2013-14 very early preseason Top 25

[sufandu]

With all of these way-too- early-for-next-year rankings having us in or near the top 10, have we become one of those programs that gets ranked high based on who we are and not on analysis of who's leaving/staying/coming in?

 

[jordoo]

If Ennis and G are good I think we are better than 10 personally. Look at that top 25 its weak must like this years was.

 

[MikeSU02]

He kind of is. It's scary what he can do out there.

LeBron is going to end up being one of the top players of all time. Let's stop pretending that Wiggins is going to be anywhere near LeBron.

Let him try to be the next Rudy Gay first.

BTW, he measured 6'7" in shoes and is maybe 200 pounds. LeBron James is as big as Karl Malone.

 

[Fly Rodder]

Seems like all these Pre-Season ranking descriptions all leave out Silent G.

Yeah, and that's a big bonus to Syracuse. Mike might not be the next Wes Johnson, but Boeheim doesn't take on transfers to ride the pine. He's essentially using two scholarships for the kid.

I like Syracuse to be in the top-10 and with a shot for a final four. Once the season starts and we see how the offseason has treated some players (if Coleman can play zone D? watch out), we'll have a much better idea about how the season stacks up. From a pure talent standpoint? Syracuse has all of the pieces on paper.

 

[Cusefan0307]

It seems like every year in the past 5 alot of people don't think we are a top ten team because we lose this or lose that. One must remember all the other schools on the list are losing this and that as well. Next year we will have lots of raw talent. I think we will be much better by the end of the year than we are at the beginning. A lot of it depends on how the newcomers, specifically the guards pick up the zone.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

No Pitt, anywhere. Not likely they'll be outside of the top 40 teams.

Lots of speculation, but if we're realistic, i don't see how you don't put Kentucky at 1 . Ignore the coach and the uniform and just look at the collection of talent. And, they will be silly-deep. Versatile, deep, hungry, rested. That's a nice formula.

You can put us at 10 and whatever happens, you won't be far wrong. We could realistically be anywhere from 5-15, depending on how things shake out. And in a new conference, where everyone's got to feel each other out, who knows. Our style might translate well. It might not. Officiating and adjusting to styles might make a significant difference in where we finish within the ACC.

 

[Upstate]

LeBron is going to end up being one of the top players of all time. Let's stop pretending that Wiggins is going to be anywhere near LeBron.

Let him try to be the next Rudy Gay first.

BTW, he measured 6'7" in shoes and is maybe 200 pounds. LeBron James is as big as Karl Malone.

OF course he isn't LeBron James right now. Only a fool would say that. But many/most analysts expect that Wiggins will be the next dominant NBA star within the next 6 years. Surely, we don't know at this moment, but his talent at this age is undeniable and has a far higher ceiling than mostly anyone.

 

[MikeSU02]

OF course he isn't LeBron James right now. Only a fool would say that. But many/most analysts expect that Wiggins will be the next dominant NBA star within the next 6 years. Surely, we don't know at this moment, but his talent at this age is undeniable and has a far higher ceiling than mostly anyone.

Sorry, it's still a long shot. Especially for a kid whose main issue is his "motor". He's below ideal height and weight for an NBA wing. LeBron was 240 pounds coming out of HS. Luol Deng, who was an AA the same year, was 220 pounds. Wiggins is 200. How much more can he hang on his frame?

All this hyperbole is for eyeballs and clicks only. He's just the best of the best on the HS level right now. We can have this discussion almost every year.

Only a fool would compare him to LeBron in any sense. He isn't what LeBron was in HS and he will never be what LeBron is now.

 

[HoustonCuse]

Those UCLA teams of the late 60's early 70's had their own davastating 2-2-1 press. They could clearly disrupt any team by playing aggressively knowing that Kareem or Walton was back playing goal tender. While today's elite players have some freakish abilities, I would clearly give the edge to UCLA in terms of coaching & discipline which IMHO offset those abilities and anything that Cal could muster. Would be very interesting to see!

I feel like late 60's UCLA would get run in today's game by a team like Louisville. Have you seen how the game was played in those days? It was a wide open finesse game. Those UCLA players, transported through time to 2013, would not even recognize the game they were playing as Russ Smith ran full steam at them, lowered his shoulder and put the hit on them only to recoil from that hit and have Siva shred the skin off their arms as he ripped the ball from them all while the ref checked his facebook page on an iphone.

 

[shermstheman]

Sorry, I left out a few key words... the article said, "from a purely talent standpoint." Those 1960s UCLA teams were legendary for their time, but today's athletes would run circles around them, in my opinion.

Sorry, I left out a few key words... the article said, "from a purely talent standpoint." Those 1960s UCLA teams were legendary for their time, but today's athletes would run circles around them, in my opinion.

Remember reading an SI college preview on one of those UCLA teams. They went through how impressive each player was and how that 5 was the second best team in the land...only UCLA's starting 5 was better. Very impressive. And it was true.

 

[PoppyHart]

Sorry, it's still a long shot. Especially for a kid whose main issue is his "motor". He's below ideal height and weight for an NBA wing. LeBron was 240 pounds coming out of HS. Luol Deng, who was an AA the same year, was 220 pounds. Wiggins is 200. How much more can he hang on his frame?

All this hyperbole is for eyeballs and clicks only. He's just the best of the best on the HS level right now. We can have this discussion almost every year.

Only a fool would compare him to LeBron in any sense. He isn't what LeBron was in HS and he will never be what LeBron is now.

I don't see what's so problematic with saying he's the best HS prospect since LeBron. It doesn't mean people think he is a clone of LeBron, it doesn't mean people think he we have the same impact. It simply means that they think he's the best HS talent in the past 10 or 11 years.

 

[strumpfasaurus]

I have a hard this Wiggins is kid is a better prospect then guys like (Dwight, Rose, Durant, Westbrook, Love, Griffin, etc.)

 

['72 Orange]

Have you seen how the game was played in those days? It was a wide open finesse game.

Of course I saw how the game was played "in those days". Based on my handle I assumed you should have recognized I was in college at the time. Comparing players from one era to another in any sport is always great fun, unfortunately there is no definative way to settle the argument. I will concede that if todays refs were used for just such a game - advantage Ville. So in the era of the "freakish athelete" they were the best team in 2013. If the refs were from the era of those great UCLA teams, then the Ville backcourt would be either fouled out by halftime or rendered ineffective on D - advantage UCLA.

Like many, I do not view the way that games are called in the current college game as the way they should be called.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Any team which had Alcindor or Walton is better.

Sent from my SCH-I200 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Willy75]

Sagarin final ratings following last night's NC has SU at #6.

 

[billsin01]

All of these rankings for SU seem overly optimistic to me. Teams that make the FF and Elite 8 usually get a halo effect the next year in the preseason polls so that should help us. Given the inexperience and question marks in our backcourt, the #15-20 range seems more realistic.

I don't know, I could see it either way, especially since 10 and 15 are pretty close, all things considered. But Fair and Grant should be pretty tough and G and Ennis should contribute decently. Xmas/Coleman/Keita should be a solid 3-man rotation up front -- maybe even pretty good if the first two make strides. The wild card is Cooney who, despite a terrible, terrible year shooting the ball, still managed to contribute meaningfully. If he has a better year shooting the ball we should be in good shape.

And there there are the frosh who may chip in as well. There are always a bunch of if's but there won't be a significant amount of pressure on frosh to contribute and the upper-classmen all are solid prospects with legitimate chances of getting significantly better (except maybe Fair).