Too Early NCAA projections

[LakeJack]

Checking in as a 14 seed.

https://www.on3.com/news/espn-releas...aa-tournament/

[OldHare]

https://x.com/mid_madness/status/1938216642162356644
Davis Kern is getting some attention.

[Sonbog]

I knew Mr. Kern was good. I don't know how good he is compared to Mr. Mors. I want to know about this information. Was this written based on what he did in high school or is this also based on things that have happened at our practices? If this is based on competition with his teammates, it appears we need to list him as a starter.

I want to thank Old Hare for posting this. I will take any information I can get. If any of you are privy to who is playing well and decide to share this information, I will be much obliged.

Going back to the starters I projected my five, but others said Mr. Jackson will start. I have changed my tune. When I said Mr. Buchanan was the 28th best in his class and became an all star, I think I said he must have passed about 15 players. (I haven't checked to see what I said. That is close.) I forgot about the seniors. He must have passed about 50 players. He wasn't a flash in the pan; he was also an all star the next year. I read he has mental toughness (or words to that effect). I am going with attitude. I have penciled him in as a starter. (I hope some of his attitude rubs off on men named Jackson and Sailor.)

If Mr. Kern starts, who should I replace? He can play shooting forward or either power position. We have Mr. Mors, Mr. Wilkinson, and three mobile men who are 6'9" or taller. These five should lock up those three positions. Mr. Wilkinson should play center. Two can play power forward or center and two can play shooting forward or power forward (or center in Mr. Kern's case). It looks like it is going to be a fun year.

[Sonbog]

I can believe a man could predict the freshman of the year without input from the coach, but I cannot believe he predicted a double double machine on his own. Therefore, we have Coach Peterson's thoughts. Therefore, none of us can ask if Mr. Kern will start. We can only ask where he will start and who we think will start with him.

I owe two men apologies. First of all, Mr. Sayler, I am ashamed I misspelled your name. I can't even claim it was a typo. It was a classic short circuit between the ears. I also owe Mr. Burton an apology. I had him as a starter earlier, followed a long involved chain of thought, and yesterday I discovered none of this thought can be applied to Mr. Burton. I still have the comparison with what we heard two years ago and last year but Mr. Whorton's high school credentials are not worthy to be compared with Mr. Burton's.

My first prediction of the starters, before I heard the name of Luke Haertle, was men named Wilkinson, Kern, Mors, Burton, and Sayler. I had Mr. Burton at shooting guard because I expected him to beat Mr. Garry out. I had Mr. Haertle starting ahead of Mr. Sayler shortly after this in my notes, but I don't think he will start anymore. I keep thinking Mr. Sayler didn't play well but he started ahead of Mr. Jackson. Why? Mr. Jackson's assist to turnover ratio is very good, but this good passing still helps the team from the shooting guard position. I still haven't figured this out and probably will not.

I want to clear the air and set my thoughts on the board as they are at this moment. I will ignore Mr. Burton for now, pretending he doesn't exist; after I reason things out, I will consider where he fits.

What do we know? We KNOW Mr. Kern will start (unless that reporter predicted a double double machine with no input from Coach Peterson). We know Mr. Mors has improved dramatically. We know Mr. Wilkinson played far better than we (as a group ignoring one or two wise posters who rated him better than the rest of us) expected. We know far less about men named Delzell and Squires. Ignoring Mr. Burton, this has to be my starting front line. We know Mr. Garry has played consistently well. He has to be a starter. Since I saw Mr. Sayler struggle and yet Mr. Jackson didn't play ahead of him, and since I am impressed by Mr. Buchanan's high school credentials, I have Mr. Buchanan as the other starter. The expectation is that we put men named Jackson, Sayler, Squires, and Delzell into the rotation, a nine man rotation. (Coach Wooden said you need four forwards, three guards, and a swingman. If our five guys 6'7" or taller all play, there are five forwards with no swingman forcing a nine man rotation.)

Mr. Burton is the Joker in the deck. He might be behind those nine or he might start. Early, I thought he was better than Mr. Garry. If so, he starts. If he isn't better than Mr. Garry, he still starts if he is better than men named Wilkinson, Squires, and Delzell. I liked the thought of Mr. Mors at shooting forward because it meant we started two big guys, but height doesn't equal talent. These ten can do wonders if they all improve. If they rest on their credentials they could bust. I don't expect the last.

