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.
Tim Miles helped the Colorado State Rams come from nowhere to earn the team’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in nearly a decade. Miles moved on to greener pastures but the team lured Larry Eustachy from Southern Mississippi to lead a team that should knock on the door of another trip to the dance.
COLORADO STATE RAMS
Last Season: 4th, 8-6 in MWC, 20-12 overall
Predicted MWC Finish: 5th
Projected Depth Chart
C: Colton Iverson (Sr)/Trevor Williams (Jr)
F: Pierce Hornung (Sr)/Gerson Santo (Jr)
G/F: Greg Smith (Jr)/Daniel Bejarano (So)/Joe De Ciman (Fr)
SG: Wes Eikmeier (Sr)/Dwight Smith (Jr)/Jordan Mason (Fr)
PG: Dorian Green (Sr)/Jesse Carr (Sr)/Jonathan Octeus (Jr)
Gone: PG-Kaipo Sabas, F-Will Bell, C-Chad Calcaterra (transfer-Western Nebraska CC), PG-Cody Mann (transfer-Florida International)
2012-2013 Outlook:
Eustachy inherits a team that returns their top four scorers, two key reserves, and a pair of impact transfers. There is skill in the backcourt with Wes Eikmeier and Dorian Green back in the fold. Both guys are more scorers than anything else. Jesse Carr and Dwight Smith were valuable reserves a year ago and that won’t change this season either even though the team welcomes Arizona transfer Daniel Bejarano to the active roster after he sat out last season. JUCO transfer Jonathan Octeus along with freshmen Jordan Mason and Joe De Ciman will find minutes hard to come by.
Size was limited last year but the addition of Minnesota transfer Colton Iverson gives the Rams a quality big man and needed rim protector. He combined with the undersized but ultra aggressive Pierce Hornung (the grandson of Packer great, Paul) and versatile forward Greg Smith should translate into improved inside play. Seven-footer Trevor Williams and junior college transfer Gerson Santo provide some depth inside but the Rams has success using a smaller line-up for stretches last season so I wouldn’t be surprised if Eustachy implores that strategy as well.
The Mountain West will be even more competitive this year than it was last season. UNLV and San Diego State have top ten caliber teams while New Mexico figures to be in the mix as well. The addition of Nevada adds another quality program. The fact that Colorado State has such depth and experience should help them hang near the front of the pack and in contention for another at large berth into the NCAA Tournament.
Player to Watch: Colton Iverson
The Rams struggled on the glass last season since they didn’t have a rotation player taller than 6’6. Iverson is by no means dominant on the glass but his size inside will help CSU be more assertive on the boards and actually provide a decent shot blocking presence for a team that averaged a miniscule two swats per game last season.
Key Non-Conference Games:
11/9 vs. Montana
11/24 at Washington
12/5 at Colorado
12/23 vs. Virginia Tech/Bradley (Las Vegas Classic)
1-2 vs. UTEP
1-5 vs. Saint Bonaventure
OTHER 111 IN 111’S:
#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.