Likability/Hatability: Big Ten Basketball Coaches Edition

Tom Crean's hissy-fit-like pseudo-handshake with Bo Ryan served as yet another reminder that he's a classless child who we could not be happier is not the coach of our team. It got me to thinking, though: how does Tommy stack up against the other coaches in the conference on the likability/hatability scale? Let's see.


Wisconsin's Bo Ryan

Coach Bo looks like a goblin and is goofy and over-the-top in his demonstrative, work-the-refs sideline demeanor. This sort of makes it easy to hate on ol' Bo. However, in postgame interviews and press conferences, he's a much quieter, softer-spoken man than you might expect. There's not much to suggest Bo does anything that skirts the rules -- he simply recruits big, goofy white kids who Wisconsonites love and teaches them to play winning, Big Ten basketball.

Verdict: Hard to hate, also hard to like, though.

Michigan's John Beilein

Beilein always appears to be coaching hard, yet his sideline antics don't tend to rub us the wrong way. In fact, we wish Coach Painter was a little more fiery, so it would be hard for us to bash Beilein too much.

Of course, it's Michigan basketball, which always winds up breaking some rules when they're good. Maybe B will reverse the trend.

Verdict:: Likable, for a Michigan coach.

Minnesota's Tubby Smith

Tubby has a surly side, but for the most part, you rarely hear anything negative about this guy outside of Lexington (and even then it's because he only won one title there). He's got that grandfatherly, kind old man appearance, but he also can coach some ball. Minnesota was perfect for him after Kentucky because the expectations aren't any more than compete now and then and make the tournament most of the time. At a lot of schools, there would have been some serious coaching seat heat on Tubby over the past few seasons, but there hasn't been much flak out of Minneapolis, likely because everyone wisely realizes they're Minnesota and aren't getting a bigger name there than Tubby Smith.

Tubby doesn't embarrass himself or his school on the sidelines and despite some leniency on thugs like Trevor Mbakwe, he seems to run a decent program.

Verdict: Likable.

Indiana's Tom Crean

A phony, embarrassing, over-the-top doofus who is such a sore loser he can't even respectfully shake hands or conduct a radio show without being a surly prick, all the while quoting scripture on Twitter and somehow putting together top recruiting classes despite never having won a thing. He's a lousy game coach and has been exposed by Brad Stevens, Bo Ryan and almost Tubby Smith so far this season. There is truly nothing likable about this clown and in our opinion it's only as matter of time before it's revealed that he has crossed lines he shouldn't have.

Verdict: Hatable.

OSU's Thad Matta

Matta isn't the kind of guy who acts out on the sidelines or comes off as a poor loser or obnoxious guy. That said, we have issues with him because of a "guilt by association" mentality. He's the coach at a school that is known to play ball, if you know what I'm saying and I think you do I'm talking about cheating. Wait, what?

Matta, as noted, isn't an embarrassment to the conference in terms of his demeanor, but he's also not a real good coach. Why do I say that? Look at the talent that has gone through there and look how few actual title runs the Bucknuts have made.

Verdict: So-so.

MSU's Tom Izzo

Izzo is a guy who we, like many of you, used to really like. We thought he represented the Big Ten well and was a stand up guy. But then more and more happened to chip away at St. Tom's image, at least in our eyes. There's no doubt he's an excellent coach -- his many Final Four banners back that up -- but Tom's judgement and clear willingness to look the other way when his thugs are acting like, well, thugs, is something we just cannot forgive.

Verdict: Getting more hatable.

Illinois' John Groce 

This article says John Groce is "everything Illinois could have hoped for." I guess they were hoping to continue Bruce Weber's recent legacy of mentally-soft teams who melted down in key spots. Harsh? Sure, but just look at the evidence. As for Groce, though, it's far too early to know if he's a hatable or likable guy. He did well at Ohio and was an assistant at OSU before that, as well as at Butler. So really, it's hard to figure this guy.

Verdict: Jury still out.

Iowa's Fran McCaffery

Fran is a tough name to go through life with as a male, I would think. Coach Fran seems to us to be a decent enough guy and, again, as you can tell is often our barometer, he doesn't do anything that embarrasses his program or his players. Iowa is struggling to climb their way back to respectability and it has seemed for a few years as though they were close to breaking through. Maybe if they got really good Fran would take on some hatable characteristics, but as of now we have no real problems with him.

