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.
Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier! Gonzaga’s streak of 11 straight WCC regular season titles ended last year when Saint Mary’s knocked the Zags off their throne. In typical Mark Few fashion, he’ll have the Bulldogs in conference championship contention and competing on the national level.
GONZAGA BULLDOGS
Last Season: 2nd, 13-3 in WCC, 26-7 overall
Predicted WCC Finish: 1st
Projected Depth Chart
F/C: Sam Dower (Jr)/Przemek Karnowski (Fr)
F: Elias Harris (Sr)/Kelly Olynyk (Jr)
G/F: Guy Landry Edi (Sr)/Mike Hart (Sr)
SG: Gary Bell Jr. (So)/Kyle Dranginis (Fr)
PG: Kevin Pangos (So)/David Stockton (Jr)
Gone: C-Robert Sacre, G-Marquise Carter, G/F-Mathis Keita (transfer-Indiana, PA), F-Ryan Spangler (transfer-Oklahoma), G/F-Mathis Monninghoff (playing overseas)
2012-2013 Outlook:
It is almost unfair that the Zags had a pair of freshmen guards play as well Kevin Pangos and Gary Bell Jr. did last year. Pangos made an early splash with his nine triples in his second college game and proved to be one of the better three point threats in college basketball. At 48%, Bell Jr. also showed he can stroke it from deep but really thrives on his aggressive style of play on both ends. The duo should be even more dangerous this season with a full year of experience under the belt.
Guy Landry Eli figures to start at small forward where he’ll be the fifth offensive option and someone who must be more of a glue guy for Gonzaga to play at their peak. Energy role player Mike Hart brings effort off the bench while David Stockton brings experience at the backup point guard position which will also allow Pangos to play some off the ball. Redshirt freshman Kyle Danginis brings some scoring punch off the bench since he can stroke it from distance.
Senior Elias Harris will anchor the frontcourt. He is a versatile inside/outside threat who really showed increased aggressiveness on the glass during his junior campaign. Sam Dower will move from a key reserve role into the starting lineup replacing Robert Sacre in the middle. Dower doesn’t bring the physicality to the paint that Sacre did but offers more versatility due to his ability to step out and knock down shots on the perimeter.
Someone who does carry a ton of size in the middle is 7’1, 305 pound freshman Przemek Karnowski who instantly becomes my favorite Polish college basketball player of all time (primarily because I can’t think of another.) The big man has played well in his homeland but is still very much a work in progress. Still, you can’t teach that kind of size so he should be able to at least contribute as someone who can take up space in the paint and crash the boards. Another seven-footer, Kelly Olynyk who redshirted last year, brings more size off the bench and can also stretch defenses with his mid-range jumper.
Few picked up a pair of key transfers on the wing in Providence’s Gerard Coleman and Drew Barham of Memphis. They must sit this season per NCAA rules but when they become eligible for the 2013-14 season, should help offset the losses of Landry Eli and Hart.
The Zags have put together a remarkable run of success that most major conference programs would kill to have. 14 straight trips to the NCAA Tournament with at least 23 victories in each season. You can pretty much guarantee those streaks will continue this season and Gonzaga will remain a regular in the Top 25 rankings.
Player to Watch: Elias Harris
The Germany native made a splash during his freshman campaign but saw a dip in production as he battled injury as a sophomore. Last year Harris looked to be back at full strength and it showed on the court. With a solid supporting cast, he won’t need to do too much but his experience and leadership will be vital to the Bulldogs’ success.
Key Non-Conference Games:
11/12 vs. West Virginia
11/22 vs. Clemson (Old Spice Classic)
11/23 vs. Oklahoma/UTEP (Old Spice Classic)
11/25 vs. Vanderbilt/Davidson/West Virginia/Marist (Old Spice Classic)
12/5 at Washington State
12/8 vs. Illinois
12/15 vs. Kansas State (in Seattle)
12/28 vs. Baylor
12/31 at Oklahoma State
1/19 at Butler
OTHER 111 IN 111’S:
#23 Minnesota Golden Gophers
#24 Memphis Tigers
#25 Baylor Bears
#26 Wisconsin Badgers
#27 Tennessee Volunteers
#28 Pitt Panthers
#29 New Mexico Lobos
#30 St. Mary’s Gaels
#31 Georgetown Hoyas
#32 North Texas Mean Green
#33 Ohio Bobcats
#34 Texas Longhorns
#35 Miami Hurricanes
#36 Purdue Boilermakers
#37 Alabama Crimson Tide
#38 St. Joseph’s Hawks
#39 Murray State Racers
#40 VCU Rams
#41 Davidson Wildcats
#42 Stanford Cardinal
#43 UMass Minutemen
#44 St. John’s Red Storm
#45 Butler Bulldogs
#46 Florida State Seminoles
#47 Drexel Dragons
#48 St. Louis Billikens
#49 West Virginia Mountaineers
#50 BYU Cougars
#51 Temple Owls
#52 Washington Huskies
#53 California Golden Bears
#54 Kansas State Wildcats
#55 Nevada Wolfpack
#56 Colorado Buffaloes
#57 Iowa State Cyclones
#58 Northern Iowa Panthers
#59 Colorado State Rams
#60 Iowa Hawkeyes
#61 South Florida Bulls
#62 Valparaiso Crusaders
#63 Illinois Fighting Illini
#64 Arkansas Razorbacks
#65 Wichita State Shockers
#66 George Mason Patriots
#67 Virginia Cavaliers
#68 Villanova Wildcats
#69 Maryland Terrapins
#70 Marshall Thundering Herd
#71 Iona Gaels
#72 Northwestern Wildcats
#73 Oklahoms State Cowboys
#74 Rutgers Scarlet Knights
#75 USC Trojans
#76 UConn Huskies
#77 Harvard Crimson
#78 Xavier Musketeers
#79 Ole Miss Rebels
#80 Clemson Tigers
#81 Oregon State Beavers
#82 Texas A&M Aggies
#83 Providence Friars
#84 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
#85 Oklahoma Sooners
#86 Lehigh Mountain Hawks
#87 Washington State Cougars
#88 Long Beach State 49ers
#89 Belmont Bruins
#90 Vanderbilt Commodores
#91 Dayton Flyers
#92 Houston Cougars
#93 UCF Knights
#94 Old Dominion Monarchs
#95 Oregon Ducks
#96 LSU Tigers
#97 South Carolina Gamecocks
#98 Seton Hall Pirates
#99 Georgia Bulldogs
#100 DePaul Blue Demons
#101 Boston College Eagles
#102 Penn State Nittany Lions
#103 Arizona State Sun Devils
#104 Virginia Tech Hokies
#105 Texas Tech Red Raiders
#106 Auburn Tigers
#107 Wake Forest Demon Deacons
#108 TCU Horned Frogs
#109 Mississippi State Bulldogs
#110 Utah Utes
#111 Nebraska Cornhuskers
David Kay is a senior feature NBA Draft, NBA, and college basketball writer for the Sports Bank. He also heads up the NBA and college basketball material at Walter Football.com and is a former contributor at The Washington Times Communities. David has appeared on numerous national radio programs spanning from Cleveland to New Orleans to Honolulu. He also had the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft and the most accurate 2012 NBA Mock Draft on the internet (Yup, repeat champ… #humblebrag.)
You can follow him on Twitter at David_Kmiecik.