Continuing our season-ending analysis, we look at the performances of Ohio State, Iowa, Minnesota, and Illinois. Earlier this week, we handed out grades for Indiana, Northwestern, Penn State and Purdue.

Ohio State

Grade: C-

This season (25-10, 10-8): What would be a successful season for most programs was a relative disappointment for the Buckeyes. Ohio State did not capture a Big Ten regular season or tournament title for the first time since 2008-09, and similar to that season, they were also bounced out of the NCAA Tournament in their first game. The issue for the Buckeyes – which was a clear problem area in the preseason – was generating offense without Deshaun Thomas in the lineup. Thomas’ replacement, LaQuinton Ross, almost doubled his scoring average, but the Buckeyes failed to find reliable offensive firepower anywhere else. In the end, Aaron Craft and Ohio State’s excellent showing on defense wasn’t enough to overcome the team’s offensive woes.

Thad Matta had a let-down of a season relative to his own success. Don’t expect it to continue next season. (Getty)

Next season: The Buckeyes lose Craft, Amedeo Della Valle, Ross, and Lenzelle Smith Jr. They welcome in an elite recruiting class that includes D’Angelo Russell, Keita Bates-Diop, and Jae’Sean Tate; and they also will get graduate transfer Anthony Lee from Temple next year. These additions along with several talented players already on their roster should have no one worrying about the state of the program going forward. This season was merely a hiccup in the Thad Matta era.

Iowa: C

Read the rest of this entry »

1. The last three years have been quite a journey for Frank Haith. When he was introduced as the coach at Missouri on April 4, 2011 after going 129-101 at Miami (including 43-69 in the ACC) with one NCAA Tournament win in seven seasons we were not convinced that it was not just some delayed April Fools Joke. Haith then led the Tigers to a 30-5 record and a #2 seed in the NCAA Tournament where they were upset by #15 seed Norfolk State. In the following two seasons, Haith has failed to a NCAA Tournament game and seen several players either declare for the NBA Draft early or transfer. Yesterday, Haith reportedly agreed to become the next coach at Tulsa. This is clearly a step down from Missouri so it seems pretty clear that Haith could tell his days were numbered and got out while he had a chance before he was fired.
2. Jabari Parker joined the parade of heralded freshmen declaring for the NBA Draft. In a piece he wrote for Sports Illustrated, Parker states his reasons for leaving school after his freshman year. Overall, it is a fairly well-written piece although some might have an issue with his claim that being in the NBA will be “the best opportunity to grow and develop off the court”. We don’t know what he means “grow and develop” so if he means his bank account or frequent-flier miles then he certainly is right. If he means traditional knowledge base or something along those lines he might be mistaken. Still it seems like a reasonable decision for Parker, who should be a top-five pick.
3. It appears that Rodney Hood will be following Jabari Parker to the NBA according to Adrian Wojnarowski. Hood is not quite the prospect that Parker is, but is still expected to be a mid- to late-first round pick. Hood only spent one year playing for Duke after playing his freshman year at Mississippi State. Normally, losing two one-and-done players would be considered a significant blow, but with the class that Mike Krzyzewski is bringing into Durham the Blue Devils should still be a top-five team heading into next year. Similarly, Kentucky should be able to absorb the loss of James Young, who also declared for the NBA Draft and is also a considered to be a mid-first round pick probably a little ahead of Hood. Like Krzyzewski, Calipari should also have plenty of players coming in to replace Young (and the other players who may declare in the next few weeks).
4. UCLA may have lost two big pieces on Wednesday when Kyle Anderson and Zach Levine declared for the NBA Draft, but they got a reprieve yesterday when Jordan Adams announced that he would returning to UCLA for his junior season. Adams averaged 17.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game last year and was considered a possible late first round pick. Adams’ return should make UCLA one of the top teams in the Pac-12 with what they return even with Anderson and Levine leaving.
5. These shoe contracts are not helping the colleges when they say that they cannot afford to provide more substantial support for their student-athletes. The latest school to stick its hands out to collect money from the shoe companies is Louisville, which signed a five-year, $40 million deal with adidas. While Louisville is one of the top sports programs in the country it is somewhat surprising to see them in the same stratosphere at $8 million per year as what adidas is paying Notre Dame ($9 million per year) and Michigan ($8.2 million per year) because we have never heard them mentioned in the same breath as those two schools in terms of name brand appeal.

