2019-20 Top 144 Previews Men's Basketball

[Wooglin]

There are too many parallels to ignore. Dominating a smaller 1 bid conference, 25+ win seasons, defense and rebounding, low seedings....sounds like the Shocks in the 2013 MVC world. I hope he is on the same trajectory, and I hope he is available to "come home" when HCGM leaves.

[Ashockalypse]

HCGM is not leaving so don’t worry about it.

[WstateU]

Guessing Wooglin meant ‘retires’...

[Veritas]

Talked to Chris the other day and he's always been careful about how good he thinks his teams will be, even when he was here. He knows they are going to be good.

Fortunately it's going to take a high major program to pry him away from Las Cruces. His next stop is likely Iowa or here, imho.

Wow... such insight. Was he slightly nervous with you standing so close to him at the next urinal? Hopefully you didn’t offer to shake his hand immediately after.

[ShockTalk]

Wow... such insight. Was he slightly nervous with you standing so close to him at the next urinal? Hopefully you didn’t offer to shake his hand immediately after.

You are absolutely right, @Vertias . It is lunacy to think that coaches/players would get to know some fans on a first name basis. They work to distance themselves at fundraisers (particularly ones that involve golf), fans that regularly travel to away games and tournaments, and heaven forbid a coach would ever invite fans into the locker room at an away game victory celebration. They need to make sure that over all the years they live in a community that only non-WSU sports fans could become friends that they talk to.

[molly jabali]

WuDrWu is too nice to respond in a negative way to this...:)

[WuDrWu]

You're too kind. I'm definitely not too nice, but I am too tired.

[abdullah_sharif]

coach jans and i have always been on a first name basis. traveling on the road, game nights, champions club, etc. he knows how to make it rain (booster support) and he is good at it. the difference between him and a lot of others is he is always genuine, not like most of them that you can tell that they are part time fundraisers.

[Shockm]

You are absolutely right, @Vertias . It is lunacy to think that coaches/players would get to know some fans on a first name basis. They work to distance themselves at fundraisers (particularly ones that involve golf)

The golf reference seems to be a real life example, that is dripping with sarcasm, but while I may be alone, the example is lost on me. Maybe it’s an inside reference, only known by a few?

[WstateU]

https://media.giphy.com/media/KCG9Mecy3rwCQ/giphy.gif


"Hakuna-Matata"

https://media.giphy.com/media/aF8IHR5OtfvQk/giphy.gif

[ShockTalk]

The golf reference seems to be a real life example, that is dripping with sarcasm, but while I may be alone, the example is lost on me. Maybe it’s an inside reference, only known by a few?

Fortunately, you've missed the other Vertias's posts when he's referencing this kind of post of Doc's.

[WuShock16]

coach jans and i have always been on a first name basis. traveling on the road, game nights, champions club, etc. he knows how to make it rain (booster support) and he is good at it. the difference between him and a lot of others is he is always genuine, not like most of them that you can tell that they are part time fundraisers.

Chris can’t be that great, can he? He’s not even my favorite member of the Jans family.

[shockrah]

Marsha is my favorite. Marsha Marsha Marsha!
Is it basketball season yet?

[Kel Varnsen]

coach jans and i have always been on a first name basis. traveling on the road, game nights, champions club, etc. he knows how to make it rain (booster support) and he is good at it. the difference between him and a lot of others is he is always genuine, not like most of them that you can tell that they are part time fundraisers.

From my limited interactions with him, I agree. WYSIWYG.

[WuShock Reaper]

South Florida Bulls

2019-2020 Overall Rank: #72
Conference Rank: #6 American

"In their second season under Brian Gregory, South Florida won 24 games, their most in a single season since 2011-12. That 2012 season was also the last time the Bulls made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Bulls weren’t an NCAA Tournament team last year, but they did go on to win the CBI Tournament. This year, South Florida returns all but one rotation player from last season including all five starters. The arrow is pointing up for the Bulls and the next step is an NCAA Tournament appearance....