Verdict: Likable

Northwestern's Bill Carmody

What does it say about the basketball program at Northwestern that Carmody has now been there for going on 13 years and has yet to make a NCAA tournament? As most of you know, Northwestern has never made the NCAA tourney, which, if you're ever going to concern yourself with conference pride, this should bother you.

Carmody was successful at Princeton in the '90s, taking the Tigers to the NCAA tournament twice, including winning a game in '98. Nothing jumps out at us in terms of him being an unlikable guy, other than the fact that he can't nudge the Mildcats to a tourney berth even once.

Verdict: Likable as a harmless kitten.

Nebraska's Tim Miles

Miles has worked his way up the coaching ranks to get to his current Big Ten position and we can honestly say we hope he does well at Nebraska. Miles seems like a good guy and an easy person to root for. As with Groce, we haven't seen enough of him to have developed any ill will (and you all know how easy it is for us to do that), but maybe eventual success will change that.

Verdict: Likable

Penn State's Pat Chambers

Chambers has a significant project ahead of him. PSU has never been a basketball hotbed, and that was only amplified when Ed DeChellis bolted to become the head coach at Navy -- actually choosing Navy over a Big Ten program. Could it be that DeChellis worried about job security? Possible. Or maybe he saw the writing on the wall after six seasons and felt building a winner in Nappy Valley would be nearly impossible.

Regardless, Chambers has come in and tried to do his best. The Lions play hard but have struggled to find any success. Again, Chambers is new to the conference so we're undecided about him.

Verdict: Jury remains out.

I'm Looking At You: You're On Thin Ice, Rivals

B-dowd posted this link on Twitter last night, which is Rivals' current college basketball Top 25. Now, obviously, a college basketball Top 25 in May is always fraught with uncertainty, as well as conjecture. Sure, that's normal and completely acceptable.

But then you have rankings like this nonsense and, well, it begins to make me angry.

For thos of you too lazy or uncoordinated to click through and read the story, here are the rankings:

1. North Carolina

2. Kentucky
3. Ohio State
4. Duke
5. Syracuse
6. Vanderbilt
7. Louisville
8. Pittsburgh
9. Memphis
10. Arizona
11. Kansas
12. Florida
13. Connecticut
14. Wisconsin
15. Baylor
16. Alabama
17. Michigan State
18. Xavier
19. Temple
20. Texas A&M
21. Gonzaga
22. California
23. New Mexico
24. Wichita State
25. Mississippi State

Notice anyone missing? How about the team that was in the top 15 all season in '10-'11 and was one of only two teams to take down OSU in the regular season? Isn't this not only disrespectful to Purdue, but also to Matt Painter? And as we've mentioned before, if losing Robbie Hummel last season cost the Boilers 20-ish spots in most polls, shouldn't his return be good for, say, ten?  No? Oh, okay.

Seriously, who wrote this? My wife? Wait, bad example, she won the BS Bracket Extravaganza. So she probably could have done better!

So Wichita State is a better team going into 2011-2012 than Purdue? Is that what you're saying, Rivals?

And if you want to get down into the weeds, it's not just about Purdue being disrespected (again). How about these gems?

Wisconsin at #14 -- You  guys know Leuer is gone, right? I know Jordan Taylor is good, but hey, still having some talented players isn't enough to get the Boilermakers ranked.

MSU at #17 -- This is inexcusable. Absolutely brain-dead ranking. I think even most Spartan fans would acknowledge that with the way this past season went, MSU should have to prove they're not a paper tiger going forward. I agree that you should never count out Izzo and company. But last season was an unmitigated disaster. The Spartans barely made the NCAA tournament and then got immediately bounced in the first round. But they're 17th right now? Disgraceful.

Memphis at #9 -- Memphis barely won their conference tournament. That's Conference USA, for those of you wondering. The conference they finished fourth place in. I know it sounds snooty to look down on C-USA, but hey, it's warranted. The Tigers owned this conference under Calipari and I guess people simply want to rank Memphis high because of muscle memory. They went 10-6 in a truly mediocre conference, then eked out a one point win in the conference tourney final (the only time they led) and then went down in the first round like B-Dowd on a Saturday night. Everyone in the media so badly wants Josh Pastner to succeed and be the boy wonder they all anointed him when he took over. This just in: He's not Brad Stevens, folks. And if Memphis doesn't squeak out that one-point win over UTEP in the conference tourney, they don't make the NCAAs and maybe people do start questioning Pastner. But since they did make it in, here they are at #9. And don't give me recruiting class garbage -- they need to start proving it on the court before any sane person can say they're the 9th-best team in the nation. I don't give a damn if it is May.

