20 Nov23 - We, The Living (PRESEASON)

Volume XXV, No. 1 - 20 Nov23: PRESEASON - [] Top 25 Ballot

We, The Living

When the shutdown happened last March, it felt like Bad Luck/Bad Timing because it occurred just on the eve of the NCAA tournament. "A couple weeks of incovenience -- a month at most" is what we naively thought at the time. Eight months later, things are worse than ever. This really is as bad as the 1918-20 "Spanish" Flu, after all. We're still waiting on truly effective treatments (let alone a cure), and vaccines (although promising) are still months away from being available in a widespread manner across the entire globe. To be honest, the situation is worse now than when things were totally shut down. "COVID Fatigue" has much of the country unwilling to do even the minimum of sacrifices in order to get to the other side of this. ("The Good People" have made the calculation that "This isn't really about 'Me and Mine', so why should we inconvenience ourselves when we aren't the ones who'll suffer the consequences?". That unfortunate reality means it will be much longer than it had to be (and much worse for the most vulnerable than they have any capacity to prevent).
     By comparison, College Basketball is insignifcant. Even so, We, The Living (as Ayn Rand put it) must find a way to carry on with some kind of "normal"cy while we protect the health and safety of the student-athletes, staff and fans.

A by-product of the Pandemic has been that, with people at home during the shutdown, they have been more exposed to news of the reality of racial injustice in this country (especially, killing unarmed Black Men by Police, but also the racial inequities of health care, etc.). While that heightened awareness had made open-minded people more receptive to appreciating this unfairness; for others, shining a light on it has only hardened their resistance to acknowledge any such issue as a problem.
     Within College Basketball, complaints by players of racial abuse by coaches has received more receptive attention. Investigations have led to the firing/resignation of some high-profile coaches (Gregg Marshall[Wichita State], Pat Chambers[Penn State]) after details of the allegations of their racially abusive behavior (both verbal and physical) became public.
     It may be a blip, or it may be the beginning of a movement. Inspired by a sense of Black Empowerment and in an attempt to combat Black Exploitation, highly regarded recruit cMakur Maker wanted to start a trend: Rather than commit to a B-Major school (as his talent rating suggests), he chose to sign with a 1BC (One-Bid Conference) HBCU (Historically Black College/University), Howard. There's a long-time on-going argument whether it's better for the Black Community as a whole for "The Talented Tenth" (i.e., the top 10 percent of the population) to fully assimilate at a Majority-White instituion (and thereby take advantage of all the superior opportunities that entails) or whether that constitutes "abandoning your People" and that it's better to "stay home with your own" and let the glory of your talents be enjoyed by "Our institutions". (Regardless of where you stand in that argument, one player won't make much of a difference. It's not impossible: We've seen Larry Bird start as a B-Major signee for Bob Knight at Indiana and switch to leading a one-man Indiana State team all the way to the NCAA final. More recently it hasn't worked as well: Golden Child Charles Bassey snubbed the B-Majors, but hasn't yet been able to lead Mid-Major Western Kentucky to the NCAA tourney. In Maker's case, it'll be hard to get noticed nationally from MEAC/Howard and perhaps impossible to be seeded beyond 14th come March. But a movement has to start somewhere, no matter how small the first step.)

