Welcome to The Sports Bank’s third annual college basketball season preview series. Two years we looked at 99 teams in 99 days. Last year, we were slightly more aggressive and expanded to 111 teams in 111 days and will do so again as we look ahead to the 2012-2013 season.
We will rank the 75 power conference teams and top 36 mid-majors in reverse power ranking order. We’ll break down rosters, transfers, incoming freshmen, non-conference schedules, and pick a player to watch for each team.
With three of their top four scorers gone from last year, the Purdue Boilermakers are in a bit of a transition year. In typical Matt Painter fashion though, he will get the most of out his roster and have the Boilers back in the NCAA Tournament.
PURDUE BOILERMAKERS
Last Season: 6th, 10-8 in Big Ten, 22-13 overall
Predicted Big Ten Finish: 6th
Projected Depth Chart
C: A.J. Hammons (Fr)/Sandi Marcius (Jr)
PF: Travis Carroll (Jr)/Jacob Lawson (So)/Donnie Hale (Fr)/Jay Simpson (Fr)
SF: D.J. Byrd (Sr)
SG: Terone Johnson (Jr)/Raphael Davis (Fr)
PG: Anthony Johnson (So)/Ronnie Johnson (Fr)
Gone: F-Robbie Hummel, PG-Lewis Jackson, SG-Ryne Smith, G-Kelsey Barlow (transfer-UIC), SG-John Hart (transfer-IUPUI)
2012-2013 Outlook:
As the lone senior on the squad, D.J. Byrd must emerge as the leader replacing the invaluable experience of Robbie Hummel and Lewis Jackson. Byrd has been a key role player the past couple of seasons relying on his relentless hustle and three-point shooting to complement the upperclassmen around him but now must show more assertiveness on the court.
Also needing to step up is junior shooting guard Terone Johnson who made strides last season but will need to become a go-to option for Purdue as one of the few playmakers off the dribble. He is surrounded by a young group of guards with sophomore Anthony Johnson likely to take over at the point. A third Johnson, Ronnie comes in as a freshman and must be ready to contribute right away off the bench along with Raphael Davis.
There is more depth but not a whole lot of skill up-front. Travis Carroll, Sandi Marcius, and Jacob Lawson all saw time in the starting lineup but none of them were able to take control of the position alongside Hummel. The trio is rather offensively challenged as they combined to average more rebounds than points a year ago and Painter will need more production from them.
The Boliermakers get a huge addition (literally) with 7-0, 280 pound center A.J. Hammons. He arrives on campus already the team’s most talented back to the basket scorer and with his size, should clog up the paint defensively. Redshirt freshman Donnie Hale and Jay Simpson will try to earn minutes as well, and it will be interesting to see how the frontcourt works itself out as the season progresses. That could be the ultimate determining factor in how successful Purdue is this season.
There are a lot of new faces needing to step into major roles for the Boilermakers this season. With a top loaded Big Ten Conference featuring six preseason Top 25 teams, it’s a safe prediction to pick Purdue to finish seventh but never rule out Painter coaching his guys up to the maximum and making some unexpected noise.
Player to Watch: A.J. Hammons
Despite his size, Hammons was far from a dominating high school player averaging just 7 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 4.0 blocks per game as a senior on an Oak Hill squad that finished as the top ranked prep team in the nation. It has been a while since the Boilers have had someone with his size on their roster and if he can be the intimidating inside presence that his size would suggest, it would provide Purdue with a major boost.
Key Non-Conference Games:
11/15 vs. Villanova (2k Sports Classic)
11/16 vs. Alabama/Oregon State (2k Classic)
11/28 at Clemson (Big Ten/ACC Challenge)
12/1 vs. Xavier
12/15 vs. Notre Dame (Crossroads Classic in Indianapolis)
1/19 vs. West Virginia
OTHER 111 IN 111’S:
#37 Alabama Crimson Tide
#38 St. Joseph’s Hawks
#39 Murray State Racers
#40 VCU Rams
#41 Davidson Wildcats
#42 Stanford Cardinal
#43 UMass Minutemen
#44 St. John’s Red Storm
#45 Butler Bulldogs
#46 Florida State Seminoles
#47 Drexel Dragons
#48 St. Louis Billikens
#49 West Virginia Mountaineers
#50 BYU Cougars
#51 Temple Owls
#52 Washington Huskies
#53 California Golden Bears
#54 Kansas State Wildcats
#55 Nevada Wolfpack
#56 Colorado Buffaloes
#57 Iowa State Cyclones
#58 Northern Iowa Panthers
#59 Colorado State Rams
#60 Iowa Hawkeyes
#61 South Florida Bulls
#62 Valparaiso Crusaders
#63 Illinois Fighting Illini
#64 Arkansas Razorbacks
#65 Wichita State Shockers
#66 George Mason Patriots
#67 Virginia Cavaliers
#68 Villanova Wildcats
#69 Maryland Terrapins
#70 Marshall Thundering Herd
#71 Iona Gaels
#72 Northwestern Wildcats
#73 Oklahoms State Cowboys
#74 Rutgers Scarlet Knights
#75 USC Trojans
#76 UConn Huskies
#77 Harvard Crimson
#78 Xavier Musketeers
#79 Ole Miss Rebels
#80 Clemson Tigers
#81 Oregon State Beavers
#82 Texas A&M Aggies
#83 Providence Friars
#84 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
#85 Oklahoma Sooners
#86 Lehigh Mountain Hawks
#87 Washington State Cougars
#88 Long Beach State 49ers
#89 Belmont Bruins
#90 Vanderbilt Commodores
#91 Dayton Flyers
#92 Houston Cougars
#93 UCF Knights
#94 Old Dominion Monarchs
#95 Oregon Ducks
#96 LSU Tigers
#97 South Carolina Gamecocks
#98 Seton Hall Pirates
#99 Georgia Bulldogs
#100 DePaul Blue Demons
#101 Boston College Eagles
#102 Penn State Nittany Lions
#103 Arizona State Sun Devils
#104 Virginia Tech Hokies
#105 Texas Tech Red Raiders
#106 Auburn Tigers
#107 Wake Forest Demon Deacons
#108 TCU Horned Frogs
#109 Mississippi State Bulldogs
#110 Utah Utes
#111 Nebraska Cornhuskers
David Kay is a senior feature NBA Draft, NBA, and college basketball writer for the Sports Bank. He also heads up the NBA and college basketball material at Walter Football.com and is a former contributor at The Washington Times Communities. David has appeared on numerous national radio programs spanning from Cleveland to New Orleans to Honolulu. He also had the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft and the most accurate 2012 NBA Mock Draft on the internet (Yup, repeat champ… #humblebrag.)
You can follow him on Twitter at David_Kmiecik.
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