2021-2022 B1G Basketball thread

[medinabuckeye1]

Well I'm sad to be starting this so early but the 2020-2021 season in now over for half of our teams.

What will the 2021-2022 season bring?

[Brutus Buckeye]

[ELA]

Impossible to say until we know who takes advantage of the extra year, and where the transfer portal takes us.

College basketball is a year to year sport now.

In a prior age, I'd say Purdue would be the preseason favorite, ahead of probably Michigan #2, OSU #3, and MSU? #4?

[MaximumSam]

With the transfer portal and the extra year figuring out rosters is going to be a challenge. This stuff can be wildly unpredictable - I was absolutely shocked when Luther Muhammad left, so take anything I say with a caveat. For OSU:

• CJ Walker has already announced he is done
• Kyle Young can come back, and hasn't said whether he will. I don't have a good guess on him, either. He doesn't have much pro upside, but he also has a history of nagging injuries. Either way wouldn't surprise me
• EJ Liddell and Duane Washington probably have the most pro upside, but I have yet to see them in any mock drafts. Thought Washington might get on the radar with a great tourney, but, uh...
• Justice Sueing is probably back. Seth Towns is a bit more of a mystery - his knee has given him constant problems and I'm not sure if that's a forever thing or not.
• No reason that Justin Ahrens or Zed Key would leave that I can see
• Musa Jallow might be a transfer candidate. He is a useful defender but gives them nothing on offense. 
• Jimmy Sotos is also a question. The Buckeyes need a point guard, but he also didn't look that good.
• Gene Brown and Meechie Johnson should both be back. I would expect way more minutes for both.
• Ibrahim Diallo is a mystery - he suffered an injury that made him unavailable for most of the season, so it's tough to say what the staff thinks of him
• Buckeyes adding two freshmen in Malaki Branham and Kalen Etzler. Branham is top 30 recruit who profiles as a big, athletic guard (which they can really use). Etzler is a 6'8'' forward with a pure stroke from three. He looks a little skinny to be able to contribute a ton next year.

If you had to pin me down I'd say Young leaves, Jallow leaves, Sotos leaves, and Towns gives it another go. The starting lineup is:

• Washington
• Ahrens
• Sueing
• Towns
• Liddell

They play another long bench, with Johnson, Key, and Branham getting pretty solid minutes. They are also active in the transfer portal to get a big guy and a point guard.

[bayareabadger]

Welp, was hoping to not hop in here until next week. A lot departures coming for UW, should be an interesting new team.

Expected departures: Trice, Potter, Ford, Reuvers. All have been important at points. I wish Ford and Reuvers had finished better, but that's life. These guys seem remote possibilities to use an extra year.

Shoo-in rotation guys
Tyler Wahl: He's gonna be a starter for two years. I think he's primarily a power forward, but he's done some small forward stuff. His shooting has been so-so, but he's 6-9, can post, can guard a range of guys. I don't know he's a star, but he's an anchor. 

Johnny Davis: Right now the team's functional best small forward. There's some wondering if he can play shooting guard. A lot of folks really like his offensive potential. I'm a little more reserved there, but I think he'll be a 30-plus MPG guy as long as he wants to be at UW just because of two-way skills. 

Seniors we're waiting on
Trevor Anderson: The most likely guy to return. He's a serviceable third guard in a pinch and a really nice fourth guard. He's got kind of a low ceiling, but a good guy to have around.

Brad Davison: He seems like a big maybe, and UW could use him. I know many don't like him and some of his stuff is irksome to watch and he's not super dynamic, but UW is gonna need guards it can throw out there and not worry about, and he's mostly that. A few UW fans have worried about other guys getting minutes, but if UW ends up with three other guards better than him, we're fine. 

Other returners who need to prove themselves
Ben Carlson: The highest rated recruit last year. He was a end of the rotation guy before a back injury. Would’ve got some run with the center issues. He played in garbage time Friday. I think he might start at center next to Wahl. Maybe.

Steven Crowl: A freshman this year who probably would’ve redshirted had that been a thing this year. Reports are he can play. If he’s rotation quality next year, that’s a big boost.

Guys I’m not expecting in the rotation
Jordan Davis: Johnny’s less talented brother. He might have potential as a shooter/defensive guard at some point. Maybe not yet.

Joe Hedstrom: Big 7-foot project. Feels more likely to be gone than matter next year.

The unusual newcomer
Lorne Bowman: a guard the staff is excited for. Was supposed to be in the roster this season, but between COVID blues and some family stuff, never played. Would’ve likely been the top guard off the bench this season. Not sure how he’ll be when he’s back.

The freshmen
Chucky Hepburn: stout athletic point, he looks like a good one. Some UW fans think he’ll end up starting. I wouldn’t rule it out, and if you said he started his sophomore-senior years, I’d believe it. At worse, he’s a third guard on a team with a mess of third guard options. (In HS, he won a state title and battled for another with a SUPER talented team on the other side).