Alabama at #16 -- Here's another one where the media just really wants a guy to succeed, so they're going to help him. Anthony Grant has done a decent job there, no doubt, but his next NCAA tournament game will be his first. He couldn't get his Crimson Tide into the tourney, despite playing in the horrendous SEC West, which is basically Conference-USA East. 'Bama's last NCAA foray, in fact, was 2006, six seasons ago, back when Davis was only 12 years old. (I kid, I kid.) Regardless, this Alabama team that everyone wants so badly to see succeed got into the NIT and went all the way....to the finals, where they lost to Witchita State. So yeah, they're still the same team they were. Wake me when they make a tourney.

We also see Gonzaga checking in at 19, still coasting off their upstart success more than a decade ago. Seriously, what has that program ever done? They're not a Cinderella anymore...they don't play in a big time conference...and they don't make Final Fours. But hell yeah, let's keep ranking them year after year because sportswriters like to recycle stories about Mark Few and his upstart band of castoffs from the west.

The top 10 is otherwise basically the usual suspects, although I do find Vandy at 6 kind of hilarious. When last we left Vandy, they were doing what they always do -- not performing up to expectations. The Commodores put together a stellar 9-7 SEC conference record, then flopped on their faces against 12-seed Richmond, which everyone in the world saw coming. Also, just to continue poking with a stick, their last three tourney appearances? First round losses to Siena, Murray State and Richmond. Well-done, Commodores. And for your continued success, let us here at Rivals award you with a top 6 ranking. Enjoy it! May is the only time you'll be ranked this high!

And yes, for those of you trolling our site to hate on Purdue, the Boilers also lost early in the tournament, for which we were quite hard on them. They did not perform up to expectations, for reasons that are still perplexing. However, that said, they lost -- once again -- to a Final Four team. Michigan State, for example, lost to UCLA.

But hey, they have Tom Izzo! He pleads with officials a lot! And he's short and scrappy! And he's a good interview, right media? Yay!

When I rant against the media, I'm sometimes told by readers to not let this stuff bother me, etc., yadda yadda. Well, for one thing, I've already explained why I have an issue with lazy, terrible sports reporting. And in this particular case, we're not talking about Andy Katz' poorly informed opinions, or Dick Vitale's brainless, neuron spasms. We're talking about Rivals, a site that many of us respect for the careful work they do. This top 25 should be put into a trash compactor and then the house the trash compactor is in should be burned down. It's that effing stupid.

Even for May.

Poll Dancing 2/7

The polls are out for the week and our Boilers slid to 14 in the AP and 12 in the coaches poll.

I have no idea where Purdue belongs and neither do any of the voters, really. And while I'm inclined to say I don't care, as Boilerdowd has pointed out, we should care because it does have an impact on seeding... sometimes.

Does anyone doubt that Duke will wind up a #1 seed, despite not being that dominant and thus far not having a quality road win? Does anyone doubt that if MSU goes on a weird run and gets to 20 wins that they'll make it in? Of course not. K and Izzo are beloved by the NCAA and they'll be in. Add to that the darlings from BYU and toothless San Diego State, and we're heading towards a weird March. Part of me hopes that SDSU finds a way to get a 1-seed so we can see the first 16 over a 1 in history.

One thing we do know? Purdue will be underseeded and playing in the Pacific Northwest against a mid-major everyone decides is the best low-seed pick of the tourney.

Does Purdue's Ranking Matter?

I saw on Twitter this morning that one of the many fools media types (Gary Parrish) put up his top 25 and he had Purdue at 13th. And that's fine. It's worse than their actual ranking will be, but honestly, who cares? Gary Parrish has probably not watched a complete half of Purdue basketball this season, so really, his opinion is nothing.

The problem, of course, is that his opinion -- and those of other fools like him -- actually gets traction simply because of the size of their megaphone (platform). And then other people who haven't watched 5 minutes of Purdue take their opinions as fact. But does it matter?

We have often been ripped for implying or straight-out suggesting that Purdue gets no respect, but there are many, many instances we can point to that back us up. Purdue is simply not respected by the media. And maybe they haven't earned it...and if that was the case and the media was consistent about that sort of thing, we'd be more okay with it. But when San Diego State climbs into the top ten without beating anybody and playing in a joke of a conference, well, that's annoying.

