The Big Ten Topic

If anyone out there is looking to move up to a Big Six conference, or already in one and wants a rebuilding project, check out the Michigan Wolverines.  Start planning now, we would love to be full of human coaches again.
5/10/2011 10:31 AM
Michigan State Recruiting update - Season 39

Michigan State basketball would like to welcome three new faces to the Spartan family.  Dustin Pogozelski, Sterling Garrido and William McLeish will be doning the Green and White.  The Spartans targeted a high-major recruit from Toronto, Ontario this offseason in Steve Mortensen and lost out to Syracuse for his services. Congrats to lmschwarz and keep an eye on him because I think he will be special.  This class was ranked #31 by some scouting services, but coach netgymrat thinks they are top ten caliber.  McLeish will need to sit out a year for failing to meet WCAA academic standards, but will see plenty of study hall this season and be asset to the program in the future.

6/28/2011 7:43 PM
                            The Illini Season Recap and Pre-Season Outlook

In attempt to keep whatif exciting and to help rejuvenate my interest in this game I have decided to once again fire up the forum. My hope is that we can get this conference over the hump and become one of the elite conferences it should be. The Big Ten is currently the lowest rated Big Six Conference and has been for the past few seasons. Hopefully this can once again get this conference active and excited about the game. We just lost a top tier coach in mbalding to an elite D3 conference, that is very active and they create their own awards based on coaches voting. If we can get everyone on board I would be fine tallying everything up and doing a majority of the writing for the awards, it would be cool if everyone would write their own season outlook and have a coach or two create preseason rankings and conference outlooks (that could even be done a rotational basis).  

Heading into Season 42, the Illini were looked upon as one of the premier teams in the country. Many teams were even pegging them as the potential National Champs. With Benjamin Lee back the Illini had arguably the most talented player in the country running the show. The starting lineup was loaded with talent with Crawley, Trepanier, Milburn, and Cardwell. The only issue was the lack of guards. Coach Brown was having to start a SF at SG. The Speed from the Shooting Guard spot was a concern, as the talent recently had been only on Bigs in the area. The Illini started the Non-Conference off with an 8-2 record. However, they really made their mark once Big Ten play started where they rolled off 14 in a row before being upset by the Buckeyes. Lee led the Illini to another Regular Season Big Ten Championship and were able to take out the Hoosiers to claim their 10th Conference Tournament Championship and 7th under Coach Brown in his 11 year tenure. 

After a strong showing regular season play the Illini looked primed for a Big Run in the National Tournament. The Illini were awarded a one seed but the road was not an easy one to reach the Final Four. Coach Brown's boys were able to roll over Yale and then take out a very good Wake Forest team. The Illini were then faced with a very difficult task against the Sun Devils, a game that really could have gone either way. Trepanier saved the day and tiped in a game winning shot as time expired. However, the Illini were not so fortunate against the Pitt Panthers as they were the only team to knock off the Illini twice. Coach Brown was happy with an Elite Eight Finish but would have loved to have taken this talented group a lot further.

The Illini were set to return the core of their team as they only had 3 set to graduate in Lee, Isbell, and Henry. Lee had a season to remember as he won the National Player of the Year along with the Big Ten Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. A feat that had never been done before under Coach Brown. Isbell and Henry were both five year players who developed into very good role players and played crucial minutes at times. However, things quickly changed for Coach Brown and Illini fans across the country, as five underclassman declared for the draft. Three were starters in Crawley, Milburn, and Cardwell, but the two that hurt the most may be bench and role players Dawson and Pitzer. A major blow to the Illini as they were set to return a very good team. Now it leaves Illini fans looking toward the future and potentially four new faces starting next season.  

Coach Brown will have eight spots to fill and the makeup of this team will look vastly different than last years. Last years team was full of Big Men and Small Forwards. However, this season with the lack of Big's in the area will most likely be guard heavy, as Coach Brown has informed me he is looking only for the best players in the area and not worrying about position at this point. With tons of money the Illini hope to make a big splash in recuriting this season. The team at this point looks like a longshot to make the National Tourny or any postseason play. This will be by far the worst team that Coach Brown has had, especially with a difficult Non-Conference Schedule and the change from the Flex Offense to a more basic Motion, that will allow his guards to penetrate and kick for open shots, without a true post presence.
10/28/2011 12:51 PM (edited)
PURDUE BOILERMAKERS


Season 42: 18-15, 6-10 Conference
Post Season: PI (Championship Game)
Coach: vamrbball 34-27 @ Purdue (2nd Season) 226-125 Overall (D1)

The Boilermakers alumni was upset that their team was left out of the NT but was happy with the final results. The season started with two straight losses. One was to a good IPFW team 76-79 and the other one coach vamrbball consider his worst D1 lost ever to the sim coached team Evansvlle 74-84. Purdue won 7 of the final 8 non-conference games all on the road. The lost was at home against a very good Colorado team that was rank #14 by 7pts.

