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B10 best experienced players 24-25

They clearly have the best frontcourt in the Big Ten and maybe in the country with Ballo and Reneau. Throw in Mbako as a big wing, who is likely a lottery pick, and you easily have the most talented 3 through 5 in the country. Rice is an absolute stud and a winner and throw in Galloway, Leal and Cupps, who could surprise people and push Smith for first team all BT at PG and you've easily got the best overall roster in the conference.
This reads like Cupps will push Braden for 1st Team All B1G😂

I think you're talking about Rice, and agree he is biggest key to IUs season. He is the only guy who has been better than a 4th option on a winning basketball team for them. They need someone who can put team on back and lead them, and if he can they will be pretty good.
 
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This reads like Cupps will push Braden for 1st Team All B1G😂

I think you're talking about Rice, and agree he is biggest key to IUs season. He is the only guy who has been better than a 4th option on a winning basketball team for them. They need someone who can put team on back and lead them, and if he can they will be pretty good.
That's exactly what I said and meant. With all the talent surrounding him Cupps will benefit this season the same way that Smith benefited from playing with Edey. Gabe may not beat Smith out for first team all conference but it wouldnt' surprise me if he did. Smith was good last year mostly because of Edey.

Rice is a combo who will play the two and is much, much better than Loyer.
 
They clearly have the best frontcourt in the Big Ten and maybe in the country with Ballo and Reneau. Throw in Mbako as a big wing, who is likely a lottery pick, and you easily have the most talented 3 through 5 in the country. Rice is an absolute stud and a winner and throw in Galloway, Leal and Cupps, who could surprise people and push Smith for first team all BT at PG and you've easily got the best overall roster in the conference.
Lolol I can’t tell if you’re trolling or not, but if so, you’re doing a great job.

Mgbako a lotto pick?! Too slow to guard the 3 and too small for the 4. Ballo and Reneau, unless he develops a consistent 3 ball, are the same player and will clog the lane. Rsomm summed it up nicely but Ballo is a decent 10 and 10 guy but isn’t winning multiple games by himself. That duo may be the worst FT shooting front court in America this year and they lack depth.

Leal and Cupps will be lucky to see the floor in garbage time. But we have been told Cupps is better than smith with a MUCH higher IQ…still waiting to see any skill that’s better than Smith and not sure I have see any of this “IQ” of cupps…if he does have any…he will transfer out after this year since he got recruited over and won’t see the floor.

So with that said.
My list is:

Cupps
Mgbako
Leal
Galloway
Goode
Reneau
Ballo
Rice
Carlyle
Boo Buie (I’m sure he has a 9th year of eligibility)
 
That's exactly what I said and meant. With all the talent surrounding him Cupps will benefit this season the same way that Smith benefited from playing with Edey. Gabe may not beat Smith out for first team all conference but it wouldnt' surprise me if he did. Smith was good last year mostly because of Edey.

Rice is a combo who will play the two and is much, much better than Loyer.
Oh you’re serious. Oof. Ok.

Cupps won’t see the floor enough to garner votes for all big ten

Edit: nvm 😂
 
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That's exactly what I said and meant. With all the talent surrounding him Cupps will benefit this season the same way that Smith benefited from playing with Edey. Gabe may not beat Smith out for first team all conference but it wouldnt' surprise me if he did. Smith was good last year mostly because of Edey.

Rice is a combo who will play the two and is much, much better than Loyer.

2.6/1.8/1.2 on 36/36/60 shooting split in 21 mpg.

If he hits All B1G as sophomore congrats, because nobody, probably even Gabe saw that coming.
 
That's exactly what I said and meant. With all the talent surrounding him Cupps will benefit this season the same way that Smith benefited from playing with Edey. Gabe may not beat Smith out for first team all conference but it wouldnt' surprise me if he did. Smith was good last year mostly because of Edey.

Rice is a combo who will play the two and is much, much better than Loyer.
Too bad we can't see you smirk as you type.
 
2.6/1.8/1.2 on 36/36/60 shooting split in 21 mpg.