Several changes are in the offing in light of the "New Normal"" (for this season, at least).
     Graduate Transfer (which allows immediate eligibility without having to sit out a year in between changing schools) was already an increasingly popular route. (And, Hooray! Anything that doesn't treat players like the "property" of their school/coach in the "Plantation" Mentality is a way good thing, in my book.) But with the Pandemic, hardship-transfers (also with immediate eligibility) have exploded for this season. GTs have mostly been about players who've "conquered" the 1BC experience making the jump to Mid-Major or even B-Major. Instead, this year's hardship-transfers have been more about geography (playing closer to home and family) and have even been within the same conference, heretofore unheard of.
     Some changes are bigger than others. Most notably, The IVY LEAGUE decided to cancel the 2020-21 season entirely. MEAC/Bethune-Cookman cancelled all sports for 2020-21. Both New Mexico schools will play their "home" games in Texas. And the entire NCAA tournament will now be held in one "Bubble" location (in Indianapolis,IN).
     How much of a live crowd any conferences/schools will allow is a mixed bag (but no one will be near regular capacity). Several conferences have made adjustments to their schedules to reduce travel: More than a third of all conferences have gone to two-game series against each opponent (many on consecutive days). (Keep an eye on that because there's a real danger of flare-ups carrying over when you're playing the same opponent back-to-back, especially in front of the same "crowd".) The SUN BELT (East/West) and MEAC (Northern/Southern) both have re-aligned into two Divisions; and further teams will only play games within their Division (up to four times in some cases). CONFERENCE USA has gone back to a fully predetermined 18-game schedule (13 + 5) (scrapping [at least for this year] their "Group-Seed" reset for the final four games on the season). The PACIFIC-12 won't even finalize the exact dates for regular season match-ups until later; for now, all they have declared is which school pairings will meet home/away each week. The BIG EAST is only announcing its schedule piecemeal (only naming December match-ups for now).
     Travel is a big concern. Many long-time preseason events have been cancelled all together for this year (including the CHARLESTON CLASSIC, DIAMOND HEAD CLASSIC, MYRTLE BEACH INVITATIONAL, NIT SEASON TIP-OFF, ORLANDO CLASSIC and WOODEN LEGACY). Other off-shore events have been moved to the mainland (including PARADISE JAM [moved from St. Thomas,USVI to Washington,DC] and MAUI INVITAITONAL [moved from Lahaina,HI to Asheville,NC]). Many of the CONFERENCE CHALLENGES have been cancelled for this year (most notably, GAVITT GAMES [BIG 10/BIG EAST]).
     A few "Bubble" locations have been established in the preseason in order to provide a safe environment for as many schools as possible to have multiple games. The MOHEGAN SUN Casino in Uncasville,CT will be one "Bubbleville" site from Nov25-Dec 5 (hosting events such as the HALL OF FAME TIP-OFF, 2K EMPIRE CLASSIC and LEGENDS CLASSIC on top of hosting regular match-ups between teams unrelated to any specific tournament). The SANFORD PENTAGON in Sioux Falls,SD will host several events. Louisville will host some separate "Bubbleville" events in addition to the new WADE HOUSTON CLASSIC.

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Last year, regular season dominance continued/was restored in many conferences. Gonzaga/Mark Few won the WEST COAST (their NINETEENTH REGULAR SEASON TITLE IN TWENTY YEARS); after falling off the horse, Kansas/Bill Self re-earned the BIG 12 title (their FIFTEENTH IN SIXTEEN YEARS); Villanova/Jay Wright's BIG EAST tri-title was their SIXTH IN SEVEN YEARS; both South Dakota State's SUMMIT co-title as well as New Mexico State's WAC title were their FIFTH IN SIX YEARS; Vermont/John Becker in AMERICA EAST (FOUR-STRAIGHT TITLES), UC-Irvine/Russell Turner in the BIG WEST (FOUR TITLES IN FIVE YEARS) and Murray State's co-title in the OHIO VALLEY (their FOURTH IN FIVE YEARS) all extended streaks that lasted beyond any one cohort of players.
     Alas, the Hoops, Interrupted finish to the season left some once-in-a-generation teams wondering, "What might have been?" about the postseason. San Diego State(30-2) and Dayton(29-2) both seemed headed for No.1-seeds; Liberty(30-4) seemed headed for a second-straight 32-Splash win; both Stephen F. Austin(28-3) and East Tennessee State(30-4) seemed Splashworthy as well - - all of those teams were on pace for the greatest seasons in program history; all cut short.

