Who from the other 13 B1G teams is a sure bet to leave early for the NBA?

KillmeNow

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With the Gophers only losing Seniors this year, and no one leaving early for the NBA, it will be relevant if anyone from the other B1G teams leaves early for the NBA, a Miles Bridges for example. I've seen one person pick Minnesota as the early pick for favorite to win the B1G regular season Title next year, but there are others who feel other teams are bringing back a lot as well, and adding better recruiting classes than UMn is adding, and when I looked at a couple other B1G Rosters, it seemed that there are a few teams out there with very few seniors.

One IU fan tells me Bridges is coming back and MSU is his pick to win the B1G next year, AND that Minnesota will go the way of Nebraska. Had one 4th place finish when the B1G was down, but then dropped down to the level of really bad. I know he is wrong about UMn going the way of Nebraska, but is he right about MSU?

Thoughts?

Tell me, who you think will be the Top 4 in the B1G next season.

I'm not expert, but I'll say

1. Minnesota - even with 1 injury, but not 2 and not if the one is Mason, Murphy or Lynch.
2. Purdue
2. Michigan St - with Bridges coming back. They'd come in #4 if Bridges doesn't come back
4. Iowa - with Bridges coming back, #3 if Bridges doesn't come back.

And it won't hurt my feelings if you disagree with me.

So if I didn't have to put them
 

Interesting question and I don't know enough about what all the other teams might be losing to really give a good answer. However to the Michigan State part of the equation I think it is a fairly safe bet that Izzo will have them in the hunt again next year. He has had a great run at MSU and even though they were down a little this year I would expect to see them in the mix going forward.

Also I don't see how we are a one and done like Nebraska given what we have coming in and what we have coming back. We absolutely should be in the mix for the Big Ten title next season and it will be very disappointing if we aren't.
 

Iowa is stacked with Freshman and Sophomores. I'd peg them for a 2018-19 run.
 

My top 4, and this assumes Bridges, Biggie, and Melo are NBA-bound. Can't see any scenario Bridges or Biggie return. Melo might? If Melo returns, Maryland goes into a 1-3 spot.

1 Michigan State
2 Minnesota
3 Iowa
4 Northwestern

Wisconsin's B1G top-4 streak ends next season.
 

Iowa is stacked with Freshman and Sophomores. I'd peg them for a 2018-19 run.

Yep...they had an excellent freshman class, and have McCaffery's kid (pretty highly rated shooter) coming in next year.
 


My top 4, and this assumes Bridges, Biggie, and Melo are NBA-bound. Can't see any scenario Bridges or Biggie return. Melo might? If Melo returns, Maryland goes into a 1-3 spot.

1 Michigan State
2 Minnesota
3 Iowa
4 Northwestern

Wisconsin's B1G top-4 streak ends next season.

That sounds about right. Even if Bridges makes the leap as expected, Izzo's recruiting has been great lately and they will be tough next season. I'd slot Maryland in at the 4-5 range near Northwestern.

Wildcards:

Indiana- Will Crean be back? What about Bryant, Blackmon, and Anunoby? Tough to tell with these guys.

Illinois: Who will coach the team? They have (had) a great recruiting class signed, will be interesting to see how many of these guys renege.
 

My top 4, and this assumes Bridges, Biggie, and Melo are NBA-bound. Can't see any scenario Bridges or Biggie return. Melo might? If Melo returns, Maryland goes into a 1-3 spot.

1 Michigan State
2 Minnesota
3 Iowa
4 Northwestern

Wisconsin's B1G top-4 streak ends next season.

I agree, I also think IU is a wild card. I think OG will leave, but if Blackmon and Bryant are back they should make a run at the top four.
 

If Bridges comes back, I think Michigan St. will be the favorite. Maryland will also be very good if Trimble comes back as they would only lose Dodd.
 

If Bridges stayed in school it would really piss off a few NBA general managers - that kid is going to be a monster in the League, why wait? Also, losing Melo Trimble is a hit, but I do like what coach Turgeon has started at Maryland. Those three kids who will be sophomores (Cowan, Huerter, Jackson) have a LOT of talent, and I'm sure he's bringing in another wave. I'd have them on the same line as Iowa in my prediction. And, that damn Penn St. team has a really nice core of young talent, they will not be an easy win next season.
 



