TIER TWO
These teams can all break into the top five if things go right for them but I don’t feel any of these five teams can actually WIN the Big Ten. Here they are (NOT IN ANY SPECIFIC ORDER):
WISCONSIN
The entire core of those loaded Wiscy teams was finally gone last year and the Badgers MISSED the tourney. Sure, Happ is really good and Davison is tough as nails but imagine what this team would look like had he kept his name in the draft.
For all Badger fans, he made them extremely happy by returning to Madison and should have a huge senior season. He’ll head up a starting front line that should include (SO)Nate Reuvers at the four and (SR) Khalil Iverson at the three. The main back-up bigs should be (SO) Aleen Ford and (SR) Charles Thomas along with senior Alex Illikainen and freshman Taylor Currie……backing up Iverson could be (SO) Trevor Anderson who transfers in from Wiscy-Green Bay where he averaged 9.8 two seasons ago as a freshman along with a career high of 23.
The starting backcourt should be (JR) Brevin Pritzl and (SO) Brad Davison but (SO) D’Mitrik Trice and redshirt freshman Kobe King should also play a lot. Rod Strickland’s son Tai will add to the depth in the backcourt as a freshman.
The Badgers also took on Joe Hedstrom who is 7-0, 225. He will redshirt this year with no scholarship and then be on scholarship for the next four years. He’s from Minnesota.
Big man Andy Van Vliet has transferred to William and Mary.
PURDUE
I know this might surprise people but I just don’t see the Boilers contending for the Big Ten title. Sure they might finish top five but they just lost too much in my opinion. Yes, they replace one giant with another but Haarms is not Haas…..not even close. He’s a solid player that should get a lot better but he won’t have the same impact yet and losing Vince Edwards is huge because he was truly the most underappreciated player in the league the past two seasons. When you add the loss of Mathias and Thompson, it’s just a lot to recover from.
Up front, Evan Boudreaux (grad transfer from Dartmouth with two years of eligibility left) and Nojel Eastern should join center Matt Haarms in the starting line-up. The Boilers add two four-star freshman giants in Trevion Williams (6-9, 270) and Emmanuel Dowuona (6-10, 220). They also have wing redshirt freshman Aaron Wheeler and 6-6 senior Grady Eifert for added depth.
In the backcourt, it will be the (JR)Carsen Edwards show along with shooter (SR) Ryan Cline likely starting. Four star freshman combo guard Eric Hunter will back-up Edwards and redshirt freshman Sasha Stefanovic will provide more depth in the backcourt.
Big man Jacquil Taylor will transfer to Hofstra
The Boilermakers will be adding 4-star point guard Isaiah Thompson in 2019 to replace Carsen Edwards who will likely leave early.
IOWA
This is the school that is never as good as they should be when they are supposed to be good and then never as bad as they should be when predicted to finish low. McCaffrey should have two years of NCAA tournaments coming up with the talent he has coming back. Last year this roster ended the season by losing in overtime to Michigan which is obviously not something to hang your head about.
They return all the key pieces so they should have a nice, solid 2-3 year run if they are able to keep most of the pieces.
This roster is LOADED with sized up front. They start (JR) Tyler Cook, (SO) Jack Nunge, and 6-11 (SO) Luka Garza. They are backed up by (SR) Nicholas Baer, (JR) Maishe Dailey, (JR) Ryan Kriener, along with (JR) Cordell Pemsl.
The backcourt is headlined by two juniors in point guard Jordan Bohannon and SG Isaiah Moss. They will be backed up by 4-star SG Joe Wieskamp and freshman point guard C.J. Frederick. The coaches son, Connor McCaffery should also have an impact this years.
Brady Ellingson is transferring to Drake
Ahmad Wagner is transferring to Kentucky……….but not for basketball……he was a star football player in high school and has decided to switch sports. He’s 6-7 and will play wide receiver…..maybe a future NFL future……
The key for Iowa is Cook needs to become a star…….they have a lot of solid talent but no one has stepped up to be a big-time go-to scorer.
MARYLAND
The Terrapins would have been a possible Top-10 team if Kevin Huerter was returning but he is heading to the NBA. Star (6-10) freshman Jalen Smith, Bruno Fernando, and Anthony Cowan Jr. provide a very strong trio but overall I just don’t see them winning the Big Ten.
Smith and (SO) Fernando will make a very strong frontcourt but the small forward spot may have to fall to freshman Aaron Wiggins (who is highly rated but he is not Huerter). They will get a solid addition behind Fernando in Schinder Herard who transferred from Mississippi State picking Maryland over Illinois. He’s 6-10, 260 and has potential (eligible after first semester). (SR) Ivan Bender and (SO) Josh Tomaic are the other bigs they currently have off the bench.
The backcourt will be solid with Anthony Cowan Jr. and (SO) Darryl Morsell. Freshmen SG Serrel Smith and PG Eric Ayala will back them up.
Maryland has gotten a major start on the 2019 season by land twin brothers. 5-star PF Makhi Mitchell 6-9, 225 and his 4-star C brother Makhel Mitchell 6-9, 225.
