20 wins, 9 seed in the NCAA's. Bo will find a way to get it done, he always does. This team is going to impress and surprise a lot of people. Ryan Evans and Rob Wilson will have real good years. Hughes and J Bo will be solid as usual and Jordan Taylor will emerge. Problem there is that all of them are guards. Leur is really disappointing so far. Has he added any more muscle? Nankivil is a mystery still. He'll have his good games and then he'll disappear for two weeks. But until Bo has a year where he doesn't make the tourny, I don't see any reason to think they will ever miss it under him.

Our non conference schedule is very soft. And I know the Maui Invitational has teams like Gonzaga and Arizona, but both of them will be way down this year. Marquette and Duke are both at home. That said, I don't see a single game before the B10 season starts that is a for sure loss. 

Each year UW loses key players and keeps replacing talent.

Last year, the most difficult and trying year for Bo and co showed us the heart that Bo instills in the team and I have no reason to believe that UW will just fall off the face of the earth this year.

I'll go with 18-wins and the RPI will be good enough for a NCAA berth.  UW splits the Marquette and Duke games.

badger4life34:

 20 wins, 9 seed in the NCAA's. Bo will find a way to get it done, he always does. This team is going to impress and surprise a lot of people. Ryan Evans and Rob Wilson will have real good years. Hughes and J Bo will be solid as usual and Jordan Taylor will emerge. Problem there is that all of them are guards. Leur is really disappointing so far. Has he added any more muscle? Nankivil is a mystery still. He'll have his good games and then he'll disappear for two weeks. But until Bo has a year where he doesn't make the tourny, I don't see any reason to think they will ever miss it under him.

Our non conference schedule is very soft. And I know the Maui Invitational has teams like Gonzaga and Arizona, but both of them will be way down this year. Marquette and Duke are both at home. That said, I don't see a single game before the B10 season starts that is a for sure loss. 

With much trepidation, i agree with 95% of your post.  Historically, teams with veteran backcourts have success, so that's the basis for my optimism.  I also think the not having a "go to" guy (Landry) could be plus as the scoring will be much more balanced this year.  The success of the swing is predicated upon big men being able to hit the three and I think Leuer and Nankivil will become legit scoring threats this year.  I cross my fingers that Bo opens it up a bit this year with Taylor, Jarmusz, Wilson, Berrgren, Bruiser coming off the bench. 

Where you are wrong is that Duke is going to plaster the badgers.  won't even be close.

This year may be the hardest year to pick wins...and forecast a won-loss record. Frankly, I don't know what we have. Jimmy I agree with the veteran backcourt being a big factor. I have watched parts of the 2 exhibition games and Trevon looks very good. He is creating shots for others, and he is playing good defense. J-BO has not been good. He looks slow, and his shot is eluding him. Have put him in the category of a streak shooter..if he is hot at the start of the game..he usually carries that over into the 2nd half...but wish he was a solid shooter most of the time....again this is after just 2 exhibition games and hopefully he'll come around as the season progresses. Leuer has been very good, but needs to be a bit more aggressive down low. Nankivil has looked very good. Evans looks to be able to contribute and displayed athleticism all over the court and has been blocking alot of shots. Jamusz has not looked good so far. Wilson again has shown flashes of being able to contribute whenever he is on the floor.  Bergren, I don't know about...and am going to reserve judgement until after seeing more of him in the non-conference part of our schedule. Jordan Taylor hasn't been anything special..but again, this is just after 2 exhibition games... and Bo has been juggling the line-up pretty much and you might not have the right combinations of players on the floor at the same time. Alot of the analyst gurus are saying this may be the year that Bo doesn't make it to the big dance.  I don't know about that...but agree with them this maybe Bo's biggest challenge putting this team together and creating the chemistry it needs to be a winner.

I think it comes down to the defensive side of the ball.  They have enough talent on offense to score.  Last year the problem wasn't scoring but getting stops.  We ranked pretty high is offensive effeciency.  We just could not get stops.  Not sure if Leuer and Nak. are capable defenders down low and Bohannon struggles to stop quicker guards.  Hughes is a solid defender.  The loss of Krabbenhoft will be huge.

But I really think this team can score the ball and will maybe not push it up more, but look for quicker shots.  They were working with a 25 second shot clock to try to get quicker shots. 

Today game against IPFW at 5:00 CDT on the Big 10 channel should shed a little light on what kind of a team we have. So far the starting 5 has been Hughes, Jarmusz, Bohannon, Nankivil, and Leuer....with heavy substituting off the bench with the principal contributors being Taylor, Bergren, Evans, and Wilson... IPFW is picked to finish in the middle of their conference so the level of competition goes up a notch over the exhibition games.

jimmythegreek:

badger4life34:

 20 wins, 9 seed in the NCAA's. Bo will find a way to get it done, he always does. This team is going to impress and surprise a lot of people. Ryan Evans and Rob Wilson will have real good years. Hughes and J Bo will be solid as usual and Jordan Taylor will emerge. Problem there is that all of them are guards. Leur is really disappointing so far. Has he added any more muscle? Nankivil is a mystery still. He'll have his good games and then he'll disappear for two weeks. But until Bo has a year where he doesn't make the tourny, I don't see any reason to think they will ever miss it under him.