Conference play was tough and Purdue loss a game or two that would've got them a better seeding for the CT. After winning the first CT game, Purdue had to play the top ranked Illinois team that beat Purdue for the 3rd time but only by 5pts.

After barely missing the NT coach vamrbball got his team to play like he wanted and made a serious run to win the PI but lost in the championship game to Tennessee 69-65.

Season 43 Preview

Key Losses: Robert Quick (12.4pts), Samuel Pierce (8.3pts), Christopher Roux (8.9pts)

Newcomers: John Coleman(PF), Roy Reveles(PG), John Hukill(PG)

Backcourt: Coach vamrbball will no longer have the speed that he have had in the past but will have some talent to keep the program winning. Robert Daley(JR) 4.8pts,2.3ast will take over as the new starting PG. The team best shooter is Timothy Gingerich(SO) 3.6pts will have some big shoes to fill at SG. SF position have several options but Charles Fuller(JR) will be the starter.

Frontcourt: The Post could be the strength for Purdue during season 43 with the two junior post players, Jason Cain(JR) 9.2pts,5.0reb and Scott Hughes(JR) 6.4pts,4.5reb.

Who to watch: Jason Cain was a key to Purdue success during season 42 and now with a team that will have 2 seniors, 4 juniors, 3 sophmores. He will be the new leader and will have to lead the way if Purdue want to reach their season goal.

Season Goal: To finish conference play 7-9 and a NT bid.



11/3/2011 6:49 PM (edited)
Why the 4 month lull on your board? Holy cow!
11/2/2011 2:51 PM
                                       Illinois Recruiting Recap

With eight open scholarships and an abundance of money, Coach Brown set out to find the five best targets within a reasonable distance. Luckily, for Coach Brown the home state of Illinois had several talented prospects and he was determined to land a talented class regardless of position. He set out to replace all eight players from a year ago, seven of those eight took their talents to the NBA. 

Coach Brown quickly sought out after Albert Sok, a five-star point guard, who will most likely come in and start from day one at the point for the Illini. He is a physical point guard who has an inside game, but can also fill it up from deep.

Coach Brown was also pleased to see that five-star center, Robert Stocker, has been an Illini fan from birth and has longed to come to Champaign. Stocker will most likely be the starting center and be called upon for big time minutes as the Illini do not have much depth in the frontcourt.

Joseph Dominguez will be called upon to play the backup power forward because of his ability to rebound from the guard position. He will be outmatched most nights on the glass but with his ability to play away from the basket and use his speed and quickness, he should also cause problems for the defense. Dominguez natural spot will most likely be at small forward but with no Big's he will have to adjust to guarding a bigger opponent.

Matthew Pietrzak was the fourth and final member of the class from Illinois. He is a true small forward who will likely see time as the backup center this season. He has potential in several areas to really help him become a consistent scorer off the bench in the years to come. He will be able to snipe from deep and also play with his back to the basket.

The last piece to the puzzle was William Carrasquillo, a five-star shooting guard from Kentucky. Kentucky led for Carrasquillo throughout the majority of the time but with tons of money left, Coach Brown made a play at the best player in the area and was able to convince him to come to Champaign. He is an outstanding talent who can play multiple positions but will most likely start at the shooting guard spot this year for the Illini.

After signing four five-stars and a three star, the Illini appear to be talented but just too young to really make any noise this year. The lack of rebounding and Big's will really hinder their performance but hopefully their outside shooting can keep them in most games. The Illini will need to piece together another strong recruiting effort next year to get the Illini faithful excited again for a Title Run.