But here's the thing: maybe it's good. Maybe it's fine. The more I think about it, the more I'm okay with Purdue's ranking remaining below where it probably should be. What's the advantage of being in the top 5? The chance at being #1? Well, yes, that would be very cool and is something we'd love to see, not just as fans, but also for guys like JJ and E'Twaun and Matt Painter. They've worked hard and that would be a terrific mini-culmination for them.

Another perk or side effect of getting into the top 5 and maybe getting to #1 is the positive impact it could possibly have on recruiting. But the thing is, it'll still be Purdue, and what I mean by that is that they'll always be Purdue and they won't be Kentucky or IU or Duke. If a kid wants to go to a name school like those (and I include IU for kids who grew up in southern Indiana), then that's what they want. However, I do think there could be some positive impact on recruiting and it certainly can't hurt Matt Painter to recruit if he's able to say his team has been #1 at some point.

Okay, but aside from those items, what does it do? Well, it gets a bigger target on Purdue. And it also sets them up for a greater fall. Sure, Michigan State can lose five games and still be ranked by guys like Parrish (oh, and so can four loss Minnesota, who is 1-3 in conference), but can you imagine where Purdue would be ranked if they had five losses?? Answer: they wouldn't be ranked the rest of the season. By anyone.

If Purdue was grudgingly put into the top 5 by voters and media, they'd simply be waiting for them to lose one game and then they'd drop them back into the teens. Just like after Purdue's lone loss this year. That loss, by the way, was actually a great thing for this team. We were worried about it at the time, of course, but the Boilers have responded and having one loss has been great. Think about it: If Purdue was 16-0 right now, they'd have to be ranked very highly, thus having more attention and more aggravating remarks about "overachieving" and "despite not having Robbie Hummel," etc. And we'd all be more annoyed than anything. And clowns like Parrish and Katz would be eagerly awaiting a Purdue loss to give the "I told you so" smirks. Because there's nothing more -- nothing -- that these guys want than to be right.

So I'm good with Purdue hovering around #10-15 all season, even if it's worse than they deserve to be ranked. Let everyone dismiss them. Let everybody think that teams coincidentally play "sloppy" against Purdue -- rather than it being Purdue's defense making them sloppy. Let everyone think that the season really was over in mid-October.

Choo-choo, muthas.

RPI Stupid-ness (and notes)

I've been trumpeting a composite computer ranking as a relatively-fair and level-headed way of looking at rankings. BUT, has anyone checked out the RPI recently? I know that it's unbiased, which is good, but in my opinion, the formula doesn't, nor has ever really matched reality. It's a good tool at the end of the year, along with other factors, to try to figure out if a team is a top-68 team, but, it shouldn't be given the stand-alone respect it receives.

For instance:

-Duke, which to me seems to be the best team in America, currently stands at 10th. aOSU, the clear second-best team in the land at this point, is 15th.

-4-loss G'Town is third, 3-loss Kentucky is eighth, 4-loss St. John's is 11th, 4-loss WVU is 13th and 3-loss Florida is 14th. My eyes simply don't agree with with the formula...but it should come out in the wash in the next few weeks.

-The Forces of Good dropped after their 23-point drubbing of Iowa, to 12th.

Purdue's current CCR is 7th.

Eerie Parallel?

As you all know, my first and foremost passion in football is our Boilers. Of course my alma mater is my priority, plus, I just like the college game more than the pro game. But, I root for the Colts, albeit more casually, but I like to see the team I grew up on win.

But, for many seasons my Boilers and the horse have had some pretty unusual similarities. Years ago, Manning and Painter (when he was a Boiler) were torching their competition, until they reached the elite...then they would kinda wet the bed. Both teams had prolific offenses and no defense to speak of. It's not a coincidence that they both lost big games, mind you.

Recently, I've watched the Colts flounder as injuries plagued them to the point that they were almost unrecognizable. Granted, Manning was still playing and Purdue no longer has a sure-fire signal caller, even before injuries, but stick with me.

Special teams were a problem for both teams all season, specifically kickoff returns. Also, both teams had big problems with stupid penalties at bad times. Atop that, Danny Hope was prone to calling asinine timeouts this season.

All three of the problems killed the Colts on Saturday. From a dumb running into the kicker penalty, to a massive 47-yard kickoff return at the end of the game by the Jets, to an unbelievable timeout called by Caldwell in the Jets final possession. It was probably a combination of these factors and the injuries that killed the Colts. And like the Boilers, the margin for error was just too slim for the Colts for them to overcome fundamental errors.

