Men's College Hoops: Big 10 Preview 2007-08

Finishing to a pretty good 23-12 record and making it to the NCAA tournament, the fighting Illini hope to improve from last season. There was tons of focus with problems both on and off the court that may have distracted Coach Bruce Webber and his fighting Illini. They will start off the new season with more than enough talent to compete with the best of the Big 10.

Key Losses:

Warren Carter led the team with 13.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.0 assists a game. They will also miss out on their two outside threats of Rich McBride and Jamar Smith, meaning that someone else will either have to step up, or they will have to stick to making points near and in the paint.

Key Additions

Since Illinois have lost some of their most key players, they will need the upcoming players to fill the shoes of these leaders. Demetri McCamey is a great athletic defender who still has room for improvement with his jump shot. Steve Holdren and Jeff Jordan will both help fill the perimeter holes left by Rich McBride and Jamar Smith

Projection: The Illini will have another successful season and make it to the NCAA tournament.

Indiana Hoosiers 2007-08 Basketball Preview

With an above average 21-11 record, but a disappointing finish, being knocked out in the first round Coach Kelvin Sampson is going to push his team, his new freshman Eric Gordan, and his returning star D.J White, into having a successful season.

Key Losses

They will lose a huge portion of their backcourt in Roderick Wilmont and Earl Calloway. Wilmont was probably the greatest long range shooter on the team and would help out with those crucial rebounds in crunch time. Calloway was not as a great of shooter as Roderick, but he did provide a great amount of leadership for the team.

Key Additions:

Eric Gordon will probably be the go to scorer. He is a solid defender, great athlete, with an excellent shot. Jordan Crawford, the versatile 6-5 guard, will provide a huge variety of threats to the opposing teams. They will also get some size with DeAndre Thomas providing 6'8" 295 pound threat to other teams.

Projection: They will make it to the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Iowa Hawkeyes 2007-08 Basketball Preview

Todd Lickliter and his Iowa Hawkeyes had a mildly successful season last year at 23-12. They also made the annual NCAA tournament. With Todd Lickliter losing most of his top scorers, he will have a tough time trying to repeat the success of last year

Key Losses

Iowa will lose Adam Haluska who led the team with 20.5 points a game. They also lose Tyler Smith who has opted to transfer to another basketball program. Tyler Smith gave strong back-up support with 14.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game. The Hawkeyes are back to the drawing board and are searching rampantly for someone on their team to step up and be the leader offensively and defensively

Key Additions

Jake Kelly and Jeff Peterson will have to step up and be the leading players in order for Iowa to succeed. Kelly has the 6-6 height and the great ability to handle the ball. His versatility will help the Hawkeyes develop a respectable outside shooting presence. They will also have Jeff Peterson who will be able to pass and run the offense effectively. When his scoring develops, he will be a great overall point guard for his team.

Projection: Tony Freeman is really going to have to step up in order for Iowa to be successful this year, especially with the strong Big 10 conference. He is the top returning scorer and assist leader for the team. Even with Tony Freeman playing great, Iowa will be hard-pressed to make the NCAA tournament, and may fail in doing so.

Michigan Wolverines 2007-08 Basketball Preview

The Wolverines will lose a great deal of talent next season, and they will start it all with a brand new coach, Coach Beilein. Coach Beilein has had great success with taking over mediocre basketball teams and turning them into a pretty respectable force.

Key Losses:

The Michigan Wolverines will miss Dion Harris who was their biggest threat from the 3 point range. He averaged 13.4 points and 3.6 assists per game. They will also miss Courtney Sims who was a strong interior presence that brought over 6 rebounds, 1 block and 11 points per game to the team.

Key Additions:

The Wolverines will acquire Manny Harris who is a 6-5 athlete and finisher. Even though his shot could use some improvement, he can still help with the hard work of the game, and hit the mid-range jumper as well. He may be one of their best players in the upcoming years if he develops a long-range jump shot. Kelvin Grady will be a back-up this year, but at 5'11" with a great deal of quickness, he will be able to put some points on the board, especially in crunch time.