Penalties from the 2017 Shoe Scandal are starting to hit schools this season. (Up until now, it has only been the individual coaches/agents involved who have been penalized. In fact, erstwhile Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino has already "served his time" for his actions at Louisville and has returned to College Basketball at Iona [replacing retired Tim Cluess].) Oklahoma State will be ineligible for the postseason (but Golden Child tCade Cunningham honored his commitment and will play for the OS-Cowboys, anyway). Auburn self-imposed a postseason ban for this year (in anticipation of severe NCAA punishment to come). (This issue will all be moot come 2021 as the NCAA will likely have in place by then rules to allow players to profit individually from their NIL [Name, Image and Likeness] and still remain eligible as "amateurs".)      A bit more activity in the off-season with schools changing conferences. Most notably, Connecticut has ended its seven-year foray in the AMERICAN (since their split with The Catholic 7) and returned to its ancestral home of the BIG EAST (with a fortified team and five returning starters, no less). Other significant moves include Purdue-Ft. Wayne's leaving the SUMMIT to rejoin its fraternal twin IUPUI in the HORIZON, New Jersey Tech's geographic move from the ATLANTIC SUN to AMERICA EAST, and Robert Morris's upwardly mobile jump from the NORTHEAST to the HORIZON. Four new teams are making the jump up from Division-II (and won't be fully eligible for the postseason until 2024-25): the ATLANTIC SUN/{Bellarmine} Knights and the BIG WEST/{UC-San Diego} Tritons as well as the {Dixie State} Trailblazers and the {Tarleton State} Texans, both of the WAC.
     Precious few coaching changes this off-season. Besides Rick Pitino for Tim Cluess at Iona (see above); Danny Manning was fired at Wake Forest (and Steve Forbes parlayed his success at East Tennessee State to replace him). Elsewhere, former name coaches returned to the scene: Andy Kennedy (UAB) and Billy Gillespie ({Tarleton State}) both are back.
     Only a handful of last year's elite teams return essentially intact. Baylor and Wisconsin (with four starters back) both expect more of the same while Villanova(pCollin Gillespie) and Virginia added much to solid returning nuclei; plus the likes of Illinois, UCLA and Iowa(cLuka Garza) all expect bigger results from five returning starters. Gonzaga as well as Duke and Kentucky all reloaded as usual while reloaded Tennessee and North Carolina(cGarrison Brooks) both expect much more after massively disappointing seasons. Kansas and Michigan State still have talent (but aren't the locks to dominate their leagues that we're used to).
     As usual, North Carolina(4) and Duke(3) pushed the ACC out front with the most incoming new talent (with 8 Golden Children overall). The SEC (4, led by Kentucky[2]) and PACIFIC-12 (4, led by Arizona State[2]) trailed significantly while the BIG EAST (1) and AMERICAN (1) barely posted notable newcomers with the BIG 10 garnering no GC players at all.
     Look for the ATLANTIC 10 to have another solid year (with St. Louis and Richmond as well as Duquesne and St. Bonaventure all returning five starters). The MISSOURI VALLEY should be strong at the top (with Northern Iowa and Loyola[Illinois]{five starters} both expecting big years). SUMMIT/South Dakota State and SUN BELT/Little Rock both have five starters back for teams that expect Splashworthy postseasons. In the 1BC Red Swirl, BIG SKY/Eastern Washington, METRO ATLANTIC/Siena and HORIZON/Wright State all are returning title-champs but can't expect a postseason Splash.
     Stat-stuffer cLuka Garza(Iowa) is the preseason favorite for Player Of The Year (but I'd bet he'd prefer an elite season for his Hawkeye team as a whole - - runner-up pCollin Gillespie[Villanova] might get both). Graduate Transfer Of the Year could be downsizer cMatt Haarms(BYU; ex-Purdue) ahead of upsizer pCarlik Jones(Louisville; ex-BIG SOUTH/Radford). (Regular) Transfer Of The Year looks to be fSam Hauser(Virginia; ex-Marquette) ahead of uplifted gDavid Jenkins(UNLV; ex-SUMMIT/South Dakota State). Golden Child Of The Year looks more like postseason-bound fJalen Johnson(Duke) rather than regular-season-only tCade Cunningham(Oklahoma State).