I spoke of star power. Before June 26, 2025, I had no certainty we have star power, but that post shows we do. Are we looking at the second coming of Mr. Gordan Hayward? (Remember him? He was the star who led Butler to the championship game in 2010. The 2011 team was dismissed because Mr. Hayward went pro but a true freshman named Mr. Khyle Marshall saved Butler against Florida. I know you all remember him.) Two months ago I wondered if Mr. Burton were the second coming of Mr. Calbert Chaney. (Bob Knight used to get furious at him: "Calbert! You are NOT on the floor to set picks.")

I have had my say. It is time for me to shut up my mouth.

[AZjack]

Sayler is a lot better than Buchanan, Buchanan is a bench player at best.

[Sonbog]

I expect summer workouts began about June 1. Two posters said Mr. Jackson would start at the point, but these posts were both before summer workouts could be evaluated. The post just above by AZjack is the only information after summer workouts other than Mr. Kern being the projected Summit League Freshman of the Year. We are all basketball fans. Many of you both played and coached. (I played and coached when I was in the Navy. I was the starting point guard and player-coach when we played the team from Haifa Israel.) LetsGoRabbits wondered out loud if I despised his basketball knowledge. I despise the basketball knowledge of no poster on this board..., I just can't seem to get you posters who saw summer workouts to speak. AZjack's post can be taken several ways, but it is after almost a month of summer workouts.

I want to give a lot of my thoughts about this team. Mr. Davis Kern is the preseason Freshman of the Year in the Summit League. Mr. Nick Janowski, a redshirt freshman for St. Thomas is rated at 4.08 stars, had offers from Nebraska, Iowa, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin, Marquette, Iowa St. Georgia Tech, and USC, and redshirted last year at Nebraska. Why wasn't Mr. Janowski the preseason Summit League Player of the year? Let me give all of you SDSU fans a piece of advice. Do not miss the chance to see Mr. Davis, even if we play an inferior team. He is here today and gone tomorrow. (Don't take that as a shot at the current state of college basketball. I can't believe Steve Alford is in his late 50s. I was cheering for him yesterday when he was at IU. Calbert Chaney must be about 50 years old.) Do not miss your chance to enjoy the play of the rest of the team.

I twice downgraded Mr. Burton and was hit upside the head (by God) with enlightenment that I was wrong to downgrade him. I reasoned thus. "I said Mr. Burton might be the second coming of Mr. Calbert Chaney but this must be wrong; if he were, Coach Peterson would have had two candidates for Summit League Freshman of the Year." I was wrong. If Mr. Chaney were here, as he was in the fall of 89 when he was a freshman at IU, Coach Peterson wouldn't have have mentioned him for Freshman of the Year. When I reasoned that Mr. Burton must not be as good as I thought he was, I downgraded every freshman. I need to ignore that thinking because it doesn't apply. Therefore, I am back to my statement that Mr. Burton will beat out Mr. Garry at shooting guard..., but Mr. Garry should still start at shooting forward.

The context of AZjack's post was when I said Mr. Buchanan would start. His response shows Mr. Buchanan will NOT start. Therefore, he will not start. That much is obvious. I took his post to say Mr. Sayler would start. From this I concluded he has put his problems from last year behind him. (I have been a fan of men's college basketball for more than 50 years but even posters who have been fans only three years have seen excellent play from sophomores who fell on their swords as freshmen. He didn't fall on his sword. He led the team in minutes played. He was bad only when compared with what he could have been.) I penciled him in as a starter until I thought the claim Sayler was better was in context of being a rotation player. In other words, does his post take the presupposition Jackson is the starter? I am not taking it that way.

The biggest question is (as I said to LetsGoRabbits) whether three men 6'7" or taller start. After claiming Mr. Burton will start, I think not. If so, the starters are men named Kern, Mors, Garry, Burton, and Sayler.

Since I think Mr. Kern would be mentioned for All American if he were at a power four school, Mr. Burton can be very good. We know what the three SDs can be. I cheered for IU in 75 and 76 when they had undefeated regular seasons. Will I see an undefeated season this year? The answer will be found in the attitudes of the three returning starters. May the chips on their shoulders be three miles wide.