When my friends' teams are supposed to be really good in an upcoming season, I like to hear their thoughts on the upcoming season. Also it helps me out, because usually I'm jazzed up about college basketball starting and I can fire off a couple thousand words by myself, but right now I'm too lazy because awhile ago I went on a heroic three-day bender consisting of 38 hours of drinking. Since then, I've now been sick for a full week straight. I am sans energy. On a scale of 1-10, I'm completely exhausted.
Up first, representing Kentucky, is Hendo:
‘I’m here because I can recruit the best of the best here’ ‘When that uniform gets put on and it says Kentucky, you become the Biggest game on that teams schedule.’ ‘This is the right place if you are trying to win a National Title.’ All quotes from the press conference in 2009 welcoming John Calipari as the new University of Kentucky Men’s Basketball Coach. There’s one thing missing from that list. A National Title. Why not this year? This year’s team may be the better of the three teams Cal has put together at UK. I see this year’s team more like a team from the Pitino era. Where they can run the floor with the best of them and have 4 or 5 guys who can make the 3pt shot on a consistent basis. Kentucky’s starting lineup may have two of the best 10 players in all of College Basketball; Anthony Davis and Terrance Jones. Then you throw a veteran player like Darius Miller who may be the best defender on the team. Along with the unbelievable recruiting class of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kyle Wiltjer, and Marquis Teague. With two HUGE non-conference matchups with Kansas and North Carolina you’ll see what this team has to offer in a hurry. I don’t know if I want to compare this team to any of the great Kentucky teams, but it sure has potential.
The Kansas matchup doesn’t scare me quick as much as one would think. The only player in concern would be Thomas Robinson and even then I think he will be in quick foul trouble if KU plays anything but a zone defense. Bill Self doesn’t play zone defense! The North Carolina game on the other hand as everyone is referring it to a National Championship preview is going to be extremely tough. I haven’t seen enough of UNC’s team to grasp their playing style, but they returned almost everyone and loaded up backups. Let’s just be glad this isn’t college football where the loser of this game would almost be out of the National Title race. Nobody in the SEC scares me at the point for a conference contender. Expect this team to run-n-gun and hit the century mark more times than not this year. “They had it before you, they had it during you, they’ll have it when you’re gone” – Al McGuire. Go! Big! Blue!
(Editor's note: I hate that Calipari went to coach Kentucky, because I used to respect them and kind of enjoy their teams a little bit. Those teams they had in '96 and '97, with like 8 or 9 pros on it...man they were fun to watch. But now Calipari coaches them and I hate them with every inch of my soul, and I'm almost as fired up for tomorrow's game as I would be for a tournament game.)
(Editor's note: it's fun to write editor's notes when I actually am the editor. Normally I'm just writing editor's notes about my own writing, which is a questionable joke at best.)
Up next is Fundy, for UNC:
TAR!!!!! HEELS!!!!!! The 2011-2012 season will be bringing a lot of joy and happiness to the Fundy household. The TAR!!!!! HEELS!!!! will be locked, LOADED, and ready for anything getting in their path on the way to a National Championship! With two lottery picks and a first round draft pick coming back The TAR!!! HEELS!!! are the favorites to be cutting the nets down in New Orleans! Anything less WILL be a disappointment. The starting five with Tyler Zeller and John Henson in the front court, Dexter Strickland and first team All American two straight years HARRISON BARNES on the wing, and the man controlling the point, Kendall Marshall the Heels will be a tough team to beat. Along with the strong starting five, the Heels bring in James McAdoo, who would be a starting big man on any other roster, and P.J. Hairston who will be a good outside shooter and a future first round pick. Along with two top freshmen coming in you have Reggie Bullock and Justin Watts bringing a strong bench to a great starting five. Should be a great 2011-2012 season for the Heels!! Lets make it National Championship #7 boys!! Duke Sucks!
(Editor's note: right before the UNC/Michigan St. game on the aircraft carrier last Friday, I texted Fundy and told him that I hoped Japan tried to torpedo the ship and the whole team died. His response: "that's the only way anyone stops them this year." So I'd say he likes Carolina's chances.)
