No. 25 through no. 21:
25. St. Bonaventure
24. UConn
23. Virginia
22. Maryland
21. Indiana
Here's the next installment of my top 25 rankings.
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20. Texas Tech Red Raiders
Obviously, the big news here is the departure of new Texas HC Chris Beard; however, I’m a big believer in new HC Mark Adams, the inventor of the no-middle defense and all-around creator on that side of the ball. While their offense may not be as pretty as it has been in years past, look for the toughness on the defensive end to continue. Most people have Texas Tech lower in their rankings, but I believe in their new leader.
They bring back three players from last year’s roster, all of whom will start: G Kevin McCullar (10.4 PPG, 6.3 RPG), Terrence Shannon Jr. (12.9 PPG, 4 RPG), and Marcus Santos-Silva (8.3 PPG, 6.4 RPG). They also brought in a very underrated transfer class, consisting of Louisiana G Mylik Wilson (12.9 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 3.2 APG), UTEP F Bryson Williams (15.1 PPG, 7.4 RPG), Oral Roberts F Kevin Obanor (18.7 PPG, 9.6 RPG), Hampton G Davion Williams (21.2 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 3 APG), Florida State G Sardaar Calhoun (5.3 PPG) and F Adonis Arms of Winthrop (10.5 PPG, 4.7 RPG). For fans of Last Chance U: Basketball, F KJ Allen also transferred to Texas Tech for this upcoming season. Obanor, if you remember, was a part of the Sweet 16 Oral Roberts squad that upset Ohio State and Florida in the tournament last year.
Gone are stars G Mac McClung (15.5 PPG), who made the Lakers roster as an UDFA, and G Kyler Edwards (10.1 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 2.8 APG). Last year’s Texas Tech squad, even with these two players, struggled; this year’s team will be better, as it’s much deeper and more talented. The major thing they’re going to have to overcome is getting used to a new offensive system run by Adams - the Red Raiders will be getting after it in the fast break more so than they did under Beard. Their identity will be the defensive side of the ball, and if they can force enough turnovers, then I can see the Red Raiders being an effective team in transition and wearing opponents out.
19. Ohio State Buckeyes
Ohio State, coming off of a successful regular season that ended in an upset at the hands of 15-seed Oral Roberts, brings back All-Big-10 performer F EJ Liddell (16.2 PPG, 6.7 RPG). They also return F Justice Sueing (10.7 PPG, 5.5 RPG) and F/C Kyle Young (8.6 PPG, 5.5 RPG), amongst others. They lose star G Duane Washington (16.4 PPG, 2.9 APG), as well as G CJ Walker (9.5 PPG, 4.4 APG).
The Buckeyes bring in a solid transfer class as well. They add Penn State G Jamari Wheeler (6.8 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 3.5 APG), Louisiana G Cedric Russell (17.2 PPG, 3.2 RPG), and Indiana C Joey Brunk (6.8 PPG, 5.7 RPG). Additionally, Chris Holtmann snagged commitments from four-star F and Ohio Mr. Basketball Malaki Branham (of St. Vincent-St. Mary, the alma mater of LeBron James), and three-star F Kalen Etzler.
Last season saw a team that played well on offense, but struggled in slowing down the opponents on defense. They finished third in the conference at 76 PPG, but also eighth in conference in scoring defense at 71.4 PPG. They also had issues turning the ball over, finishing ninth in conference at 11 TOV/game. When compared to just 12.7 APG, good for 10th in conference, the issue becomes clear that Ohio State struggled to distribute the ball in an efficient manner.
Both defense and ball distribution will get a boost with the new transfers coming in, which is why I have Ohio State as high as I do. After being plagued by injuries last season, the Buckeyes will hopefully be healthy and if they are, will be competitive in Big 10 play.
18. Illinois Fighting Illini
After an extremely successful season that was prematurely cut short in the second round of the NCAA tournament by Loyola-Chicago, Illinois looks to rebuild after losing first-team All-American G Ayo Dosunmo (20.1 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 5,3 APG) to the NBA Draft. Luckily for the Illini, preseason All-American C Kofi Cockburn (pronounced Co-Burn) (17.7 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 1.3 BPG) decided to return to Champagne after his commitment to stay with the team was in flux. They also bring back G Andre Curbelo (9.1 PPG, 4 RPG, 4.2 APG) and G Trent Frazier (10.2 PPG, 2.7 APG). Brad Underwood did himself a big favor in the transfer portal as well in landing scoring G Alfonso Plummer (13.6 PPG) from Utah, who shot an impressive 38.1% from three in his last season with the Utes.
