Here at STF we are, QUITE FRANKLY, tired of top 25 lists. Nobody with any sense varies much from the same grouping of thirty teams - they may just rearrange them a bit. So we have 23 categories, and we'll be matching teams to them.
Today, we check out your 2008 Sleeper Teams
We started the Extravaganza with Breakout Teams, so you may be wondering what the difference is between a breakout and a sleeper. Breakout teams have already had some success in recent seasons, but we think this is their year to take it to the next level. To us, a sleeper team is one that failed to make the NCAA tournament last year, but has the components to rectify that problem immediately.
So, without further explanation, here they are.
- DePaul Blue Demons. Coach Jerry Wainwright is trying to rebuild a program with a proud history, and we wouldn't put it past the wily old hound dog to do so. His best inside player, Mac Koshwal, returns, as does 6'10" Croatian Matija Poscic. 6'11", 245-lb. Cali transplant Krystopher Faber ought to give them even more beef inside. Do-everything sophomore guard Dar Tucker will set the big men up.
- Providence Friars. Keno Davis turned unheralded MVC squad Drake into a Rip Van Winkle-level sleeper last year, which earned him this tough Big East job. However, the unceremonious firing of former coach Tim Welsh ignores the fact that Welsh built a strong foundation for his successor. The Friars return a stunning thirteen players from last year's team that went 6-12 in the Big East. Double-digit scorers Weyinmi Efejuku, Geoff McDermott, Brian McKenzie, and Jeff Xavier are the leaders on a roster that is loaded with ten upperclassmen. If Davis can shuffle this embarassment of riches on and off the court without creating a traffic jam, look out world.
Now, anyone with a working knowledge of the Big East will immediately see the lunacy in the above choices. The mega-conference is tighter than a tick, loaded with superior teams. We respectfully submit that no conference has ever featured the same order of finish from one year to the next, and these teams are ready to take advantage if someone from last year's bumper crop slips up.
OK, on with the previews.
- Michigan Wolverines. Anyone who's been reading this site with any regularity probably knows what big Manny Harris fans we are. We are also savvy enough to know that one great player does not a tournament team make in the Big Ten. The transition from Tommy Amaker to John Beilein has been a rough one so far, but there is reason for hope. 6'10" Zack Gibson has bulked up to 225, and redshirt big man Eric Puls is now eligible to play. Space-eating seven-foot freshman Ben Cronin was somehow spirited out of his hometown of Syracuse, NY to play for the Wolverines as well. The big news is Arizona transfer Laval Lucas-Perry, who will become eligible in late December, just in time for conference play. Will he be able to fit in at such a late date? We'll find out.
- Florida Gators. Calling a team two years removed from a repeat NCAA championship a sleeper might be a stretch. But nobody can deny that this is a completely new team, and one that was built despite the will-he-or-won't he drama of Billy Donovan's flirtation with the NBA. Without Mareese Speights, the Gator roster looks a bit anemic, but we all know too much about Donovan's energy-first system to doubt him at this juncture. 6'6" guard Nick Calathes is the lynchpin of the team, scoring, dishing, and pulling in rebounds in traffic. This is still a very young team, but it's young and talented. Walter Hodge and Jai Lucas will joint Calathes in the backcourt, with sole Junior Dan Werner and 6'9" Chandler Parsons trying to provide some consistency in the frontcourt. With six freshmen coming in, this young team could get even younger if some of the recruits play to expectations.
Today, we check out your 2008 Sleeper Teams
We started the Extravaganza with Breakout Teams, so you may be wondering what the difference is between a breakout and a sleeper. Breakout teams have already had some success in recent seasons, but we think this is their year to take it to the next level. To us, a sleeper team is one that failed to make the NCAA tournament last year, but has the components to rectify that problem immediately.
So, without further explanation, here they are.
