GBI Magazine

Gold and Black Illustrated, Vol 28, Digital 2

Gold and Black is a multi-platform media company that covers Purdue athletics like no one else.

Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/895033

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 62 of 111

GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 28, ISSUE 2 63 not often had. This is an upperclassmen-heavy team and now those play- ers have significant experience not only playing, but winning. Coming off a 24-win season and earning that breakthrough NCAA bid, how does Northwestern handle expectations now, though? Purdue: The defending champs lost the Big Ten Player-of-the-Year and one of college bas- ketball's best players in Swanigan, but return more than enough to be considered a contender. Senior Vincent Edwards made the 10-man preseason All- Big Ten team, but senior classmates Isaac Haas and Dakota Mathias and sophomore budding standout Carsen Edwards each received votes, too, a testament to Purdue's balance. The richly experienced Boilermakers return much of the firepower from the Big Ten's highest-scoring team last season and a formidable array of three-point threats, in addition to an often-dominant post presence in Haas, but might be consid- ered a work in progress defensively. Depth and rebounding might count as questions, as well. One potential advantage: Purdue's already played a half season's worth of meaningful games, because of its participa- tion in the World University Games. It should be advanced because of it. THE SECOND TIER These teams have potential to be contenders but have to be considered a notch below some other teams until they prove otherwise. Maryland: Maryland lost its years-long foun- dation in guard Melo Trimble, but returns an ex- cellent sophomore class. Preseason All-Big Ten pick Jackson and class- mates Huerter and Cowan all have star potential, to the point it's difficult to choose one over the others as the standout among the group, if there is one. That's a strong perimeter lineup. Jackson shot 44 percent from three from his forward posi- tion last season and Huerter shot 37 percent. And to complement them, the Terps welcome potentially impactful newcomers up front in freshman post Bruno Fer- nando and Duke transfer Sean Obi. Maryland went 24-9 last season, but its season went down to the tubes in the back half of the schedule, starting with Purdue's narrow and eventful win in College Park. The Terps lost seven of their final 11. They were 20-2 prior. This team, assuming normal progress from its younger players, would seem more likely to look like first-half Maryland as opposed to second-half Maryland, though Trimble's pres- ence won't be easily replaced. Michigan: There might not be a more diffi- cult-to-replace player from the Big Ten this sea- son than Derrick Walton, the point guard who meant so much to the Wolverines for so long. But the late-season surge that carried Michigan not only into the NCAA Tournament, but to the Big Ten Tournament title game, then the Sweet 16, established skilled big man Mo Wagner as a star — and pro — in the making. Muhammad Ali Abdur-Rahkman and Duncan Robinson are rock-solid veterans and some impactful newcomers come in — notably Kentucky transfer Charles Matthews and first- team All-MAC graduate transfer Jaaron Simmons from Ohio, among them. Point guard play will loom large, putting the onus on Sim- mons, who might have the biggest shoes to fill of any player in the conference, but has a track record that suggests him to be capable. He averaged about 16 points and 6.5 assists for Ohio last season before declaring for the NBA draft, then withdrawing and joining the Wolverines. Simmons might be Michigan's most important player; Wag- ner is its best, a sweet-shooting and profoundly skilled 7-foot- er who was sometimes dominant — as Purdue in particular can attest — during the home stretch of last season. He declared for the draft, but opted to return to Ann Arbor, unlike postseason standout D.J. Wilson, who left following his sophomore season. Wisconsin: This is the year we learn wheth- er benefit of the doubt left with Bo Ryan. Yes, the Badgers return a star in big man Ethan Happ, a first-team All-Big Ten player and one of college basketball's better two-way players. But Happ is the Badgers' lone returning starter. Stalwarts Nigel Hayes, Vitto Brown, Zak Showalter and proba- bly most importantly Bronson Koenig are gone. Koenig will be particularly difficult to replace. Sophomore D'Mitrik Trice now looms particularly large af- ter averaging about 19 minutes per game behind Koenig as a freshman. Freshman Brad Davison and Kobe King are both scorers who may be needed to contribute significantly right away and returnees up front Khalil Iverson and Andy Van Vliet — a

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of GBI Magazine - Gold and Black Illustrated, Vol 28, Digital 2