I'm just glad that Wisconsin is going to rely on freshmen to keep them relevant. I'm picking them to finish 7th or worse
 

Who's Biggie? Swanigan?

Will both Bridges and Ward go? If yes, what does their incoming class look like? Probably awesome.

Iowa will improve even without Jok.

Why wouldn't Melo come back? Is he even guaranteed the first round? I bet he comes back.

Here is my preseason Top 4:

1. Minnesota - 4 of 5 starters back and 6 of the 7 deep team Pitino has led to the tournament Plus a decent crop of guard freshmen.
2. Maryland - With Melo back they would only lack a big man. And they have the guy who got injured at the end of the year. Without Melo, they drop to 3rd.
3. Michigan Sate - They have two highly rated PF coming in to reload with.
4 and 5. Iowa and Northwestern - I'm higher on Iowa but NW should still be good.
 

I didn't look at recruiting, but here is a breakdown of who will be back for every B1G team. Lots of young teams this year, which is probably why the conference was down. Only WI, IL, and to an extent Michigan lose multiple significant pieces before considering NBA decisions.

Purdue -- Swanigan to the NBA? Probably. Return basically everyone else. Preseason #1 in B1G with Swanigan
Wisconsin -- Major losses. Lose 4/5 starters. Hayes, Koenig, Brown, Showalter all gone
Maryland -- Return quite a bit. Trimble is the big question. If he's back they'll be preseason top 2 in B1G
Gophers -- Return everyone except Springs
Mich St -- If Bridges comes back (don't think he will) they'll be very good. Return most others. 4/5 top scorers are freshmen
NW -- Top 5 scorers return. Lose Lumpkin, but that's it
Michigan -- Lose a couple key players. Also keep a few. Average player turnover
Iowa -- Jok is gone. Everyone else will be back
Illinois -- Hill and Morgan gone, so they lose quite a bit though not as devastating as WI. New coach TBD
Ohio St - Bring back everyone except Loving
Indiana -- Set to return just about everyone, but Blackmon Jr, OG, and Bryant could go pro. Coaching change?
Nebraska -- Leading scorer Webster is gone. Everyone else should be back.
Penn St -- 0 seniors on the roster this season. Could be ready to make a leap.
Rutgers -- Basically everyone is back

Bridges and Swanigan likely headed to the NBA imo. Bryant, Trimble, Anunoby, and Blackmon Jr would be the other possibilities that come to mind.
 

I didn't look at recruiting, but here is a breakdown of who will be back for every B1G team. Lots of young teams this year, which is probably why the conference was down. Only WI, IL, and to an extent Michigan lose multiple significant pieces before considering NBA decisions.

Purdue -- Swanigan to the NBA? Probably. Return basically everyone else. Preseason #1 in B1G with Swanigan
Wisconsin -- Major losses. Lose 4/5 starters. Hayes, Koenig, Brown, Showalter all gone
Maryland -- Return quite a bit. Trimble is the big question. If he's back they'll be preseason top 2 in B1G
Gophers -- Return everyone except Springs
Mich St -- If Bridges comes back (don't think he will) they'll be very good. Return most others. 4/5 top scorers are freshmen
NW -- Top 5 scorers return. Lose Lumpkin, but that's it
Michigan -- Lose a couple key players. Also keep a few. Average player turnover
Iowa -- Jok is gone. Everyone else will be back
Illinois -- Hill and Morgan gone, so they lose quite a bit though not as devastating as WI. New coach TBD
Ohio St - Bring back everyone except Loving
Indiana -- Set to return just about everyone, but Blackmon Jr and Bryant could go pro. Coaching change?
Nebraska -- Leading scorer Webster is gone. Everyone else should be back.
Penn St -- 0 seniors on the roster this season. Could be ready to make a leap.
Rutgers -- Basically everyone is back

Bridges and Swanigan likely headed to the NBA imo. Bryant, Trimble, and Blackmon Jr would be the other possibilities that come to mind.

