Barstool Basketball Mailbag - How Good Is UK Actually, Will Oregon Really Get Better, Let's Talk Seton Hall And More
So here's the thing. Dante is a good player, no doubt about that. But, I actually like Oregon's roster a bit better right now because the bigs are more 'Altman' type guys. So I'm curious to see how Dante looks and what changes when he comes in. Again, he's a good player, but this team fits perfectly right now. I mean this team is a Final Four type team right now. Adding someone like Dante doesn't change that unless Oregon changes the way it plays. I trust Altman to figure it out, but again Dante is just a different player than Juiston and Okoro.
I've said it before, but I really hate the 'ceiling' question. Can Seton Hall make a Final Four? Sure. As long as Myles Powell stays healthy. Can they get upset in the first round? Sure, because Myles Powell can have an off night. I like Seton Hall's pieces as long as Powell plays. If Powell is out I don't know how much I love this team. Remember, this is a team that was in the 7/10 game last year and we just expected them to make the jump to a top-15 team no questions asked this year. History tells us that tends to not be the case (though most times someone like Powell doesn't return too). They are in the top-tier of the Big East with Xavier and Nova and can make a Final Four though.
Yeah, this is massive. So obviously losing the Hausers was a blow for a team that many thought would be a top-15 team and have Final Four type hopes. But here's the thing. For as good as the Hauser's were offensively, they were a bit of a mess defensively. This year? Marquette looks damn good on defense. That's how it came back against Purdue. They only made 1 more 3 than Purdue for the game and didn't shoot the ball well. That's typically an automatic loss for Marquette. With the addition of McEwen it lets Howard get in different sets. You can run Howard off the ball and off screens that way. You can put him on the ball. I still have questions about the Marquette team, but this should be a top-30 team the entire year.
Cole Anthony is averaging 24 shots per game through the first two. I love it. As a Knicks fan let him get used to attacking and take on different roles. But, yeah, for this UNC team I assume Cole is going to take 20+ shots every game he's not sitting on the bench. So I'll say under since I think they'll blow out Gardner Webb.
Obviously this is the take right now after the loss to Evansville. Here's the thing. The loss is embarrassing, it will be the most embarrassing loss all year. But it more just shows that there's not that dominant team in college hoops. There's no 2012 Kentucky or 2015 Kentucky where we're talking undefeated. Duke/UNC/Louisville will all take a bad loss. Michigan State will probably lose to someone like Rutgers. It's going to happen. Kentucky needs to get healthy (Hagans and Montgomery both banged up/missing time). They need to figure out the offensive side of the ball. They still are great defensively (sans Sestina in ISO sets). I'm not worried long term.
These shorts are hilarious:
I mean, it's going as expected? They probably should have beat Utah at home, but that's not a terrible loss. There's still talent there with Jazz Johnson and Lindsey Drew. Remember, Alford was successful in this league before so he knows what he's getting into. He's not going to do what Muss did for Nevada, but I mean, for 3 games it's going as expected.