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Even this week's schedule is only tentative with several schools having to pause activities, postpone and even outright cancel games due to positive COVID-19 test either in their own ranks or their opponents (and even general "Bubbleville" co-habitors).
     The 2K EMPIRE CLASSIC usually crowns its champ at MADISON SQUARE GARDEN in New York,NY; but that got switched to the MOHEGAN SUN in Uncasville,CT (and orginal participant Baylor was replaced by West Virginia). What started out as the BATTLE 4 ATLANTIS at Paradise Island,BAHAMAS got moved to the SANFORD PENTAGON in Sioux Falls,SD and renamed the new CROSSOVER CLASSIC; but by the time teams pulled out only two of the original eight teams were still in the field (and replacement VCU only got in with two days notice). A bunch of teams will play a bunch of games at Louisville - - some of them count towards the new WADE HOUSTON CLASSIC while some are just generic "BUBBLEVILLE" matchups - - it's a confusing mess.
     As far as intriguing matchups, the best we can say is "Scheduled To Appear" as teams may postpone/cancel/swap opponents at the last minute.
     The feature matchup of the FT. MYERS TIP-OFF (Thursday) should be the best of the weekend with Gonzaga (GC gJalen Suggs) meeting Kansas (GC gBryce Thompson). Villanova should have no problem winning 2K EMPIRE (Wednesday thru Thursday) past Arizona State (now that Baylor has dropped out). The renamed CROSSOVER CLASSIC (Wednesday thru Friday) has the strongest field - - look for a West Virginia-Memphis toss-up final (unless Northern Iowa or South Dakota State can spoil the party). Houston hosts Texas Tech (Sunday) in the feature match of the SOUTHWEST SHOWCASE.
     St. Louis (LSU), Louisville (Little Rock) and Kentucky (Richmond) all gave themselves real opponents that push their home round-round tournaments beyond easy-cruise showcases. San Diego State hosts UCLA (Wednesday) in a game that has heat beyond West Coast bragging rights.
     The new SPACE COAST CHALLENGE at Melbourne,FL (Wednesday thru Thursday) is a B-Major prize that's up for grabs. The wide-open GULF COAST SHOWCASE (Wednesday thru Friday) could be the top Mid-Major prize.

This year, we're on the road to Indianapolis!

Welcome back, y'all!

-- Ron

Key games this week:

Monday:

(None),

Tuesday:

(None),

Wednesday:

@Oregon-EaWashington, @SanDiegoSt-UCLA(CA), @Connecticut-CConnecticutSt(CT), @ArmyWP-{MerchantMarine}(MIL),

Wednesday-Thursday:

CT-A1 2K EMPIRE CLASSIC Semis @ NewYorkNY/MSG/ @ UncasvilleCT/MS/ -(>Villanova-BostonCol, ArizonaSt-BaylorRhodeIsland), (new)SPACE COAST CHALLENGE Semis @ MelbourneFL -(MississippiSt-Clemson, Purdue-Liberty), [M]THUNDERING HERD MEMORIAL RndRob2 @ HuntingtonWV/Marshall/ -(@Marshall, TennesseeSt, CoppinSt),<

Wednesday, Friday:

[GT]YELLOW JACKET CHALLENGE RndRob2 @ AtlantaGA/GeorgiaTech/ -(@GeorgiaTech, @GeorgiaSt, @Mercer), [NCS]WOLFPACK INVITATIONAL Various @ RaleighNC -(@NCState, EaKentucky, NFlorida, CharlestonSo),

Wednesday-Friday:

[I]HAWKEYE CLASSIC RndRob2 @ IowaCityIA/Iowa/ -(Iowa, Southern, NCCentral), [I]ILLINI INVITATIONAL RndRob3 @ ChampaignIL/Illinois/ -(@Illinois, OhioU, @ChicagoSt, NCA&T), BATTLE 4 ATLANTIS @ ParadiseIslandBAHAMAS (new)SD-? CROSSOVER CLASSIC Qtrs @ SiouxFallsSD/PENTAGON/ -(WVirginia-SDState, UtahSt-VCU; Memphis-StMarys, NoIowa-WeKentucky), [KS/WILDCAT]LITTLE APPLE CLASSIC RndRob2 @ ManhattanKS/KansasSt/ -(@KansasSt, Drake, SDakota), [X]MUSKETEER INVITATIONAL RndRob3 @ CincinnatiOH/Xavier/ -(@Xavier, Bradley, @Toledo, Oakland), FM-B "BEACHBUBBLE" GULF COAST SHOWCASE Qtrs @ EsteroFL @ FtMyersFL -(ECarolina-IndianaSt, AustinPeay; MidTennesee-Akron, AbileneChristian-ETennesseeSt),

Wednesday-Saturday:

[N/CORNHUSKER]GOLDEN WINDOW CLASSIC RndRob2 @ LincolnNE/Nebraska/ -(@Nebraska, Nevada, NDState),

Wednesday-Sunday:

[K/WILDCAT]BLUEGRASS SHOWCASE RndRob3 @ LexingtonKY/Kentucky/ -(@Kentucky, Richmond, Detroit, @MoreheadSt), [SL]BILLKEN CLASSIC RndRob2 @ StLouisMO/StLouis/ -(LSU, @StLouis, SIUEdwardsville, @{UHSPharmacy}), [P]PILOT INVITATIONAL RndRob3 @ PortlandOR/Portland/ -(@Portland, Seattle, Idaho, {WilliamJessup}; {NorthwestU}),

Wednesday-Friday week:

(new)[L/CARDINAL]WADE HOUSTON CLASSIC/"BUBBLEVILLE"-D-KY Various @ LouisvilleKY/Louisville/ -(@Louisville, LittleRock, SetonHall, Duquesne, Evansville, UNCGreensboro, Winthrop, PrairieViewA&M),

Wednesday-Saturday week:

"BUBBLEVILLE"-C-CT Various @ UncasvilleCT/MOHEGAN_SUN/ -(Virginia, Buffalo, SanFrancisco, RhodeIsland, MALowell, ArmyWP, Towson),

Thursday (THANKSGIVING):

(None),

Thursday-Friday:

FM-A FT. MYERS TIP-OFF RndRob2 @ FtMyersFL -(Gonzaga, Kansas, Auburn, StJosephs), [SJ/RED STORM]JOE LAPCHICK INVITATIONAL RndRob2 @ NewYorkNY/StJohns/ -(@StJohns, LaSalle, StPeters),

Thursday-Sunday:

PARADISE JAM @ StThomasUSVI @ WashingtonDC -(@GeoMason, Belmont, @Howard),

Friday:

@Connecticut-Hartford(HartfordCT),

Friday-Sunday:

SOUTHWEST SHOWCASE RndRob2 @ HoustonTX/Houston/ -(TexasTech, @Houston, BoiseSt), [T]GREEN WAVE CLASSIC RndRob2 @ NewOrleansLA/Tulane/ -(@Tulane, Lipscomb, Lamar),

Friday-Monday week:

(new)NEW JERSEY HOOP GROUP CLASSIC RndRob2 on-campus -(@Rutgers, FairleighDickinson, Rider),

Saturday:

@MichiganSt-NotreDame, @{Dixie St}-WeberSt(UT), CROSSTOWN CLASH 1Off on-campus -(@BYU-UTValley[UT]),

Saturday-Monday week:

"BUBBLEVILLE"-A-NV" Various @ LasVegasNV/T-MOBILE/ -(AirForce, Seattle, CalStNorthridge),

Saturday-Friday week:

CT-A2 HALL OF FAME TIP-OFF Various @ UncasvilleCT/MOHEGAN_SUN/ -(VirginiaTech, Temple, Albany, Drexel, @Quinnipiac),

Sunday:

@SacredHeart-Fairfield(FairfieldCT)(CT6),

Sunday-Fri 11 Dec:

BIG 12[?-?]/BIG EAST[?-?] BATTLE on-campus [; Connecticut does not play.] (Sun: @SetonHall-Baylor;    Tue week: @Marquette-OklahomaSt;    Thu week: @TexasTech-StJohns;    Sun week: @Texas-Villanova, @Georgetown-WVirginia, @IowaSt-DePaul;    Tue 8 Dec: @Kansas-Creighton;    Wed 9 Dec: @Xavier-Oklahoma, @TCU-Providence;    Fri 11 Dec: @Butler-KansasSt),

- - - - - -

Monday week:

(None),

Monday week-Wednesday week:

MAUI INVITATIONAL Qtrs @ LahainaHI/{Chaminade}/ @ AshevilleNC -(@NCarolina-UNLV, Alabama-Stanford; Texas-Davidson, Providence-Indiana).

---

Top 25 - 20 Nov23: PRESEASON - [] Column

1. Villanova
2. Baylor
3. Gonzaga
4. Michigan State
5. Iowa
6. Kansas
7. Virginia
8. Duke
9. Illinois
10. North Carolina
11. Kentucky
12. Wisconsin
13. Creighton
14. LSU
15. Tennessee
16. West Virginia
17. Louisville
18. Memphis
19. Oregon
20. Florida State
21. Arizona State
22. Texas Tech
23. St. Louis
24. Northern Iowa
25. South Dakota State

Worth keeping an eye on:

Little Rock, Loyola(Illinois), Western Kentucky, Wright State.