Projected

Jerret Smith will have to lead his team on to victory as he started the last 9 games of the season last year. His experience will be invaluable to the team, as he will probably be the best long range shooter on the team as well. Michigan will probably make the NIT.

Michigan State Spartans 2007-08 Basketball Preview

Overview

The Spartans lost four starters and did not have a senior on the roster. Still, they had some impressive wins and made the NCAA Tournament under the tutelage of Coach Tom Izzo. 23-12. Coach Izzo will finally have the depth he needs to run the offense Spartan fans expect to see

Last year was a surprise many people as they had some incredible wins, and made the NCAA tournament despite not having any senior depth on the roster. Even greater, the Spartans had lost four of their best players and despite all odds, they competed really well in the tough big 10 conference. There are high expectations this year in SpartanVille.

Key losses

Maurice Joseph had a great shot, and could have helped the team this year, however, he was not a crucial part of the success.

Key Additions

Durrell Summers has a thin 6-5 frame, however, he has an uncanny ability to get to the basket and get those highly coveted rebounds. He will be able to get to the basket and score, however, he will have to work on his mid to long range jump shot to be the complete player Coach Izzo wants him to be. He will probably be their top player if he develops as projected. Kalin Lucas will be the upcoming point guard star if he develops in the future. Lucas also has an incredible ability to get to the basket in the future, however, his minutes will be limited due to the already present depth in the backcourt of Michigan State.

Projection

Neitzel will be the main leader for the Michigan State Spartans, as he improved drastically and led Michigan to a surprisingly successful season last year. Neitzel averaged 18 points and 4.3 assists which was crucial to the Spartans success. They will also have a great defender in Travis Walton, who has a knack for finding open people on the perimeter and slashing to the basket such as Raymar Morgan. Michigan State will make the NCAA tournament.

Minnesota Golden Gophers 2007-08 Basketball Preview

Last year, Minnesota put up a shameful excuse for a record. Now there is a buzz in Minnesota, and it could be due to the fact that they have a new great coach in Tubby Smith. There is tons of talent returning, as well as an underrated depth at the guard position. Whether they will be great next year is a huge question, however, they will pull of some impressive wins and show a great deal of improvement.

Key Losses

They will lose a great defender and passer in Limar Wilson. Even though he wasn't the greatest scorer, he definitely helped with the ball movement, which is crucial to scoring in a team game such as college basketball.

Key Additions

Al Nolen is a great driver and will get those hard gritty points on the lay-ups and dish outs to open perimeter shooters. Al Nolen is a true point guard, which is hard to find these days in college basketball. The high recruit Hoffarber will make the hugest impact coming in as a freshman. He is 6-4 and has a great ability to shoot the outside jump-shot. He could be the invaluable sixth man that Minnesota needs to become successful.

Projected:

Minnesota is not projected to make a tournament this year, however, in several years they could be attending the March Madness party. This year they will have to expect big play from Lawrence McKenzie who averaged 14.9 points and 2.8 assists when he came into Minnesota. He is a very good shooter, who can either play the perimeter and shoot from the outside; or become a true point guard and find the open postman for an easy bucket.

Northwestern Wildcats2007-08 Basketball Preview

After going 13-3, Northwestern state was looking promising to make a tournament and cause some upsets. However, they loss some serious motivation and lost 15 of their last 18 games. That's absolutely horrible, however, fortunately Northwester has had some talent to build upon. They probably won't be that great this year, however, they will have at-least a somewhat promising future.

Key Losses

Their star player Tim Doyle was a solid point guard who averaged 11.5 points and 5.1 assists during the game. They also had the twin centers of Vince Scott and Ivan Tolic who started most of the games. Vince Scott was able to present an outside threat which is pretty exceptional for a guy of his stature.

Key Additions

Northwestern has acquired Michael Thompson who will make an immediate impact and have the ability to knock down the mid-range jumper. He is also very smart and intelligent athlete will be able to find open people around the perimeter. The other income freshman by the name of Mike Capocci will be able to do the shooting, and has a great ability to rebound for the team.