If he hits All B1G as sophomore congrats, because nobody, probably even Gabe saw that coming.
Much more talented than Smith as is obvious from their recruiting rankings. Had offers from Michigan and Ohio State. Smith had offers from no one, but benefited from playing with the two time NPOY.

Tables are turned this year as Rice and Mbako are light years better than Loyer and Colvin. That's not even debatable as Rice was a freshman all-American and Mbako has a much higher recruiting rating than Colvin.
 
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That's exactly what I said and meant. With all the talent surrounding him Cupps will benefit this season the same way that Smith benefited from playing with Edey. Gabe may not beat Smith out for first team all conference but it wouldnt' surprise me if he did. Smith was good last year mostly because of Edey.

Rice is a combo who will play the two and is much, much better than Loyer.
You’ve been listening to the sleepers guys and/or drinking some nasty red cool aid! Cupps will never ever be on the same tier as Smith. He’s gonna be battling for playing time this year if the guards they brought in are half as good as the NIL packages supposedly are. Rice is likely their best player this season especially if he makes a jump. Ballo is a big body but a step down from Ware. Doesn’t fit as well with Reneau. They really have no one that is elite until they show otherwise. I don’t buy that the B1G summer champs will be the B1G top team at the end of the season! If their $$ & ⭐️ ⭐️ come together to prove me to be mistaken, I will (begrudgingly) admit it (as I really don’t want them to succeed) .
 
I think he enters draft after this season and might likely be a first round pick but I will wait and see on the lottery pick. I also could see him being the best one on the team instead of Rice like I previously mentioned. If he turns into the one and done guy he was predicted to be and Ballo in the lane, I think Reneau numbers take a hit from last season
 
I think he enters draft after this season and might likely be a first round pick but I will wait and see on the lottery pick. I also could see him being the best one on the team instead of Rice like I previously mentioned. If he turns into the one and done guy he was predicted to be and Ballo in the lane, I think Reneau numbers take a hit from last season
Rice? Didn’t he miss like his last 29 3s of the season? I think people see he was first team all pac 12 and don’t realize there are 10 first teamers and he’d be honorable mention in big ten. His ratings are very low, I think quite a bit less than Galloway. Indianas offense is terrible for a player like him since the lane will be clogged.
 
Since there are some folks here who seem to think Rice would be ranked high on list if you include transfers, here are other PG transfers rates higher than Rice by some rankings (and I know it varies).
Illinois Kylan Boswell
Maryland Jakobi Gillespie

Also goes behind following returnees
Braden Smith
Bruce Thornton
Ace Baldwin

I don’t see how he will be better than Dylan Harper
I think he could be the 7th best PG in B1G.
 
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Since there are some folks here who seem to think Rice would be ranked high on list if you include transfers, here are other PG transfers rates higher than Rice by some rankings (and I know it varies).
Illinois Kylan Boswell
Maryland Jakobi Gillespie

Also goes behind following returnees
Braden Smith
Bruce Thornton
Ace Baldwin

I don’t see how he will be better than Dylan Harper
I think he could be the 7th best PG in B1G.
I agree with you, I just think IU is not nearly as good as people are saying they will be and if Rice is probably their best guard. His 3 point shooting percentage sucked but his overall stats were fairly solid. I don’t think he’ll be better than Harper for Rutgers. Actually wouldn’t be surprised if DGL Has a decent season along side Boswell and may be better. Lol
 
Much more talented than Smith as is obvious from their recruiting rankings. Had offers from Michigan and Ohio State. Smith had offers from no one, but benefited from playing with the two time NPOY.

Tables are turned this year as Rice and Mbako are light years better than Loyer and Colvin. That's not even debatable as Rice was a freshman all-American and Mbako has a much higher recruiting rating than Colvin.
The 2X NPOY wasn't even ranked in the TOP 400! POOF go the rankings!
 
