Joel’s Monday Mailbag

Each Monday, Joel Welser will be bringing you his Monday Mailbag.  If you have a question which you'd like Joel to answer, email jwelser_chn@ameritech.net.  He’ll post and answer as many questions as possible.  Please include your first name and home state when contacting Joel. 

One question each week is chosen as the "Question of the Week", and is answered by a few CHN staffers.

At the end of each Monday Mailbag, Joel presents his "Team of the Week" and his "Thoughts of the Week."

Joel,

How about Louisville?  Are they as good as people think?

From Matt,

Broomfield, Colorado

They have the potential to be.  Even the best teams will have struggles early in the year like the Cardinals did against BYU-Hawaii and a good Iowa squad.  They turned it around nicely against Chaminade and Stanford, but keep in mind all those games were out in Hawaii.  Teams react to those long trips differently and, of course, we are a long way away from March.  Louisville might not be a part of the group of a dozen or so teams that are major national championship contenders, but they are close behind in the next group of teams.  In a year where nobody is a pre season lock for #1, getting hot at the right time means more then usual. 

Juniors Taquan Dean and Francisco Garcia will have to continue to put up big numbers as they did the last two games in Hawaii.  Senior forwards Larry O’Bannon, Ellis Myles and Otis George are very important for Rick Pitino’s squad.  Each of those three scored in double figures against Chaminade.  If they can continue to improve and get some help from all the freshmen and sophomores than there is no reason to believe that Louisville isn’t as good as many think.  With Memphis getting slaughtered by Maryland, Louisville remains the team to beat in the CUSA. 

Joel,

How do you see the season turning out for Maryland and what do you think of the individual players' potential? Do you think Maryland has the talent to make a deep run come March?

From Whit,

College Park, Maryland

No question the Terps have the talent to make a deep run in March.  We didn’t learn too much about the team in the wins over Jackson State and Mercer, but the rout over Memphis leads me to believe that Maryland is for real.  Don’t be fooled by the preseason 6^th place ranking in the ACC.  For one, the preseason is long gone and those projections now mean nothing, and 6^th place in the ACC isn’t that bad.  The Terps could go .500 in the conference and still make a deep run come March.  If they get hot when they did last year, they’ll do more damage than a season ago.  The team is deeper and much more experienced. 

The potential is great in College Park, especially in the frontcourt.  Travis Garrison most likely still has his best basketball ahead of him and will rack up his fair share of double-doubles over the next two years.  Ekene Ibekwe is coming along very nicely after one year of playing for Maryland.  I wouldn’t call him the next Kevin Garnett (nor do I watch enough, or actually any, NBA to even make such a comparison) but he’ll keep getting stronger and more polished around the basket.  It won’t be long before every college basketball fan knows how to pronounce Ekene Ibekwe.  Freshman James Gist was the most interesting player to watch against Memphis.  After only playing three games in his collegiate career, the numbers aren’t spectacular, but the potential is huge.  He is quick, explosive and has already proven that he is a shot blocking menace.  He can score on the break and should become a more dynamic scoring threat under the tutelage of Gary Williams. 

At this point, mostly based on the performance against Memphis, I’ll put Maryland at 5^th in the ACC behind Wake Forest, Duke, North Carolina and Georgia Tech.  If they get hot in March and the match-ups work in their favor, there is no reason the Terps can’t be an Elite Eight team.

Question of the Week

 - The question of the week is answered by multiple CHN staffers -

Joel,

Which five universities (ranking them from first through fifth) over the past two years (last year and this year) have earned the greatest plaudits in college basketball recruiting?

From John,

Texas

Shawn Siegel - CHN Chief Editor

One way to go about answering this question is simply which 5 schools had the best recruiting classes.  But you also want to take into account which schools have been doing the best job as compared to their national stature.  The balance between quantity and quality is also not easy to weigh.

1.  Kentucky.  This year’s incoming class is stacked.  But despite all the talent (Crawford, Rondo, Bradley, etc.), I rank them first for one reason only: Randolph Morris.  There are just so few legitimate centers in college basketball today.  Morris might not be the best freshmen in college basketball (Hairston or M.Williams), but he’s the most important because he’s far superior to other freshmen centers.  Morris scored 14 & 9 in his latest game, a sign of things to come.