We’ve seen All-American list after All-American list over the past few weeks, and the familiar names are all deserving: McDermott, Parker, Smith, Wilbekin, and so on and so forth. But what about the players who are nowhere to be found on any of these honor rolls, yet still deserve mention for their valuable contributions this season? Below is a team of five players – none of them All-Americans, or really anything especially close – who all played important but overlooked roles for their successful teams.

Quinn Cook Was An Underrated Player For Duke In 2013-14

• PG: Quinn Cook, Duke – If you are a McDonald’s All-American and seek a successful but unheralded college career, Duke would seem like as good a destination as any. Somehow, Cook has avoided plaudits from most observers during his time in Durham, and at times has even been seen as the weak link for the Blue Devils. His play isn’t always as consistent as Coach K would like, but after a season in which he posted a 120.2 Offensive Rating (better than more heralded teammates Jabari Parker and Rodney Hood) and an assist rate of 27.7 percent, it’s time to appreciate Cook for what he was this year — one of the best point guards in the country.
• SG/SF: Tekele Cotton, Wichita State – We heard plenty about Cleanthony Early, Fred Van Vleet and Ron Baker this season, but what about the Shockers’ unsung hero, Cotton? The 6’3” junior was the best defensive player on the 12th most efficient defensive team in the country, and shot 37 percent from three-point range en route to a gaudy Offensive Rating of 118.2. Not everyone missed Cotton’s value to WSU; he was one of four Shockers to receive a first-place vote for MVC POY, and was awarded the league’s Defensive Player of the Year trophy. Read the rest of this entry »

1. There were a few NBA Draft announcements yesterday, but nothing that was particularly surprising. Jahii Carson made it official that he would be declaring for the NBA Draft, but that was hardly a surprise as he said he would be doing so before the start of the season and never backed off that statement. The other big announcements also came from the Pac-12 where Kyle Anderson and Zach Levine declared for the draft. Anderson is considered a borderline lottery pick while Carson and Levine are closer to fringe first round picks. Carson is probably about where he would be in a year as a prospect, but Levine has significant upside so it is a little surprising to see him leave so soon particularly without what we would consider a legitimate guarantee of being a first round pick. On the other side, A.J. Hammons announced that he will be returning to Purdue for his his junior season. Hammons averaged 10.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks last season and with his size had a chance to be a late first round pick. Fortunately for Matt Painter and Boilermaker fans he will be back in West Lafayette next season.
2. The Andy Enfield experiment is not going as planned at USC. After coming to LA off the high of the Dunk City experience, Enfield made sure to let everybody know how great he was then followed it up with a 11-21 record including a putrid 2-16 in the Pac-12. It does not appear that next season will be much easier as Byron Wesley, the team’s best player last season, announced that he planned to graduate from USC this summer and transfer for his final year of eligibility. If he does graduate, Wesley would be available to play immediately with a graduate student waiver and would be among the most sought-after transfers on the market as it is pretty rare to find a guy who averaged 17.8 points (47% FG), 6.4 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game on the market.
3. Jim Christian’s challenge of turning around Boston College got significantly easier as Olivier Hanlan announced that he would be back next season. With Ryan Anderson already transferring, Hanlan’s announcement is even more important. Hanlan averaged 18.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.9 assists last season so he will be the focal point of the Eagles’ offense and with the the lack of support he will have opposing teams will be tailoring their defenses to stop him. Still next season should be a rough one for Christian as he takes over a team that went 8-24 last season and have lost a significant pieces from that team.
4. One of the more confusing aspects of the early entry system is the myriad of deadlines from both the NCAA and NBA (DraftExpress had a good explanation here). Both sided have pointed fingers at the other when asked about the issue of early entry and the age restriction. As John Infante notes the NCAA would be wise to take control of this issue before the NBA decides for them. As usual Infante offers a logical argument although we are not sure that the NCAA will follow his advice because as we all know the NCAA doesn’t always follow logic when making its decisions.
5. And finally today we give you a somewhat surprising draft announcement… for the NFL. Miami forward Erik Swope announced that he will be entering the NFL Draft. Swope averaged 5 points and 2.7 rebounds last season so he was at best an overseas player so going the NFL route makes the most sense although the timing of his announcement (just a few weeks before the NFL Draft) seems a little strange. With the success of former basketball players in the NFL we are surprised that more marginal basketball players don’t go this route.