NOTE: They just got heavily involved with grad transfer wing, Zane Martin, who averaged 19.8 ppg last year at Towson. Obviously if he ends up at Maryland, they would potentially have a chance at winning the Big Ten.
OHIO STATE
Another team with very solid talent but they need someone to step up and be great. I’m not sure I know who that will be.
Up front, they return (SO) center Kaleb Wesson, who is a load inside but he’ll need to continue to get better if they want to contend. Star freshman Jaedon LeDee could start at the four and (SO) Musa Jallow might start at the three……both are talented but unproven. They’ll be backed up by some solid talent……(JR) center Micah Potter is solid along with big sophomore Kyle Young. They’ll also receive help from (JR) Andre Wesson and (FR) Justin Ahrens at the small forward.
They will have an experienced backcourt as senior point guard C.J. Jackson returns and Wake Forest grad transfer (averaged 11 points) Keyshawn Woods will start at shooting guard. They will be backed up two highly ranked freshmen guards in Luther Muhammad and Duane Washington.
The Buckeyes are off to a good start with their 2019 class as they already have the commitment of 5-star power forward Alonzo Gaffney from Cleveland, OH.
NORTHWESTERN
If these team had any form of a proven point guard they might be able to challenge for the top of the Big Ten but they don’t unless their late signee shocks the Big Ten (I don’t expect this to happen). The rest of the roster is solid with two very important transfers coming in but overall the Wildcats will probably end up in the NIT.
The Cats should have a very solid starting line-up except at point guard as (SR) Dererk Pardon will start at center along with (SR) Vic Law at the four. The two starting wings will likely be (JR) Boston College transfer A.J. Turner and (SR) Evansville transfer, Ryan Taylor, who average 21 points a game and shot 42% from three.
At point guard, they start either (SR) Jordan Ash or late pick-up (FR) Ryan Greer……Ash in my opinion is a mediocre back-up and Greer is reportedly a sleeper recruit but I highly doubt ready to run the show in the Big Ten.
Coming off the bench for Northwestern will include junior big men Aaron Falzon and Barret Benson along with sophomore guard Anthony Gaines. Some solid freshmen will fill out the rest of their bench as they add Larry Nance’s other son, Pete, who is a Top 100 recruit and will help up front. The other freshmen are center Ryan Young and outstanding shooter Miller Kopp.
Guard Isiah Brown and forward Rapolas Ivanauskas have decided to transfer.
These teams can all break into the top five if things go right for them but I don’t feel any of these five teams can actually WIN the Big Ten. Here they are (NOT IN ANY SPECIFIC ORDER):
WISCONSIN
The entire core of those loaded Wiscy teams was finally gone last year and the Badgers MISSED the tourney. Sure, Happ is really good and Davison is tough as nails but imagine what this team would look like had he kept his name in the draft.
For all Badger fans, he made them extremely happy by returning to Madison and should have a huge senior season. He’ll head up a starting front line that should include (SO)Nate Reuvers at the four and (SR) Khalil Iverson at the three. The main back-up bigs should be (SO) Aleen Ford and (SR) Charles Thomas along with senior Alex Illikainen and freshman Taylor Currie……backing up Iverson could be (SO) Trevor Anderson who transfers in from Wiscy-Green Bay where he averaged 9.8 two seasons ago as a freshman along with a career high of 23.
The starting backcourt should be (JR) Brevin Pritzl and (SO) Brad Davison but (SO) D’Mitrik Trice and redshirt freshman Kobe King should also play a lot. Rod Strickland’s son Tai will add to the depth in the backcourt as a freshman.
The Badgers also took on Joe Hedstrom who is 7-0, 225. He will redshirt this year with no scholarship and then be on scholarship for the next four years. He’s from Minnesota.
Big man Andy Van Vliet has transferred to William and Mary.
PURDUE
I know this might surprise people but I just don’t see the Boilers contending for the Big Ten title. Sure they might finish top five but they just lost too much in my opinion. Yes, they replace one giant with another but Haarms is not Haas…..not even close. He’s a solid player that should get a lot better but he won’t have the same impact yet and losing Vince Edwards is huge because he was truly the most underappreciated player in the league the past two seasons. When you add the loss of Mathias and Thompson, it’s just a lot to recover from.
Up front, Evan Boudreaux (grad transfer from Dartmouth with two years of eligibility left) and Nojel Eastern should join center Matt Haarms in the starting line-up. The Boilers add two four-star freshman giants in Trevion Williams (6-9, 270) and Emmanuel Dowuona (6-10, 220). They also have wing redshirt freshman Aaron Wheeler and 6-6 senior Grady Eifert for added depth.
In the backcourt, it will be the (JR)Carsen Edwards show along with shooter (SR) Ryan Cline likely starting. Four star freshman combo guard Eric Hunter will back-up Edwards and redshirt freshman Sasha Stefanovic will provide more depth in the backcourt.