2.  Connecticut.  No player in all of college basketball is as physically gifted as Charlie Villanueva.  Josh Boone was an integral part of last year’s title run.  Rudy Gay is ready to take home Big East Rookie of the Year honors.  For my money, AJ Price is a good a point guard prospect as anybody else.  Marcus Williams had one of the best assist/minute ratios of any reserve point guard in the nation last year.  This team is in good shape.

3.  Memphis.  Here is where quality reigns over quantity.  This selection is based on two players: Sean Banks & Darius Washington.  Calipari has plucked two bona fide stars in back to back years.  Everyone has already seen what Banks can do after his solid 17 point, 7 rebound rookie year.  The freshmen Washington was right there the past few years with current NBA rookies Telfair and Livingston.  While not nearly a good a distributor as those guys, Washington is the best scoring point guard in this class.  It's only a matter of time, and honing in his jump shot, before Washington starts scoring 20 per game.  Memphis’ success will probably rise and fall on the shoulders of Washington.  His 1 assist, 6 turnover game against Memphis can be attributed to raw inexperience.

4.  LSU.  Tigers have one large rookie in big man Glen Davis.  Davis is right behind Randolph Morris as the best incoming center in the nation.  Davis looked real good in LSU’s 3-0 start, but struggled mightily against West Virginia.   Season averages of 12 points and 9 rebounds per game are certainly possible.  Class of ’03 stars Brandon Bass and Tack Minor are now the team leaders.  Bass made a good move shunning the NBA and returning to college, while Minor already appears to be one of the most improved players in the nation.

5.  Louisville.  I consider Louisville’s Class of ’04 the 2^nd best in the nation behind Kentucky.  If you would have added Telfair into the mix, it would have been a clear #1.  The reason this class is so talented is that its full of muscle.  Teams can find talented point guards and slashing forwards by the dozens, but finding legitimate big men is not easy to do.  Pitino picked up two special players in Brian Johnson and Juan Diego Palacios.  Palacios is a beast, who has shown an amazing rate of improvement the past few years.  While he might not be the year’s best freshman, I think he will be the best professional player who ended up playing college in the class of ’04. 

Honorable Mention - UNC, Florida State

Jon Teitel - Ivy League Editor

My top-5 rankings are based not on how heralded a school’s recruiting classes were when they first came to college, but rather what they have done so far on the court:

1. Oregon. With only one senior on the team, and having lost several guys to the NBA recently (Luke Jackson, Luke Ridnour, and Fred Jones), the Ducks were in desperate need of restocking their program, and they have done just that.  Oregon is one of the only teams in the country to start two sophomores (Aaron Brooks and Mitch Platt) AND two freshmen (Bryce Taylor and Malik Hairston).  They may not challenge Arizona, Stanford, and Washington for this year’s Pac-10 title, but if these four underclassmen all stay in school, look for them to be a national title contender in March of 2007.

2. Connecticut. After losing their two leaders last year to the NBA lottery (Emeka Okafor and Ben Gordon), the Huskies were supposed to experience a decline.  However, with three sophomores in the starting lineup (Charlie Villanueva, Marcus Williams, and Josh Boone), and a 2004 high-school All-American getting a lot of minutes (Rudy Gay), Connecticut will challenge Syracuse and Providence for the Big East title before worrying about defending its national title.

3. Missouri. The Tigers only have one senior on their team, but controversial recruiting practices have them prepared for years to come.  The two starting sophomores include an early contender for Big 12 Player of the Year (Linas Kleiza) as well as a valuable scorer (Thomas Gardner), and freshman Jason Horton has also been pressed into service as a starter.

4. Arkansas. To illustrate the lack of senior leadership on the Razorbacks, there are no seniors among the top nine players in minutes/game (and the tenth-highest guy is the starting quarterback on the football team, Matt Jones).  Arkansas starts two sophomores (Olu Famutimi and Ronnie Brewer) and one freshman (Steven Hill), and will need them all to contribute in order to compete in the SEC.

