Big Ten fan thread

[InspiredLebowski]

Purdue point guard Lewis Jackson got busted for weed and drinking underage. Four charges, possession of marijuana, possession of parphernalia, underage possession of alcohol, underage consumption.

Bummer, hopefully this doesn't result in him being booted. Of course Painter had no problem keeping Terrance Crump after he drove drunk, hit a guy, and left the scene. Seems to have a sort of one strike policy. No word on if Hummel was partaking in the sticky icky to help alleviate his back ailment.

update: Pled guilty to consumption and parphernalia. Other charges dropped. Year probation, 50 hours community service, fines. No word from Painter yet.

[InspiredLebowski]

Big Ten/ACC Challenge schedule's out

Monday, Nov. 30th
Penn State at Virginia

Tuesday, Dec. 1st
Maryland at Indiana
Michigan State at North Carolina
Northwestern at N.C. State
Virginia Tech at Iowa
Wake Forest at Purdue

Wednesday, Dec. 2nd
Boston College at Michigan
Duke at Wisconsin
Florida State at Ohio State
Illinois at Clemson
Minnesota at Miami

[IlliniFan]

Monday, Nov. 30th
Penn State at Virginia

Tuesday, Dec. 1st
Maryland at Indiana
Michigan State at North Carolina
Northwestern at N.C. State
Virginia Tech at Iowa
Wake Forest at Purdue

Wednesday, Dec. 2nd
Boston College at Michigan
Duke at Wisconsin
Florida State at Ohio State
Illinois at Clemson
Minnesota at Miami

My very early predictions for this thing.

[Lancerballer21]

Big Ten/ACC Challenge schedule's out

Monday, Nov. 30th
Penn State at Virginia

Tuesday, Dec. 1st
Maryland at Indiana
Michigan State at North Carolina
Northwestern at N.C. State
Virginia Tech at Iowa
Wake Forest at Purdue

Wednesday, Dec. 2nd
Boston College at Michigan
Duke at Wisconsin
Florida State at Ohio State
Illinois at Clemson
Minnesota at Miami

I wanna see Ohio State play maryland cause all of my friends are maryland fans and they always trash talk me when ohio state loses and i just tell them to wait til the bucks kill them

[InspiredLebowski]

If the B10's ever going to win it, this is the year. Penn St, Maryland, NC, Northwestern, Va Tech, Purdue, Michigan, Duke, Ohio St, Illinois, and Minnesota are my picks. So a 7-4 B10 win.

But I see Northwestern/NC State as a tossup, and if Brandon Costner comes back it could go to NC State. Clemson/Illinois is also hard to call, both bring back a lot of talent and have good classes coming in, could go either way with it being at Clemson. If the Big Ten wins they've got to win one, if not both of those games.

And Purdue/Wake is going to be great to watch.

[Lamar Doom]

If i haven't said it already, Steve Alford can take a flying f*ck into traffic, he came in after Dr. Tom and ruined something i loved, he destroyed our program and split, I hope he never sees the march tournament again and i hope his wife leaves him and he gets the clap.


GO HAWKS

[TheGame414]

If i haven't said it already, Steve Alford can take a flying f*ck into traffic, he came in after Dr. Tom and ruined something i loved, he destroyed our program and split, I hope he never sees the march tournament again and i hope his wife leaves him and he gets the clap.


GO HAWKS

Even though he's a horrible human being, I love him for all the same reasons you hate him (ie, ruining Iowa basketball).

[Posterize246]

Marquis Teague (Jeff's little brother) is getting a lot of interest from the Big Ten. Seems Indiana and Louisville are his top 2 teams, with Purdue and Ohio State also in the mix. Teague's from Indiana.

Any guys hear anything about him or seen him play (InspiredLebowski maybe?)

#8 overall in 2011 and #2 overall PG


Seems to have his brother's playing style

[InspiredLebowski]

Haven't seen Teague play or anything but everything I've read about him he seems like a clone of Jeff. I know the sites list Purdue for him but they aren't really expecting to get him and aren't pushing for him very hard.

Purdue got a verbal from 9th grader Raphael Davis from Fort Wayne South (IN). Never heard of him before, but looks to be a player, had interest from IU and Illinois. Not that I put much stock in a verbal from a freshman.

Purdue and West Virginia are close to agreeing to a home and home this season and next.

[InspiredLebowski]

I think you should all check out the "Livin Large" series at Basketbawful. It's a very good hoops blog written by what I've learned through this series, a Purdue alum. The entries chronicle his freshman year of rooming with a Dutch import hoped to be the missing piece to the Big Dog championship contenders. They're some great posts with some of the best writing I've seen on a sports blog in a long time. I recognized who the roommate was almost immediately being a Purdue fan, I'll see if you guys can figure it out. Probably not, it was a long time ago and he never panned out. Maybe Game'll know.

[InspiredLebowski]

I'm probably the only person on ISH who remembers him, but former Boilermaker Jonathan Uchendu was killed by a hit and run driver. RIP.

[HisJoeness]

If the B10's ever going to win it, this is the year. Penn St, Maryland, NC, Northwestern, Va Tech, Purdue, Michigan, Duke, Ohio St, Illinois, and Minnesota are my picks. So a 7-4 B10 win.


But I see Northwestern/NC State as a tossup, and if Brandon Costner comes back it could go to NC State. Clemson/Illinois is also hard to call, both bring back a lot of talent and have good classes coming in, could go either way with it being at Clemson. If the Big Ten wins they've got to win one, if not both of those games.

And Purdue/Wake is going to be great to watch.

Don't worry NC State will find a way to lose. It is a Sidney Lowe coached team after all.