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They clearly have the best frontcourt in the Big Ten and maybe in the country with Ballo and Reneau. Throw in Mbako as a big wing, who is likely a lottery pick, and you easily have the most talented 3 through 5 in the country. Rice is an absolute stud and a winner and throw in Galloway, Leal and Cupps, who could surprise people and push Smith for first team all BT at PG and you've easily got the best overall roster in the conference.
Should be hands down No. 1 in the country! Half of their team will be pre season ALL_AMERICANS! You should try becoming a BRICK layer!
 
Northside has absolutely mastered the fine art of sarcasm. ;)
I wasn't even drinking last night. It's easy to regurgitate the narrative from IU and media looking for a story, it's been basically the same narrative for almost ten years. Just focus on recruiting rankings and physical attributes and ignore pretty much everything else.

Just to say it, I do think IU will be pretty good this year. I'm not sure that the pieces fit together particularly well but I'd expect them to be better defensively after slipping significantly last year. I don't see where their three-point shooting will come from but if they can figure that out they could be in the thick of things atop the Big Ten.
 
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I wasn't even drinking last night. It's pretty easy to regurgitate the narrative from IU and media looking for a story, it's been pretty much the same narrative for almost ten years. Just focus on recruiting rankings and physical attributes and ignore pretty much everything else.

Just to say it, I do think IU will be pretty good this year. I'm not sure that the pieces fit together particularly well but I'd expect them to be better defensively after slipping significantly last year. I don't see where their three-point shooting will come from but if they can figure that out they could be in the thick of things atop the Big Ten.
Galloway is capable of hitting 3s, he fell off last year as with the spread and no true PG he was put in bad position. Goode is also a good shooter if he gets minutes. But typically shooters have regressed under woody.
 
Galloway is capable of hitting 3s, he fell off last year as with the spread and no true PG he was put in bad position. Goode is also a good shooter if he gets minutes. But typically shooters have regressed under woody.
Goode can really shoot, that's a valid point.

I may be wrong to discount Galloway but his three-point shooting percentage by season of 0.182, 0.214, 0.462 and 0.260 looks like the one year where he shot it well was a crazy anomaly. Maybe Ballo and Reneau generate a lot of double teams and generate set, open looks for Galloway this season in a way that didn't really happen last year.
 
Galloway is capable of hitting 3s, he fell off last year as with the spread and no true PG he was put in bad position. Goode is also a good shooter if he gets minutes. But typically shooters have regressed under woody.
Gallo is not a good shooter. He’s only good at the floaters around the rim…his FT% shows that and two years ago was an outlier—similar to Morton.

Goode is a good shooter like you said but definitely needs to be set. The nuggets challenge will be how does he get mins? The 3 is a log jam and at the 4, he is very undersized and will get abused there on defense. Will IU even run sets to get him open and will there even be enough shots to go around for him to make a difference?

It seems shooters don’t do well in his system as he doesn’t prioritize the 3…maybe he will finally change this year?
 
Big meh on Reneau for me. Every time I watched him, seemed like he was taking bad shots , not passing to open teammates, turning it over, or playing mediocre defense. Definitely talented, but doesn’t seem like he plays winning basketball… i.e. low basketball IQ…if there is such a thing…
there is...
 
1. Braden Smith
2. Bruce Thornton
3. Malik Reneau
4. Dawson Garcia
5. Ace Baldwin
6. Peyton Sandfort
7. Brooks Barnhiser
8. Jaden Atkins
9. Julian Reese
10. John Blackwell
 
1. Braden Smith
2. Bruce Thornton
3. Malik Reneau
4. Dawson Garcia
5. Ace Baldwin
6. Peyton Sandfort
7. Brooks Barnhiser
8. Jaden Atkins
9. Julian Reese
10. John Blackwell
I’m just not sold on Reneau. He can’t rebound, can’t defend and can’t shoot FTs or an outside shot. Unless that all improves this year…which it should since he’s entering his 3rd year. But I’d assume ballo will overshadow him on rebounds and woody and staff haven’t proven to improve shooting for players yet.

Absolutely could be wrong but I just don’t see it for him.
 
