The Hoops Junkie

 
I didn’t do the full 24 hour marathon of college hoops on ESPN yesterday, but I did manage to watch quite a bit. And while it is way too early to come to conclusions about teams or players, I did have a few observations from yesterday.

 
• Somehow San Diego State beating Gonzaga last night and now getting hyped as the best team on the west coast is a surprise. I had them at #14 in my preseason rankings and didn’t understand why they weren’t getting more love nationally. They have everybody back from what was a solid team last season, and they even added some perimeter shooting that they needed from transfer James Rahon. The Aztecs strength is their frontcourt though, where they cause matchups problems by basically playing 3 athletic combo forwards across the frontline in Kawhi Leonard, Billy White, and Malcolm Thomas. They could be vulnerable against a team with a good big man who could hurt them in the post, but they take can advantage on the other end with their speed and quickness advantages. The Mountain West looks to be strong again this season with San Diego State, BYU, UNLV, and New Mexico, so it will be interesting to see how things play out there.
• Quincy Acy was a beast yesterday for Baylor. While he is obviously undersized as an NBA prospect as a 4, he makes up for it with tremendous length, athleticism, toughness, and energy. His skill level and shooting ability are still well below par, but they did look to be improved at least slightly. I was always intrigued last season, as I loved his physical tools and his aggressive mentality (he tries to dunk everything if he’s in the basket area), but if he’s added a bit of polish, he’s a legitimate NBA draft prospect. You can find my NBA draft big board here, where I’ll be making updates throughout the season. I try not to make quick decisions based on 1 or 2 games or rank guys that I really haven’t seen play, so right now the board is nowhere near complete.
• Florida was disappointing yesterday, especially in the second half, in their loss to Ohio State, but I disagree that they’re overrated. Maybe I’ll be wrong, and they’ll be this year’s Texas, but I think they’re going to be really good. They’re one of the most well rounded teams in the country in terms of having talent, size, depth, shooting, etc.  Chandler Parsons didn’t have a great day yesterday, and I’d like to see him assert himself a bit more. And I’m not crazy about the decision-making of their guards (Kenny Boynton and Erving Walker), and that could potentially be their downfall, but I think they’ll end up in the top 5 or 10 when the regular season is over. I just don’t see many other teams that have their balance and depth in talent.
• Ohio State showed yesterday why they’re a Final 4 and national championship contender. The main concern and story you’ll hear all season for the Buckeyes will center around their point guard play and whether or not they can win with freshman Aaron Craft, but I think David Lighty and William Buford can take a tremendous amount of pressure off of him. They both stepped up their playmaking yesterday, and they’ll have plenty of time to continue that and display more of their all around games in the absence of Evan Turner. We know Jared Sullinger is a stud inside and Jon Diebler will fill it up from 3, but Lighty and Buford making plays on the wing will be a big key for them this season.

One Response so far | Have Your Say!

1. 

   Chaser
   November 27th, 2010 at 9:21 pm #

   Glad to see the blog up and running again. Congrats on the Baby! Go Bulls