11/4/2011 9:25 PM
Michigan Wolverines Recruiting Wrap-Up and Season Preview

With only one open position, and the entire two-deep returning to Ann Arbor this season, Coach dal8847 focused on two targets this season.  His extensive recruiting ties in the state of Michigan lead him to his hometown high school of Gibraltar Carlson and James Hendrick.  When Wisconsin expressed interest in him, dal8847 moved on to his second target, Frank Criss.  Frank lives in the same neighborhood as coach dal8847 and attends school with the coaches kids.  With his parents blessing and the urging of his AAU coach, Frank decided to take his talents to Ann Arbor.  Considered a developmental project, his high potential in key areas gives him the opportunity to become a member in a few years.

Looking ahead to the current season, 11 returning players including 9 upper-classmen gives coach dal8847 an experienced crew to work with.  Knowing that a PIT berth is an expectation and challenging for an NT berth is available, every game must be treated as a tourney game.  With a key recruiting class next year, the higher the prestige the better.

Big Ten Projections :

Rank     East               West
1          Wisconsin       Indiana
2          MSU               Penn State
3          Michigan         Ohio State
4          Minnesota        Illinois
5          Notre Dame     Purdue
6          Iowa                Northwestern

Good luck everyone in the non-conference
11/6/2011 1:24 PM
PURDUE BOILERMAKERS


Season 45: 21-10, 10-6 Conference
Post Season: NT (2nd Round)
Coach: vamrbball 95-58 @ Purdue (5th Season) 287-156 Overall (D1)

After finishing season 44 with a 23-7 record (13-3 conference) and losing four seniors. Coach vamrbball wasn't sure what to expect for season 45 but knew he had enough talent to make aother post season appearance.

Coach vamrbball found himself in a hole before his team even played a game in season 45 by losing his top two guard recruits to Louisville and a mid major but felt very fortunate to land his top two post players.

Because coach vamrbball had to play his 1st season ever with two walk ons, he had to play a different type of lineup than what he's known for. One power forward had to play the sf position. Purdue still manage to finish the non conference 8-2. Both losses was on the road (Providence 98-67, Colorado 76-66).

Purdue started conference play with a victory over Minnesota who was rank at the time but lost the following four games (3 was away). Coach vamrbball kept preaching to his team that no Big Ten team can be taken lightly and that any Big Ten team was capable of beating his team if his players didn't come to play. His words got the players attention as his Boilermakers won 9 of their last 11 conference games.

Purdue started the conference tournament with the #3 seed and beat Michigan 75-70 in the 1st Rd. Coach vamrbball team was an underdog in the 2nd rd to Notre Dame. Purdue won 78-66 to complete the season sweep. Indiana was Purdue next opponent in the CT semi finals and had already beat the boilermakers twice (93-68 & 99-87 ot). Coach vamrbball had his team ready to pull off the upset and they gave it their best shot but was unable to hold on to the lead and lost 77-75 on a lay up by Thomas Blue.

Purdue was a lock for the NT and had a tough 1st Rd game against Tulsa but prevailed 63-61. #3 seed Texas Tech was the 2nd Rd opponent and build a nice 1st half lead. The Boilermakers manage to come back and tie the game in the 2nd half but lost 63-59.

Season 46 Preview

Key Losses: Timothy Gingerich (11.2pts, 2.8ast, 1.4stls) John Marler (8.9pts, 2.2ast, 1.3stls) Jacob Lawson (7.9pts 4.5reb)

Newcomers: PG-Fred Bollinger(SO), PG-Joe Ross(SO), PG-Rafael Hernandez(FR), PF-Harold Adamson(FR), PF-John Magallanes(FR)

Returning Backcourt: SR-Roy Revels (8.5pts), SR-John Hukill (8.4pts), JR-Curtis Jefferson (6.9pts)

Frontcourt: SR-John Coleman (9.2pts, 6.7reb, 1.2blks), JR-Brandon Story (8.4pts, 5.6reb), SO's-Timothy Delfino and Alfredo Salinas

Who to watch: John Coleman will be the Boilermakers leader this season and he will have alot of frontcourt help.

Season Goal: To finish conference play 8-8 and a NT bid.



2/10/2012 5:52 PM (edited)
Season of Change

East Lansing. MI -- The Michigan State Spartans finish up their preseason schedule and look forward to commencing their "season of change," dubbed by first year coach RobDoc3.

The Spartans practice facility has been closed to the public, but rumors have circulated across campus that the new coach is implementing some radical changes across the board.