With the sudden announcement on Tuesday that California had hired Cuonzo Martin – last seen taking Tennessee to the Sweet Sixteen – as their new head coach, the Pac-12 coaching carousel appears to be done for the year, barring a major surprise. After names like Chris Mooney, Chris Mack, Russell Turner, Eric Musselman and, last season’s associate head coach under Mike Montgomery, Travis DeCuire, were brought up and discarded, landing a talented young coach like Martin is a strong hire for Cal and its athletic director, Sandy Barbour. And Martin isn’t headed to Berkeley alone, as before he was even officially announced as the new guy, 7’1” recruit Kingsley Okoroh released the news that he would be changing his commitment from Tennessee to California. There’s a lot to get to, so let’s jump right in.

Cuonzo Martin’s Name Came Out Of Nowhere As California’s Choice For Head Coach (msn.foxsports.com).

First, Martin hadn’t really even been on the radar for the Cal job until Tuesday morning, as the hot name had been primarily Mooney. But he was anxious to get away from Tennessee, where he was never embraced despite good success there: In three seasons, he logged three postseason appearances including one NCAA Tournament appearance (in which his team advanced to the Sweet Sixteen), and one year where the Volunteers were the first team left out of the Big Dance, all while taking over a program that Bruce Pearl had left in something of a mess. Still, Volunteers fans started an online petition (with 36,000+ signees) before the season was over to fire him and bring back Pearl, so his ducking out the door despite recently pledging his commitment to the program is no big surprise. In fact, the players who battled for Martin this season came out to publicly support his decision to move on. For Martin, really, this is a no-brainer. With the Vols losing seniors Jordan McRae, Jeronne Maymon and Antonio Barton, and with Jarnell Stokes heading to the NBA a year early, Martin gets out of town, signs a new, secure contract and gets a minimum of three or four years to prove that he is worthy of an extension at Cal.

Read the rest of this entry »

Within every 40 minutes of college basketball, there is a moment or two that sets a tone, shifts momentum, or otherwise dictates the game’s final result. If we think bigger picture, we’ll notice that the five-month college basketball season is also shaped by a number of similarly formative moments. We may not always know their full significance at the time, but these moments conspire to transform the course of a season. In 2013-14, these were those 10 moments – some occurring inside the lines, others far away from the hardwood – that proved most pivotal to the season’s final snapshot.

UConn Felled Florida Back In December In What Would Turn Out To Be The First Installment Of Many Napier Clutch Shots

• 10. Tyler Ennis Downs Pitt at the Horn (February 12). The Syracuse freshman’s memorable game-winner extended the Orange’s inspiring perfect start, but might it have ended up wounding both teams? Pitt would never really find its way over the hump, while Syracuse’s continued chase of perfection may have shielded a few critical flaws that would later cause its sharp downfall.
• 9. Scottie Wilbekin Returns From Five-Game Suspension (November 25). A solid performance (12 points, seven assists, three steals) in a rout of Atlantic Sun also-ran Jacksonville was just the beginning of a redemptive season for Wilbekin, who overcame offseason turmoil to become the unquestioned leader and MVP of a team that, for the better part of 2014, played at a far loftier level than any other squad in the country.
• 8. Wichita State Comes Back Against Missouri State (January 11). Shockermania hadn’t yet grown into the hysteria it would become, but Wichita State overcame a 19-point second half road deficit in the most improbable of their season-opening 35 victories. Read the rest of this entry »

