The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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2012-13 BASKETBALL PREVIEW Big Ten Contenders Form A Major Hurdle five teams in the nation entering the season. That fact alone is enough to swell the chest and simultaneously quicken the pulse of those in the league. Michigan finds itself loaded with talent and guided by holdover experience from a Big Ten title a year ago. That doesn't guarantee anything, especially the way the confer- ence shapes up this year. Here's a look around the rest of the league. • Indiana (No. 1 nationally*) — The Hoosiers feature seven- College coaches believe the Big Ten features three of the top In the backcourt, Andre Hollins stepped it up in a big way in the postseason, the 6-1, 200-pounder averaging 17.3 points per game in NIT play. The Gophers could be a mover this season. • Iowa (Unranked) — The Hawkeyes bring back most of a footer Cody Zeller and 6-9 Christian Watford in the frontcourt, giving them a pair of players that could be laboring in the NBA had they so chosen. They also feature super-shooting senior Jordan Hulls in the backcourt, supplemented by one of the top incoming freshmen in the nation in point guard Yogi Ferrell. Indiana shot 43.1 percent as a team from three-point range last season, and the Hoosiers will be a handful again. • Ohio State (No. 4*) — The Buckeyes keep on rolling, despite the departure of All-American post player Jared Sull- inger and clutch wing man William Buford. They still feature a matchup nightmare in the person of 6-7 lefty Deshaun Thomas, a forward who averaged 15.9 points and 5.4 re- bounds a game a year ago. Cagey, tough point guard Aaron Craft is back, after averaging 4.6 assists and playing madden- ingly burr-like defense a year ago. The Buckeyes also landed Amedeo Della Valle, the Italian scorer whom Michigan re- cruited for a time last spring. • Michigan State (No. 14*) — The Spartans shared the league title a year ago with Ohio State and Michigan, and head coach Tom Izzo is pushing harder than ever to drag his team to the top. He'll be missing 2011-12 Big Ten Player of the Year Draymond Green in this year's hunt, but the cupboard is far from bare in East Lansing. Sophomore Brandon Dawson returns after missing the end of last season with an ACL tear, while the Spartans remain imposing on the front line with 6-10 Adreian Payne and 6-9, 270-pound Derrick Nix. Veteran point guard Keith Appling also returns, and McDonald's All- American shooting guard Gary Harris will draw all sorts of freshman attention. • Wisconsin (No. 21*) — It's hard to believe Jordan Taylor spent four seasons in a Badgers uniform and left Madison without a Big Ten championship ring. But anyone figuring Wisconsin to slide deeper down the conference roster with- out him hasn't been paying attention to the Bo Ryan regime. Wisconsin is always on the cusp of the upper crust. This year, the frontcourt remains solid and rugged, featuring senior returners in 6-10 Jared Berggren, 6-6 Ryan Evans and the 6-6 Mike Bruesewitz, as aptly named a Badger as there ever was. Redshirt freshman George Marshall may have to step in at point guard because veteran Josh Gasser has been lost for the season with an ACL injury, but you can still expect the Badgers to again play smothering defense. • Minnesota (Unranked) — The Gophers made their state- ment about missing the NCAA Tournament last year, moving on to make the title game of the NIT. They come back with one major personnel shot in the arm in the person of Trevor Mbakwe. The 6-8, 245-pounder averaged 14.0 points and 9.1 rebounds per game until an ACL injury took him out last season. The NCAA granted him a sixth year of eligibility, and that's huge for Tubby Smith's Gophers. roster that went 8-10 in the Big Ten last year and settled for the NIT. They allowed a conference-worst 72.5 points per game, but expect that to improve, with the return of 6-8 Aaron White, a member of the Big Ten All-Freshman squad last year. Roy Devyn Marble, a 6-6 junior shooting guard, will provide a boost as well, and plenty of eyes are on 7-1 fresh- man center Adam Woodbury. • Illinois (Unranked) — Big changes are roiling in Cham- paign, with former Ohio University (remember them?) coach John Groce taking over the Illini. He won't have big man Mey- ers Leonard on hand, Leonard declaring for the NBA Draft, but Groce isn't without talent. He'll build around 6-4 senior guard Brandon Paul, who averaged 14.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game a year ago. Nigerian-born, 6-11, 245-pounder Nnanna Egwu is one to watch on the front line. • Purdue (Unranked) — It's a whole new world in West Lafayette this winter, with Robbie Hummel exhausting his 10 years of eligibility, and point guard Lewis Jackson and super shooter Ryne Smith following him out the door. They repre- sented half of the Boilermakers' scoring a year ago. Now, they're building with 2012 Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year D.J. Byrd, a 6-5 senior, and a roster featuring six freshmen, three of them at 6-8 or taller. A.J. Hammons stands 7-0, 280, while junior Sandi Marcius provides more bulk at 6-9, 268. Freshman Ronnie Johnson will grow quickly into the role of playmaker. • Northwestern (Unranked) — John Shurna and his ugly, effective shot have moved on, taking along Northwestern's career scoring title. But coach Bill Carmody has loaded up on size in Evanston to join 6-5 senior swingman Drew Crawford, who a year ago averaged 16.1 points and 4.7 rebounds. Freshman Alex Olah, at 7-0 and 275 pounds, brings both there's definitely Frazier. The senior led the Nittany Lions in scoring (18.8) rebounding (4.7) and assists (6.2) a year ago. He remains the key to what second-year Penn State coach Patrick Chambers sees as potentially the best backcourt in the country. His team lost big man Billy Oliver to concussion concerns, and will need young players like 6-8, 240-pound Jon Graham and 6-6, 220-pound Ross Travis to step it up. • Nebraska (Unranked) — Tim Miles is the new man at the helm in Lincoln, and he inherits a squad that was dead last in the Big Ten in scoring offense, 10th-worst in shooting (overall and three-point) and 11th in rebounding margin. Senior guard Dylan Talley is the leading returning scorer (8.9 points per game), and 5-10 freshman Benny Parker gets a crack at point guard. The Cornhuskers are in for a struggle, again. * All rankings from USA Today coaches' poll. size and skill, and TCU transfer Nikola Cerina checks in at 6-9, 245. Crawford paces a solid group of returning guards, and Carmody believes he's working with a higher level of talent, which could facilitate a move up — and maybe a first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. • Penn State (Unranked) — There's Tim Frazier, and … well, — John Borton NOVEMBER 2012 THE WOLVERINE 53