Ranking Nation's Deepest Teams: ESPN

[ponyboy]

Here's how I remember it. There was a very public opening here at SMU. We were aiming for the stars. LB said he was interested and we ignored him. We got rejected multiple times whilst aiming for the stars and "settled" on LB, the best thing we never did. LB handled it all with grace.

[LA_Mustang]

That's about how I remember it too. Also, I believe several others were huge in getting him to come here and selling him to SMU - June Jones, Calipari, Self, Matt Doherty (classy move on his part) and Dickerson.

Kinda funny, the first three guys mentioned may regret their effort to get LB here now. He's made things a little tougher for all and I love it.

[blackoutpony]

Here's the full list guys. That game with UVA is gonna be a doozy. Louisville too.

1. Kansas Jayhawks
It’s not exactly the 2008 national title team in terms of talent and quality depth, but Bill Self has plenty of players who can help. It starts with freshmen Andrew Wiggins, Wayne Selden and Joel Embiid, continues with sophomore Perry Ellis and senior big man Tarik Black, and also includes junior guard Naadir Tharpe. Sophomore Andrew White is talented and Jamari Traylor can serve a role -- as can big man Landen Lucas. There are also three freshman guards who can all play: Frank Mason, Brannen Greene and Conner Frankamp. Senior Justin Wesley, who averaged nearly 10 minutes a game two seasons ago, returns after missing last season due to injuries. The quality of the bench remains somewhat unknown, but that’s still 13 players if you’re counting at home.

2. Louisville Cardinals
This team can legitimately go 10 deep. There are guards, wings and bigs. Rick Pitino can play the way he wants, running and pressing and rotating guys to keep them fresh. The perimeter has Russ Smith, junior college standout Chris Jones, returning wings Luke Hancock and Wayne Blackshear, freshmen Terry Rozier and Anton Gill as well as recovering wing Kevin Ware. The frontcourt may have lost Gorgui Dieng, but will still feature Montrezl Harrell, Chane Behanan and backup big man Stephan Van Treese. Pitino also has walk-on Tim Henderson, who sank a couple of key baskets against Wichita State in the Final Four, and might also be able to get something from Mangok Mathiang, a 6-foot-10 athletic frontcourt player who sat out last season.

3. Florida Gators
The Gators won’t be quite so deep when the season begins, as heralded freshman Chris Walker likely won’t be eligible until December or January, and veteran point guard Scottie Wilbekin is expected to miss the start of the season due to a suspension. However, once those two are active and Rutgers guard Eli Carter is cleared by the NCAA, there might not be a deeper team in America. Billy Donovan has Wilbekin and highly regarded freshman Kasey Hill at the point, Michael Frazier, Carter and Casey Prather on the wings, and a frontcourt that includes senior Patric Young, Will Yeguete, transfers Dorian Finney-Smith (Virginia Tech) and Damontre Harris (South Carolina) as well as Walker.

4. Duke Blue Devils
While Mike Krzyzewski won’t have a ton of size, he will have no shortage of guards and forwards. Quinn Cook returns at the point, and he’ll have Rasheed Sulaimon on one wing and Mississippi State transfer Rodney Hood on the other. Shooter Andre Dawkins is back after a season away, defensive-minded guard Tyler Thornton remains in the mix -- and Coach K brings in two quality freshmen in wing Matt Jones and forward Semi Ojeleye. The frontcourt won’t have much girth, but it has talent with heralded freshman Jabari Parker, Amile Jefferson, veteran Josh Hairston, Alex Murphy and oft-injured Marshall Plumlee. Krzyzewski certainly won’t play a dozen guys, but he has 12 who are good enough to earn minutes.

5. Virginia Cavaliers
Tony Bennett has a star in Joe Harris, and plenty of other quality pieces. Malcolm Brogdon is back after injuries put him on the shelf last season. He’ll likely start at the point and be backed up by talented freshman London Perrantes. The Cavs have Akil Mitchell, Justin Anderson, Mike Tobey, Evan Nolte and Darion Atkins back from last year and also added South Carolina transfer Anthony Gill. That’s a nice top nine.

6. Harvard Crimson
The Crimson were thin last season after Kyle Casey and Brandyn Curry were suspended for the year, but now both are back, rejoining a team that didn’t just get to the NCAA tournament, but won a game in the big dance. The lone loss off last season’s team is senior Christian Webster (8.4 ppg). Everyone else is back. That means seniors Casey, Curry and Laurent Rivard, along with juniors Wesley Saunders (16.2 ppg), Steve Moundou-Missi, Kenyatta Smith and Jonah Travis. That’s not even mentioning Siyani Chambers, who was sensational for the Crimson a season ago as a freshman point guard, and incoming big man Zena Edosomwan -- who chose Harvard over numerous high-major programs. Tommy Amaker has options, and his biggest concern might be keeping everyone content.

7. St. John’s Red Storm
Steve Lavin returns his top six players from a season ago -- guards D’Angelo Harrison, Phil Greene IV and Jamal Branch, along with wing Sir’Dominic Pointer, forward Jakarr Sampson and Chris Obekpa. The Red Storm will add heralded freshman guard Rysheed Jordan, forward Orlando Sanchez (wasn’t eligible last season) and Harvard transfer Max Hooper. That’s nine deep, not including God’sgift Achiuwa, who sat out last season, and Marco Bourgault, a shooter who started seven games in 2012-13.

8. Southern Methodist Mustangs
It sounds crazy, but Larry Brown has plenty of depth. He returns all five starters -- forwards Jalen Jones and Shawn Williams, guards Nick Russell and Ryan Manuel as well as junior big man Cannen Cunningham. But the Mustangs add talented wing Keith Frazier, a top-50 recruit, as well as transfers Markus Kennedy (Villanova), Nik Moore (Illinois State) and Crandall Head (formerly at Illinois). Brown and his staff are also extremely high on junior college big man Yanick Moreira. Basically, last season’s starters could wind up being this season’s reserves for Brown.