"My number one priority, which was echoed by the school administration, is to build a perennial winner," explained coach RobDoc3. "I had a meeting with the returning players before this season's recruiting and informed them that every, and I mean every, spot on the roster is up for grabs. There were a few players here who had no busiiness wearing the green and white."

It appears that the new coach is also instituting a new defensive scheme as well as a new conditioning program.

"I've seen better athletes in a bar league softball tournamant," quipped the enigmatic coach. "I saw the same thing when I first got to Georgetown. The kids hated me at first, but not once they started going deep in the NT every season. I expect the same adjustment here as well."

Early indications have shown that the five new recruits are on board with the coach's new-look approach, as several are listed above established veterans within the depth chart.

RobDoc claims the administration backs his two-year plan, but many wonder how the Spartan faithful will react if the team misses the NT this season, regardless of promises of future success.

"I had really hoped to land the big man out of Lihuania which would have raised the talent bar considerably for this year, but it didn't happen and life goes on. I'm certainly happy with the five new faces joining us, and believe that they will be the nucleus of the new-look Spartans," stated the coach after yesterday's practice.


2/10/2012 12:11 PM
Do any of you see anyway that I could have a good enough season to be considered by a Big Ten school after this season?  I had a great turnaround last year at TCU and am hoping to win the conference again this year.  I am thinking I will need over 20 wins, a CT win and maybe even have to win a game or two in the tourney if I have any chance of moving up.
2/14/2012 2:50 PM
You did a good job at Tenn, Martin, but you probably need another season or two of success at TCU to get a BCS gig. Good Luck and hope you can join soon.
2/29/2012 3:12 PM
East Standings
School Coach Conf.
W-L
Overall
W-L
Home
W-L
Road
W-L
Top 25
W-L
Last 10 STRK RPI SOS
Minnesota jcfreder 11-5 22-7 8-3 13-2 0-3 6-4 L1 30 58
Michigan St. robdoc3 9-7 17-13 8-4 9-8 0-6 5-5 L1 77 76
Wisconsin Sim AI 9-7 16-13 9-6 6-6 0-8 5-5 L2 97 81
Michigan dal8847 5-11 9-18 6-8 3-9 0-6 2-8 L2 156 62
Notre Dame stinenavy 3-13 8-19 4-7 4-11 0-4 2-8 L1 174 82
Iowa red69mc 0-16 2-25 1-12 1-12 0-6 0-10 L17 242 57
West Standings
School Coach Conf.
W-L
Overall
W-L
Home
W-L
Road
W-L
Top 25
W-L
Last 10 STRK RPI SOS
#10 Indiana tanzetti 16-0 27-4 10-2 14-0 7-3 8-2 L1 8 21
#6 Illinois mad4oasis 14-2 28-5 9-2 13-2 5-5 7-3 L1 5 8
Purdue vamrbball 9-7 21-11 4-6 13-3 3-7 6-4 L1 25 15
Ohio St. cpkung 9-7 19-12 9-2 7-8 2-9 5-5 L1 26 10
Penn St. goodyr 7-9 18-11 4-5 13-4 1-8 6-4 L2 42 54
Northwestern Sim AI 4-12 12-15 7-6 5-8 1-6 3-7 L1 122 73

3/4/2012 12:40 PM
                    Penn State Recruiting Recap

With only 2 open scholarships and several needs Coach Brown decided to part ways with two players giving the Nittany Lions 4 schollies to fill. Trying to find just the right pieces to the puzzle was no easy task with a C+ Prestige. However, Coach Brown walks away from his first class feeling very excited and ready for the challenge at hand to return the Nittany Lions to the promise land.

Bobby  Moody was quickly sought out after by Coach Brown to run the point for the Lions in the future. Moody will be a very solid press guard who can do just about everything besides score in the post. He will most likely handle a backup guard role the next two years for the Nittany Lions. 

Roger Carlson was the main target from the start of recruiting for Coach Brown. Listed as a shooting guard, however, Carlson will almost extensively play small forward. Brown thinks Carlson has a bright future as a dual threat scoring from inside and out. Carlson will see time as a reserve this year and next before really being relied on in his junior campaign.