Based on all that it looks like the conference next year could be very balanced similar to how it was this year but with all the teams being a notch better. Kind of like it was not that long ago when the BIG was viewed as a dominant basketball conference. Will be very interesting to see how the Big Ten teams do in the NCAA tournament this year. Nobody has high expectations but the conference could post some surprises. I have to think Villanova and Kansas can't be thrilled that they might be looking at 2nd round matchups with Wisconsin and Michigan State.
 



I might be mocked for saying this, but I think the B1G will do better than predicted in the tournament. Disciplined, physical ugly-ball may just prevail over the street ball played in some leagues.


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big ten recruits.

Peeking at next years recruits.

Mich St has top 20 pf Jaren Jackson 6-11 225. Down to them and possibly Arizona for #15 overall sf Brian Bowen.

Illinois has solid class led by #29 overall pf Tilmon. They always recruit better than they perform.

Ohio St has a big center #75 overall in to replace Thompson who declared but could change his mind.

Overall sounds like down recruiting as old powerhouses like Ohio St and Michigan. Izzo still gets some McDonald's all-Americans.

ON 247 Wisconsin is highest rated recruiting class in the Big Ten at 19th, Purdue 24th, Indiana 36, and Mich St. 14th, IA 42nd, Maryland 47, Minnesota 62nd, Ohio ST 65th, Northw. 105th.
 

Bridges has such a big decision but he is a very unique kid with a different set of goals and values. He and his family are talking of seriously coming back ! If he gets a top 7 evaluation that would make it really tough to stay. The IU poster predicting a Nebraska type fall back for the Gophers is way off base. Nebraska at no point in their history have ever returned what Minnesota has coming back or expecting back. Also for anyone to predict UW goes outside the top 4 is not very familiar with how far along Happ is and will be. Trice is pretty special and Pritzl will be a year removed from his brutal injury. The freshman they bring in are very mature and highly skilled with two of them playing right away. On first sight they are off their mark and i certainly would pick the Gophers first,MSU second, but not thinking IOWA passes UW.
 

Top 7 look like NCAA teams.
1. Minnesota, 6 of top 7 return, a highly rated pg and a possible transfer forward in Fitzgerald.
2. Michigan St. Bridges likely to leave, Ward should return. Another big time pf replaces Bridges. Schilling could get another year. No longer undersized. Winston, Ward, Langford have high ceilings.
3. Indiana. If Blackmon and c Bryant return, otherwise down to 5. 3 great guards in Newkirk, Blackmon, and R Johnson, pf Anunoby, twin towers of Bryant and Deron D., and the solid pf Morgan.
4. Maryland, Trimble returns as does their center who replaces the one starter graduating. Good Freshmen class will be sophmore's.
5. Michigan. Walton, Irvin, Robinson are all gone. Return Wagner, Wilson, Rahkman, Simpson. They will be like Indiana losing Yogi. Really appreciate Walton when he is gone!
6. Iowa. Freshmen tandem of pf Cook and pg Bohannon will carry this deep team. Pemsl solid at center. Baer a do everything type. Freshmen shooter McCaffrey will help with scoring
7. Northwestern. Returns excellent backcourt with McIntosh and Lindsey, along with V Law at forward. Pardon and Skelly are solid.
8. Wisconsin. Total rebuild besides Haas. Trice is serviceable. Iverson has athleticism. Reuvers and Davison could see immediate floor time.










Why wouldn't Melo come back? Is he even guaranteed the first round? I bet he comes back.

Here is my preseason Top 4:
QUOTE]
 

Wisconsin has a great track record but have they ever lost 4 starters and returned this little?

Reuvers has talent but will have trouble in the physical big ten as a freshmen.
 

I didn't look at recruiting, but here is a breakdown of who will be back for every B1G team. Lots of young teams this year, which is probably why the conference was down. Only WI, IL, and to an extent Michigan lose multiple significant pieces before considering NBA decisions.