Like Hope, I think Caldwell deserves a season of healthy players before he can be evaluated. But both have a ton of self-induced scrutiny on them after this season.

Perhaps I'm being overly-analytical and the comparison between the black and gold and the Colts isn't warranted...but I'm already looking forward to Spring ball...especially with Brees no longer in the playoffs.

Good Get

Danny Hope looks like he's done it again. Purdue has gotten a solid verbal, late in the recruiting season from a defensive player that a ton of good programs really wanted. Just as Bruce Gaston was a highly-sought after player who decided to commit to playing to hope late last year, Armstead Williams chose Purdue over a lot of very good offers.

Williams, from Pennsylvania, had offers from Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin and others. He might see the field right away, especially on special teams, depending on what type of shape he's in when he arrives on campus...but at linebacker there will be competition as four former starters return and a ton of young talent is already on campus.

I like Hope's class quite a bit- a lot of solid players with good offers from other schools. With the defections of Reese and Melton after the first semester, Hope has one or two more spots available...so this class could be as big as 16 signees. I'd like to see a non-JuCo safety or a true offensive lineman, if I had a vote.

The jewels of this class (along with Williams of course), in my opinion are:

-RB Marcus Caffey (offers from Arkansas, Ole Miss, WVU, others)

-QB Russell Bellomy (offers from Boise State, Minnesota, South Florida, others)

-WR A.J. King (offers from Iowa, Ole Miss, WVU, others)

A few guys that are a bit off the beaten path that I like are:

-WR Shane Mikesky

-CB Taylor Richards

The biggest question mark is definitely DE Randy Gregory. With the off-the-field issue, academic concerns, he might not make it on campus...but, if you've seen him play football or basketball, you know he has a ton of athleticism...Hopefully he can get his head and heart into what he's doing.

We've been saying that Danny Hope deserves a season in which his team is mostly-healthy...I think he'll get that next year. And his team will be loaded with speed and depth almost everywhere.

The Media Giveth...The Media Taketh Away.

All growns up.

Kerring for Ryan

Ryan Kerrigan is a talented, fast and strong football player. Plus, he seemed to put a maximum amount of effort into each down. There are plenty of guys that have that motor that coaches want, but don't have the production that Kerrigan does. But because of the combination of effort, ability, production and beautiful, flowing hair, Kerrigan received some well-deserved attention on Monday.

He is the first, first-team All-American at Purdue since Anthony Spencer. He is the BT's & (of course) Purdue's defensive player of the year and MVP. Kerrigan was also Lineman of the year and received recognition for his sportsmanship. That's pretty cool- he'll knock you on your ass...then help you back up.

He'll receive other awards by the media too in the coming weeks. But, his most prized award will probably be the large, solid gold-plated trophy that's on the way to him right now- The (coveted) Boiled Sports Purdue Defensive Player of the Decade. Due to cost, only one of these has been (or perhaps ever will be) given...Keep checking your mailbox, Mr. Kerrigan. J's 11 month old son packed it up and shipped it himself. It's molded out of all of J's gold chains, ear rings and bracelets that he wore in the 80s and 90s.

Other Boilers Honored

Wiggs, Beckford and Allen were all All-BT Honorable Mention. For some reason, I couldn't find any Purdue offensive players on the list. It could be because many were thrust into action after not being on the depth chart in camp...(related) it could be because the offense simply couldn't score for halves at a time. Regardless, I think Rob Henry could be a guy who receives some awards in the next few seasons. If so, he needs to work on an acceptance speech. Because every time I've heard him talk, I can barely hear him or understand him. That'll come in time.

All signs seem to be pointing to Keith Smith getting his sixth year of eligibility in '11. He'll be Purdue's 3rd player in three seasons to be granted this. Hopefully no one has to do this on the Purdue roster for the next five, because in all cases, it was due to horrible injury.

Here's to Bolden, Smith, Siller and Marve all making full recoveries and making one of these post-season recognition lists next year. Everyone already knows their names...but most of the media has probably forgotten about them. Purdue fans haven't.

Free Fallin'

I didn't get to post yesterday due to interwebnet problems at the BS world headquarters...But a lot happened.