5. LSU. Sophomore Brandon Bass almost left school to enter the NBA draft last summer, but he was welcomed back this year by some fellow youngsters.  Two of his fellow starters are sophomore Tack Minor and 2004 high-school All-American Glen Davis.

Honorable Mention: Any recruiting list would be incomplete without mentioning two schools whose starting lineups feature a pair of 2004 high-school All-Americans.  Texas has LaMarcus Aldridge and Daniel Gibson starting alongside strong sophomore PJ Tucker, while UCLA’s young duo consists of Arron Afflalo and Jordan Farmar.

Joel Welser - Monday Mailbag & NCAA Preview Editor

You really have to wait four or five years to see how great the recruiting classes really will be.  But based on performance so far and potential here are my top five.

1.  Kansas.  Even with losing David Padgett and Omar Wilkes after one season, J.R. Giddens alone is a good class for 2003.  This year there is tons of potential with C.J. Giles, Darnell Jackson, Russell Robinson, Sasha Kaun and Alex Galindo.

2.  Kentucky.  Last years class wasn’t full of huge names like the class of ’04, but Bobby Perry, Shagari Alleyne and Lukasz Orbitz are important roleplayers at this point.  This year’s newcomers are probably the best in the country.  Randolph Morris, Rajon Rondo, Ramel Bradley and Joe Crawford are a tough group to beat.  Throw in transfer Patrick Sparks and you have an amazing collection.

3.  Oregon.  The Ducks aren’t all Malik Hairston.  Maarty Leunen, Chamberlain Oguchi and Bryce Taylor are all top 100 recruits.  Last years recruiting class wasn’t too highly touted but Aaron Brooks is a superb talent and the heart and soul of Oregon.  Mitch Platt is also starting, leaving four starters on a good team all from the last two classes.

4.  Florida State.  While the Seminoles recruiting hasn’t translated into much success on the court, but based on potential and recognition, the recruiting job done in Tallahassee can’t be ignored.  Von Wafer, Alexander Johnson and juco Diego Romero were one of the best classes in the nation in 2003.  Jerome Habel, Jason Rich and Isaiah Swann were all top 100 prospects.  Ironically it is the lesser heralded Ralph Mims who is making the most noise so far early this season.

5.  LSU.  Sophomores Brandon Bass and Tack Minor are starters and Darnell Lazare, Regis Koundjia and Ross Neltner are important roleplayers.  The freshmen are led by Glen Davis who is nearly averaging a double-double through four games. 

Have a question?  Email Joel at jwelser_chn@ameritech.net.  We’ll post and answer as many as possible.  Please include your first name and home state.

Joel’s Team of the Week

Old Dominion Monarchs

If there was any question that the Monarchs were a contender in the Colonial Athletic, Blaine Taylor’s team put those doubts to rest this week.  Isaiah Hunter led OD over MAC contender Kent State with 20 points.  Center Alex Loughton added 15 points and nine boards en route to a 64-59 victory over the Golden Flashes.  Old Dominion followed up that win with a trip to Texas to take on Texas Christian.  Again it was Hunter and Loughton leading the way to a 67-62 victory and handing TCU their first loss of the season.  Next up was a hammering of Shawnee State 99-54.  OD lost their final game of the week against a tough Texas A&M, Corpus Christi team that knocked off Florida State earlier in the week, but still the Monarchs had a good enough week to get the attention of everybody in the Colonial Athletic Conference.

Joel’s Thoughts of the Week

I was watching UC Irvine take on UCLA the other day and got to thinking about how the Anteaters of UC Irvine must have the most non intimidating nickname of any team.  It really wasn’t that boring of a game, but that’s just how my mind works.  After a little research I found a few more.  The Centenary Gentlemen (or Ladies), UMKC Kangaroos, and my favorite, the Peacocks of St. Peter’s make my list of the least intimidating names.  The opposing teams must be so scared heading into peacock country.  I wonder if they have a giant bronze statue of an evil looking peacock outside the Yanitelli Center in Jersey City.  They definitely should.

Have a question?  Email Joel at jwelser_chn@ameritech.net.  We’ll post and answer as many as possible.  Please include your first name and home state.