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.
The early exits of Terrence Ross and Tony Wroten to the NBA Draft set the defending Pac 12 champion Washington Huskies back this year as they easily lose their top two players from a year ago. Still, Lorenzo Romar’s team has enough talent to finish in the upper half of the conference and compete for a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
WASHINGTON HUSKIES
Last Season: 1st, 14-4 in Pac-10, 24-11 overall
Predicted Pac-12 Finish: 4th
Projected Depth Chart
F/C: Aziz N’Diaye (Sr)/Shawn Kemp Jr. (So)/Jernard Jarraeu (Fr)
PF: Desmond Simmons (So)/Martin Breunig (So)/Austin Sefrian-Jenkins (So)
G/F: Scott Suggs (Sr)
SG: C.J. Wilcox (Jr)/Hikeem Stewart (So)
PG: Abdul Gaddy (Sr)/Andrew Andrews (Fr)
Gone: G/F-Terrence Ross, PG-Tony Wroten, PF-Darnell Gant
2012-2013 Outlook:
Even though Ross and Wroten are now playing at the next level, Washington still has a veteran backcourt led by senior point guard Abdul Gaddy. The Tacoma native has failed to live up to lofty expectations but is a poised floor leader who brings more control to the UW offense than Wroten’s often out of control play. As a result, the Huskies will switch half-court offenses relying less on motion and more on Gaddy’s intelligence. Don’t expect the Huskies to run and gun as much as they did a year ago either.
Flanking Gaddy on the wing will be sharpshooters C.J. Wilcox and Scott Suggs. Wilcox flew under the radar playing alongside Ross and Wroten a year ago but shot 40% from distance and will become the team’s go-to option. Suggs sat out all of last season due to a broken foot but can also slang it from deep, connecting on 45% of his triple tries during his junior campaign.
Mark McLaughlin was supposed to be a huge scoring threat on the wing after transferring in from Tacoma CC. He led the community college ranks in scoring last season averaging 28.4 points per game but decided not to enroll at Washington adding to his odd venture as a college basketball player. With McLaughlin not in the fold, seldom used sophomore Hikeen Stewart and redshirt freshman Andrew Andrews are the only reserve guards.
There is quality depth up front led by seven-foot senior Aziz N’Diaye who has steadily improved as a scorer but can still be more dominant as a rebounder and shot blocker if he can stay out of foul trouble. Sophomore Desmond Simmons figures to replace Darnell Gant in the starting lineup. Like Gant, Simmons has a decent face-up game that can stretch defenses and open up things inside for N’Diaye.
There are plenty of options off the bench including sophomores Shawn Kemp Jr., Martin Bruening, and two-sport athlete Austin Sefrian-Jenkins who will join the team after the Huskies football season ends. Redshirt freshman Jerrard Jerreau gives Romar another option off the bench.
The Huskies added even more size to the roster with the additions of San Francisco transfer Perris Blackwell and Gilles Dierickx formerly of Florida International. Blackwell is a bruiser at 6-9, 280 pounds who was honorable mention All-WCC last season while Dierickx is still very much a work in progress. Both guys must sit out this season per NCAA transfer rules.
Guard play will once spark the Huskies and while they have a solid trio of Wilcox, Suggs, and Gaddy; but their overall talent does not stack up to what Romar has coached the previous few seasons. Still, Washington has the potential to be in the tourney picture come March.
Player to Watch: C.J. Wilcox
Wilcox won’t hide in anybody shadows this season and should be the focal point of the Husky offense and as a result, every opposing defense. The kid can flat out shoot the rock and moves very well coming off ball screens in catch and shoot situations. A breakout season in the Northwest could have him turning pro after this season.
Key Non-Conference Games:
11/17 vs. Seton Hall (Hall of Fame Classic)
11/18 vs. Ohio State/Rhode Island (Hall of Fame Classic)
11/24 vs. Colorado State
11/28 vs. St. Louis
12/8 vs. Nevada
12/29 at UConn
OTHER 111 IN 111’S:
#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.