Big Ten Top 10 Reality Is Setting In

[60's Guy]

Donovan Dent committed to UCLA...their returning point guard who was sub par is now in the portal.
The rest of their guys from a 13 and 7 team are all returning. UCLA will be better.

Indiana at 9 will be better with a better coach and his 3 point shooting son.
Iowa is not in the Top 10 but they will be with Ben McCollum and his Drake point guard.
Niko needs at least 7 NIL studs just to be competitive, to have a chance to upset some people.
Sobering....who is dropping down so we can move up?

 

[Outsider]

You did per chance see that every Indiana guy is in the portal right? At the moment, they have nobody.

 

[MNVCGUY]

I mean the Big Ten is always going to be tough....every year....but I guess I would like to see what all the teams actually look like (including ours) before making any assumptions about next year.

 

[Unregistered User]

Donovan Dent committed to UCLA...their returning point guard who was sub par is now in the portal.
The rest of their guys from a 13 and 7 team are all returning. UCLA will be better.

Indiana at 9 will be better with a better coach and his 3 point shooting son.
Iowa is not in the Top 10 but they will be with Ben McCollum and his Drake point guard.
Niko needs at least 7 NIL studs just to be competitive, to have a chance to upset some people.
Sobering....who is dropping down so we can move up?
View attachment 36325

Indiana will be much better because they hired a former Drake coach.
Minnesota needs other teams to regress because we hired a former Drake coach.
Flawless logic.

 

[cheeseheadgophfan]

Replacing Tonje at Wisconsin is gonna be tough. I think Crowl and Klesmit done to (although who really knows anymore??).

 

[60's Guy]

Indiana will be much better because they hired a former Drake coach.
Minnesota needs other teams to regress because we hired a former Drake coach.
Flawless logic.

No, Indiana will be better because they hired a much better than they had. They will be better because his son is a great three point shooter. AND they will be better because they will spend at least twice as money as we will to buy players.

 

[60's Guy]

Replacing Tonje at Wisconsin is gonna be tough. I think Crowl and Klesmit done to (although who really knows anymore??).

I agree, but Wisconsin finishes top 4 or there abouts every damn year....I have been burned multiple times thinking/hoping they'll suck this year.
25 - 4th
24 - 5th
23 - 11th woohoo
22 - 1st
21 - 6th
20 - 3rd
19 - 4th
you get the idea...

 

[Bad Gopher]

I will say this. If this becomes a sport of the rich, by the rich, and for the rich, the traditional powers won't all necessarily shake out as the richest. Money could come from anywhere and go anywhere, including to upstart programs. Not a prediction, but if that starts to happen, and if it upsets the apple cart of the established order of things, that's when we'll see reform.

 

[cheeseheadgophfan]

I agree, but Wisconsin finishes top 4 or there abouts every damn year....I have been burned multiple times thinking/hoping they'll suck this year.
25 - 4th
24 - 5th
23 - 11th woohoo
22 - 1st
21 - 6th
20 - 3rd
19 - 4th
you get the idea...

I totally agree, but Wisconsin went up tempo this year and Tonje was the perfect player for them who could get his shot anytime and was super physical. Blackwell ain't stepping into that role....I guess maybe I'm hoping this is the year they fall.

 

[minnyrules11]

No, Indiana will be better because they hired a much better than they had. They will be better because his son is a great three point shooter. AND they will be better because they will spend at least twice as money as we will to buy players.

They have no returning players and Cronin lost to Ben Johnson at home. I bet you thought Rutgers would be good. Niko has to bring in 7 studs? Wow what if Asuma turns into a star and they bring in 3 studs and 3 mediocre players. Let’s settle down a bit. What if Parker Jefferson has a solid freshman year? Even Duke doesn’t have 7 studs.

 

[minnyrules11]

I totally agree, but Wisconsin went up tempo this year and Tonje was the perfect player for them who could get his shot anytime and was super physical. Blackwell ain't stepping into that role....I guess maybe I'm hoping this is the year they fall.

Blackwell is only 6’4” and Winter doesn’t have a 7 footer in Crowl down low. Now maybe they bring someone in portal but lose like 5 seniors.

 

[coolhandgopher]

It’s a fool’s game to project in March, before the tournament has ended, the standings of any conference, when the make-up of teams are totally in flux. Not only the portal but NBA draft declarations (that always include surprises) will shift rosters unexpectedly. Plus we’re already seeing several names (DeVries, Omot, Bryce Hopkins, Pop McIsaacs, Tyler Cochran) who are desired targets in the portal after having had injuries shut their seasons down quickly, so projections made in October are a slightly lesser version of a fool’s game.

 

[Holy Man]

It’s a fool’s game to project in March, before the tournament has ended, the standings of any conference, when the make-up of teams are totally in flux. Not only the portal but NBA draft declarations (that always include surprises) will shift rosters unexpectedly. Plus we’re already seeing several names (DeVries, Omot, Bryce Hopkins, Pop McIsaacs, Tyler Cochran) who are desired targets in the portal after having had injuries shut their seasons down quickly, so projections made in October are a slightly lesser version of a fool’s game.

No matter what projections are, they have to emphasize the Gophers really have no chance of improving or effectively competing. It’s the system and we really should not even try. Maybe it was a fools game to hire a coach with a track record of winning when we could have just pocketed the money for bonuses to administrators for saving money.

