NCAA Basketball

[Sandman]

With Midnight Madness out of the way the season has arrived. Look for the Duke Blue Devils to repeat as National Champions....you heard it here first. With one of the "greatest backcourts" in NCAA History and a compliment of a premier recruiting class the Blue Devils will be tough to dethrone.

Sensei;
The tar heels will struggle this year.

Sandman

 

[lean]

Tar Heels will never struggle

Sandman,

The Heels have to much tradition and ability to recruit that they will neve struggle. Don't get me wrong, this will be a down year, but that means they will only win 20 or 21 games and make the final 64 in march. I hate dooke, I hate dooke, I hate dooke

 

[Captain Shamrock]

Heels....

NCarolina will have a good year again. Duke have 6 McDonald's all-Americans on its squad this year, and North CArolina have 4. North Carolina will be 22-8 this year......


As for National Champion, I will post the the winner in the next few days. Duke will be a tough team to knock off. No doubt about it....

Captain who can't wait until the real basketball starts.

 

[knvb]

Rankings out today!

If I knew how to cut and past on this damn thing I would put up the proper "sheet" but since I don't I'll give you the Top 10. Which is really all that counts anyway.

1)Duke
2)Illinois
3)Kentucky
4)UCLA
5)Kansas
6)Maryland
7)Florida
8)Missouri
9)St. Joseph's
10)Iowa

other note-ables(1 or 2 words??)
12. Arizona
15. Georgetown
20. North Carolina/Indiana (tie)
25. Temple

My call is for the Blue Devils to repeat! If there is to be a "dark horse" I would take Kansas

 

[sensei_hanson]

The fact that NC is ranked at all is a bit of a joke. I don't think they have the horses to compete in the ACC, which is going to be tough as hell this year.

Losing Peppers and Curry is a major blow to a team that lost Forte and Haywoode to the draft last season. Really, all they have is Capel and Lang, both of whom have similar games in the post. I don't like Boone as a starting PG, and while they did have a good recruiting class, you have to wonder if Doherty can manage all these young stallions into a contender.

Duke will be impossible to stop. Returning Boozer, Williams, Duhon and adding Rutgers transfer Jones makes them an easy choice as #1. The only thing this team lacks is depth.

My choice for it all last season, Illinois, should be Duke's main compo throughout the season. They have the second best PG in the country in Frank Williams.

Also, look for tiny St. Josephs to make a run behind the amazing backcourt duo of Jameer Nelson and Marvin O'Connor.

 

[knvb]

excuse me but.........

Sensei I think you dropped something.


knvbiswonderingifhecouldborrowsenseishoopwordmagazinewhenheisfinished WOW

 

[sensei_hanson]

Donkey,

If you happened to be around during the glory days of the auld forum, or Offtheball, you would know that my "HoopsWord" (you mean Hoops World, don't you) writing style is original stuff. Just ask somebody. Go on, do it.

Fool.

-Sensei.

 

[Regs]

It all started with White Chocolate

Talk about weird stuff... I've been working on the Original Peg Forums for the last 3 hours or so, cleaning them up for burning to cds...

It would go a lot faster if I wasn't busting a gut re-reading them all

And yes KNVB, you are a donkey in this case... what Mmmmbop says is true...

~TB.

 

[sensei_hanson]

Haha....Mmmmbop

Those were the days. Remember all the old OZ names you guys used to use? Tobias Beecher?

It was all so much simpler then,
-Sensei.

 

[knvb]

Donkey??? Mmmmbop???

Your right I was not around in the good old days! I do apologize(for what I don't know)

 

[lean]

Don" count the heels out

Sensei,

The heels have lost 5 of their most productive players from last year (Forte, Haywood, Peppers, Curry and Max Owens) but you have to remember that when you recuit for Carolina, you always pick up talent. The fact that they lost players will help them in years to come because the elite recruits want to play right away. This years class combined with next years will make them strong again.

My final four will be Dooke, Florida, Illinois and Michigan State. Possible darkhorses will be Arizona or Georgtown. All these teams have great guard play

 

[sensei_hanson]

Leano...

You're talking to the biggest Heels fan on TTP. Not a lofty title, but something I pride myself on. Lord I'm sad.

