College Basketball Countdown

[BillikensWin]

I like to read the preseason stuff for the laugh value.

Lunardi went out on a limb taking those plucky underdogs Kentucky and Duke.

[stever20]

I like to read the preseason stuff for the laugh value.

Lunardi went out on a limb taking those plucky underdogs Kentucky and Duke.

Well, if he shouldn't get any credit because it's easy to pick Kentucky and Duke- then that means the preseason predictions are easy- and are very valid. Seems like you don't want to give him any credit, but then at the same time- want to say that preseason predictions are akin to the farmers almanac and just a wild guess.

[SJHooper]

How in the world is Creighton #85 and SJU is #98? SJU returns a ton of talent. Sampson was a wasted talent as someone said before. Great athlete, but actually hurt the team taking 20 foot shots instead of driving hard in the paint. We have Harrison (shooting threat from anywhere) and Jordan (can get to the rim almost at will) leading the guards and bring back 40% 3 PT shooting Greene who is sorely underrated IMO. Add to that the best shot blocker in college hoops coming back and now we bring in a 7 footer and the top JUCO rebounder who has been called an animal for his rebounding skills. We will have well-seasoned veterans with serious talent.

On the other hand Creighton loses basically everyone who mattered nationally. No Doug aka the best player in their history bar none. No Wragge who seemingly made 3's at will for most of the season. No Gibbs who was Doug's right hand man. Creighton loses basically everyone and they are 13 spots better than SJU with well seasoned 4 and 5 star veterans? I think the ranking has more to do with SJU's "cursed" perception than the actual talent. The only major advantage Creighton has over SJU is a coach who can get the most out of his players. If SJU is #98 Creighton should be in the 120's.

With that said, I wouldn't mind being dead wrong and Creighton being a top 25 team this year.

[Bill Marsh]

How in the world is Creighton #85 and SJU is #98? SJU returns a ton of talent. Sampson was a wasted talent as someone said before. Great athlete, but actually hurt the team taking 20 foot shots instead of driving hard in the paint. We have Harrison (shooting threat from anywhere) and Jordan (can get to the rim almost at will) leading the guards and bring back 40% 3 PT shooting Greene who is sorely underrated IMO. Add to that the best shot blocker in college hoops coming back and now we bring in a 7 footer and the top JUCO rebounder who has been called an animal for his rebounding skills. We will have well-seasoned veterans with serious talent.

On the other hand Creighton loses basically everyone who mattered nationally. No Doug aka the best player in their history bar none. No Wragge who seemingly made 3's at will for most of the season. No Gibbs who was Doug's right hand man. Creighton loses basically everyone and they are 13 spots better than SJU with well seasoned 4 and 5 star veterans? I think the ranking has more to do with SJU's "cursed" perception than the actual talent. The only major advantage Creighton has over SJU is a coach who can get the most out of his players. If SJU is #98 Creighton should be in the 120's.

With that said, I wouldn't mind being dead wrong and Creighton being a top 25 team this year.

Save your outrage for something that matters - like Wall Street thieves who steal from the rest of us but go unpunished by either administration.

These rankings are just someone's opinion. Everyone has different opinions.

[Wizard of Westroads]

Now down to top 70 with six BE teams remaining. Yeah, this thing is for entertainment only during the offseason. Based on some of their other off the wall picks, I'm still not sure who from the BE they've left out of the top 144, besides DePaul. Whoever it is, it's a bad pick.

[SJHooper]

I don't think it's a stretch at all to say that if we are talking talent alone that SJU should be expected to be noticeably better than Creighton this year. If SJU lost the 2 time POY McDermott in addition to Gibbs and Wragge, the media would list SJU as #320. I think Creighton gets the benefit of the doubt big time because of what they have done while McDermott was on the team. I hope Creighton can find a way to be very good without arguably the best roster in their history, but I'm not optimistic about it. Sometimes you just lose too many great players.

Not sure why the media thinks that losing Sampson is such a huge deal. Will it hurt? Maybe a little. But he was a totally overrated recruit who had a very awkward shot that seemed to clunk around even when it went in. His athleticism was on the elite level but as a basketball player he really was not anything special. When passed the ball he often went iso and missed an easy lay in or pulled back for an awkward mid range shot instead of driving. He was too skinny and got dominated in the paint by other major programs with more meat on them. To say that we might be better without him is not crazy. Now instead of taking mid range shots clunking off the rim, we will have Jordan driving to the hoop drawing fouls and Harrison bombing away from anywhere on the court who is a way better shooter than Sampson.

[R to the OB]

You realize that there are other players on Creighton's team besides the four seniors? Everyone played a certain role. Avery Dingman, Will Artino, and Austin Chatman weren't supposed to be focal pieces, and why would Coach Mac want them to be when Doug McDermott is on the court? There is plenty of talent, though you don't realize it. The team was built around Mcbuckets. That's why Creighton went with the inversion offense last year. With Doug gone, players are going to shift roles. Creighton won't be an outside shooting team next year, not when they have four legitimate big men who can score down low. Hanson, Hegner, Groselle, and Artino are going to do damage in the frontcourt this year. Chatman is a senior leader who can distribute and score when needed. James Milliken is a stud who can score all over, driving and shooting threes. Devin Brooks is lightning fast and can make things happen. Ronnie Harrell and Leon Gilmore are super athletic and will be great additions on the wing.
Creighton will definitely surprise this year.
It really bothers me that people are continuing to talk about the "death of Creighton." Those who think (or wish) that it is going to happen are dead wrong. Creighton will only get better from here.

[Professor_Bulldog]

Hooper, I think people in the media have to actually care about St Johns in order for them to conspire against you.

R to the ob, people are taking about the death of Creighton because even with the greatest player in your history you still never did anything with it. Why should anyone expect this team to be any more productive without him?

[DudeAnon]

Hooper, I think people in the media have to actually care about St Johns in order for them to conspire against you.

R to the ob, people are taking about the death of Creighton because even with the greatest player in your history you still never did anything with it. Why should anyone expect this team to be any more productive without him?

Skip your coffee this morning?

[R to the OB]

R to the ob, people are taking about the death of Creighton because even with the greatest player in your history you still never did anything with it. Why should anyone expect this team to be any more productive without him?

McBuckets covered up a lot of deficiencies in terms of porous defense, lack of athleticism, lack of height on the wings, and rebounding difficulties. Coach Mac has brought in players to address these problems. Last year Creighton was essentially a MVC team in terms of personnel playing in the Big East. Now Creighton has a Big East team playing in the Big East. The team this year will be much deeper and more athletic. Plus, Creighton is still Shooter U. That's why people should expect Creighton to be more productive without him (maybe not this coming year due to lack of experience, but certainly the following year and definitely well into the future). That's why the "death of Creighton" is completely ridiculous.