- DePaul Blue Demons. Coach Jerry Wainwright is trying to rebuild a program with a proud history, and we wouldn't put it past the wily old hound dog to do so. His best inside player, Mac Koshwal, returns, as does 6'10" Croatian Matija Poscic. 6'11", 245-lb. Cali transplant Krystopher Faber ought to give them even more beef inside. Do-everything sophomore guard Dar Tucker will set the big men up.
- Providence Friars. Keno Davis turned unheralded MVC squad Drake into a Rip Van Winkle-level sleeper last year, which earned him this tough Big East job. However, the unceremonious firing of former coach Tim Welsh ignores the fact that Welsh built a strong foundation for his successor. The Friars return a stunning thirteen players from last year's team that went 6-12 in the Big East. Double-digit scorers Weyinmi Efejuku, Geoff McDermott, Brian McKenzie, and Jeff Xavier are the leaders on a roster that is loaded with ten upperclassmen. If Davis can shuffle this embarassment of riches on and off the court without creating a traffic jam, look out world.
Now, anyone with a working knowledge of the Big East will immediately see the lunacy in the above choices. The mega-conference is tighter than a tick, loaded with superior teams. We respectfully submit that no conference has ever featured the same order of finish from one year to the next, and these teams are ready to take advantage if someone from last year's bumper crop slips up.
OK, on with the previews.
- Michigan Wolverines. Anyone who's been reading this site with any regularity probably knows what big Manny Harris fans we are. We are also savvy enough to know that one great player does not a tournament team make in the Big Ten. The transition from Tommy Amaker to John Beilein has been a rough one so far, but there is reason for hope. 6'10" Zack Gibson has bulked up to 225, and redshirt big man Eric Puls is now eligible to play. Space-eating seven-foot freshman Ben Cronin was somehow spirited out of his hometown of Syracuse, NY to play for the Wolverines as well. The big news is Arizona transfer Laval Lucas-Perry, who will become eligible in late December, just in time for conference play. Will he be able to fit in at such a late date? We'll find out.
- Florida Gators. Calling a team two years removed from a repeat NCAA championship a sleeper might be a stretch. But nobody can deny that this is a completely new team, and one that was built despite the will-he-or-won't he drama of Billy Donovan's flirtation with the NBA. Without Mareese Speights, the Gator roster looks a bit anemic, but we all know too much about Donovan's energy-first system to doubt him at this juncture. 6'6" guard Nick Calathes is the lynchpin of the team, scoring, dishing, and pulling in rebounds in traffic. This is still a very young team, but it's young and talented. Walter Hodge and Jai Lucas will joint Calathes in the backcourt, with sole Junior Dan Werner and 6'9" Chandler Parsons trying to provide some consistency in the frontcourt. With six freshmen coming in, this young team could get even younger if some of the recruits play to expectations.
There you have them, your 2008 Sleeper teams. Tomorrow, we'll celebrate the teams that just keep coming back, year after year.
3 comments:
I agree with your selections.
Sharaud Curry is arguably the Friar's best player, but Geoff McDermott might be the most important when conference play arrives.
Michigan's lack of size and ferocity will be their short coming. We all know Manny is great, but the key guys are Sims, Wright and Grady. All showed signs of being very good Big Ten players, but all are very one-dimensional.
Sims, I have always said, could be an NBA player. He has perfect size to be a small forward and if he can improve his perimeter shooting, there's no reason why not.
Gibson would be the perfect first off the bench big, instead he's our best big man period. It could be tough keeping teams off the boards this year.
I definitely agree that Providence is going to be much improved this year, but its funny to think that a tenth place finish in the Big East would probably qualify as a good season for the Friars this year.
Yeah Providence is legit. They have the talent of a top-40 team, but its going to be tough getting nine or ten teams in from the Big East.
Depaul is just crazy talk. They aren't going to finish higher than 13th. You got the ten potential tournament teams, then Cincinnati, then gasp dare I say it Rutgers at 12th in my mind.
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