Final 2007-2008 Northwestern Projection

Craig Moore will definitely help the team with his shooting abilities. They will also have other players to pass out to the perimeters and find the open man for the outside shot as well. The team has a great amount of guard depth, so they should use that to their advantage and overwhelm the defenders with speed. Northwestern probably won't make a tournament, but they will have some impressive wins and show potential.

Ohio State Buckeyes 2007-08 Basketball Preview

Ohio State is not going to be the dominant team they were last year, or for a while for that matter, however, they are returning with even younger talent that is inspired to hustle and win. This will keep the team from plummeting to the basement of the Big 10. In fact, Ohio State could very well be the number one team in the conference and make an NCAA tournament once again

Key Losses
Greg Oden is probably the most noted loss in all of college basketball, unfortunately his NBA rookie season will already be over due to an injury. Oden brought 15.7 points, 19.6 rebounds, and 3.3 blocks every single game. He also had the immesurables such as fundamentals, leadership, and a quiet confidence that would absolutely intimidate anybody that faced against him.

Mike Conley Jr. was also lost to the NBA draft as he averaged 11.3 and dished out 6.1 assists for his team. Mike Conley was probably one of the the best point guards in big 10 history and his shoes might go unfilled for quite a while.

Key Additions

Eric Wallace, Evan Turner, and Jon Diebler are the top incoming recruits for the Ohio State Buckeyes. All three of these talents have incredible potential with scoring potential as well. Evan Turner will have a great influence on the team as he has a great ability to move around and find the mid-range jumper. This could be highly beneficial to Ohio State during crunch time. Jon Diebler is not as quick or athletic as Turner, however, what he lacks in athleticism he gains in perimeter shooting, which will be highly coveted this year in Ohio State.

Projected:

Before Mike Conley Jr. dropped into the show, Jamar Butler was running everything, averaging 10.1 points and almost 5 assists per game. Butler has an excellent knack for taking care of the ball and finding the open man whether on the post or an outside jumper. He has the ability to lead this team back to the number 2 seed and even compete for a final four appearance.

Othello Hunger will have to prove to be a great defensive and rebounding presence if the Buckeyes aspire to succeed. Hunter started behind Oden, as most people would, however, he finally receives his time to put up big numbers for his team, and get those hard earned stats to propel Ohio State over the hill. Ohio State Will Make it to the Final Four.

Penn State Nittany Lions 2007-08 Basketball Preview

Penn state was expected to be atleast a mediocre team last year, however they would disappoint Nittany Lion college hoop fans around the nation by putting up an 11-19 record. This year, the Nittany Lions will have tons of great talent to build upon and improve from their losing record last year.

Key Losses

The Nittany Lions will miss their two greatest beyond the arc threats in Ben Luber and David Jackson. Luber had massively disappointing numbers last year when he averaged much less than 6 points a game. There was tons of pressure for these two players to perform up to high standards, however, they will not go out on a high note they wanted to. It is up to the newly added talent to step up and play great basketball for Nittany Lion fans everywhere.

Key Additions

The greatest addition that will come to Penn State will be Talor Battle will be the quick, perimeter threat the Nittany Lions are sorely searching for. He will help fill the shoes of the senior class that left last year in disappointment. He is one of the few true point guards that exist in college basketball, and will be able to play defense, score, dish to the perimeter and do just about anything the coach's ask of him.

Final 2007-2008 Penn State Projection:

Geary Claxton will have to lead the squad as he did last year with 16.3 points and 8.0 rebounds. He will also have some excellent support with Cornley with 13.5 points and 6.7 rebounds a game. If these two combine their efforts they will probably upset several teams and pull out some impressive wins. Even though a tournament may seem unlikely, there is always a chance with inspired talent that the Nittany Lions Have. This team should be expected to go atleast .500 this season to make up for the losing effort last year.

Also their starting point guard and Morrissey will have to step up as well. Morrissey was by far the best outside shooting threat on the team, and will have to come up big in this up-coming season in order for his team to see success.