Matt Mors: thick but springy 6-7 forward. I was high on him, but some UW recruiting moves and sluggish playoff games have me wondering. I think he has potential, but am not sure where it is.

Chris Hodges: Stout 6-8, 235-pound big with a nice jumper. I’ve read he’ll need some time after not playing HS ball last year. Not sure where he'll land in the rotation and such.

Marcus Ilver: Skinny 6-8 combo forward. Needs to add weight and mature. Betting a redshirt. 


Mystery grad transfers
One of the assistants intimated they'll make a run at a grad transfer point guard. Some fans are high on the idea of Hepburn, but I think you need an experienced option, even if I really like Hepburn. Worse comes to worse, an elder transfer can be insurance. In terms of need on that front. 
1. Point guard - They don't have an even sort of experienced option here outside Anderson, who ain't playing big minutes/starting.
2. Shooting guard (only if Davison leaves, but that could be an issue)
3. Hard-nosed big: Some UW fans were really, REALLY excited for this idea after some problems here this season. I'm more lukewarm on it as a "need" since UW has Wahl and at least has worked with Carlson and Crowl. If it's a "need" the staff will get after it. But the guys who had their tough moments this season are mostly gone.
4. Wildcard good talent they take because you can always use more good players: They're after a GW combo forward transfer who score 17 a game this year. Guessing they'll look around. 

They only have two transfer spots, maybe three if Hedstrom leaves.

They need 7-9 guys out of that group. The set of Davis and Wahl can cover two of the starting 2/3/4 spots (Wahl could maybe play some center, but it seems unlikely). Davison would cover the 2 if he returns. I think that batch includes at least a quality third guard and backup big. Just need to turn out a few more spots. 

[847badgerfan]

I think Potter will stay, to be honest.

[ELA]

https://twitter.com/Rivals/status/1374128226059051008?s=19

[Brutus Buckeye]

A physical for a HC? 

Bob Huggins has heart attacks on the sidelines, FFS. 

[JerseyTerrapin]

The Terps could possibly have everybody back.  Even Morsell is considering it.  I think the only other chance of early departure is Wiggins, which would hurt.

They just need to find a big somewhere...

[GopherRock]

Gophers hire Ben Johnson as the next coach. The collective reaction is: "Who?" Very underwhelming hire.

[medinabuckeye1]

https://twitter.com/Rivals/status/1374128226059051008?s=19

Or not:

https://www.si.com/college/ohiostate/.amp/basketball/former-ohio-state-basketball-coach-thad-matta-failed-physical-before-landing-indiana-job

Ar this point, who knows what the real story is.

If Matta could get back to what he accomplished in Columbus in his first decade or so, he'd be flat out scary in Bloomington.

Matta's tOSU teams from 2005/06 (the first year they were postseason eligible) through 2012/13 (his last good team):

• 05/6: 1st in the B1G, R32.
• 06/7: 1st in the B1G, National runner-up.
• 07/8: 5th in the B1G, NIT Champ, got screwed to not get selected for NCAA.
• 08/9: tied for 4th in the B1G, R64.
• 09/10: tied for 1st in the B1G, S16.
• 10/11: 1st in the B1G, S16.
• 11/12: tied for 1st in the B1G, F4.
• 12/13: tied for second in the B1G, E8.

That was a heck of a run. At the time I thought tOSU had found our "Izzo" and he'd be leading great tOSU BB teams for 25-30 years.

[jhetfield99]

Aaron Wheeler in the transfer portal for Purdue.  No real surprise at all, he'll be a grad transfer (though with the new NCAA rule, that doesn't matter).  Given the 2 stuff frosh forwards we have coming in, this is probably the smartest move.

As a fan he often was a confounding player, great athlete and length, and had a nice looking stroke, but would go through streaks of like 15 misses in a row from deep.  Hey, at least he always showed up for the IU game.  Regardless he was a good locker room/team guy per all reports, so it sucks to lose that type of role player presence.

If Purdue could find an experienced, talented PG in the transfer portal, it would help seal a current hole on the team.

[betarhoalphadelta]

I've been planning to write up my 2021-22 preview and was going to highlight that nobody was departing due to lack of eligibility, but I saw him as a possible departure due to his up-and-down performance and the incoming freshmen at his position...

Not too surprising. Seemed like a really good kid, and one of the best "bench" teammates I've seen--really excited for the team when something good happened. Hard not to like him.

I really wanted to see him put it all together this year. Again, he showed flashes here and there, but it was never consistent. He could be REALLY good--i.e. NBA material--if it all comes together... He's got the skills and the athleticism, but sadly only ~25% of the time...

[ELA]

For what will *hopefully* be a return to a normal season, MSU is the Big Ten rep in the Battle 4 Atlantis (which has seemingly passed Maui although, I still prefer that one), joining Baylor, Syracuse, UConn, ASU, Auburn, Loyola, and VCU