Big man Jacquil Taylor will transfer to Hofstra
The Boilermakers will be adding 4-star point guard Isaiah Thompson in 2019 to replace Carsen Edwards who will likely leave early.
IOWA
This is the school that is never as good as they should be when they are supposed to be good and then never as bad as they should be when predicted to finish low. McCaffrey should have two years of NCAA tournaments coming up with the talent he has coming back. Last year this roster ended the season by losing in overtime to Michigan which is obviously not something to hang your head about.
They return all the key pieces so they should have a nice, solid 2-3 year run if they are able to keep most of the pieces.
This roster is LOADED with sized up front. They start (JR) Tyler Cook, (SO) Jack Nunge, and 6-11 (SO) Luka Garza. They are backed up by (SR) Nicholas Baer, (JR) Maishe Dailey, (JR) Ryan Kriener, along with (JR) Cordell Pemsl.
The backcourt is headlined by two juniors in point guard Jordan Bohannon and SG Isaiah Moss. They will be backed up by 4-star SG Joe Wieskamp and freshman point guard C.J. Frederick. The coaches son, Connor McCaffery should also have an impact this years.
Brady Ellingson is transferring to Drake
Ahmad Wagner is transferring to Kentucky……….but not for basketball……he was a star football player in high school and has decided to switch sports. He’s 6-7 and will play wide receiver…..maybe a future NFL future……
The key for Iowa is Cook needs to become a star…….they have a lot of solid talent but no one has stepped up to be a big-time go-to scorer.
MARYLAND
The Terrapins would have been a possible Top-10 team if Kevin Huerter was returning but he is heading to the NBA. Star (6-10) freshman Jalen Smith, Bruno Fernando, and Anthony Cowan Jr. provide a very strong trio but overall I just don’t see them winning the Big Ten.
Smith and (SO) Fernando will make a very strong frontcourt but the small forward spot may have to fall to freshman Aaron Wiggins (who is highly rated but he is not Huerter). They will get a solid addition behind Fernando in Schinder Herard who transferred from Mississippi State picking Maryland over Illinois. He’s 6-10, 260 and has potential (eligible after first semester). (SR) Ivan Bender and (SO) Josh Tomaic are the other bigs they currently have off the bench.
The backcourt will be solid with Anthony Cowan Jr. and (SO) Darryl Morsell. Freshmen SG Serrel Smith and PG Eric Ayala will back them up.
Maryland has gotten a major start on the 2019 season by land twin brothers. 5-star PF Makhi Mitchell 6-9, 225 and his 4-star C brother Makhel Mitchell 6-9, 225.
NOTE: They just got heavily involved with grad transfer wing, Zane Martin, who averaged 19.8 ppg last year at Towson. Obviously if he ends up at Maryland, they would potentially have a chance at winning the Big Ten.
OHIO STATE
Another team with very solid talent but they need someone to step up and be great. I’m not sure I know who that will be.
Up front, they return (SO) center Kaleb Wesson, who is a load inside but he’ll need to continue to get better if they want to contend. Star freshman Jaedon LeDee could start at the four and (SO) Musa Jallow might start at the three……both are talented but unproven. They’ll be backed up by some solid talent……(JR) center Micah Potter is solid along with big sophomore Kyle Young. They’ll also receive help from (JR) Andre Wesson and (FR) Justin Ahrens at the small forward.
They will have an experienced backcourt as senior point guard C.J. Jackson returns and Wake Forest grad transfer (averaged 11 points) Keyshawn Woods will start at shooting guard. They will be backed up two highly ranked freshmen guards in Luther Muhammad and Duane Washington.
The Buckeyes are off to a good start with their 2019 class as they already have the commitment of 5-star power forward Alonzo Gaffney from Cleveland, OH.
NORTHWESTERN
If these team had any form of a proven point guard they might be able to challenge for the top of the Big Ten but they don’t unless their late signee shocks the Big Ten (I don’t expect this to happen). The rest of the roster is solid with two very important transfers coming in but overall the Wildcats will probably end up in the NIT.
The Cats should have a very solid starting line-up except at point guard as (SR) Dererk Pardon will start at center along with (SR) Vic Law at the four. The two starting wings will likely be (JR) Boston College transfer A.J. Turner and (SR) Evansville transfer, Ryan Taylor, who average 21 points a game and shot 42% from three.
At point guard, they start either (SR) Jordan Ash or late pick-up (FR) Ryan Greer……Ash in my opinion is a mediocre back-up and Greer is reportedly a sleeper recruit but I highly doubt ready to run the show in the Big Ten.
Coming off the bench for Northwestern will include junior big men Aaron Falzon and Barret Benson along with sophomore guard Anthony Gaines. Some solid freshmen will fill out the rest of their bench as they add Larry Nance’s other son, Pete, who is a Top 100 recruit and will help up front. The other freshmen are center Ryan Young and outstanding shooter Miller Kopp.
Guard Isiah Brown and forward Rapolas Ivanauskas have decided to transfer.