First, Purdue dropped from 10th...to 22nd in the writer's poll (8 to 18th in the coach's). A significant drop was warranted, in my opinion...but 12 spots is a pretty huge drop. If you want to analyze the lack of consistency within the poll, it's not difficult. I'm not going to do that today. But, I will say that it makes Purdue the hunter once again. That might not be a bad thing. They played with no edge or grit versus Richmond. Painter should have been, and was embarrassed by the lack of effort by his squad. There will be others this season, but this is a pivotal moment for the team.

Early B10 Football Predictions to File Away

It's always fun to look back at preseason predictions and see how silly (or accurate, if you're us) they look. Of course, when predictions are made prior to the start of summer, it's really kind of odd.... there is so much to be determined for each team before Labor Day weekend, and most teams have 90-ish days to go before they launch their 2010 seasons.

Nonetheless, several reputable college football outlets have their Big Ten predicted order of finish out for all to see.

For those who like seeing this sort of thing in a more readable fashion, SpartyMSU puts it into handy-dandy chart form. (Also of note: this is the first time reading SpartyMSU is less likely to give you a headache than an alternative.)

Chart courtesy of SpartyMSU

I find it interesting to note that Michigan is expected to finish significantly ahead of Purdue by all of these (Athlon, Kickoff College Football Preview, Phil Steele and Lindy's) except for the Sporting News, who has Purdue finishing fifth in the conference (everyone else has them at 8th or 9th).

As I said, file that away, boys, file that away.

So much has changed!

Waaaaaaay back on April 7, one of EsPN's geniuses, Andy Katz had Purdue atop his top 25. He spoke of the upper classmen bolstering the team and how Robbie Hummel's knee, IF healthy would be a warm-fuzzy story for the nation to gobble up.

Well.

As JJ and Smooge have decided to return, and the docs and coaches are giving nothing but positive news about Rob's surgically-repaired knee, Katz, of course, has Duke jumping over Purdue into the #1 spot. This is because NOTHING changed for K's team since Katz last wrote his last dumb poll. Makes sense...right?

Well, to people out of the know like you and I, it might not seem logical, but to the little voices inside of Andrew's head, it makes complete sense.

Perhaps he's arguing with himself and Purdue can earn back the #1 during the summer with key additions and subtractions of nobody and no breaking news...OR...more likely, mind you, Purdue will be jumped by MSU as the Ostrich starts running, JJ gains 15 pounds of muscle, Smooge works on his first step and we find out the incoming Freshman are in great shape and hungry to get on the court.

Makes perfectly-good sense to EsPN...as it does to keep this boob employed. I guess if he and the network throw everything against the wall, eventually they'll be correct. Just as in his buckshot approach to whom he's "heard" might be joining the BT, eventually, he'll look like the smartest guy in the room...if he just keeps talking/writing.

The only dumb poll that matters: BS 2010 Men's Premature Top 10

Only 3 teams are allowed to join the Boilers in Houston next April

Our basketball coverage will shift to other things in the coming weeks...but we'll have a few more features in the near future that you won't want to miss. Specifically- what can JJ learn from Boilerdowd in the off-season? Stay plugged-in to find out.

One thing that seems extremely-evident to me as I look ahead to next season is just how strong the Big Ten is going to be. Three familiar teams will once-again be in the national top-10 from Purdue's conference, in my opinion and three-more will be in the top-25.

While it's not real fair to already be looking forward to next season...I'm going to go ahead and do it. Lots will change with defections, transfers and mystery late signees...but my poll is no more or less-stupid than those that'll be coming out from the big media outlets in the coming weeks. So kick back and enjoy the frivolity of a stupidly-early poll.

And away we go...

10. Georgetown
As long as Ohio's not on the schedule too many times, Georgetown could win quite a few games before the new year.

9. Kansas State
The loss of Clemente will hurt, but KSU athleticism will still be immense next season.

8. North Carolina
While UNC did a fine job keeping themselves out of the rankings last season, I just can't. I think Williams is a great coach...and a couple more 5-star players might finally make the Tarheels a respectable team.

7. Syracuse
Onuaku's injury might have cut salesman Boeheim's season short, but a 5-star 7-footer is good for what ails ya. This ranking might be a bit high if a few guys decide it's time to leave the warmth of upstate NY.

6. aOSU
National POY leaves? No problem when you've got Thad Matta and an unobtrusive AD behind him. Diebler, Bufford, Lauderdale will be bolstered by some of the most-skilled and physically-developed Freshman in the land. This team might be better than the '09/'10 team...but a true point guard must emerge for that to happen. I'll miss Mark Titus.

