Do they know something that nobody else does, because I'm pretty sure if Nik and GRIII and Mitch all come back, we're the preseason #1
In fairness, he says in the write up if McGary and GRIII come back, that UM is B1G favorites...which would put us in the top-5 considering he has UW as #4.
How does he have Wisconsin as the #4 team but Michigan as the B1G favorite?
is assuming that GRIII and McGary aren't coming back, yielding the 17 ranking. IF they come back, then UM would be the favorite for the B1G title.
"Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker both declared their intentions to return almost immediately following their loss to Kentucky on Saturday night; both could compete for national player of the year honors next season."
That right there constitutes bad news.
I never believe immediate reactions following a tough loss like that. That said, I wouldn't doubt both come back considering they're not consensus first rounders as far as I know.
McGary saying he wasn't even thinking about the draft and then backing off from that stance last year. Part of it, I think, was that he didn't initially realize just how much his stock has soared.
I believe the same issue holds with Kaminsky. THat said, I still expect him to make the same decision as McGary
Kaminsky would probably not, however.
It sounds like they assume all three. That still seems low to me because this team will have talent regardless.
I heard Spike just posted an Instagram pic of Glenn and Mitch with the caption "the future is bright." I hope that cryptic message means what I think it does.
If so, top 5 pre-season without a doubt.
The pessimist in me says that this means that their future is bright as they transition to the NBA. But hey, what do I know?
it means Nik is coming back! Just kidding, but if Mitch and GR3 come back OR Nik comes back, we're a top 10 team.
This is exercise completely useless until all draft declarations and coaching moves are made.
He puts a pretty heavy emphasis on recruiting it seems. We'll be tough to project until NBA decisions.
Putting a heavy emphasis on the top tier recruits is pretty common as they can be extremely impactful early, unlike football. Doesn't KenPom also factor in recruiting in the pre-season calculations to some extent as well?
Waiting until all draft declarations have been made will keep them from trolling for page clicks.
This way, they can post one poll now and another once all of the relevant information is updated.
Come on, man!
My dog...yes my dog. Finished in the 99th percentile on ESPN.com Tournament Challenge.
I believe he may be the only bracket to pick the Mercer upset and the UConn national champion.
if you think that dog cares about money, you're barking up the wrong tree
was his method "the dog mascot always wins"?
and my cat predicted Kentucky. : /
When does the 2016 poll come out?
Srsly??
We're WEEKS away from that...
I try not to get too into the way-too-early polls typically, but it is interesting to me that we were #7 in the AP poll at the start of the tournament, but #18 and a team that was not ranked at that juncture played in the NC game. In the poll linked above, we're #17 and the teams which played last night are #3 and #10. As others have said, it might have been better later in the month because of draft declarations - in the rather unlikely event that Stauskas, Robinson and McGary all stay put, I would have to think #17 might be undercutting us a bit though.
They'll release another ranking once all the draft declarations are made. And if McGary and Robinson come back, a starting lineup of Walton, LeVert, Robinson, Donnal, and McGary with Spike, Irvin, and Horford off the bench looks pretty freaking good.
I know it's not what GRIII prefers, but I'd rather see a line ine up of Walton, LeVert, Irvin, GRIII and McGary. Having a kid (Donnal) start who hasn't even played yet is risky, and Irvin was coming on at the end of the season.
Chatman can play Irvin's role, coming off the bench at either wing spot, and GRIII can bump down to the wing when we play any combination of two bigs. Now, if Ricky Doyle is able to come in for any significant minutes, then things might change a bit. I'm also excited to see Lanky Smooth, though he might be a year away from serious PT, a la freshman LeVert.
#17... That's a #5 seed. So, we just lost to a 12-seed play-in destined for the Sweet 16. Great.
This is quite silly when NO ONE knows the future...patience is the key.
Yes
Valentine,if coached by Beilein I believe would be an early entree candidate this year. At MSU they like to fester for 4 years so Izzo has been spending 2 year breaking him down and then usually those type of players wake up in their jr and sr year. I noticed Gary Harris was oneplayer he did not scream at constantly for his fr and so year.
If that guy ever gets his head out of his behind he should be a first team or second team All Big 10 - he just makes bonehead mistakes but his shooting picked up late in the year and he can be a guy who averages 14 pts, 5 assists and 5 rebound and should so with increased playing time.
You add Dawson to that assuming he comes back, and you have a player with no real outside shot but an athletic overmatch for most NCAA players not on Duke, UConn, Kentucky, UNC, Kansas.
They will have a senior PG again with Trice who is a good shooter if limited defensively and you assume Costello takes a step from his sophomore to jr year. That is a decent core of 4 players. Kaminsky was their version of Irvin, did nothing but shoot 3s and was good at it. Doesnt have Irvin's upside but can shoot. THey have a few other players no one at UM who doesnt follow them closely would know such as Alvin Elis III who seems like he has a good upside, and they bring in a decent recruiting class along with a top 100 PG. Throw the reputation of Izzo in there and away you go. Main issue with that team is other than Valentine no one can create their own shot but that type of team I described above can be a 4th-5th place team in the Big 10 which is usually something like a 6th seed which translates to something top 20-25. Add Izzo reputation and you get some upside to 20-25. It's not out of line assuming Dawson comes back.
Not that preseason rankings mean anything. Even if all three are gone, with the continued development of LeVert, Walton and Irvin, we're going to be in great shape.
Sounds about right. They will be down a bit just because of the expected turmoil, but the baseline for this team looks to be contender in the conference and a Sweet 16 run every year. That's a pretty amazing turnaround.
How many times must it be said that rankings in college basketball mean absolutely nothing?
if they still have them #17 in tomorrow's ranking.
The preseason poll prettty much nailed Michigan's final ranking last year. We were 7 in the AP and 9 in the coaches. We seemed like a top 5-10 team all year, not a top 5 team.
of Nik walking into a room with GRIII and Mitch and he says "guys NBA aint going anywhere, lets all come back and gut punch teams....what say you?"