Barstool Basketball Holiday Mailbag: Player of the Year, Popularity of the NBA and Gregg Marshall

It’s the holiday week(end) so let’s get right into it. If you’re stuck at work or somewhere else you’d rather not be, this is for you.

Diallo is obviously a ridiculously talented player, but I don’t see him or any Kentucky guy making a legit case for Player of the Year. This year’s Kentucky team has a ‘problem’ of being a lot of the same dudes. They have a ton of athletic wings that can attack off the bounce and defend. It’s going to be hard to stick out, especially with the balance of talent they have. Diallo or Knox would be my guess of who makes an All-American team in the preseason for Kentucky, but even then you’re talking most likely third team selections. It wouldn’t shock me if Diallo wins SEC Player of the Year though.

I like Cane Broome a lot and he was wildly successful during his two years at Sacred Hart (including averaging 23.1 per game as a sophomore). That said he won’t be the reason UC wins 30 games. To me it’s going to be Jacob Evans and Jarron Cumberland who dictates how good this Cincinnati team will be. I have them second in the AAC behind Wichita State and No. 18 in the country heading into the season, which obviously is a little different than talking number of wins. We haven’t seen their schedule yet but we do know they’ll play an improved Xavier team, travel to play UCLA and have at least one game against Wichita State in conference. They were right at the 30 number last year with a non conference strength of schedule of 167. It was an efficient offensive team last year, but with Broome coming in the question is what sort of role does Mick let him play? Will he let him be free to go score or will he make him initiate the offense a little more? I’d bet under 30 wins if you’re making me choose, but this is still a top-20 team in the country.

To me it’s pretty simple. The NBA is growing at incredible rate and has the biggest star power across the world. The MLB is very regional at this stage in the game and they simply don’t do the best at promoting stars. They aren’t pimping Bryce Harper and Mike Trout every chance they can, which eliminates them from the conversation immediately. So when you look at NFL vs NBA, throw in the fact – and this is stupid – but the players have their faces covered half the time. People know what the NBA guys look like right off the bat. There’s also then the frustration towards the NFL, whether it’s the concussion stuff, Goodell or any sort of combination, the NBA is thriving. It doesn’t hurt the NBA also has the most talent in the league than it ever has. I mean just think of the names out there – and no matter what you think of him LeBron is one of the five most popular/known athletes in the world, I’d argue top-3 with Messi and Ronaldo. The NBA markets their stars better than any other league, which easily makes it the best league for being ‘popular.’

Can they make it? Sure. I mean it’s hard to say in July that a team like Illinois can’t get hot in the B1G Tournament or regular season to sneak in. I do like Te’Jon Lucas a ton as he solidified himself as a starting point guard once the last regime figured out they should play him there all the time. Throw in Trent Frazier to compete with him and you have a strong 1-2 punch for the next couple years at point guard. That said, I still think Illinois is a year away from really being a tournament team. However, I’d be shocked to see Underwood out before the five year mark. I think he’s one hell of a coach and did an excellent job filling out his staff with guys who can recruit Chicago and on a national level. We’ve seen him turn Stephen F. Austin into a solid mid-major and Oklahoma State was a good team during his one year there. We’ve seen his work with guards so don’t be surprised to see someone out of the Frazier/Lucas/Smith turn into an All-Conference player as they develop.

This is a question that is getting asked a ton this offseason and rightfully so when you look at what Missouri did this offseason. Obviously we all know about Michael Porter Jr., but they also bringing in Jeremiah Tilmon a 6’10” forward, who is a top-40 recruit. Are they a national title contender? No. Porter/Tilmon are great players, but you’re still trying to improve a team that went 8-24 last year and I’m not a huge believer in Cuonzo Martin as an in-game coach. That said, this is a team that should make the NCAA Tournament. I think the ceiling is a Sweet 16 as like a No. 4/5 seed, but most likely is making the tournament as like a No. 7 seed and maybe winning a game.

I’ll never stop laughing at calling Rutgers, Buttgers. It’s so dumb it’s so hilarious type thing. As for the NIT, I think it’s a reasonable expectation and would be a huge step for the program under Steve Pikiell. Corey Sanders might be the best player people don’t know. He’s averaged over 14 a game for his two-year career at Rutgers and is the type of guy who can go get his own shot. We saw him have some big games, most notably 22 at Michigan State last year, so it’s reasonable to think in a second year under the new system he can make another jump. Rutgers went 15-18 last year, and you need to be .500 to make the NIT. They were 3-15 in the B1G last year, get to 8 wins and you’re in the NIT.

There is one you left off, who needs to be mentioned. That’s Dante DiVincenzo from Villanova, who will be the typical Villanova guy who gets better and better each season, wins a Big East POY then gets drafted. He’s that good. I’d actually take him but he’s not your prototypical point guard that seems to be the point of this question. If you’re just talking this group though, give me Kamar Baldwin. I absolutely love his game (slightly biased because he’s a lefty) also because he has balls of steel and isn’t afraid to take the big shot. He is a little turnover prone with a TO% of 17.2%, but the fact he can go out get buckets and defend from the point guard spot makes him my choice. He (and Ponds) were both unanimous picks for the All-Freshman Team last year.

I like the makeup of this Oklahoma team quite a bit and absolutely believe they make the jump. Last year they went 11-20 just a year removed from the Final Four – but that’s what happens when you lose Buddy Hield and two other starters. This year though they return every key piece from last year’s team (minus leading scorer Jordan Woodward) but replace him with Trae Young. He can step into the point guard spot right away as he’s excellent with the ball in his hands and as a playmaker. He excels in the pick-and-roll game due to his dribbling ability + combo of threat to shoot/sneak into the paint. Surrounding him with Khadeem Latin, Kameron McGuste,Christian James and Rashard Odomes you have a team that will be in some preseason top-25 polls. Similar to Missouri, I think you see them make the NCAA Tournament as a 5-7 seed.

Realistically? As long as they want. They ponied up and paid Marshall quite well in 2015 to the tune of $3.3 million per season for the next seven seasons. They also gave him a $25,000 bonus this past season, which is supposed to be for winning the MVC Coach of the Year (Dan Mueller from Illinois State won it) because they believed he was the best coach. They take care of him. Throw in the fact he can recruit like a major school and compete like a major school, they’ve made a Final Four, they’ve been a No. 1 seed – there’s no reason for him to leave just for a power 5/6 school. It also helps now that they are out of the MVC and stepped up to the AAC. As of last season he was the 9th highest paid college basketball coach behind Crean, Dixon, Huggins, Izzo, Self, Sean Miller, Calipari and K. If he leaves it will only be for a dream job i.e. something like UNC when that opens up whenever Roy retires.