether or not they can fill the void left by Drew Gooden and Jeff Boschee. I don't think they have enough up front to do it, but their backcourt is so damn strong they'll be top three all year.
Texas will be good, with arguably the best PG in the nation - TJ Ford. He looked excellent as a freshman last year, leading the Horns into the sweet 16. He's got a good center to work with in James Thomas as well.
Here are the AP and Coaches Top-25 Polls:
AP Poll - Team Record Points Prev
1. ARIZONA (50) 22-10 1,773 7
2. KANSAS (14) 33-4 1,715 2
3. OKLAHOMA (6) 31-5 1,640 3
4. TEXAS 22-12 1,422 --
5. PITTSBURGH (1) 27-5 1,404 9
6. DUKE 31-4 1,394 1
7. FLORIDA 21-8 1,298 15
8. ALABAMA 27-8 1,295 8
9. MICHIGAN ST 17-12 1,117 --
10. XAVIER 26-6 1,016 22
11. OREGON 26-9 995 11
12. MISSISSIPPI ST (1) 24-7 800 17
13. MARYLAND 31-3 789 4
14. UCLA 21-12 747 --
15. CONNECTICUT 27-7 722 10
16. GEORGIA 22-10 703 23
17. KENTUCKY 22-10 627 16
18. MARQUETTE 26-7 509 12
19. MISSOURI 24-12 506 --
20. WESTERN KY 28-4 480 19
21. INDIANA 24-11 415 --
22. GONZAGA 29-4 381 6
23. CINCINNATI 27-4 303 5
24. MINNESOTA 18-13 183 --
25. TULSA 24-7 146 --
Coaches Poll:
1. ARIZONA (27) 24-10 770 10
2. KANSAS (3) 33-4 740 2
3. OKLAHOMA (1) 31-5 680 4
4. PITTSBURGH 29-6 613 9
5. TEXAS 22-12 583 18
6. DUKE 31-4 574 5
7. FLORIDA 22-9 554 23
8. ALABAMA 27-8 494 14
9. OREGON 26-9 475 6
10. MICHIGAN ST 19-12 439 --
11. XAVIER 26-6 386 24
12. UCLA 21-12 322 20
13. MISSISSIPPI ST 27-8 321 21
14. CONNECTICUT 27-7 314 6
15. MARYLAND 32-4 285 1
16. GEORGIA 22-10 269 --
17. KENTUCKY 22-10 262 13
18. MISSOURI 24-12 221 15
19. MARQUETTE 26-7 215 18
20. CINCINNATI 31-4 168 8
21. INDIANA 25-12 167 3
22. GONZAGA 29-4 163 16
23. WESTERN KY 28-4 151 --
24. MINNESOTA 18-13 86 --
25. ILLINOIS 26-9 83 11