Jim Jackson's Big Ten Top 5

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SelectionSunday

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Jimmy Jackson was on Big Ten Tonight last night. After hearing who dropped out of the NBA Draft, he listed his top 5 as follows:

1. Purdue
2. Ohio State
3. Michigan State
4. Wisconsin
5. Illinois

Can't really argue with the teams he selected for the top half. Certainly the top three appear loaded for 2010-11. I would imagine all three will be in the preseason top 10.
 

5

1. Purdue
2. Mich St.
3. Ohio St.
4. Northwestern
5. Illinois

Wisconsin losing Hughes and Bohannon will be tough to replace...
 

I'm assuming Hummel will be ready from the get-go and that Lucas will be something close to 80-85% by the start of the Big Ten season. A lot certainly hinges on the return to health of Hummel, Lucas and Coble.

1. Michigan State
2. Purdue
3. Ohio State
4. Wisconsin
5. Illinois

Could get into top 5: Gophers & Northwestern
Potential surprise team: Indiana
The soft underbelly: Iowa, Michigan & Penn State
 

The Top
PU
MSU
OSU

The Middle
Illinois
UW
MN
NU

The Bottom
Indiana
scUM
PSU
Iowa
 

Gold Vision said:
The Top
PU
MSU
OSU

The Middle
Illinois
UW
MN
NU

The Bottom
Indiana
scUM
PSU
Iowa
Click to expand...

This is about right. With Battle coming back I think Iowa has a lock on last place. Indiana has a chance to move up.
 


Gophers 5

I hope the Gophs are in the 5-6 spot...

Right now were behind NW. I think Thompson, Shurna, Crawford and not to mention Coble would start for the Maroon and Gold...
 

NU plays a gimicky defense and lost their best all around defender in Nash. They can absolutely shoot the lights out from behind the arc, but they have zero inside presence. They will upset some teams at home, but I can't call them a contender without a legitimate post option.
 

Roland Brooks said:
I hope the Gophs are in the 5-6 spot...

Right now were behind NW. I think Thompson, Shurna, Crawford and not to mention Coble would start for the Maroon and Gold...
Click to expand...

I'm really getting tired of MSU and Wisconsin near the top all the time ... they are both due some bad luck ... and I would love to see Northwestern and the Gophers replace them ... who are both due some GOOD luck.
 

I understand what you're sayin' Million, but one could argue MSU had some pretty bad luck last season (losing its best player in the 2nd round of the NCAAs) yet still managed to get to the Final Four.
 



SelectionSunday said:
I understand what you're sayin' Million, but one could argue MSU had some pretty bad luck last season (losing its best player in the 2nd round of the NCAAs) yet still managed to get to the Final Four.
Click to expand...

Wisconsin also lost Leuer for a big chunk of the conference season.
 

Good points about MSU losing Lucas and Wisconsin losing Leuer. I'm still tired of them on top, LOL.
 


Gold Vision, bashing Northwestern is a mistake. This is going to be their best team ever. Saying they have nothing inside - do you realize Kevin Coble is coming back? That guy is arguably one of the top-5 returning players in the league - he was 2nd team all-Big Ten in '09. And Shurna made one of the all-Big Ten teams last year (2nd team, I think). How many comparable players are going to be on the Gophers roster? NW ahead of MN is how it should be, at least in the preseason.

I will go as far to say if Northwestern avoids injuries, they will finish no lower than 5th and could finish #2 or #3 if some "good luck" heads their way. But #4-5 is certainly the most likely for Northwestern, battling for 4th with Illinois.

I am a Bo Ryan hater, so I can't pick Wisconsin above Northwestern and Illinois teams that look clearly better on paper, so I wouldn't pick UW higher than 6th - the Gophers roster is still TBD as far as whether a couple key guys will play, so I have to give UW an edge on them at this point.

I think there's a great top-5 with Illinois and Northwestern joining the top 3 as I don't think they'll be that far off of #2 and #3 as people seem to think. I see UW and the Gophers fighting for 6th with IU not far behind them.
 



Lucas should redshirt

SelectionSunday said:
I'm assuming Hummel will be ready from the get-go and that Lucas will be something close to 80-85% by the start of the Big Ten season. A lot certainly hinges on the return to health of Hummel, Lucas and Coble.

1. Michigan State
2. Purdue
3. Ohio State
4. Wisconsin
5. Illinois

Could get into top 5: Gophers & Northwestern
Potential surprise team: Indiana
The soft underbelly: Iowa, Michigan & Penn State
Click to expand...

Lucas should think of redshirting if the achilles isn't completely ready. He could blow it out for good if he's not careful.
 