Purdue -- Swanigan to the NBA? Probably. Return basically everyone else. Preseason #1 in B1G with Swanigan
Wisconsin -- Major losses. Lose 4/5 starters. Hayes, Koenig, Brown, Showalter all gone
Maryland -- Return quite a bit. Trimble is the big question. If he's back they'll be preseason top 2 in B1G
Gophers -- Return everyone except Springs
Mich St -- If Bridges comes back (don't think he will) they'll be very good. Return most others. 4/5 top scorers are freshmen
NW -- Top 5 scorers return. Lose Lumpkin, but that's it
Michigan -- Lose a couple key players. Also keep a few. Average player turnover
Iowa -- Jok is gone. Everyone else will be back
Illinois -- Hill and Morgan gone, so they lose quite a bit though not as devastating as WI. New coach TBD
Ohio St - Bring back everyone except Loving
Indiana -- Set to return just about everyone, but Blackmon Jr, OG, and Bryant could go pro. Coaching change?
Nebraska -- Leading scorer Webster is gone. Everyone else should be back.
Penn St -- 0 seniors on the roster this season. Could be ready to make a leap.
Rutgers -- Basically everyone is back

Bridges and Swanigan likely headed to the NBA imo. Bryant, Trimble, Anunoby, and Blackmon Jr would be the other possibilities that come to mind.


Thanks a lot for looking all that up bizzle22.
 

Bridges has such a big decision but he is a very unique kid with a different set of goals and values. He and his family are talking of seriously coming back ! If he gets a top 7 evaluation that would make it really tough to stay. The IU poster predicting a Nebraska type fall back for the Gophers is way off base. Nebraska at no point in their history have ever returned what Minnesota has coming back or expecting back. Also for anyone to predict UW goes outside the top 4 is not very familiar with how far along Happ is and will be. Trice is pretty special and Pritzl will be a year removed from his brutal injury. The freshman they bring in are very mature and highly skilled with two of them playing right away. On first sight they are off their mark and i certainly would pick the Gophers first,MSU second, but not thinking IOWA passes UW.

Don't overlook the fact that Bo Ryan is no longer coaching this team. I have serious doubts that they would be an 8 seed with Ryan at the helm. I would bet serious dollars they finish outside the top 4
 

Wisconsin has a great track record but have they ever lost 4 starters and returned this little?

Reuvers has talent but will have trouble in the physical big ten as a freshmen.

They lost alot two years ago, Jackson, Gassner, Frank and Dekker, ut they also had Koening and Hayes in the wings playing major minutes and Showalter and Vitto Brown were much more servicable than the bench players they have this year. Pritzl could be alright, Trice serviceable, good outside shot, but not much else. Iverson is a decent defender, but those guys as a starting five aren't going to be on the same level as teams that are returning more talent, even with the big fellow Happ, they'll steal some games, but they will be on the bubble next season. If I am wrong I am wrong, but I am never in doubt.
 

Gophers' recruiting class is down rankings wise because they're only bringing in 2 kids, but they're two kids who will come in and contribute from day one. They're also getting Fitzgerald back, hopefully at full strength, which will deepen their thin wing.
 

1. Gophers.
2. Mst
3. Northwestern.
4. Indiana.

I think Mn will be ranked in the top 15-20 all year.
 

Gophers' recruiting class is down rankings wise because they're only bringing in 2 kids, but they're two kids who will come in and contribute from day one. They're also getting Fitzgerald back, hopefully at full strength, which will deepen their thin wing.

Spot on. Fitzgerald is a big X-factor who could really rev this club into the national conversation if he's a legit wing who can spell Coffey. He and Lynch have had a great bond for the two years that he's been waiting to play, I hope that chemistry continues on the court. I CAN'T WAIT to see it!
 


Some tempered expectations from myself:

The B1G has so much talent returning; and there will be only 1 pushover next year in the entire conference: Rutgets, again. And even they might not be terrible. PSU and Nebraska should continue to be solid and PSU should have improved talent. And that's just the bottom. WI has a very good class coming in, even if replacing their seniors will be tough. They probably won't be a bad team. And then there's all the rest, who are mainly likely to maintain their level or maybe improve.

As for the Gophers, the team isn't going to improve vastly, barring a huge offseason improvement in one of the current freshman or a very high level of play from Fitzgerald. If that happens, Gophers could climb to top-3. If not, I think the Gophers will be looking at a season about the same level as this one. As of today, I'd predict a #4-#5 B1G finish, with the potential to be between #1 at the high end (if everything goes right) and about #9 at the low end (if many things go wrong).