As far as prep talent, Brad Underwood did well. He brought in two four-star recruits in G Brandin Podziemski and G Luke Goode, as well as three-star F Ramses Melendez.
Last season was easily Illinois’ best in recent memory, going 24-7 and 16-4 in the Big 10. They had outstanding performances from the aforementioned Dosunmo and Cockburn, leading them to finish second in conference before they met an unfortunate end in the tourney. Their stats from last season are impressive - they finished second in the Big 10 in PPG at 78.6 and second in APG at 16.
Of course, the problem that Illinois will run into is how stacked the Big 10 is with talent. Teams like Michigan, Purdue, and Ohio State will all be vying for that top spot. But with the players Underwood brings back, and the new additions, Illinois can make a run.
17. Tennessee Volunteers
Former Texas HC Rick Barnes has been tearing it up on the recruiting trail, and building a contender while doing so. The Vols had two players taken in the first round of the NBA Draft in 2021: G Keon Johnson (11.3 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 2.5 APG), taken 21st by the Los Angeles Clippers via the New York Knicks, and G Jaden Springer (12.5 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 2.5 APG), taken 28th overall by the Philadelphia 76ers.
Though they lose these two talents, they reload with talented freshmen, headlined by five-star G Kennedy Chandler, the top PG in the country for the 2021 class according to Rivals, as well as five-star C Jonas Aidoo, the second-ranked C in the 2021 class. Additionally, the bring in Auburn transfer G Justin Powell (11.7 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 4.7 APG), and return G Santiago Vescovi (8.7 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 3.1 APG, 1.2 SPG), F Josiah Jordan-James (8 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 2 APG, 1.4 SPG), F/C John Fulkerson (9.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG), and G Victor Bailey (10.9 PPG).
Tennessee was decent last year, finishing fourth overall in the SEC with a 10-7 conference record and an 18-9 record overall. Their offense struggled last year, as they were hit with COVID on top of dealing with injuries, and they finished 11th in conference in PPG at 69.1. They also finished 12th in total rebounding, but the addition of the freshman Aidoo should aid in that effort.
The star of this team will be the freshman, Kennedy Chandler. As I mentioned earlier, he was the top PG in the country according to Rivals, and he will likely be a one-and-done and lottery pick, adding to the Rick Barnes legacy of first-round draft picks. Look for Tennessee to compete for a conference title this season.
16. Oregon Ducks
Despite dealing with a slew of injuries and COVID issues, Oregon was still able to win the Pac-12 regular season title and make the Sweet 16 last year, in major part due to Pac-12 POTY finalist G Chris Duarte (17.1 PPG, 2.7 APG), who amongst others lost the title to top-three pick C Evan Mobley from USC. Gone are Duarte and other top scorer and all-Pac-12 first-team member Eugene Omoruyi (17.1 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 2.3 APG), but the Ducks return much of their production from 2020-2021, and add some transfers to boot. Some returners of note are G Will Richardson (11.4 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 3.9 APG), F Eric Williams (10 PPG, 6 RPG) and F/C N’Faly Dante (8.2 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 1.2 BPG), a former five-star recruit held out by injury last season.
There were three major transfers brought in by Altman this year as well: Oklahoma G De’Vion Harmon (12.9 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 2 APG), Syracuse F Quincy Guerrier (13.7 PPG, 8.4 RPG), and Rutgers G Jacob Young (14.1 PPG). So the Ducks have five players on their roster who averaged double-digit scoring last year, and while they don’t have the same level of offensive firepower they did last year with Duarte and Omoruyi, they will have better luck with health issues this year from a COVID standpoint.
Last season, they had good stats on both sides of the ball; they finished third in total PPG and fourth in PPG allowed, but they did have rebounding issues because of a lack of size in the F and C categories. They addressed this in recruiting, where they signed four-star C Nathan Bittle, who is 6’11. Having the 6’11 Dante back will also help here.
Overall, Oregon, despite what they lost, could be even better this year than they were last year. Hopefully for their sake, they have better injury luck. If they stay healthy, this team could be dangerous.
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@KeenanWomack_OB