Shawn Nelson was the next target that Brown pinpointed, a Shooting Guard from Indiana. Nelson will come in and play a reserve guard role. He is someone who will be a solid press guard/small forward. Brown likes his toughness and ability to make guys around him better. Nelson may not be the most talented guy on the roster but could be the glue that makes this team stick in the future.

Jerry Doty was the fourth and final member of the Nittany Lions class. Coach Brown is very excited about Doty's future. Coach Brown believes Doty has the versatility to not only man a small forward spot but actually thinks his best fit will be power forward. Doty has unlimitless potential and Coach Brown was shocked that no one in the South was interested in giving this guy a chance. However, this season Doty will not be able to play for the Lions as he was a non-qualifier and will spend every second he can in study tables. Doty has a chance to be a Star down the road if he can hit the books hard and keep his priorities straight.  
6/23/2014 2:31 PM
                      TBrown's 4th Annual Conference Projections 

This is my fourth year doing the projections however, it's the first time I have done so since March of 2011. I was at Illinois, Tanzetti was at Indiana, and Zdawg spent a few seasons at Northwestern. A lot has happened since then. Coaches have come and gone, after 14 seasons at Illinois, and not being able to win a National Title, I decided to go to Georgetown. In my fifth season as the Hoyas coach, I won a National Title, my second in the Knight World. After one more year at Georgetown I left for a Duke team that had gone 5-22 the year before, and very little talent. I thought I was up for the task of rebuilding a powerhouse and I was but then we had baby number #1. That completely through Whatif to the backburner. I spent 6 seasons at Duke and then decided that I was going to be done, and didn't renew. However, Tanzetti actually talked me into taking over his dream school, Michigan. So I did, and spent the past 15 seasons in Ann Arbor. Then, I thought I was about to retire again because baby #2 and Tanzetti again talked me into staying and taking over our dream schools. So I went to Penn State and now he's in Ann Arbor and Zdawg is in Minnesota. So in what has been about three actual years, coaches have come and gone from the Big Ten and some coaches have made full circles back. Well enough small talk, lets get to the projections.


East 

1. Michigan State- This is really a toss up between the Spartans and the Badgers. It could go either way, it's really 1a and 1b. However, the Sparty's appear to have a few more upperclassmen so I gave the edge to joehof here. 

2. Wisconsin- JC has the Badgers loaded and primed for a deep run yet again. 


3. Minnesota- Really from 3-6 anything could shake out. However, I like the Gophers this year since they returned all 12 guys from a season ago. Zdawg is hopeful for a National Tourny bid.

4. Michigan- My old ball club, they have solid, fast guards that will make things difficult in the press, but it will be interesting to see how things go down low for the Wolverines as they do not have too many guys who can rebound.

5. Iowa- The Hawkeyes have an interesting mix of youth and experience. If they can gel right away this is a team that could sneak into the big dance, and easily finish third in the East.

6. Notre Dame- Taylor came in right away and made the PI, so things are looking up for the Irish, I'm just not sure that they have enough this year to battle in the East. However, a PI birth is definitely in the cards.



West


1. Illinois- Very similar to the East this is a 1a and 1b type of thing with mad and manonde having the clear top teams, giving the edge to the illini tho.

2. Indiana- The Hoosiers have a very nice team and are Pre-Season ranked 24th, so big things are expected.

3. Ohio State- CP lost out on his top target in recruiting, but that shouldn't hurt him too much this year. He still has several solid players to help the Buckeyes finish third in the West.

4. Penn State- I think 4-6 can go any which way, however I think my Lions have solid core of guys. It will be interesting to see how the team handles the redshirting of arguably our best player, Gilbert Kingsley, to help them out next year when the Lions will return 11 guys. I'm hopeful for a PI birth this season. 

5. Purdue- I think the Boilers are a year away from making more noise in the West, I really liked Roy Anderson the center from OH that mike brought in. If not for finding Doty my ineligible I was going to make a run at him. 

6. Northwestern- The Wildcats are a post dominated team, that arguably rebounds with anyone in the country. If they can out rebound teams and bully them down low in the post, this is a team that could be tough to beat. Even though I've picked them 6th in the West, Ces, could easily finish 4th. 

6/23/2014 3:43 PM (edited)
Great write up thrown. Good assessment of Northwestern. A few years of bad recruiting makes for slow, non-athletic players. Need to win enough games this year to get another chance to recruit better players.
6/23/2014 8:55 PM
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