In an ESPN article (I know, I know) Jeff Goodman predicted the entire NCAA tourney bracket. I know it’s way too early to accurately predict anything, but it’s still interesting to see what the experts think. He has Michigan as a 3 seed next year, along with Nova, Wichita State, and Arizona. You need to be an insider to view the article, and most of what he said was just fluff, but he said that if LeVert returns we should be a top 15 team basically. I think it’s funny that Goodman is higher on Michigan next year than I am.
Other Big Ten teams: Maryland as a 1 seed, Wisconsin and Indiana as 4 seeds, MSU as a 5 seed, OSU and Purdue as 11 seeds.
A 3 seed would not be out of the question for us, if LeVert returns, but I’d have to put that down as a best case scenario at this point. We’ve got quite a few guys who will likely be solid to good, but LeVert is the only one right now who is likely to be very good to great. Only having one NBA draft-level player on the roster puts a definite ceiling on what we’re likely to achieve. We also have four players (LeVert included) still recovering from debilitating injuries, and good health is a necessity for achieving that best case scenario.
A 3 seed would not be out of the question for us, if LeVert returns, but I'd have to put that down as a best case scenario at this point. We've got quite a few guys who will likely be solid to good, but LeVert is the only one right now who is likely to be very good to great. Only having one NBA draft-level player on the roster puts a definite ceiling on what we're likely to achieve. We also have four players (LeVert included) still recovering from debilitating injuries, and good health is a necessity for achieving that best case scenario.
Wilson is healthy. He could have played, and he practiced. Not too worried about Walton. He’s been shut down until he’s 100% with no pain. Spike’s issue is when he’ll be ready. The time line says August or September. The question is when he’s in game shape and is ready to compete. Caris makes me nervous because this is the second injury to the same spot of the same foot.
I think a 3 seed is our absolute ceiling assuming we return Levert and no other attrition/additions…and I think that’s pressing it a bit. Realistically, I think we’re a 5-9 seed type of team. A few above averaage players, one good player, and a bunch of solid role players. Just not enough top flight talent to really contend for a championship in my opinion. Should be a bounce back season relatively speaking though.
I’m not too worried about Walton or Wilson, either, though we have to hope that Walton’s injury will not recur (unlikely with Wilson’s). LeVert and Albrecht are still significant question marks, though. It would be nice to have a largely healthy team for a change, though. We’ve had our best player out for a good part of the last two seasons.
I'm not too worried about Walton or Wilson, either, though we have to hope that Walton's injury will not recur (unlikely with Wilson's). LeVert and Albrecht are still significant question marks, though. It would be nice to have a largely healthy team for a change, though. We've had our best player out for a good part of the last two seasons.
As Sane said, Wilson was healthy enough to play last year, he practiced for the better part of the year, and this I know for a fact. The decision for Wilson to RS was based on developmental needs as opposed to injury. I wouldn’t be too worried about Wilson’s health.
As Sane said, Wilson was healthy enough to play last year, he practiced for the better part of the year, and this I know for a fact. The decision for Wilson to RS was based on developmental needs as opposed to injury. I wouldn’t be too worried about Wilson’s health.
Hey Matt, by developmental do you mean along the lines of adding strength or was it more related to basketball skills? Also would be interested to know if he practiced as a stretch 4 or a 5.
As Sane said, Wilson was healthy enough to play last year, he practiced for the better part of the year, and this I know for a fact. The decision for Wilson to RS was based on developmental needs as opposed to injury. I wouldn’t be too worried about Wilson’s health.
Hey Matt, by developmental do you mean along the lines of adding strength or was it more related to basketball skills? Also would be interested to know if he practiced as a stretch 4 or a 5.
I think a 3 seed is our absolute ceiling assuming we return Levert and no other attrition/additions.........and I think that's pressing it a bit. Realistically, I think we're a 5-9 seed type of team. A few above averaage players, one good player, and a bunch of solid role players. Just not enough top flight talent to really contend for a championship in my opinion. Should be a bounce back season relatively speaking though.
I think our team will have as much (if not more) talent than the 2014 National Champions.
I think a 3 seed is our absolute ceiling assuming we return Levert and no other attrition/additions.........and I think that's pressing it a bit. Realistically, I think we're a 5-9 seed type of team. A few above averaage players, one good player, and a bunch of solid role players. Just not enough top flight talent to really contend for a championship in my opinion. Should be a bounce back season relatively speaking though.
I think our team will have as much (if not more) talent than the 2014 National Champions.
I’m probably on board with the talent assessment here, but we’re a LONG ways away from being as mentally tough/physical as UCONN in 2014.
Well, as I’ve posted before, when the coaches say they’re redshirting a player for “developmental needs”, that’s usually code for “We’ve recognized that this guy is likely never going to be better than a minor role player, but we want to put off everyone else seeing that for a year, while we cross our fingers that he might still surprise us”. Nailing a guy to the bench for a year just because he’s not that bulked up or needs work on part of his skill set is a silly waste of a scholarship year, though. For a guy who’s just not that good (a la Donnal), there really isn’t that much difference between having him on the court for years 1-4 or 2-5. And even if you’re planning on ditching his 5th year (a la Bielfeldt), then again, you might as well get whatever you can get out of him on the court as a true freshman, rather than waste that scholarship year completely and only play him 2-4. I hope that Wilson turns out to be better than that, but if he was kept off the court purely for developmental reasons, he may not.
Well, as I've posted before, when the coaches say they're redshirting a player for "developmental needs", that's usually code for "We've recognized that this guy is likely never going to be better than a minor role player, but we want to put off everyone else seeing that for a year, while we cross our fingers that he might still surprise us". Nailing a guy to the bench for a year just because he's not that bulked up or needs work on part of his skill set is a silly waste of a scholarship year, though. For a guy who's just not that good (a la Donnal), there really isn't that much difference between having him on the court for years 1-4 or 2-5. And even if you're planning on ditching his 5th year (a la Bielfeldt), then again, you might as well get whatever you can get out of him on the court as a true freshman, rather than waste that scholarship year completely and only play him 2-4. I hope that Wilson turns out to be better than that, but if he was kept off the court purely for developmental reasons, he may not.
Not purely developmental, but certainly a large factor.
I’m thinking and hoping that it was more a combination of the injury keeping him out of significanf practice time early in the season and his needing more of that practice to contribute. We certainly didn’t keep him out because we didn’t need another big in the rotation…we absolutely did, given how little Donnal added. But if it was a matter of his only being able to contribute reasonably for half a season, then it may have made some sense to hold him out in favor of a full season as a 5th year.
I’m just really excited to see how our young players perform next year.
Not all are going to make huge leaps but I have to believe with that many young guys and that much time they spent on the court last year, we have to have some major gains in places.
I'm just really excited to see how our young players perform next year.
Not all are going to make huge leaps but I have to believe with that many young guys and that much time they spent on the court last year, we have to have some major gains in places.
In theory I agree, but reality is the 2 freshman that showed the most promise (Dawkins & MAAR) are going to have limited opportunity if Levert comes back. If that happens, they may end up with similar numbers in relation to last year, but I’d bet they will be more efficient in their roles and the team will be better as well. I’m looking at Kam and Doyle in particular, because they will be given every opportunity in the world.