5. Kentucky
Teflon John is currently quietly hooking a boat full of "undecided" Freshman as the majority of this year's class of student athletes makes their final decision to not return.

4. Purdue
If JJ's back, Purdue will once-again enjoy a spot in the top-5 for most of the season. Look for T. Johnson to possibly start right away. As a fan, am I being too greedy to ask for a healthy Ostrich for the last third of the season? Be ready for an angry Smooge to make an early and loud statement to the nation.

stay put, JJ

3. Butler
Brad Stevens went through three coaching legends to end the season...and was about six inches from being undefeated in those contests. No hotter young coach in the nation right now. Plus, 4 of 5 starters back on the National runner-up squad if Heyward returns...perhaps more than 7,000 Butler fans will show up on opening night?

2. Duke
5-Star Irving replaces Scheyer and each of the Plumlee clones will take Goonbek and Thomas' spots

1. Michigan State
Morgan's the only significant loss...and if your name doesn't rhyme with Dom Bizzo, you might not think it's a significant loss at all. So, with a monster 6'10" 5-star center in the pipeline, Chubby McGreen might still not earn a role in the starting line-up. But regardless of whom is starting, they'll be great.



Did I miss any? Un-possible. If you think so, sound off.

STF Puts Boilermaker Hoops at #10

As we see these (and as you all share them with us -- thanks Sean!), we'll do our best to keep you in the loop. For whatever you think preseason rankings are worth, another respected site's opinion is in and Storming the Floor has our Boilermakers at #10.

They also pulled a quote from us wherein we were in a salty, mocking mood -- but maybe we're in that mood most of the time?

Purdue hoops are getting lots of respect and that's a nice thing. But I frankly don't care where they're ranked right now and for the first time in many years, I'd actually prefer they be underranked. These lists mean nothing -- doing it on the floor means everything.

But you all know that already.

Choo choo.

BS Blogpoll Ballot

If it's Monday, it's BS Blogpoll ballot time. Here 'tis, with some poorly-formed thoughts to follow.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Texas
2	Florida
3	Alabama
4	Iowa
5	TCU
6	Cincinnati	1
7	Boise State	1
8	LSU	1
9	Oregon	3
10	Penn State	1
11	Georgia Tech	2
12	Southern Cal	6
13	Houston	1
14	Ohio State	1
15	Pittsburgh	4
16	Miami (Florida)
17	Utah	3
18	Oklahoma State	8
19	Arizona	2
20	Oklahoma	4
21	West Virginia	3
22	South Florida
23	Notre Dame
24	Wisconsin
25	California
Last week's ballot

Dropped Out: Virginia Tech (#17), Central Michigan (#22), South Carolina (#23), Mississippi (#25).

Top five stay the same. Yes, Florida slapped Georgia but, uh, this just in... the SEC isn't as awesome as SEC fans will continue to have you believe (as several non-having-attended SEC school fans insisted to me at my Halloween Party Friday night). And Texas pistol-whipped a good Okie State team.

Iowa, I don't care if it was ugly. In the end, they stomped IU as they were supposed to. As boilerdowd (and others) say, good teams make their own luck.

USC takes a hit but not TOO bad of one, since Oregon -- it turns out -- is damn good. Of course, they had an early season loss so it's not like there's pressure on them right now. If everyone was watching and they were #3 or something, they'd have pooped the bed.

Otherwise, not too much else to explain. Comments/thoughts, welcome and encouraged and, as you know, if there's enough roaring, I'll make adjustments prior to officially submitting it.

CBS Sports Blogpoll -- Monday Edition

Here's this week's poll, as of now.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama	2
2	Florida	1
3	Texas	1
4	Southern Cal
5	Iowa	3
6	Boise State	1
7	Cincinnati
8	TCU	1
9	Miami (Florida)	1
10	Oklahoma State	3
11	LSU	1
12	Penn State	2
13	Oregon	4
14	Georgia Tech	4
15	Houston	4
16	Ohio State	10
17	Virginia Tech	6
18	Texas Tech	6
19	Brigham Young	3
20	Kansas	5
21	Nebraska	5
22	Utah
23	West Virginia
24	Pittsburgh
25	Central Michigan
Last week's ballot

Dropped Out: South Florida (#20), South Carolina (#21), Oklahoma (#23).

