U of M MEN'S BASKETBALL 2016-2017

[Kstat]

Gonzaga is the #1 defensive team in the entire country... and the #5 offense.

They should have been the top seed in the entire tournament. One fluke loss aside they are by far the most complete team in the country.

[iam416]

I picked Arizona. Watched them play against St. Mary's and knew they had no chance. I was completely dismayed by their offensive "sets" which were more starkly awful in comparison to St. Mary's systematic effort to create good looks. I mean, even UK runs more of an offense.

At halftime of that game I told my wife I made a huge mistake picking Arizona. They're hot fucking garbage on offense. I mean, yeah, they're talented so they get by well enough, but in the tournament you need to reliably create good looks. I didn't watch the 2nd half of the game against X, but when I found out they went 3 minutes w/o scoring I was completely and totally unsurprised.

My 4th grade team ran better sets, and half the time we dribbled into the coffin corner, picked up the dribble and called out "help!" (down from from 90% of the time to start the season!).

So, yeah...I mostly agree with:

But AZ hardly even ran an offense

...but I'm not sure why you eschewed the absolute. I guess a ball-screen is technically "offense" of some sort, and they did do that on occasion.

[THE_WIZARD_]

I had UNC beating Zona in the champ game in my bracket...wanted a mulligan after Zona's first round. Had Kansas in FF too since they were basically at home for SS and E8...fuckers fucked me yet again. Also picked Duke in FF after listening to some of the so called CBB experts...fucking idiots. I still win the group I'm in if UNC pulls through. Vegas had the Heels as the fave going in.

Listen to Vegas.

[hack]

Precisely the same re that St Mary's game. Was pretty damn clear. You wonder why he goes after a guy like Markanaanen without having any ability to get him looks. That's a Beilein-TumTum Nairn kind of pairing. And the defense isn't good enough to make up for it. AZ knows that program well and Miller has the athletes, and that was still the result? Not very impressive at all.

I didn't think about things enough this year. I started with being pretty sure Duke was going down earlyish -- had SMU beating them. Which meant the next challenge was figuring out how Nova would lose, because you can't call for a repeat in a bracket. Gonzaga's too green as a tournament team to expect them to take down a that kind of team -- in fact without a blown call in the second-round they become the country's most notorious chokers. I took UNC over Kansas because the world hates me, and if it loved me it would have given me the pleasure of seeing Roy Williams beat by his past team. So I had AZ over UNC in the final.

[Whitley]

I have Gonzaga winning it all. Also had Oregon in the FF.

[WM Wolverine]

I have 1 FF team, NC who I have winning it all. Had Kansas, Arizona and Florida.

[Da Geezer]

Sporting News projected top 25 for 2017-8:

http://thespun.com/college-hoops/sporting-news-releases-2017-18-preseason-top-25?utm_source=College+Spun+Cheat+Sheet&utm_campaign=f8ea3fe88f-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_04_03&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_26f45e517a-f8ea3fe88f-12253957

You would think there might be more than 3 B10 teams (maybe Maryland, UM, OSU or Wisconsin). What a crock.

[Niffla]

So both Wagner & Wilson have declared for the draft, but haven't hired agents.

This isn't just me being selfish as a fan and wanting them to stay -- but they're not ready for the NBA. They're just not. Wilson was a revelation this past year, made a monumental stride to get to where he was at, but right now, against NBA players, he'd look like a boy among men. Same thing with Wagner, although I will say that if I had to choose between one of the two, as far as who's "more ready", it would be Wagner. But even Wagner. He's still way too inconsistent. At times he shows flashes of dominance, but those times are still sandwiched between stretches of play where he either kinda disappears or is in foul trouble.

Both need at least another year of polishing. This upcoming campaign would be huge for them, because they'd be THE guys now with Walton & Irvin departed.

[The Oracle]

They're not going anywhere.

[hack]

I sure hope not, but you never know. And I do genuinely agree that these are guys who should wait a year. Wilson in particular could disappear in the NBA.

[Da Geezer]

I remember Deytona Davis sitting in the green room last year, waiting throughout the first round and not being picked. The same might happen to either of the Ws. If you are unsure of being picked in the first round (guaranteed contract), then go back to school.

[The Oracle]

“It doesn’t really mean a lot, other than just saying I look into being drafted and you tell teams that your name’s out there."

“I’ve made it very clear, I want to stay in college as long as possible,” Wagner said.

[Detroit Dan]

I agree both should stay at M for another year at least (but I'm biased).

Having said that, Wilson seems much more ready to me. Wagner wasn't even playing at crunch time down the stretch. Wilson has a more complete and consistent game. If he's not shooting well, he's still a factor on defense.

[Kstat]

Problem is with Wilson he doesn't rebound at an NBA level. Too skinny. Also, zero post game. He's a situational guy in the NBA right now but not someone GMs are going to salivate over.

Wagner actually has more of an NBA body than Wilson but has to round out his game, especially on defense. Also he badly needs to add a post fade.

[The Oracle]

Jaaron Simmons makes it official and commits to M. Grad transfer from Ohio U. This scratches PG off my worry list and as long as DJ comes back, we should be locked and loaded