I’m just not sold on Reneau. He can’t rebound, can’t defend and can’t shoot FTs or an outside shot. Unless that all improves this year…which it should since he’s entering his 3rd year. But I’d assume ballo will overshadow him on rebounds and woody and staff haven’t proven to improve shooting for players yet.

Absolutely could be wrong but I just don’t see it for him.
He's not a great rebounder but was also paired up with Ware last season who averaged 10 a game. But he was 13th in scoring in the league and shot 33.3% from 3(on a limited 1.4 a game). He may not get the averages he had this past season because of the additions of Rice, Carlyle, Ballo and the development of Mgbako, but he's the best PF in the B1G. Though I think Owen Freeman will end up being the PF in the B1G after the season ends because of such an open opportunity at Iowa.
 
He's not a great rebounder but was also paired up with Ware last season who averaged 10 a game. But he was 13th in scoring in the league and shot 33.3% from 3(on a limited 1.4 a game). He may not get the averages he had this past season because of the additions of Rice, Carlyle, Ballo and the development of Mgbako, but he's the best PF in the B1G. Though I think Owen Freeman will end up being the PF in the B1G after the season ends because of such an open opportunity at Iowa.
Why is he the best power forward in the B1G? He can’t rebound—don’t care if he was paired with Ware, he showed no determination or will to want to rebound and was weak at times with the ball and letting other players get the rebounds. He can’t play defense without fouling—down the stretch in 2024 he had 4+ fouls in almost every game. 3P shooting is moot from last year, he was not a threat contrary to that one doofus (Middawg) trying to tell us he was—Reneau better be working on that this offseason cuz teams will continue to leave him open out there if not.

I’d like to see TKR vs him. I think he’d foul out playing TKR all game and probably couldn’t get many rebounds vs him either.
 
Why is he the best power forward in the B1G? He can’t rebound—don’t care if he was paired with Ware, he showed no determination or will to want to rebound and was weak at times with the ball and letting other players get the rebounds. He can’t play defense without fouling—down the stretch in 2024 he had 4+ fouls in almost every game. 3P shooting is moot from last year, he was not a threat contrary to that one doofus (Middawg) trying to tell us he was—Reneau better be working on that this offseason cuz teams will continue to leave him open out there if not.

I’d like to see TKR vs him. I think he’d foul out playing TKR all game and probably couldn’t get many rebounds vs him either.
Yup, he's got some problems to work on but he's now the only guy in the league that gets doubled on the block. Teams aren't doubling Reese or TKR.
 
Yup, he's got some problems to work on but he's now the only guy in the league that gets doubled on the block. Teams aren't doubling Reese or TKR.
They doubled him because IU didn’t have shooters and knew he couldn’t pass out of a double team very well.

Also, teams couldn’t afford to double TKR.
 
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I’m just not sold on Reneau. He can’t rebound, can’t defend and can’t shoot FTs or an outside shot. Unless that all improves this year…which it should since he’s entering his 3rd year. But I’d assume ballo will overshadow him on rebounds and woody and staff haven’t proven to improve shooting for players yet.

Absolutely could be wrong but I just don’t see it for him.
I think he's a nice player but agree that he has limitations. If you compare him to Trevion Williams as a sophomore he's a more efficient scorer than Tre was and has solid assist numbers, but is probably a similar defender and is a significantly worse rebounder.
 
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They doubled him because IU didn’t have shooters and knew he couldn’t pass out of a double team very well.

Also, teams couldn’t afford to double TKR.
They doubled because there wasn't a PF in the B1G that could guard him 1v1. Indiana wasn't a good 3pt shooting team, but you're still not going to risk leaving people wide open. Yea he made mistakes and most of those weren't even out of doubles. Just him making bad decisions.
 
They doubled because there wasn't a PF in the B1G that could guard him 1v1. Indiana wasn't a good 3pt shooting team, but you're still not going to risk leaving people wide open. Yea he made mistakes and most of those weren't even out of doubles. Just him making bad decisions.
Lol yeahhh that was it.
 
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