Compared to where we were just one year ago, wondering if the roster was going to fall apart and having recruits like Reuvers go to rival schools, this is wonderful.
 

Some tempered expectations from myself:

The B1G has so much talent returning; and there will be only 1 pushover next year in the entire conference: Rutgets, again. And even they might not be terrible. PSU and Nebraska should continue to be solid and PSU should have improved talent. And that's just the bottom. WI has a very good class coming in, even if replacing their seniors will be tough. They probably won't be a bad team. And then there's all the rest, who are mainly likely to maintain their level or maybe improve.

As for the Gophers, the team isn't going to improve vastly, barring a huge offseason improvement in one of the current freshman or a very high level of play from Fitzgerald. If that happens, Gophers could climb to top-3. If not, I think the Gophers will be looking at a season about the same level as this one. As of today, I'd predict a #4-#5 B1G finish, with the potential to be between #1 at the high end (if everything goes right) and about #9 at the low end (if many things go wrong).

Compared to where we were just one year ago, wondering if the roster was going to fall apart and having recruits like Reuvers go to rival schools, this is wonderful.

It's college basketball. If you return nearly everybody on your roster, your likely going to be much better the following year. Guys get better as they get older. Every single guy on the roster should be just a little bit better which will lead to a sizable improvement on aggregate. These aren't 35 year old men that are on the decline, they will get better.
 

It's college basketball. If you return nearly everybody on your roster, your likely going to be much better the following year. Guys get better as they get older. Every single guy on the roster should be just a little bit better which will lead to a sizable improvement on aggregate. These aren't 35 year old men that are on the decline, they will get better.

I wouldn't expect major improvement from every player. Hopefully from 1 or 2 or 3. For example, Mason this year is far better than last. McBrayer is better, but not as dramatic. Murphy has improved, but going into midseason he nearly disappeared. Gilbert doesn't even see the floor anymore.

Do I expect the freshmen to be better? Absolutely, but I cannot count on such, and the other teams aren't stagnant, and also appear likely to improve top to bottom. There are plenty of things that could happen where players don't improve (Hayes & Brown, WI) or get injured (Gophers, annually).

So the comparison might be, will they be like the 96-97 team that met and delivered, improving on the 95-96 team, or the Kohlander senior season team that had very high hopes and failed to deliver? I'm guessing on somewhere between.
 

Um

Some tempered expectations from myself:

The B1G has so much talent returning; and there will be only 1 pushover next year in the entire conference: Rutgets, again. And even they might not be terrible. PSU and Nebraska should continue to be solid and PSU should have improved talent. And that's just the bottom. WI has a very good class coming in, even if replacing their seniors will be tough. They probably won't be a bad team. And then there's all the rest, who are mainly likely to maintain their level or maybe improve.

As for the Gophers, the team isn't going to improve vastly, barring a huge offseason improvement in one of the current freshman or a very high level of play from Fitzgerald. If that happens, Gophers could climb to top-3. If not, I think the Gophers will be looking at a season about the same level as this one. As of today, I'd predict a #4-#5 B1G finish, with the potential to be between #1 at the high end (if everything goes right) and about #9 at the low end (if many things go wrong).

Compared to where we were just one year ago, wondering if the roster was going to fall apart and having recruits like Reuvers go to rival schools, this is wonderful.

You don't think the incoming freshmen are going to contribute at all? Current guys won't be hungry after getting a taste this year? Why in heavens name should we not be top 3? The chances of Fitzgerald providing a high level of play are unlikely. When he played 3 years ago he averaged 3 points or something. Lots of other sources for improvement seem far more likely.
 

You don't think the incoming freshmen are going to contribute at all? Current guys won't be hungry after getting a taste this year? Why in heavens name should we not be top 3? The chances of Fitzgerald providing a high level of play are unlikely. When he played 3 years ago he averaged 3 points or something. Lots of other sources for improvement seem far more likely.

I merely expect the incoming Jelly to hopefully be a wash vs. Springs, and Harris to be a minor contributor as a Fr.
 




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