Projection:
South Florida has all five starters and nine of their top ten scorers back from last season. David Collins had a tremendous sophomore season and earned All-AAC Third Team honors behind 15.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.1 steals per game. Collins’ scoring, free-throws and steals numbers were all top-ten in school history. Collins has a strong chance to become a first team all-conference player and could even be in the mix to be an All-American. Laquincy Rideau flourished in his first season with the Bulls and was named the AAC Defensive Player of the Year. He led the conference in both steals (2.9) and assists (5.4) per game while also adding 13.4 points and 3.7 rebounds. Rideau also should be in the running for an all-conference spot this season. Alexis Yetna had a strong first collegiate season earning a spot on the AAC All-Freshman Team. Yetna averaged 12.3 points and 9.6 rebounds, the latter being a conference and school record for a freshman. Justin Brown started the final 29 games of the year and was the team’s top three-point shooter. He made 1.7 threes per game on 35.9% shooting from deep. Michael Durr started 37 games at center as a true freshman. Durr averaged 5.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game. The Bulls will have one of the most experienced and talented starting five in the AAC, but their depth is strong as well. Mayan Kiir, Xavier Castaneda and Antun Maricevic all return after each played in all 38 games last season. Rashun Williams is also back after appearing in 16 games as a freshman. The Bulls will also welcome Zack Dawson to the team as a transfer from Oklahoma State. Dawson is a former four-star recruit who played in just five games as a freshman. Lastly, South Florida has three true freshmen joining the roster. It has been a while since South Florida basketball was relevant, but there is excitement around this year’s team with good reason. The Bulls have a deep, talented and experienced team that should compete for an NCAA Tournament invitation.

Projected Postseason Tournament: NIT (i'm guessing around a #5 to #6 seed)..."

[WSUwatcher]

Sounds pretty imposing -- how impressed must he be with the returning Shockers plus WSU's collection of newcomers (and, of course, 3G's ability to get the best from them) to rank the Shocks still higher?

[Shockm]

wrong thread.

[WuShock Reaper]

South Carolina Gamecocks (Cancun Challenge Opponent)

2019-2020 Overall Rank: #63
Conference Rank: #11 SEC

https://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/17771

"South Carolina’s trip to the Final Four in 2017 seems so long ago now. Since then the Gamecocks have finished 17-16 and 16-16 overall. Last season South Carolina did end up fourth in the SEC with an 11-7 mark, which is not bad at all, but the slow start was too much to overcome. Coach Frank Martin will hope to recapture some of that quality play his team had during the early part of the SEC slate and maintain it for an entire season. With three starters back, there is a solid nucleus to build around....

Projection:
A.J. Lawson will be the heart and soul of this group. As a freshman last year the 6-6 guard averaged 13.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.1 steals. He wasted no time proving that the hype surrounding his arrival in Columbia was well deserved. Fellow sophomore Keyshawn Bryant will look to take a jump up in production with a year of experience under his belt as well. The 6-6 wing tallied 9.0 points per game and could be a very dynamic scoring threat if he can add an outside shot to his repertoire. Maik Kotsar is the only returning senior on the roster. The 6-11 forward is not a major scoring threat, but he will do a lot of work in the paint. The return of physical wing Justin Minaya and point guard T.J. Moss will give this group a must needed boost. Both received medical redshirts last year after strong starts to the season. Minaya only played in five contests, but averaged 7.4 points and 5.6 rebounds in nearly 26 minutes per game. Moss averaged 6.3 points and 1.9 assists in seven contests. The addition of a couple Division I transfers will help with the depth and experience too. Jair Bolden spent two seasons at George Washington and the junior point guard is a proven scorer and passer who will split time with Moss running the show. Micaiah Henry averaged 9.7 points and 4.7 rebounds with Tennessee Tech last season and will add some much needed frontcourt size and toughness. The pieces are here for South Carolina to have a decent season, but losing Chris Silva is big. It remains to be seen if South Carolina has a leader who can carry this team and enough talent top to bottom to compete day in and day out in an increasingly difficult SEC.

Projected Postseason Tournament: NIT (i'm guessing around a #4 to #5 seed)..."

[Signman]

Shocks come in at #56.

https://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/17784

[TheShocktocles]

Shocks come in at #56.

https://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/17784

At least in this evaluation they went into more about the players returning and their potential. And they also said some good things about Coach. This evaluation was not the typical national media garbage we read about our boys. It's rare to agree with everything these writers say, but in my opinion they were trying to be fair. That's all you can ask for. Go shocks.