Coaches' Poll released

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Pewterschmidt

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Gophs come in at #29 if you account for "also receiving votes."

5 BT teams in the top 25 (MSU-2, OSU-5, Purdue-8, Illinois-16, Wisconsin-24). 8 for Purdue seems a bit high without Hummel. Wonder if some finished their ballots prior to the injury. I see them more in the mid to high teens.

Also, the Gophers would best be served if they beat Western Kentucky. It's their only chance in the NC to play a ranked team. Wofford and Siena could be good mid-majors but they won't be looked upon as big games by any strech of the imagination.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/usatpoll.htm
 

Pewterschmidt said:
Gophs come in at #29 if you account for "also receiving votes."

5 BT teams in the top 25 (MSU-2, OSU-5, Purdue-8, Illinois-16, Wisconsin-24). 8 for Purdue seems a bit high without Hummel. Wonder if some finished their ballots prior to the injury. I see them more in the mid to high teens.

Also, the Gophers would best be served if they beat Western Kentucky. It's their only chance in the NC to play a ranked team. Wofford and Siena could be good mid-majors but they won't be looked upon as big games by any strech of the imagination.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/usatpoll.htm
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Isnt North Carolina playing in the Puerto Rican Classic? That's our best chance to have the world take notice IMO.
 


If the last two years are any indication we are going to beat North Carolina, but they will end up in the Final Four. :)
 

Pewterschmidt said:
8 for Purdue seems a bit high without Hummel. Wonder if some finished their ballots prior to the injury.
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8 might be a little high but Purdue still has 2(!!!!) potential first team All-American's in Moore and Johnson. That's two more than most team have. Purdue is going to have a damn strong basketball team this year. Will they be as good as they would have been if they had Hummel, no, but they are still a Sweet 16 team IMO before the season starts.
 


mnboiler said:
8 might be a little high but Purdue still has 2(!!!!) potential first team All-American's in Moore and Johnson. That's two more than most team have. Purdue is going to have a damn strong basketball team this year. Will they be as good as they would have been if they had Hummel, no, but they are still a Sweet 16 team IMO before the season starts.
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+1

I love how everyone just writes Purdue off. Yes, they struggled last year without Hummel but this year they have added some stud Freshman and have the entire preseason to prepare and practice without him. The frontcourt was very thin last year but they've added Sandi Marcius, Travis Carroll, and Patrick Bade is much improved.
 


MinnesotaBoiler99 said:
I love how everyone just writes Purdue off. Yes, they struggled last year without Hummel but this year they have added some stud Freshman and have the entire preseason to prepare and practice without him. The frontcourt was very thin last year but they've added Sandi Marcius, Travis Carroll, and Patrick Bade is much improved.
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I think it matters what you classify as writing off. They still have Moore and Johnson, which is a lot more than most teams have for top-end talent. But outside of that, I'm not sure where Purdue will get a ton of production. Jackson and Barlow are nice players, but not great. And that front court is pretty weak. They don't have a true center; Johnson can play there and do great, but who will step in at forward. I don't think Marcius, Carroll, or Bade is the answer (for a variety of reasons, including collective age and size). Purdue will still be good, but I think it is fair to write them off when it comes to competing for a final four berth this year. Something they could have done with Hummel; something I don't think they can do without him.
 




tap said:
Is ohio state that good without ET?
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Yep. Added Sullinger who is a stud. Plus they still have Lighty, Lauderdale, Diebler, and Buford (who is an all-american candidate IMO).
 

Hey Boiler fans, wasn't Kramer the glue of your team last year? I haven't really heard anyone talk about how losing him is a big loss. Honest question. And to say Johnson and Moore are 1st team all americans might be a little bit of a stretch. The reality is you struggled mightily without Hummel last year and now without him AND Kramer this year, your team is a huge question mark this year.
 

jjgopher said:
Hey Boiler fans, wasn't Kramer the glue of your team last year? I haven't really heard anyone talk about how losing him is a big loss. Honest question. And to say Johnson and Moore are 1st team all americans might be a little bit of a stretch. The reality is you struggled mightily without Hummel last year and now without him AND Kramer this year, your team is a huge question mark this year.
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I agree 100%. Again people forget how good Kramer was. Also, if JJ and Moore were that good, they would have been in NBA by now. As much as I love my old school, I think Purdue will not be great this season. I know that Painter's style is identical to coach Keady, but time has changed. You need more than just a good PG and a center.