Nothing is guaranteed, but the sun can never shine attitudes sometimes present here is unbelievable.

 

[scools12]

A couple days after the Medved hiring things are already hopeless at Minnesota.

I expect the what job will Medved leave Minnesota for thread to be started soon.

 

[MilosRevenge]

No, Indiana will be better because they hired a much better than they had. They will be better because his son is a great three point shooter. AND they will be better because they will spend at least twice as money as we will to buy players.

They were top five in the country in NIL spending this past year and they weren't much better.

 

[fan of Ray Williams]

60’s Guy is just having a tough time because he assumed Dent was going to follow Pitino to X ala Mashburn to NM

 

[HitMeAgainIAmStillMoving]

I will say this. If this becomes a sport of the rich, by the rich, and for the rich, the traditional powers won't all necessarily shake out as the richest. Money could come from anywhere and go anywhere, including to upstart programs. Not a prediction, but if that starts to happen, and if it upsets the apple cart of the established order of things, that's when we'll see reform.

What does the even mean?

 

[HitMeAgainIAmStillMoving]

A couple days after the Medved hiring things are already hopeless at Minnesota.

I expect the what job will Medved leave Minnesota for thread to be started soon.

Coach P is taking some on the woman forum as well. To be fair, I am a complete Pshyco so I belong here.

 

[formerlybis]

Replacing Tonje at Wisconsin is gonna be tough. I think Crowl and Klesmit done to (although who really knows anymore??).

What would you have said last year at this time when they lost Storr, Hepburn, Wahl, and Essegian?

I don’t know if anything other than $$$ makes a difference in adding portal players, but Wisconsin can make a hell of a pitch to a high-usage wing based on the last two years with Storr and Tonje - especially Storr, who sucked at Kansas under Self.

 

[Bad Gopher]

What does the even mean?

Maybe it should be the reply to a different thread.

Shorter term, every year is going to be new in the new world. It might be difficult for Niko to get traction right away...or not. In any case, he faces the same issue Johnson did: losing Garcia and just about everyone else graduating, too. In any case, I like the Gophers' chances of displacing some of those other teams within the next few years. Heck, we finished only two league wins behind OSU this season with Ben Johnson as our coach.

 

[Holy Man]

What does the even mean?

I can guess that almost everyone except the lawyers, agents, and the handful of families who reach their pot of gold realize this is a mess for basically everyone involved. The idea of reform might gain traction when the enterprise crashes and college players by the train load don’t get an education. At some point, institutions that take education seriously will either fight back or abandon high level sports for club teams. Reform would look something like that.

 

[60's Guy]

60’s Guy is just having a tough time because he assumed Dent was going to follow Pitino to X ala Mashburn to NM

You know me!! 10 million per cent this! Except not assumed, guardedly optimistic, hopeful and now crushed it ain't happening. Plus, Xavier's Conwell?Cornwell? 16.5 ppg jumped in the portal at the same time. Ha

 

[60's Guy]

They were top five in the country in NIL spending this past year and they weren't much better.

But, with the same stumbling coach. Coaches make a huge difference.

 

[fan of Ray Williams]

You know me!! 10 million per cent this! Except not assumed, guardedly optimistic, hopeful and now crushed it ain't happening. Plus, Xavier's Conwell?Cornwell? 16.5 ppg jumped in the portal at the same time. Ha

He, Pitino, seems very adept in this era. (Imagine if he could have kept Toppin and also snagged Tonje this past season?)

 

[Gopher Coffee]

Coach P is taking some on the woman forum as well. To be fair, I am a complete Pshyco so I belong here.

Yes, you've come to the right place!

 

[60's Guy]

He, Pitino, seems very adept in this era. (Imagine if he could have kept Toppin and also snagged Tonje this past season?)

They'd still be playin' Yup, but not to be. Now, like the Gophers and many others he needs an entire roster at Xavier. Supposedly, Xavier has money, so I'd think he'll be okay. Michigan did it in '25 but it seems like a huge mountain to climb for all these teams when you need 10 guys or more who are good and then play together and then get along.

 

[60's Guy]

I mean the Big Ten is always going to be tough....every year....but I guess I would like to see what all the teams actually look like (including ours) before making any assumptions about next year.

Maybe we should just shut the basketball forum down until November then?

 

[Drake University Gopher]

Indiana will be much better because they hired a former Drake coach.
Minnesota needs other teams to regress because we hired a former Drake coach.
Flawless logic.

Only thing I will mention is that the other two Drake coaches are bringing their stars (former MVC players of the year) with them. Hopefully Niko can bring enough talent where one of them becomes a star. Otherwise he’ll have to dominate the portal elsewhere (which he may very well do). Just most important for hitting the ground running and not necessarily long term success. #InNikoWeTrust

 

[MaxyJR1]

Portal is still open for 3.5 weeks. Players can signed anytime leading up to fall. Most want to be in for summer workouts.

Coach gets fired or leaves and a 30 day window opens for those players to enter the portal. Grad transfers can transfer anytime.

Lots of moving options. Niko said you will really start to see commitments around final four weekend.

If they are committing now, they either followed their coach or were tampering during the season.

 

[howeda7]