B1G Hoops Preview: The Players

Now that we authoritatively told you how to think about the various level of coaching quality in the conference, let's look at the players.

1) I think we're all aware of how much the transfer portal has affected the game. I think a team made up of transfers--Lendeborg, Cluff, DeVries, Morez Johnson, Claude, Yates, Dent, Stirtz, et al.--would be favored to win the conference, right?

BoilerUp89: Yes. That's a better roster than Purdue or Michigan have.

MaximumSam: It's just a matter of time until we have the Fab Transfer Five.

Kind of...: I was hoping somebody would be contrary but, yeah, that's a good roster. The portal is here, and it's making a big difference.

2) What about if we focus on B1G Crime (I love this term, BTW). Take a rotation of intra-conference transfers: Claude, Yates, M. Johnson, Mara, Booker, Sommerville, Stewart, anybody else I'm missing. Where would you pick them in B1G play this year (assume, in some physics monstrosity, that these guys play for their actual teams, too)?

BoilerUp89: While I think thats a lot of individually talented players and I don't think they mesh well at all. A lot of personality clashes that result in a 7-13 finish.

Kind of...: Good! It's a losing fight, but I want intraconference transfers to matter as little as possible. It's probably inevitable that some schools start to represent farm clubs (or mid-majors) despite the money available, but hopefully that can be limited to football for as long as possible. (Don't ask me about volleyball. Ugh.)

3) I just tried to note how important the transfer portal has been. And I am aware that an 18-team league is just going to be deeper than a 14-, 12-, 11-, or 10-team league, but...Dear Lord does this league seem stacked at the PG position. Braden Smith, Donovan Dent, Bennett Stirtz, Jackson Shelstad, Nick Boyd just for starters. Am I overstating this, or is this a uniquely impressive collection of talent at the position?

BoilerUp89: This is the best collection of PGs the Big Ten has had in recent memory. Smith, Dent, and Stirtz are All-American caliber and Shelstad won't get half the attention he deserves because of those 3.

Kind of...: Okay. Thanks for the affirmation. I thought I was going mad. It just seemed like such a stacked position. And I go back to the 80's: Gary Grant, Steve Alford, Scott Skiles, and B.J. Armstong (kinda...he was a frosh off the bench when Skiles was a SR) co-existed for a year. Anyway, really impressive collection of talent, and at a position that bodes well for March (hopefully).

4) Who that you know about is going to make the biggest leap this year? (John Blackwell is on the preseason team. And I think we all know that Coen Carr has a ton of potential. Go ahead and say one/both of them, but name somebody else, too.)

BoilerUp89: Carr is the obvious breakout candidate but I'll go with a different Spartan: Jeremy Fears.

MaximumSam: Fears seems like a natural. Would Rienk Mast qualify? He was third team all B1G two years ago, but he might be able to beat that.

Kind of...: I don't think this is a better pick than Fears, who does seem like a good one. But, I'll go with Aday Mara. Maybe I'm scarred by his performance against Wisconsin last year, but, jeez, he's 7'3", can pass, and has talent around him. He's going to make a difference.

BoilerUp89: I feel better about my thought process and choice since I also considered Mara and view Mast as an already established player.

5) Who is nobody talking about that is going to be known by the end of the year?

BoilerUp89: Jerry Easter II of USC has looked real promising in exhibition play and isn't being talked about much despite being a top 40 freshman.

MaximumSam: OSU insiders are bullish on Christoph Tilley, but that might be due to them seeing a big man who doesn't piss himself for the first time since Kaleb Wesson.

Kind of...: Alvaro Folgueiras from Iowa. Horizon League POY last year. Kind of a Swiss-Army PF. Just seems like he's going to get 8-12 free points a game from Stirtz's ability to get defenses out of position. And, Iowa isn't exactly deep, so the stats should be there.