I also think OSU is in the same position as Purdue. MT is an average coach. He has been winning with players like ET. He will not have a player that would stand out like ET did this year. That's why I think Gophers will shock a bunch of people this season.

Go Gophers
 

At the same time, Gopher's lose thier leading scorer, and 2 glue guys in DJ and Carter. There are a ton of unknowns in the Big 10, but a lot of good teams.
 



MinnesotaBoiler99 said:
+1

I love how everyone just writes Purdue off. Yes, they struggled last year without Hummel but this year they have added some stud Freshman and have the entire preseason to prepare and practice without him. The frontcourt was very thin last year but they've added Sandi Marcius, Travis Carroll, and Patrick Bade is much improved.
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The last memory of Purdue that we have around here is that ass-whooping we put on them (sans Hummel) in the BTT, so that has a lot to do with the doubters on GH.

I would put Ohio St as the favorite to win the conference if I had any confidence that they have a point guard. With the way Turner dominated the ball last year, they are in for a big adjustment offensively. As someone previously said though-- Sullinger, Diebler, Lauderdale and Buford (he's great) is a top 20 team with me playing the point.

I'd be ready to put a nail in the coffin on Wisconsin but Leuer could be the best player in the conference, so they'll be there.

Illinois returns everyone and added some impact freshman...some people love them.

Michigan St is Michigan St.

We are much better. This conference is tough as nails, I can't freaking wait for the season.
 

Gold Vision said:
At the same time, Gopher's lose thier leading scorer, and 2 glue guys in DJ and Carter. There are a ton of unknowns in the Big 10, but a lot of good teams.
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Very true. I think that I am too excited about this season that don't want to think that we might repeat 9-9 again. That will be the worst one for a while. We will be 12-6 this year.

Go Gophers
 

Dirk Diggler said:
The last memory of Purdue that we have around here is that ass-whooping we put on them (sans Hummel) in the BTT, so that has a lot to do with the doubters on GH.

I would put Ohio St as the favorite to win the conference if I had any confidence that they have a point guard. With the way Turner dominated the ball last year, they are in for a big adjustment offensively. As someone previously said though-- Sullinger, Diebler, Lauderdale and Buford (he's great) is a top 20 team with me playing the point.

I'd be ready to put a nail in the coffin on Wisconsin but Leuer could be the best player in the conference, so they'll be there.

Illinois returns everyone and added some impact freshman...some people love them.

Michigan St is Michigan St.

We are much better. This conference is tough as nails, I can't freaking wait for the season.
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Absolutely, Gopher's just need to win the games they are supposed to and really take advantage of the home court this year. They came up short in close losses last year, this year hopefully the luck and attitude changes.
 

Dirk Diggler said:
The last memory of Purdue that we have around here is that ass-whooping we put on them (sans Hummel) in the BTT, so that has a lot to do with the doubters on GH.

I would put Ohio St as the favorite to win the conference if I had any confidence that they have a point guard. With the way Turner dominated the ball last year, they are in for a big adjustment offensively. As someone previously said though-- Sullinger, Diebler, Lauderdale and Buford (he's great) is a top 20 team with me playing the point.

I'd be ready to put a nail in the coffin on Wisconsin but Leuer could be the best player in the conference, so they'll be there.

Illinois returns everyone and added some impact freshman...some people love them.

Michigan St is Michigan St.

We are much better. This conference is tough as nails, I can't freaking wait for the season.
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+1

I have pretty much been waiting around all summer and the start of fall for college ball to start, but the BT conference games are going to be absolutely incredible. As usual, there are going to be a lot of close games amongst all the teams, but the Gophers are going to have some good chances to upset the "better" teams, especially Purdue.

We are coming into the season as a bit of an underdog team to the likes of Mich St., but with the addition of Mbakwe we finally have a strong PF, the absence of which last year crippled us in some situations (BT conference championship game, e.g.).
 

Becky just got in based on reputation. we're a better team than those schmucks.
 