Northwestern

I agree with the above... if Coble is back this team will be top 5 in the Big 10 for sure. If they dont make the NCAA tourney next year its never gonna happen and they should gas the program especially with what they got coming back. Watch out for Crawford.

Mirkovic at 6 '11 is not that bad 14 rebs againt Mn one game and 11pts 10 rebs in the other. 16 and 10 against Johnson from Purdue.

Wisc is the team that might fall a little with Bo Ryan hard to say that will happen BUT they struggled down the stretch with Bohannon and Hughes gone it will be tougher then some think...
 

OSUfan said:
Gold Vision, bashing Northwestern is a mistake. This is going to be their best team ever. Saying they have nothing inside - do you realize Kevin Coble is coming back? That guy is arguably one of the top-5 returning players in the league - he was 2nd team all-Big Ten in '09. And Shurna made one of the all-Big Ten teams last year (2nd team, I think). How many comparable players are going to be on the Gophers roster? NW ahead of MN is how it should be, at least in the preseason.

I will go as far to say if Northwestern avoids injuries, they will finish no lower than 5th and could finish #2 or #3 if some "good luck" heads their way. But #4-5 is certainly the most likely for Northwestern, battling for 4th with Illinois.

I am a Bo Ryan hater, so I can't pick Wisconsin above Northwestern and Illinois teams that look clearly better on paper, so I wouldn't pick UW higher than 6th - the Gophers roster is still TBD as far as whether a couple key guys will play, so I have to give UW an edge on them at this point.

I think there's a great top-5 with Illinois and Northwestern joining the top 3 as I don't think they'll be that far off of #2 and #3 as people seem to think. I see UW and the Gophers fighting for 6th with IU not far behind them.
Click to expand...

I agree, wth Coble Northwestern will be tough. Lot of teams in the middle that could go either way. Ohio State has some holes to fill. They have a great recruiting class but that could take time. I think:

Illinois
WU
Northwestern
Ohio State
Minnesota

might be interchangeable
 

OSUfan said:
Gold Vision, bashing Northwestern is a mistake. This is going to be their best team ever. Saying they have nothing inside - do you realize Kevin Coble is coming back? That guy is arguably one of the top-5 returning players in the league - he was 2nd team all-Big Ten in '09. And Shurna made one of the all-Big Ten teams last year (2nd team, I think). How many comparable players are going to be on the Gophers roster? NW ahead of MN is how it should be, at least in the preseason.

I will go as far to say if Northwestern avoids injuries, they will finish no lower than 5th and could finish #2 or #3 if some "good luck" heads their way. But #4-5 is certainly the most likely for Northwestern, battling for 4th with Illinois.

I am a Bo Ryan hater, so I can't pick Wisconsin above Northwestern and Illinois teams that look clearly better on paper, so I wouldn't pick UW higher than 6th - the Gophers roster is still TBD as far as whether a couple key guys will play, so I have to give UW an edge on them at this point.

I think there's a great top-5 with Illinois and Northwestern joining the top 3 as I don't think they'll be that far off of #2 and #3 as people seem to think. I see UW and the Gophers fighting for 6th with IU not far behind them.
Click to expand...

I'm not bashing NU, I just don't think getting Coble back automatically makes them all that much better. Coble is a Shurna clone. They averages about 15pts and 4 rebounds a game in conference play. Both Shurna and Coble are much more comfortable slashing backdoor or on the perimeter. Neither is all that comfortable with their back to the basket. Both can be dynamic scorers and they are going to create a lot of match-up problems with those two at the forward positions. I think they will get killed on the boards though with a soft lineup of Shurna, Coble, and Mirkovic.

On defense is where I still think NU will struggle throughout out the Big10 season as they did last season. I would think Coble will take over the majority of Nash's minutes on the floor and they will be forced to go big but lose a lot of quickness. Nash was a huge part of the 1-3-1 defense that was not all that effective to begin with. You're taking away a quick, all big10 defensive player at the top of the zone when you have to insert Shurna and Coble.

Until they can show a consistent rebounding and defensive game, I don't see them breaking through to that top tier of the Big10.
 

OSUfan said:
Gold Vision, bashing Northwestern is a mistake. This is going to be their best team ever. Saying they have nothing inside - do you realize Kevin Coble is coming back? That guy is arguably one of the top-5 returning players in the league - he was 2nd team all-Big Ten in '09. And Shurna made one of the all-Big Ten teams last year (2nd team, I think). How many comparable players are going to be on the Gophers roster? NW ahead of MN is how it should be, at least in the preseason.

I will go as far to say if Northwestern avoids injuries, they will finish no lower than 5th and could finish #2 or #3 if some "good luck" heads their way. But #4-5 is certainly the most likely for Northwestern, battling for 4th with Illinois.