9. Syracuse Orange
The Orange are loaded up front. Jim Boeheim returns leading scorer C.J. Fair and big men Rakeem Christmas, DaJuan Coleman and Baye Keita. He also has Jerami Grant and freshman Tyler Roberson, who will likely be the ninth man in the rotation. The backcourt isn’t all that deep, but features freshman point guard Tyler Ennis and wings Trevor Cooney and Duke transfer Michael Gbinije. That’s a quality nine-man rotation.

10. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Mike Brey has players. He has experienced guards in Eric Atkins and Jerian Grant. He has veteran bigs in Tom Knight and Garrick Sherman. He has a tough wing in Pat Connaughton, talented forwards in Zach Auguste and Cam Biedscheid, and a couple of frosh who can play right away in Demetrius Jackson and Steve Vasturia. That’s nine guys -- nine who can all play.

11. Kentucky Wildcats
This roster has quality depth. John Calipari has nine key players, but eight of the nine can really, really play. Alex Poythress and Willie Cauley-Stein are the two guys back with significant experience, but it’s the freshman class that has everyone in Lexington excited. Julius Randle is the centerpiece, but the Harrison Twins -- Andrew and Aaron -- aren’t far behind. Then there’s true post player Dakari Johnson, talented wing James Young and developing big man Marcus Lee, who would have been the headliner for many teams’ recruiting class. That’s eight, and that doesn’t include Jarrod Polson -- who played some key minutes a season ago -- or freshman Dominique Hawkins. The key for Calipari is making sure that his point guard, Andrew Harrison, remains healthy, because there is no depth at that spot.

12. Villanova Wildcats
Jay Wright’s only significant loss was that of Mouphtaou Yarou, and he’s brought in three guys who should contribute immediately to a core that includes guards Ryan Arcidiacono, Darrun Hilliard, James Bell and Tony Chennault as well as big men JayVaughn Pinkston and Daniel Ochefu. The three newcomers can all play: freshmen Josh Hart and Kris Jenkins along with Rice transfer Dylan Ennis, who was on the C-USA All-Rookie team two seasons ago.

[CoxMustangFan]

Thanks blackout

[The PonyGrad]

Cool

[SMU 86]

Thanks Blackout. I don't have an ESPN subscription but I don't think PF wants anyone to post full subscription articles. Just an FYI in case you didn't know. Go Stangs.

[blackoutpony]

Thanks Blackout. I don't have an ESPN subscription but I don't think PF wants anyone to post full subscription articles. Just an FYI in case you didn't know. Go Stangs.

Don't care

[SMU 86]

I hear you. I don't think the Ponyfans mods have a problem with posting parts of articles they just don't want to get into copyright issues with ESPN etc when an entire subscriber article is posted. Not trying to argue or anything just info. Glad we are getting that kind of publicity. It only helps recruiting.

[mustangxc]

That's about how I remember it too. Also, I believe several others were huge in getting him to come here and selling him to SMU - June Jones, Calipari, Self, Matt Doherty (classy move on his part) and Dickerson.

Kinda funny, the first three guys mentioned may regret their effort to get LB here now. He's made things a little tougher for all and I love it.

Mark Turgeon also campaigned for him. In Orsini's defense, Brown campaigned for the position because seemingly no one in America wanted him but Brown was very excited about leading SMU in the Big East. I was on board from the start, but was open to other candidates which may not have worked out as well. Namely, Rick Majerus, RIP. Ironically, Majerus was younger, yet no one said his age was an issue, while Brown who is older and keeps himself in phenomenal shape is constantly berated for his age. I'll take Larry Brown, Gary Player, etc. over most others any day of the week.

[SMU 86]

That's about how I remember it too. Also, I believe several others were huge in getting him to come here and selling him to SMU - June Jones, Calipari, Self, Matt Doherty (classy move on his part) and Dickerson.

Kinda funny, the first three guys mentioned may regret their effort to get LB here now. He's made things a little tougher for all and I love it.

Mark Turgeon also campaigned for him. In Orsini's defense, Brown campaigned for the position because seemingly no one in America wanted him but Brown was very excited about leading SMU in the Big East. I was on board from the start, but was open to other candidates which may not have worked out as well. Namely, Rick Majerus, RIP. Ironically, Majerus was younger, yet no one said his age was an issue, while Brown who is older and keeps himself in phenomenal shape is constantly berated for his age. I'll take Larry Brown, Gary Player, etc. over most others any day of the week.

Not many if any wanted Majerus due to health issues and his odd things he did (like the towel incident). One COC member was praying that Orsini did not hire Majerus. After that Brown was like a breath of fresh air literally. Brown knows how to hire a staff. If you know how to hire a staff that is a major plus.

[LA_Mustang]

If I remember correctly, Orsini's top choice was Buzz Williams at Marquette. In fact, I believe we made a very sizable offer to him. He seemed interested but i guess that was just to get more money out of Marquette because he had no intentions of taking the job at SMU.

[LA_Mustang]

It worked because according to Forbes he is making $2.8 million and is one of the most overpaid coaches America.

http://www.forbes.com/pictures/eddf45kf ... -williams/

Wow! Calipari makes $5.4 million and Pitino $4.8 million.

[mrydel]

I will not accept Gary Player as our basketball coach regardless of his conditioning. Maybe would have before Brown but not now.

[Mustangsabu]

I will not accept Gary Player as our basketball coach regardless of his conditioning. Maybe would have before Brown but not now.

Chuckle!

[ponyboy]

Gary's not a coach. He's a player.