Gold Vision said:
At the same time, Gopher's lose thier leading scorer, and 2 glue guys in DJ and Carter. There are a ton of unknowns in the Big 10, but a lot of good teams.
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Westbrook not being here any more is addition by subtraction. The only player we'll really need to replace is DJ as long as someone is capable of filling PC's role of emotional leader. I hadn't really though about the fact that Westbrook isn't on the team anymore. Makes me even happier than I thought it would. We have a solid top 7 and as far as we know everyone is a team player. Regardless of the outcomes, I think this will be a much more enjoyable basketball team to watch compared to last year.
 

The-Real-Truth said:
I agree 100%. Again people forget how good Kramer was. Also, if JJ and Moore were that good, they would have been in NBA by now. As much as I love my old school, I think Purdue will not be great this season. I know that Painter's style is identical to coach Keady, but time has changed. You need more than just a good PG and a center.

I also think OSU is in the same position as Purdue. MT is an average coach. He has been winning with players like ET. He will not have a player that would stand out like ET did this year. That's why I think Gophers will shock a bunch of people this season.

Go Gophers
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The NBA and college are two completely different games. Look at the list of high draft picks that haven't led to teams to anything in college or the great college players that bust. So to say that JJ and Moore aren't that good because in the NBA is false. And yes Moore and JJ are that good, both have a decent shot at ending up as a first team All-American.

I wouldn't say Kramer was the glue guy on last years team I would have said that was Hummel, although Kramer was the emotional leader of them and certainly was the unquestioned leader. But I think Kelsey Barlow could become a better defender than Kramer, IF he puts his mind to it and does the work, and needless to say Barlow is going to be a bigger threat at the other end of the court. Purdue will certainly miss Kramer this year.

I wouldn't consider a true Moore a PG, he is a combo guard, and Johnson isn't a true Center either he is more of PF. They both know what they need to do to make this team go and they both do it very well. Something Coach Painter has done extremely well is putting players in positions where they can be successful, and overall during his time at Purdue they have been successful.
 

We replace DJ with Mbakwe, win. We replace PCs spirit with Mbakwe's chip on his shoulder and seniority, win. And purdue fans, yes JJ and moore are very good, 1st team BT good, but they do not match up well againist us, JJ gets eatin alive by our bigs on the defensive and offensive side, w/ nolen back moore will have trouble scoring at times againist us. The only person we didnt have an answer for was hummel. Even then RW prolly couldve D'd him up this year. Sad to think what wouldve been for you guys.
 

ChemEGopher said:
Westbrook not being here any more is addition by subtraction. The only player we'll really need to replace is DJ as long as someone is capable of filling PC's role of emotional leader. I hadn't really though about the fact that Westbrook isn't on the team anymore. Makes me even happier than I thought it would. We have a solid top 7 and as far as we know everyone is a team player. Regardless of the outcomes, I think this will be a much more enjoyable basketball team to watch compared to last year.
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Put me in the camp that was not a big LW fan mostly because of attitude and poor decision making. What we will miss though is that extra 3point shooter and our best free throw shooter on the team. Westbrook had the capability of taking over a game with a hot streak, or single handedly losing it. We don't beat Wisconsin twice last year without him.

I'm all for Devoe taking all his minutes, but I feel like we lose guard depth. If Devoe gets hurt, Gopher's will be seriously lacking an offensive playmaker. If they stay healthy, I think you're right, no one will miss LW.

Hopefully Williams and Hollins step in nicely for DJ and PC. They've absolutely got the physical tools.
 

No, overrated as they often are in basketball and football. As good as Sullinger may be, does anyone really think he will have the kind of impact that last year's national player of the year had? I realize they return some stud players, but 5 seems pretty high to me. They had the player of the year last year and made it to the sweet 16. I'm not sure they'll be able to go that much further without him. I think Buford will have a big year but I'm not sure that their returning players will be THAT much better than they were last year.

tap said:
Is ohio state that good without ET?
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I think OSU is fairly rated. I would put them ahead of MSU (if you've read my posts here, that would not be a surprise!). I'm not concerned at all about the PG position for OSU. What I'm concerned about is the lack of depth in the post. Sullinger and Lauderdale would be a great tandem, but that's all they have. Outside of those two, they don't have another player who's expected to play this year that's taller than 6'7". They can't lose either one of their bigs if they want to be a top-5 team. I'm a big Sullinger fan - I think he's gonna be pretty awesome this season.
 

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