1. Kentucky
5. Tennessee
8. Auburn
11. Mississippi State
18. LSU
20. Florida

collegebasketball.nbcsports.com/2018/09/18/blue-ribbon-releases-college-basketball-preseason-top-25/amp/

I don't believe either Mississippi St or Auburn will be sniffing the Top 10 when the final rankings are released next year. Auburn lost two starters to transfer including their leading scorer. Mississippi St might rack up some wins in non conference but they haven't finished above .500 in conference play in 8 years and I don't see them doing enough damage in conference play this year to warrant a top 15 ranking.

Mississippi St could very well have 4 players drafted next June. Howland can coach. They will be a tough out for any team in the country. Mark it down.

mallen said:

---

I don't believe either Mississippi St or Auburn will be sniffing the Top 10 when the final rankings are released next year. Auburn lost two starters to transfer including their leading scorer. Mississippi St might rack up some wins in non conference but they haven't finished above .500 in conference play in 8 years and I don't see them doing enough damage in conference play this year to warrant a top 15 ranking.

---

Unless I'm missing something (and maybe some of the guys I mention here aren't back and I'm unaware of it), I actually think Auburn has a great shot to have an even better year this year than they did last year. Austin Wiley and Daniel Purifoy are eligible after being suspended all season. Bryce Brown and Jared Harper come back after exceptional seasons a year ago. I loved how Anfernee McLemore stepped in on the defensive end last year despite playing a bit out of position and being thrust into a spot he might have been ready for. Chuma Okeke could be a star in the making but will still probably be one of the first guys off the bench (same role he played a year ago) and Transfer from VCU Samir Doughty gives them experience and a defensive minded approach from the guard spot.

I don't know if they are Top 10 good, but they have guys who fill roles really well and the one thing that Bruce Pearl's teams do is play at a fast pace and defend the basketball. Obviously losing Heron is huge because of how difficult a match-up he is and how explosive he is in transition, but I like this team as much as last years (and last year they were 21-2 at one point).

Just my take-

I'm not as familiar with Miss State's roster, so I'll take a look at that later and respond-one thing I know is that Ben Howland can coach his butt off. It might not always look pretty, but he's been putting his stamp on this program for a couple years and it is now time to see it pay off.

Texas A & M said:

---

1. Kentucky
5. Tennessee
8. Auburn
11. Mississippi State
18. LSU
20. Florida

collegebasketball.nbcsports.com/2018/09/18/blue-ribbon-releases-college-basketball-preseason-top-25/amp/

---

I don't see Kentucky as the best team in the country-I think they would have been if Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was back. That lead guard position is so important at the college level.

Tennessee is a tough team to play against both at home and on the road-they are so physical, that type of basketball translates-I imagine our friends in Austin wouldn't mind having Coach Barnes back at this point of the Shaka Experiment.

LSU could make the biggest jump of anyone-especially with the way that Tremont Waters played last year as a freshman. One of the elite small guards in college basketball who has a chance to make huge national noise this year.

I'm not sold on Florida-but I really like their coaching staff and think highly of the young guys they have in the program.

I could definitely see Miss State finally having a breakout year under Howland (after thus far underperforming since he's been hired compared to the on-paper recruit rankings he's been bringing in). Kind of similar to how Pearl finally got it going at Auburn last season.

John Pugliese said:

---

mallen said:

---

I don't believe either Mississippi St or Auburn will be sniffing the Top 10 when the final rankings are released next year. Auburn lost two starters to transfer including their leading scorer. Mississippi St might rack up some wins in non conference but they haven't finished above .500 in conference play in 8 years and I don't see them doing enough damage in conference play this year to warrant a top 15 ranking.

---

Unless I'm missing something (and maybe some of the guys I mention here aren't back and I'm unaware of it), I actually think Auburn has a great shot to have an even better year this year than they did last year. Austin Wiley and Daniel Purifoy are eligible after being suspended all season. Bryce Brown and Jared Harper come back after exceptional seasons a year ago. I loved how Anfernee McLemore stepped in on the defensive end last year despite playing a bit out of position and being thrust into a spot he might have been ready for. Chuma Okeke could be a star in the making but will still probably be one of the first guys off the bench (same role he played a year ago) and Transfer from VCU Samir Doughty gives them experience and a defensive minded approach from the guard spot.

I don't know if they are Top 10 good, but they have guys who fill roles really well and the one thing that Bruce Pearl's teams do is play at a fast pace and defend the basketball. Obviously losing Heron is huge because of how difficult a match-up he is and how explosive he is in transition, but I like this team as much as last years (and last year they were 21-2 at one point).