Yes, we're with the masses on putting Alabama #1 now. They've earned it and Florida, while not having lost, keeps cutting things close.... at home this weekend. Also tried to give it a fresh look this week.

Have at it.

What Say You, Digger?

Thanks to the many of you who alerted us to ESPN/Sagarin All-Time Rankings for D-1 college basketball, where Purdue is ranked 8th.

Yes, of all time.

I must say I'm a little confused as to how Notre Dame could possibly be 12th of all time -- maybe 60-year-old football titles count?

Also interesting is the fact that the Big Ten has five of the top ten and eight of the top 16. That's right...more than 50% of the top 16 basketball programs of all time come from the Big Ten. But yeah, Digger (and others), keep slighting the conference.

Surprisingly, Penn State is only #82 after last year's national championship.

Todd McShay Is A Handsome Man

I never had much of an opinion on Todd McShay, except that I was glad he was kind of challenging idiot extraordinaire Mel Kiper, Jr. for supremacy in evaluating college football talent.

But this morning McShay was co-hosting on ESPN Radio (filling into for the fat man / gay man combo) and he was asked to rank the college football conferences in terms of strongest to weakest. And despite the constant bashing of the Big Ten by ESPN and others, McShay actually referred to the Big Ten as "underrated," which made me want to hug him. McShay's rankings went as follows:

1. SEC (which would be #1 even if they weren't thanks to ESPN making sweet, sweet love to the SEC)

2. Big 12 (which I might argue with since yes they have some great teams but also a lot of lousy programs)

3. Big Ten

4. Pac Ten

5. Big East

6. ACC ("ha ha!" -- insert Simpsons sound effect here)

I think this is the most fair representation of the various conferences I've seen in a long time. Of course, I'm sure ACC supporters wouldn't agree, and I could possibly see flip-flopping them with the Big (L)East, but again, I can't argue too much.

Mark Schlabach Still Hates the Big Ten

Just a quick hit to point out that Mark Schlabach continues to irrationally hate the Big Ten. This is not the first time I've tried to find some logic in Schlabach's anti-Big Ten comments.

Buried in this "College GameDay Final" article, we find this nugget from Schlabach:

WINNER: Big Ten. Frankly, the conference isn't very good. But five weeks into the season, Ohio State is ranked No. 4 and Wisconsin is No. 5. With a stingy defense and improving offense (as well as a soft schedule), the Buckeyes are 5-0. The Badgers have struggled to win their past four games. The Buckeyes and Badgers play Nov. 3 at the Horseshoe in Columbus, Ohio.

So let's look at this carefully.

WINNER: Big Ten.

Cool! Some props for the Big Ten!

Frankly, the conference isn't very good.

Oh. Then why are we "winners"?

But five weeks into the season, Ohio State is ranked No. 4 and Wisconsin is No. 5.

Ah, yes, disproving your previous sentence... I mean, how is it that a conference that "isn't very good" has two of the top 5 teams in all the land?

With a stingy defense and improving offense (as well as a soft schedule), the Buckeyes are 5-0.

So is Mark complimenting or bashing OSU in this comment? Is he fence-sitting?

The Badgers have struggled to win their past four games.

What's your point? Wisconsin is never flashy yet always seems to wind up with a solid record.

The Buckeyes and Badgers play Nov. 3 at the Horseshoe in Columbus, Ohio.

And that's it. That's his last line. Great reporting, Mark! Thanks for regurgitating what a refrigerator magnet schedule can tell us!

Did a fourth-grader from Madison, Wisconsin file this report for Mark? Maybe the rough draft looked like this:

"Wisconsin plays hard and wins. Ohio State is scoring lots and wins. These teams play each other."

And one more point on all this "The Big Ten isn't very good" baloney. What would make a conference good in Mark Schlabach's world? The Big Ten has two teams in the Top Ten. Here's how other major conferences break down:

Big Ten: 2 (OSU, Wisc)
Pac Ten: 2 (USC, Cal)
SEC: 3 (LSU, Fla, UK)
Big East: 2 (South Fla, BC)
Big 12: 1 (OK)

So, again, I ask what makes a conference better than "not very good"? You don't have to love the Big Ten, but we do ask that you show some damned respect. Does anybody meet your expectations, Mark?

My guess as to what makes a good conference in Mark Schlabach's world is one where Notre Dame is the charter member and wins the conference with an unblemished record every season, while Charlie Weis wears a toga and sways in a hammock while Schlabach feeds him grapes and pork rinds.