At the start of the season, we, along with most everyone else, slated Wisconsin to finish in its usual place among the top four of the Big Ten standings, but also noted that the team would once again be limited in what it could accomplish in the NCAA Tournament. Examining the preseason roster, we thought the Badgers would be be better on the perimeter with the return of the Josh Gasser; we knew Sam Dekker was a pro talent, the likes of which doesn’t usually wear a Wisconsin uniform; but we also wondered whether Frank Kaminsky was capable of stepping up and playing at the level that Jarred Berggren had provided. Without mincing words, we were wrong. Six months and a Final Four appearance later, we now know that these Badgers were the most talented squad Bo Ryan has coached in Madison, and although they came up just short of a shot at the title, next season looks even brighter. Almost the entire roster is coming back and Wisconsin will be projected as an elite team by almost every prognosticator based on this year’s run. A run to the Final Four wasn’t supposed to happen with this group, so how’d they do it?

Bo Ryan has finally reached college basketball’s mountain top. (AP)

Wisconsin’s 30-8 season was built on the talents of individual players who outperformed expectations and this particular squad’s great offensive chemistry in Ryan’s system. The junior Kaminsky emerged as a terrific college player and a legitimate future contender for National Player of the Year. After averaging only 4.2 PPG and 1.8 RPG in 2012-13 behind Berggren, Kaminsky led the Badgers in scoring (13.9 PPG) and rebounding (6.3 RPG) and was the second-most efficient player in the conference (127.5 Offensive Rating). Additionally, Nigel Hayes went from an unheralded high school recruit to a spot on the All-Big Ten freshmen team behind his 7.7 PPG and 2.8 RPG. The emergence of a viable scoring frontcourt — combined with a versatile wing like Dekker and a deep shooting back court in Traevon Jackson, Brust, and Gasser — created the most potent offense Ryan has ever put on the floor. By the end of the season, the Badgers carried an adjusted offensive efficiency of 1.21 points per possession (fourth in the country).

Read the rest of this entry »

With the end of the season comes a chance to look back at what happened and look ahead to next year. Here we have broken the conference into three corresponding tiers based on this year’s finish and will give each a final grade and look at a key question for 2014-15. Today we’ll examine four teams that are hoping they don’t replicate this year’s bottom four finish: Indiana, Northwestern, Penn State and Purdue.

Indiana

Yogi Ferrell had a great 2013-14 campaign and will need to replicate that for Indiana to be successful next year. (Darron Cummings, AP)

Grade: D. The Hoosiers lost so much with the departures of two lottery picks that maybe we all expected too much. Still, with Noah Vonleh (another likely lottery pick), Yogi Ferrell, Will Sheehey and “The Movement,” quite a bit more was expected from this group. Failure to make the NCAA Tournament (or even the bubble) and falling to the bottom tier of the Big Ten represents a very bad year for the Hoosiers. The program’s one bright spot was the emergence of Ferrell as not only the team’s best player but also one of the best in the conference.

Key 2014-15 Question: Who plays inside? Indiana will have plenty of guards on its roster next season. It brings back Ferrell and Stanford Robinson and its recruiting class includes McDonalds All-America shooting guard James Blackmon Jr. and shooting guard in Robert Johnson. With Vonleh and Jeremy Hollowell now gone, though, this team will lack an inside presence. Hanner Mosquera-Perea hasn’t really panned out and Troy Williams is a wing who doesn’t dominate inside the paint. Tom Crean is still recruiting in the hopes of filling this hole with a late commitment, but as of now, the Hoosiers could be looking at a four-guard lineup next year.

Northwestern

Grade: B. A “B” may seem high for a team at the bottom of league but this group of Wildcats was expected to do absolutely nothing in the Big Ten this season. Recall that at one point the question was if they could win a single Big Ten game. Chris Collins did plenty to change that notion quickly, as he made the team’s identity about defense and pushed it to win six games in conference play (and at one point had pundits wondering if it could make its way onto the NCAA bubble). It was a big and unexpected turnaround that has the Wildcats looking to break the NCAA drought sooner than later.

