Dick Vitale's 2009 Top 5

H

Hobbes2702

500+ Posts
5. Georgetown
4. Texas
3. Louisville
2. UCLA
And...


























Can You Guess it?





























1. North Carolina

Discuss.

Edit: Assumes DJ is staying
 
doesnt mean crap until we know who goes and who stays....

but i love the thought of a top 5 team, and I think we will be top 3 when its all set and done if our DJs come back.
 
I don't see how, if you are assuming DJ is coming back which he said he was assuming, that Louisville and UCLA could be above Texas. Neither was a good as Texas this year and UCLA loses a bunch of guys and Louisville will be solid as always but doesn't have the players to be really great. And he has picked UNC for like 7 years in a row.
 
Call me crazy but I could see us being top 10 with or without DJ. No one thought we would be in the Elite 8 this season when we lost KD. Remember AJ is the PG that forced Daniel Gibson out of the position. Not saying he is great at it, but he isn't terrible. And, we have a lot coming back to help the transition.
 
Did you think we would be in the Elite 8 this year after losing KD? I think with Dogus, AJ, Mason, and Brown we will be fine at the point. True, none of them are DJ or TJ but they are all capable.

We won't be A&M after losing Acie Law, I know that. All 4 are better PG's than Roland.

Around the top 10 either way.
 
With Kansas losing seemingly their entire team, if DJ comes back, UT is obviously the favorite. If he doesn't come back, then it'll be a wild year in the Big XII.

OU may have a shot at the conference if Blake comes back & DJ doesn't. If...
 
I don't think KU will lose that many early entry players, but that's just me. Rush and Arthur. My wild guess is they won't lose Chalmers, but even if they do, they still have Collins, and Aldrich showed in the FF that he will be a player. They're bringing in good players. They won't be a favorite, but they'll still be good like Texas was good two years ago.

I really have a hard time with pushing the Horns down too far if Augustin is the only starter they lose.
 
The AJ at point experiment failed a couple years ago... He is NOT a capable point guard... a good shooting, way undersized 2 guard is his role.

Mason improved in his point duty this year... He will start there probably.

Balbay has to get mentally and physically attuned to the college game... It might take a LONG time... I hope he hits the ground running... but, am very wary.

We NEED a backup PG who can dribble forward and not turn it over.
 
Balbay has been going up against European pros... Pretty sure adjusting to the college game won't take him that long.
 
Re: DJ leaving or not.

It's where coaches earn their salaries, by adjusting to the strengths they have, not what they wish they had.

Many years ago, Lemons' early teams were point guard, outside shooter oriented, because that's what Abe had.

Then, he got LaSalle Thompson and Mike Wacker and the Horns style changed to a big inside game (which fell apart with the BU tartan floor injury on Wacker).

Shortly thereafter, Lemons started getting short outside shooters again and he adapted to a different game again. Good coaching.

In contrast to Kaiser Weltlich, who replace Lemons, and announced in an Alcalde article, something to the effect (my read as a slap at Lemons and others like Guy V): "Some coaches just get good players and let them play. We will have a system and the players will be coached to adapt to our system."

One might check out the success, or lack thereof, of Weltlich's "system."

If Barnes loses DJ, he will adapt to his current squad's strength --- big inside with James, Atchley, Wagmene, Johnson, Chapman, Pittman, and Hill.
 
You're all wrong. I like Iowa State to make the Final Four.

Oh, wait a minute... I just remember that this was the basketball thread and not the wrestling thread.

Carry on.
 
I was saying even before the Memphis game that if DJ stays, Texas should be a favorite to win it all in '09. The frontline will be much better (and I'm a big Dexter Pittman fan).

Just imagine this year's team with Durrant and LaMarcus, though. Jesus!
 
No need for all the doom and gloom folks. If DJ leaves, Mason, AJ and JCB (if he gets here) can hold down the point until Dogus, who the staff is high on, gets eligible. By the way, have you seen Dogus' crossover on YouTube?

Dogus

There would definitely be an adjustment because Barnes asked DJ to do so much for the offense, and the attack will look much different from this year's (expect Barnes to go big with Atchley, James, Pittman, Johnson, Wangmene, Chapman and Hill). But DJ's loss, while big, won't be the apocalypse.

Even SI.com's Luke Winn has us sixth—without DJ. If DJ comes back (a big if), Texas is No. 2 at worst and No. 1 if either Hansbrough or Lawson don't return to Chapel Hill.

No. 6
 
I agree Steer. Dogus can ball. Dogus will be ready quickly. He is gonna be a good player and as I have stated before on this board he is the player I am most excited to watch next year because of his athleticism. I think Dogus has a breakout year.
 
I thought his #1 would be Duke.

Texas was a Sweet 16 team with Royal Ivey at the point in 2004, so to say UT is doomed with DJ gone is ludicrous. Why they were so good in '04 is that they had balance - for example, good shooters in Mouton and Boddicker and a solid-enough inside game with Thomas and a much improved Klotz (who regressed in 2005). If UT's inside presence can improve, and it's not difficult to say it will, and if Damion stays then UT is a solid Elite 8 contender even if DJ leaves.

You don't need great PG play all the time to have a NC contender - just ask Kansas.
 
PG Mason
SG Abrams
SF James
PF Atchley
C Pittman

With Balbay and Johnson and Hill and Chapman coming off the bench. Possibly not a top 10 lineup, but definitely a top 20 lineup and ought to be favored to make the sweet 16.
 
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