I am a Bo Ryan hater, so I can't pick Wisconsin above Northwestern and Illinois teams that look clearly better on paper, so I wouldn't pick UW higher than 6th - the Gophers roster is still TBD as far as whether a couple key guys will play, so I have to give UW an edge on them at this point.

I think there's a great top-5 with Illinois and Northwestern joining the top 3 as I don't think they'll be that far off of #2 and #3 as people seem to think. I see UW and the Gophers fighting for 6th with IU not far behind them.
Click to expand...

LOL. Did we not beat UW by 16 last year without those "key guys"? Gophs go 4-5 and if Mbakwe and Royce play we have thee best post players in the conference. nuff said. If that happens, anywhere from 1st-4th place for the gophs.
 

I can't predict Northwestern being a top 5 team until I've seen them do it once.
 

Go Gophs eh? said:
LOL. Did we not beat UW by 16 last year without those "key guys"? Gophs go 4-5 and if Mbakwe and Royce play we have thee best post players in the conference. nuff said. If that happens, anywhere from 1st-4th place for the gophs.
Click to expand...

I was calling Nolen, Mbakwe and White key players for next year - do you disagree? I wasn't talking about last year. You don't think losing your top offensive player from last year as well as your top defensive player makes any difference? I think UW is going to take a step back and be similar to what they were in '08-09, and if the Gophers get the 3 guys in limbo all playing, they ought to be better than UW, but that's not a given.
 

Go Gophs eh? said:
LOL. Did we not beat UW by 16 last year without those "key guys"? Gophs go 4-5 and if Mbakwe and Royce play we have thee best post players in the conference. nuff said. If that happens, anywhere from 1st-4th place for the gophs.
Click to expand...

And lost to Indiana w/o those key guys. Royce White and Mbakwe are not and would not have been two of the best post players in the league their first year most likely.
 


I just seen it today, most likely already posted somewhere, but Indiana signed that 7'1" J.C. center Guy Marc-Michel the other day. (Sounds like a French race car driver.) 7'7" wingspan or something like that.
 

Butler wasn't as out of nowhere as people seem to think though. They were the most common preseason surprise pick for the final 4 that I saw from the people on ESPN. People were aware of the talent and they were rated highly the whole year. They had proven themselves the year before and it was known that they would be returning two of the best rising sophomores in the country. Northwestern was missing a star player last year, but even so, until they at least make it to the tournament for the first time I can't consider them a preseason top 25. I still don't think they have enough depth/athleticism.

OSUfan said:
"I can't predict Butler being a Final Four team until I've seen them do it once" :)
Click to expand...
 

Northwestern

Call me crazy I would say Crawford is real athletic and I might say JuiceThompson is really athletic.. I would say Coble and Shurna are athletic PLUS they are good basketball players...

Coble at 6'8 can do things Hoffarber cant at 6'3....
 

this thread kind of makes me depressed. If were not in the top 5 with this team were not gonna get there anytime soon unless they sign some 5 star stud. which they probably wont anytime soon. If all the Jrs stay next year that team could be better but after them it could be a dim future. unless again we sign some unexpected studs
 

Last year Northwestern finished 169th in defensive efficiency, 252nd in offensive rebounding %, and 216th in defensive rebounding %. Everybody returning + Kevin Coble isn't going to do much to improve those numbers. And they need to REALLY, REALLY improve those numbers to get anywhere near the top 25.
 

Plinnius said:
Last year Northwestern finished 169th in defensive efficiency, 252nd in offensive rebounding %, and 216th in defensive rebounding %. Everybody returning + Kevin Coble isn't going to do much to improve those numbers. And they need to REALLY, REALLY improve those numbers to get anywhere near the top 25.
Click to expand...

This, and they lose their best defender who averaged 30+ minutes. NU can hang with anyone if they are shooting the lights out, but they have shown to be incapable of making a defensive stop. They will be right in the lower middle of the big 10 again.
 

Mirkovic

Gold Vision said:
NU plays a gimicky defense and lost their best all around defender in Nash. They can absolutely shoot the lights out from behind the arc, but they have zero inside presence. They will upset some teams at home, but I can't call them a contender without a legitimate post option.
Click to expand...

Their freshmen center had 11pts, 10 reb, and 4 stls against Sampson. Totally dominated him. Mirkovic is back??
 

march madness said:
Their freshmen center had 11pts, 10 reb, and 4 stls against Sampson. Totally dominated him. Mirkovic is back??
Click to expand...

He's back, just completely inconsistant after watching him all year. It is a good point that he is a freshman though, he really could come into his own and prove me wrong.
 

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