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UCLA super freshman Shabazz Muhammad has been declared ineligible to participate by the NCAA, the school announced before its season opener Friday night at Pauley Pavilion
Muhammad, the national high school player of the year last year and a possible top three pick in the next NBA Draft was found to have violated NCAA amateurism rules.
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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 the uncertainty surrounding Shabazz Muhammad’s eligibility, it’s difficult to rank the UCLA Bruins. With Muhammad, they are a potential Final Four contender. Without him, there is still improved talent but the Top 20 seems like a more reasonable expectation.
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The UCLA Bruins basketball program received a lot of negative publicity with the Sports Illustrated article bringing to light some the internal issues that has led to the team’s struggles the past couple of years. A loaded recruiting class that includes McDonald’s All-American Kyle Anderson is ready to return the Bruin program back to prominence.
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UCLA Bruins head coach Ben Howland has had a disappointing past few seasons. The Reeves Nelson-saga really wore-on the UCLA program and brought the program down. It seems like the dark days are behind the Bruins and Howland, though. Thanks to a great recruiting class for the upcoming season, the Bruins are poised to make a PAC-12 title run and a run at a national championship. Howland has put the Bruins back on the map. Here’s why: [Read more…]
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Here is an updated on my preseason Top 25 for the 2012-2013 college basketball. With transfers, the decisions of some previously undeclared top high school recruits, and players declaring their intentions to return to school or leave for the NBA Draft, there has been a lot of movement since I released my original rankings the day after the National Championship game. (Click here for a list of NBA Draft early entries.) Leave a comment below if you think a team is too high, too low, not getting enough respect, or if you notice an error in a projected roster. (Click here for my way too early preseason rankings from last season.)
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The nation’s #1 recruit Shabazz Muhammad, the hero of the McDonald’s All-American game, has picked UCLA.
Yes the Kentucky Wildcats have lost this one to the UCLA Bruins. The UCLA media were right, it was a done deal- Muhammad heads to Westwood; just as they claimed last week.
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It is decision day for the top two college basketball recruits in the 2012 class. Both Shabazz Muhammad and Nerlens Noel will announce which college they will attend (play hoops at for a year) tonight at 6:30 p.m. (CST) on ESPNU’s Signing Day special. Both players have narrowed their list down three schools and will absolutely be instant game-changers at the college level. Here is a breakdown of how the 6-6 wing Muhammad can impact his three finalists; Duke, Kentucky, and UCLA.
Click here for my breakdown on Noel’s decision.
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College basketball fans whose team didn’t make the NCAA Tournament are probably already looking ahead to the 2012-2013 season. Typical tourney teams like UCLA, Arizona, Butler, Villanova, and Maryland should have bounce back seasons next year and vie for a spot in the Big Dance. Here are ten non-tourney programs to watch out for next season.
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Since we have reached the unofficial midway point of the 2011-2012 college basketball season, we can begin to dissect which teams have gotten off to rather disappointing starts and are struggling as conference play has begun. Here are some teams who have drastically underachieved and what has been the root of their problems.
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Break out the Hawaiian shirts… The Maui Invitational always seems to be the cream of the college basketball Thanksgiving tournament crop and this year is no different with five preseason Top 25 teams in the field including three of the top programs of all time; Duke, Kansas, and UCLA. Last year, it was the coming out party for UConn’s Kemba Walker. Which player and team will steal the spotlight at the 2011 Maui Invite? Here is a breakdown and my predictions for how the bracket will unfold.
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It’s still weird to write “Pac-12” but in the ever changing college sports landscape, the conference expanded with the additions of Colorado and Utah. Those two schools won’t help the Pac-12 become a stronger conference during the 2011-2012 season, but the league should be slightly more competitive as a whole.
Here are my Pac-12 predictions for the 2011-2012 season. Click on the school”s name for an in-depth breakdown of each team.
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Welcome to The Sports Bank’s second annual college basketball season preview series. Last year we looked at 99 teams in 99 days. This year, we are being slightly more aggressive and expanding to 111 teams in 111 days. We will rank the 74 power conference teams and top 37 mid-majors in reverse power ranking order. We’ll break down rosters, non-conference schedules, and pick a player to watch for each team.
With the addition of the Wear twins, the UCLA Bruins might have one of the deepest and most talented frontcourts in the country. However, the early departures of Tyler Honeycutt and Malcolm Lee to the NBA leave questions in their backcourt and about how good they can be this season.
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