And how scared should I be of IU as a UMD fan?

[TheGame414]

My off-the-top-of-the-head Big Ten picks this year (if I forgot someone obvious, please yell at me.):

1ST TEAM:

Kalin Lucas, Michigan State
William Buford, Ohio State
Demetri McCamey, Illinois
Evan Turner, Ohio State
Jujuan Johnson, Purdue

(Yes, I know that everyone from last year's 1st-team returns, and this isn't the same guys. I see Johnson emerging as a lottery pick this year. I see a 197-pound McCamey that's been pushed to the brink by D.J. Richardson being a much better player than the lazy 219-pounder he's been the last two years, and that guy was already pretty good. And I think Buford's going to be the best scorer in the conference. Might not be the leading scorer because of Evan Turner's usage rate, but the best.)

2nd team:

Talor Battle, Penn State
Manny Harris, Michigan
E'Twaun Moore, Purdue
Raymar Morgan, Michigan State
Deshawn Sims, Michigan

(Battle may have been as good as anyone in the conference last year, but for some reason I see him leveling off. Harris looked like the best player in the Big Ten in preconference but tailed off in conference play. I don't get how Michigan can essentially be a two-man team surrounded by a buch of average role players, with neither guy clearly being one of the five best in the conference- yes, you can argue both are, but it isn't crystal clear that either is- and some consider that to be a Top 10-15 team in the nation. They're good. Not that good.)


3rd team:

Lawrence Westbrook, Minnesota
D.J. Richardson, Illinois
Royce White, Minnesota
Mike Davis, Illinois
Robbie Hummel, Purdue

(Richardson's offense is further along than people realized; he could be one of the nation's best freshman guards. Royce White could be the best power forward in the conference by midseason. They may not have been McDonald's All-Americans but they probably should've been. This conference is so loaded that Robbie Hummel was last year's preseason POY and it can legitimately be argued that there are 10-12 better players. Of course, you could still argue him for preseason POY consideration because Purdue was clearly way better with him on the floor last year. Mike Davis is also capable of making a huge leap and being a POY candidate, but the guards this year are more likely to penetrate and get to the rim/get fouled, not dish off, so his numbers may not take off greatly.)

HONORABLE MENTION: Kevin Coble, Northwestern; Damian Johnson, Minnesota; Trevon Hughes, Wisconsin; Verdell Jones, Indiana; Mike Tisdale, Illinois; Durrell Summers, MSU; Jon Diebler, OSU; David Lighty, OSU; Delvon Roe, MSU; Al Nolen, Minnesota; Ralph Sampson III/Colten Iverson, Minnesota (to steal an idea from Bill Simmons, they need to be considered as a pair, and Cotalph Sampserson III is a helluva center); Juice Thompson, Northwestern; Christian Watford, Indiana; Chris Allen, MSU; Anthony Tucker, Iowa

REASON I INCLUDED AN IOWA PLAYER:

I don't know. But it's funny, right?

ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM:

D.J. Richardson, Illinois
Brandon Paul, Illinois
Maurice Creek, Indiana
Christian Watford, Indiana
Royce White, Minnesota


(Richardson could be as good as McCamey for Illinois by midseason, and Paul will be instant offense off the bench....IF he doesn't push Alex Legion out of a starting spot. Creek and Watford will be given every opportunity to be stars right away. White is the highest-rated Big Ten freshman and could be an absolute monster of a college player.)

ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM:

Al Nolen, Minnesota
Chris Kramer, Purdue
D.J. Richardson, Illinois
Damian Johnson, Minnesota
Jujuan Johnson, Purdue

(I was tempted to just say "Team, Minnesota." They're going to be monsters defensively.)

PLAYER OF THE YEAR:

Evan Turner, OSU. I know Kalin Lucas is the returning winner because he was the best player on the best team, but that doesn't mean I agreed with it last year either. Turner is the best player in the conference and a classic mismatch. He can play every position except center and is a possible lottery pick.

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR:

D.J. Richardson, in a slight nod over Royce White. Could go either way, and Christian Watford may have something to say about it too. White is an overwhelming specimen but Richardson's game is more advanced. Plus, he's likely to play close to 30 minutes a game as a freshman, whereas White's team is a little bit deeper in the frontcourt than Illinois is in the backcourt.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR:

Damian Johnson, Minnesota. I don't know if anyone in college basketball averaged two blocks and two steals last year, but Johnson came damn close with 2.0 blocks and 1.9 steals a game. He has the quickness to defend guards and the height/length at 6'7" to defend big men. He can roam in the paint, helping Sampserson protect the rim, he can play a Pippen-like free safety. I can't imagine there being too many better overall defenders in college basketball and he's going to lead one of the best team defenses in college basketball.

PREDICTED BIG TEN STANDINGS, WITH PRESEASON NATIONAL RANK (from when I did my Top 25 that I never finished the last five of months ago in parentheses):

1a. Michigan State (3), 14-4
1b. Purdue (6), 14-4
3a. Minnesota (13), 12-6
3b. Illinois (17), 12-6
5a. Ohio State (19), 10-8
5b. Michigan (21), 10-8
7. Wisconsin, 8-10
8. Northwestern, 7-11
9. Penn State, 6-12
10. Indiana, 5-13
11. Iowa, 1-17

[Thewayitwas]

A lot of hard work and analyses done on that post. Not sure I agree with everything, but I certainly respect the work and thought that went into it. Well done!!

[BTFU98923]

I'm probably the only person on ISH who remembers him, but former Boilermaker Jonathan Uchendu was killed by a hit and run driver. RIP.

big purdue fan here, and that is terrible, terrible news.