Purdue Boilermakers 2007-08 Basketball Preview

2006-07 Season Overview

The future for the Purdue Boilermakers is definitely bright, even though they have lost some of their best talent. This year should not be touted as a down year as there are so many returning classmen, and only one senior on the roster. Not only will this team be great this year, but they will also be good for the following years as well.

Key Losses

The biggest losses Purdue will have to face is losing their two top players and leaders of Carl Landry and David Teague. Landry lead the team with 18.9 points and 7.3 rebounds which are absolutely huge numbers that definitely aided to the success. David Teague also played a vital support role as he averaged 14.3 points per game, had five boards a game as well. David Teague had one of the best long-range jump shots on his team. Losing these two will hurt, and some might even call this a down year, however, Purdue has rising talent that can atleast somewhat fill the big shoes that these two left.

Key Additions

Losing Landry and Teague would be horrible for this team if they did not have such a great freshman class coming in. JaJuan Johnson is a huge 6-10 205 pound freshman that will serve as a physical force in the future. Right now he is very slender, thin, and may not compete well with the big men who are definitely more physical in the big 10. However, he will be able to use his long arms and legs to get stranded rebounds and block shots from afar.

Nemanja Calasan is an immediate 6-9 impact player, who also happens to be a junior college transfer. Calasan has an excellent work ethic, and will work extremely hard to compete with the rest of the players to have his name on the starting five rotation when the season comes around. Whether he is starting or not, he will get on the court due to his high energy, tough, defensive presence.

Purdue's greatest additions are also Robbie Hummel, Scott Martin, and E'twaun Moore, who will be the premier players in the Big 10 in the upcoming years.

Final Projection

The Boilermakers will have senior leadership with Tarrance Crump, who will lead the point guard position fluidly. They will also have Gordon Watt who started all 33 games and averaged 7.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. Watt will have a lot of depth behind him just in case he gets injured or if he needs a breather.

Teams are going to have a rather tough time trying to defeated the Purdue Boilermakers, as they come back with a complete team, which will be even better come the 08-09 season. The Boilermakers will be in the March Madness Tournament, and may cause some shake-ups as well.

Wisconsin Badgers 2007-08 Basketball Preview

2006-07 Season Overview

The usually strong regular season Badgers put up quite a disappointment when they did not advance to atleast the sweet sixteen last year. The fans are starting to become impatient, therefore they are getting themselves prepped for a strong March Finish this time around. Even though people may think this is a rebuilding year for Wisconsin, they could be right back in the thick of things. The talent level may be down, but Wisconsin is known for their ability to win by having great team chemistry as well, so don't be surprised if this team makes the Sweet 16 come March Madness.

Key Losses

The Badgers two best players Alando Tucker and Kammron Taylor were the two top scorers. Tucker averaged nearly 20 points a game and five rebounds while Taylor averaged nearly 14 points a game, and shot over 40% from the three point line. There will be huge shoes to fill with these two departing, however, Wisconsin has the coaching to make up for the loss of talent.

Key Additions
Keaton Nankivil and Jon Leuer are the big power forwards that will take reigns in Wisconsin for this year and the upcoming as well. They are versatile and bring a natural defensive presence. They also have offensive ability to step out and hit the mid-range jump shots, which is crucial during the closing seconds of the game. These two powerful players may split time as well, and many times could be on the floor at the same time.

Final 2007-08 Wisconsin Projection

Michael Flowers will be the guard leader and team candidate for the guards, and he will be competing with Trevon Hughes and Jason Bohannon. Flowers is one of the best scorers on the team, however, they might want to rely on Bohannon to have a more consistent shooting threat from the SG spot. Trevon Hughes is also highly athletic with a great ability to get to the basket.

They will have to rely more on their powerful centers and forwards to make up for their lack of skill on the guard position. Brian Butch will probably average over 10 points a game and have 7+ rebounds per game as well. Wisconsin will still be a formidable opponent, although not as strong as last year. Projection:Sweet 16 NCAA tournament