---

Still not convinced Auburn will have a stellar season as these rankings seem to indicate. They may well finish between 20 and 30 but we should mindful how they finished last year -- 5 wins, 6 losses in their final 11 games, including getting blown out by Clemson in the second round of the NCAA tourney. Auburn seemed to gain a lot of confidence in non-conference by playing a weak schedule. That confidence carried over through to the first half of conference play then fizzled down the stretch. Although talented, there are a number of new pieces to work into the rotation, and while Pearl's teams seem to thrive on chemistry, his teams can also be fragile if the chemistry is not there as his first few seasons at Auburn illustrate.

Ben Howland started two nba all stars, two other nba players and lost to a team whose best player was chris Douglas Roberts.

I'm not sure I understand Ben Howland. He's a beast on the recruiting trail for sure but he rose in the ranks of the profession because he had track record as a good bench coach, then as it was seemingly all coming together at UCLA it all went to ***** Now it seems like all he can do is recruit.

Belton Ag said:

---

I'm not sure I understand Ben Howland. He's a beast on the recruiting trail for sure but he rose in the ranks of the profession because he had track record as a good bench coach, then as it was seemingly all coming together at UCLA it all went to ***** Now it seems like all he can do is recruit.

---

He took over a program that was averaging 12 wins per season and won 25 games in Year 3. Seems to be doing more than just recruiting.

wacarnolds said:

---

Belton Ag said:

---

I'm not sure I understand Ben Howland. He's a beast on the recruiting trail for sure but he rose in the ranks of the profession because he had track record as a good bench coach, then as it was seemingly all coming together at UCLA it all went to ***** Now it seems like all he can do is recruit.

---

He took over a program that was averaging 12 wins per season and won 25 games in Year 3. Seems to be doing more than just recruiting.

---

I don't know, how was Miss St recruiting before he got there, and how have they been recruiting since? I know he pulled in Malik Newman his first year (who did nothing there and transferred) but are the wins coming through coaching or massively upgrading the roster?

That's not to say I've think he's lost it on the bench but UCLA went from elite to moribund rather quickly. It seemed like he was trying out the Calipari model of one and done and it wasn't working well.

I was living in LA during part of his run at UCLA-it was a special run they had.

He had talent, made it to 3-straight Final Fours and took a few questionable guys that ended up burning him. He also had quite a few guys leave early for the NBA because of that success, which hurt their roster and may have made him take some questionable guys. After winning the Pac-12 (or maybe they were the Pac10 then) they lost in the First Round of the Tournament and he was fired.

His style isn't exciting. He's won everywhere he's been. He can coach and he can recruit. I think this is a big year for Mississippi State and its time to turn the corner. This can't be a NIT team if he's going to continue to build a winner at Mississippi State.

mallen said:

---

John Pugliese said:

---

mallen said:

---

I don't believe either Mississippi St or Auburn will be sniffing the Top 10 when the final rankings are released next year. Auburn lost two starters to transfer including their leading scorer. Mississippi St might rack up some wins in non conference but they haven't finished above .500 in conference play in 8 years and I don't see them doing enough damage in conference play this year to warrant a top 15 ranking.

---

Unless I'm missing something (and maybe some of the guys I mention here aren't back and I'm unaware of it), I actually think Auburn has a great shot to have an even better year this year than they did last year. Austin Wiley and Daniel Purifoy are eligible after being suspended all season. Bryce Brown and Jared Harper come back after exceptional seasons a year ago. I loved how Anfernee McLemore stepped in on the defensive end last year despite playing a bit out of position and being thrust into a spot he might have been ready for. Chuma Okeke could be a star in the making but will still probably be one of the first guys off the bench (same role he played a year ago) and Transfer from VCU Samir Doughty gives them experience and a defensive minded approach from the guard spot.

I don't know if they are Top 10 good, but they have guys who fill roles really well and the one thing that Bruce Pearl's teams do is play at a fast pace and defend the basketball. Obviously losing Heron is huge because of how difficult a match-up he is and how explosive he is in transition, but I like this team as much as last years (and last year they were 21-2 at one point).