Read the rest of this entry »

1. So all that complaining Tennessee fans did about Cuonzo Martin before he led the team to a Sweet 16 appearance? It is looking even more idiotic now after he announced that he will be moving to California. The move was quite a sudden turn as Martin had just picked up a commitment from Kingsley Okoroh to play at Tennesseee less than 24 hours before. Tennessee is now faced with a difficult situation of finding a coach in the middle of April after the last coach, who made the Sweet 16, left in large part because of the lack of support he had there.
2. Yesterday was a busy day for early-entry candidates. At Arizona, Aaron Gordon and Nick Johnson announced that they would be leaving. As we noted yesterday, Gordon is expected to be a top-10 pick and while Johnson is most likely a mid-second round pick he probably would not improve that stock with another year of college so he might as well start making money even if it is overseas. At Michigan, Nik Stauskas and Glenn Robinson III also decided to leave school early to end the NBA Draft. Stauskas is potential lottery pick so it makes sense, but Robinson’s decision is somewhat puzzling especially his decision to declare so early when he could just wait for his father to get him more feedback and apply by the NBA deadline.
3. Outside of the major NBA announcements there were two other big decisions yesterday. Michigan State forward Branden Dawson elected to return to East Lansing for his senior season. This probably will not be enough to make the Spartans threaten Wisconsin for Big Ten supremacy (at least on paper) it should put them in the next tier. At Washington State, Royce Woolridge announced that he would be transferring to be closer to his ailing grandmother. Woolridge, who already transferred from Kansas to Washington State after his freshman season, is expected to graduate this spring and is expecting to play at a school in Arizona next fall to be closer to his grandmother. Between the graduate student waiver and the family hardship waiver he should have no problem being eligible to play next season.
4. Qu’ils mangent de la brioche. Yesterday, the NCAA passed a series of proposal designed to benefit student-athletes with the most notable one allowing the schools to provide all of them (even walk-ons) with unlimited meals. The prior rule was not quite on the level of the cream cheese ban that was so widely panned, but it was still a bad look for the NCAA. On the surface it might seem like a very minor allowance (along with the other improvements), but it seems like it is a step closer to approaching the cost of attendance number that is so often thrown around.
5. If you thought that the early entries were too much to keep track of, wait until you get a look at the transfer list. Fortunately, Jeff Goodman has taken his transfer list to ESPN.com (previously at Fox Sports and CBS Sports). There are not many pages that we would tell you to bookmark (outside of our main page and microsites obviously), but this will be a good one to check in on every once in a while because we have no idea how Jeff can keep up with so much movement, but he manages to do so.

Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll go through each Pac-12 team one by one and recount the season that has just completed and begin to turn the page to what we might see next season. Today, Utah.

What Went Right

For the first time since Larry Krystkowiak took over a shell of a program from Jim Boylen, Utah basketball fans had a team that they knew could be competitive night in and night out. Of the Utes’ 12 losses this season, seven were by a single possession. The talent level is clearly back to the point where the Utes can be competitive in the Pac-12, defense has become a priority, and the future appears bright.

In His Third Season In Salt Lake City, Larry Krystkowiak’s Squad Began To Turn The Corner (Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)

What Went Wrong

So, those seven losses by a single possession? Well, that’s not good, is it? Time and time again, the Utes had chances to win close games down the stretch, and time and time again they wound up with losses in those games. Their record in games decided by a single possession was 0-7. They lost all three of their overtime games. And only six times all season did they win games decided by fewer than 10 points. In other words, unless the Utes were blowing out their opponent, odds were good that they were losing. Chalk some of that up to bad luck, another portion to a young team still learning to win games, and more to some coaching breakdowns. But the good news is that if next year’s Utes can find some ways to win those close games, they should be looking at a very good record.

Read the rest of this entry »