Anyways, as far as the Heels go, there are a few givens with this team. 1) They'll finish top 4 in the ACC which means 2) They'll make March Madness.

But I could see this as the year that the Heels don't win 20. Also could be the year they struggle in the Duke series and get wiped. I really want to see how 7'6 center Neil Fingleton does this season after pining it all of last year. I think, if nothing else, he can take some of the pressure away from Capel and Lang, who will almost certainly be double-teamed in the post all season long.

The X-factor with the Heels? Coaching. Doherty showed last season that he is a great motivator and can handle the pressure of guiding one of the most storied hoops programs in America. What I don't think he'll be able to do is replace the stuff Peppers brought to the team. I think Pep was severly underrated with this team - NBA scouts said that if he stuck with basketball, he'd have been a lottery pick by the time he came out. He was big, strong, and athletic as hell. Amazing on the glass.

As for teams to watch, keep an eye on Gonzaga and their star PG, Dan Dickau. He was rated 4th in the country last season behind Williams (Jason and Frank), and Troy Bell of Boston College. While the Zags are no longer a sleeper come tourney time, this could be the season they stay ranked (top 20 even) for an entire season. You can only ignore the Bulldogs for so long.

Cheers,
-Sensei.

 

[Regs]

White men can jump according to Mmmmbop

Sensei may not only be the biggest heels fan here but he's also the biggest white trash supporter as well.

Wait till March Madness and you'll see...

~TB.

 

[Sandman]

Fall Recruiting

Sensei

If if makes you feel any better the Tar Heels have received letters of intent from three of the top ten seniors entering college next year. Look for a splendid backcourt in a couple kids named Felton and McCants. Experts are comparing them to Duhon and Williams. Figures they would compare themselves to the best . While we are talking about the best..........The Blue Devils faired very well by getting letters from 5 kids in the top 20. With the signing of Coach K this morning, we are witnessing the making of the greatest College Basketball Program in History.

ipredictrepeat......thenathreepeat

 

[lean]

Greatest College Program Ever

Sandman,

No one will ever beat the UCLA dynasty under Wooden. And Duke has about another 20 years to come close to Dean Smith.

Sensei,

As far as being the #1 Heels fan goes....I have been a fan for almost 20 years and have been to the Final Four to see them!!! I don't really care who the biggest fan is I just like to have fellow Heel Fans

 

[Captain Shamrock]

Oh no.....

Sensei,

You're starting very early on the 'white' bandwagon this year. Dan Dackau(sp?) is a cracking player though. I remember watching him in the tournament last year. I think he is a more complete player than your other hero, Wally Czerbiak(sp?), despite the position they play. BTW, you were right about Wally, he is doing very well in the NBA.

It will be a very open year again, but the usual characters will be there in the end.......unfortuntely, led by Duke again....

I will research a bit more, when I get a moment to pick up some scoops and pick my EARLY FINAL FOUR....


Captain

 

[Captain Shamrock]

Mistaken identity....

Sensei,

I had a feeling that I was referring to the wrong guy. I remember Dickau from last year now. He reminded of Bobby Hurley, who I never really enjoyed watching. However, the guy that I was comparing to Wally's World was supposed to be Casey Calvary. He is a white guy who has a lot of athleticism. I assume he is injured right now since he is listed on the roster but did not play in tonight's opener against the #2 ranked Illinois Fighting Illinis. Any idea about his status? He was one player worth watching on Gonzaga....

Captain who feels better about correcting the mistake from last night

 

[Captain Shamrock]

Heel fans can't be happy with this start

1st 2ndFinal
Hampton 37 40 77
North Carolina (20) 28 41 69

Ouch. Now we know why they were graciously ranked.....


Captain

 

[sensei_hanson]

Calvary...

went undrafted, surprisingly. Kicked around various training camps (Lakers, and I think San Antonio).

BTW, losses to Hampton are bad news. Heels are in trouble.

 

[lean]

Very Bad Loss

The reports say that the heels were brutal and had trouble shooting the ball. This is a bad way to start the year, I think Doherty will use this to motivate his team but they have a long way to go.

It is looking more like the haves and the have nots this year. There is Dooke and then 20 other teams trying to compete for the scraps. I think the change in scholorship rules has caused parity in the NCAA!!