---

Still not convinced Auburn will have a stellar season as these rankings seem to indicate. They may well finish between 20 and 30 but we should mindful how they finished last year -- 5 wins, 6 losses in their final 11 games, including getting blown out by Clemson in the second round of the NCAA tourney. Auburn seemed to gain a lot of confidence in non-conference by playing a weak schedule. That confidence carried over through to the first half of conference play then fizzled down the stretch. Although talented, there are a number of new pieces to work into the rotation, and while Pearl's teams seem to thrive on chemistry, his teams can also be fragile if the chemistry is not there as his first few seasons at Auburn illustrate.

---

Agree on their non-league schedule being rather weak last year...but they went 8-2 in their first 10 SEC games (which I know you mentioned, but you don't do that because you're riding a high from winning non-league games). If anything a weak non-league schedule wouldn't have prepared them for conference and they would have lost games early in SEC play.

That SEC first 10 game run included wins at Tennessee, Mississippi State and at Missouri. They lost by 1 in Aggieland...I think them fizzling out towards the end of the season was more a product of their lack of depth than of them not having the talent. That team with Wiley and Purifoy doesn't have that same problem. Maybe its the same case this year although their non-league slate is upgraded because of the Maui Invitational they are a part of. Those 3 games may tell us a lot about this team.

Pearl's teams are always unique. I just can't see them not turning the corner-although I do believe the SEC might be the toughest conference in the country to do that in.

Belton Ag said:

---

are the wins coming through coaching or massively upgrading the roster?

---

Here are the national recruiting rankings for his top 5 scorers last year

#102
#105
#29
#96
#97

That's one highly regarded freshmen surrounded by some good, but fringey sophomores/juniors. His raw recruiting #s are better than Rick Ray, but the guys that are actually producing on the court were not ready-made players

wacarnolds said:

---

Belton Ag said:

---

are the wins coming through coaching or massively upgrading the roster?

---

Here are the national recruiting rankings for his top 5 scorers last year

#102
#105
#29
#96
#97

That's one highly regarded freshmen surrounded by some good, but fringey sophomores/juniors. His raw recruiting #s are better than Rick Ray, but the guys that are actually producing on the court were not ready-made players

---

Thanks for the info.

wacarnolds said:

---

Belton Ag said:

---

are the wins coming through coaching or massively upgrading the roster?

---

Here are the national recruiting rankings for his top 5 scorers last year

#102
#105
#29
#96
#97

That's one highly regarded freshmen surrounded by some good, but fringey sophomores/juniors. His raw recruiting #s are better than Rick Ray, but the guys that are actually producing on the court were not ready-made players

---

Maybe I'm not picking up your point, so forgive me - I'm not just being contrary for the sake of the message board

We may have a different definition of "fringey players"
Top 100 players in the country go to HM schools - those are recruiting wins and solid players - this year's 2019 Top 100 from 85-100 are committed to UCONN, OU, Louisville, Stanford, Kentucky Washington, Oklahoma State, etc...

There is a HUGE difference between the coaches Ben Howland and Rick Ray
Rick Ray isn't a high major coaching talent - the reason he wasn't successful isn't just based on the fact that he didn't recruit like a high major, I personally just don't think he's that great of a coach.

The Aggie fanbase would take all those top 100 players at Texas A&M and be happy with that recruiting class.
Mississippi State, in the past three recruiting classes have put together some major wins for that program
2018 Class Ranking-#16
2017 Class Ranking-#65
2016 Class Ranking-#10

Now I'm not big into rankings - your ranking goes up when you sign more players, in 2016, they signed 7 players...its obviously higher because of that. When I was at Wagner we had back to back Top 100 recruiting classes because of how grades are given out...it's not a perfect system ever.

But Ben Howland has recruited well and I back him as a very good coach. Just my thoughts. Again, I may have missed the mark on what you're saying.

Quote:

---

Maybe I'm not picking up your point, so forgive me - I'm not just being contrary for the sake of the message board

We may have a different definition of "fringey players"
Top 100 players in the country go to HM schools - those are recruiting wins and solid players - this year's 2019 Top 100 from 85-100 are committed to UCONN, OU, Louisville, Stanford, Kentucky Washington, Oklahoma State, etc...

---

I just mean that, under the umbrella of 'every recruit is a crapshoot, even the 5 stars', the #100 recruit in any class is just as likely to be a bit player or non-contributor as he is to be a really good player.

I agree that they are legitimate HM prospects that are worth getting excited about, but they aren't guys showing up on future draft boards, or the type of player that you just get on campus and the success will then take care of itself. It takes some recruiting prowess to get those types of players to Starksville, but turning that into success on the court requires some legit coaching.