Horp, also for UNC:
This season will be both exciting and nerve wracking at the same time. Having a tall white guy, a guy who needs as many cheeseburgers as Dunph needs to lose, and a solid sophomore leading the team should be interesting. Being the unanimous number one isn't the best for a young team. Might go to their head. But with a point guard that can push it, they will be fun to watch. I cannot wait to get the season underway. As long as Fundy doesn't get caught with a ten-year-old in the shower, this season will be a success.
(Editor's note: Penn St. jokes already, Horp? Too soon alert!)
Noles, on behalf of Duke:
I am excited for the upcoming year. We have some great shooters in Curry, Dawkins, and Rivers. To make a good run in the tourney Duke will need to rely more heavily on their big men. I am looking for big play out of the Plumlee brothers and Ryan Kelly. I hope you notice how I kept Kelly off the good shooters list. Keep your shots inside the 3 point line or you are going to see the end of the bench Kelly. I'm excited to see Duke's other freshman in action with guard Quinn Cook, forward Michael Gbinijie, and forward Alex Murphy. I can tell you right now I will need a nickname for Gbinijie because I am not pronouncing that name all season. I would also like to congratulate Coach K who soon pass Bob Knight on the all-time wins list.
(Editor's note: I would like to congratulate Coach K on considering himself "not just a basketball coach, but a leader of men." Man I hate Coach K. With all these scandals rocking college sports, is it too much to ask for Coach K to get caught with a kid in the shower? OK, Horp, you were right, Penn St. jokes are allowed.)
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As for me, I'm a bit sad and concerned about this year for KU. Sad because last year's team really snuck up on me and they quietly became my 5th favorite KU team of all-time (after 2002, 2003, 2008, and 2007, and yes I keep track of these things.) I'm just gonna miss the attitude and chemistry of last year's team, and losing to VCU in the Elite 8 and ending the year like that just sucked. Side note: I'm a pretty pessimistic fan; some might even say overly pessimistic. My glass isn't half-empty-- my glass is just seconds away from being knocked over and shattered onto the floor into a million pieces. But twice in my life, and ONLY twice, I've been cocky about KU's chances: once in 2003, after they beat Marquette by like 70 points in the Final Four and I thought they'd kill Carmelo and Syracuse in the championship....and before last year's VCU game. We brought bottles of champagne and snuck them into the bar with us, in anticipation of the rowdy celebration sure to ensue after KU won. Instead, the game ended with me sneaking out the back door of the bar with 30 seconds left so I could go sit in the parking lot and drink out of the bottle by myself. So needless to say, I will NEVER be cocky about KU again.
I'm concerned because 80% of the scoring from last year's team is gone. I'd be mashing the panic button already if Coach Self hadn't already proved in 2009 that he could coach a team the year after everybody leaves (everybody from the regular rotation besides Sherron Collins was gone that year, and Self took them to a Big 12 title and the Sweet 16.) But just like that year I thought that KU was horribly underrated by only getting the #25 preseason ranking, I don't think that this year's team is anywhere close to being the #13 team as of right now. I think this year's ranking is more a reflection on how many times Self has brought his teams further than they deserve to go, rather than a reflection on their actual talent. The Kentucky game on Tuesday should be interesting. I could see KU sneaking out a win (Self owns Calipari) and I could see KU losing by 30 (Kentucky is really fucking stacked.)
Also, a year after losing THREE Wall-of-Fame members (Brady Morningstar and the Morris twins) I felt like I was going to be lost without a go-to guy. But it only took about 13 minutes of the first exhibition game for me to start calling Naadir Tharpe 'my boy.' And with always-exciting Elijah Johnson finally about to get his chance to play real minutes (and busting out an undershirt for the season opener-- we all know my feelings about undershirts in college basketball!!!) I think I've got two pretty solid candidates for my favorite player. After a ridiculous stretch of KU being a #1 seed four of the last five years, and winning 15 more games than anyone else in the country over that time frame, I suppose we're due for a down year. Even though they're ranked #13, any time you find yourself saying the words "Oh my goodness, we need to get Tyshawn Taylor back in this game to settle things down RIGHT NOW".....well, that counts as a down year in my book.
Rock Chalk.