Our non conference schedule is very soft. And I know the Maui Invitational has teams like Gonzaga and Arizona, but both of them will be way down this year. Marquette and Duke are both at home. That said, I don't see a single game before the B10 season starts that is a for sure loss. 

With much trepidation, i agree with 95% of your post.  Historically, teams with veteran backcourts have success, so that's the basis for my optimism.  I also think the not having a "go to" guy (Landry) could be plus as the scoring will be much more balanced this year.  The success of the swing is predicated upon big men being able to hit the three and I think Leuer and Nankivil will become legit scoring threats this year.  I cross my fingers that Bo opens it up a bit this year with Taylor, Jarmusz, Wilson, Berrgren, Bruiser coming off the bench. 

Where you are wrong is that Duke is going to plaster the badgers.  won't even be close.

The reason I say the Duke game is not a for sure loss is because I made that mistake a couple years ago when we traveled to Austin and pulled that one out without our best player. I thought that was a 30 point loss. Since then, I have never said a game is a 100%, definite loss. And until Bo is no longer the coach, I don't think I can ever say that. He can beat anyone on any given day, especially at home. I really believe that. Duke is not going to be a great team this year, they're overrated as usual.

pastaboy:

Today game against IPFW at 5:00 CDT on the Big 10 channel should shed a little light on what kind of a team we have. So far the starting 5 has been Hughes, Jarmusz, Bohannon, Nankivil, and Leuer....with heavy substituting off the bench with the principal contributors being Taylor, Bergren, Evans, and Wilson... IPFW is picked to finish in the middle of their conference so the level of competition goes up a notch over the exhibition games.

honestly unless UW is going to pummel every team they play this season, it was difficult for me to try and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of this year's team. 

badger4life34:

jimmythegreek:

badger4life34:

 20 wins, 9 seed in the NCAA's. Bo will find a way to get it done, he always does. This team is going to impress and surprise a lot of people. Ryan Evans and Rob Wilson will have real good years. Hughes and J Bo will be solid as usual and Jordan Taylor will emerge. Problem there is that all of them are guards. Leur is really disappointing so far. Has he added any more muscle? Nankivil is a mystery still. He'll have his good games and then he'll disappear for two weeks. But until Bo has a year where he doesn't make the tourny, I don't see any reason to think they will ever miss it under him.

Our non conference schedule is very soft. And I know the Maui Invitational has teams like Gonzaga and Arizona, but both of them will be way down this year. Marquette and Duke are both at home. That said, I don't see a single game before the B10 season starts that is a for sure loss. 

With much trepidation, i agree with 95% of your post.  Historically, teams with veteran backcourts have success, so that's the basis for my optimism.  I also think the not having a "go to" guy (Landry) could be plus as the scoring will be much more balanced this year.  The success of the swing is predicated upon big men being able to hit the three and I think Leuer and Nankivil will become legit scoring threats this year.  I cross my fingers that Bo opens it up a bit this year with Taylor, Jarmusz, Wilson, Berrgren, Bruiser coming off the bench. 

Where you are wrong is that Duke is going to plaster the badgers.  won't even be close.

 

The reason I say the Duke game is not a for sure loss is because I made that mistake a couple years ago when we traveled to Austin and pulled that one out without our best player. I thought that was a 30 point loss. Since then, I have never said a game is a 100%, definite loss. And until Bo is no longer the coach, I don't think I can ever say that. He can beat anyone on any given day, especially at home. I really believe that. Duke is not going to be a great team this year, they're overrated as usual.

Also, I don't think Marcus Landry will be that missed. Sure, he'd score 22 against Northwestern and Penn St, but when we played MSU or PU, he would completely disappear and score 6 points with 4 fouls. He was never very good in big games.

I think we were all surprised by that team and how that season ended, and it may have stripped us of our objectivity when evaluating the 09/10 team.  I have a hard time getting excited about this years badger team because of theses questions

1)  Hughes -  still plays reckless at times.  he is a tremendous talent, but is prone to mentally "lock up" and make some bonehead players

2)  J Bo -  Too streaky.  Fun to watch when he's hot, torturous when he's not.

3)  Nankivil -  still unknown quantity.  soft for his position?

4)  Leuer -  Kind of a combo between Jbo and Nankivil.  Inconsistent and out of position for his size.  A defensive liability?

5)  Jarmusz -  Yikes!  our 5th starter who can hit a wide open three and likes to scrap, but beyond that?

No sure things in that starting 5.  You align the stars and I think they can beat anyone.  However I think they will be on the loss side of the ledger more than the victory.

JMHO

 I think Evans will replace Jarmusz, sooner rather than later.

I don't think there has ever been a year as tough as this one to figure out what kind of team we have. The competition we are playing also doesn't help in any aspect other than to judge the basic fundamentals of the players.

Hughes- I think he may be the one constant on the team....I think he will be the straw that stirs the drink. His propensity for silly fouls may be his undoing. He is better at playing under control but still has his moments. His attitude you can't fault, he thinks he can score on anyone.

Leuer- Has a soft shot, but he has to be more aggressive in creating a shot and in stopping one on defense. I think he still will develope into a good dependable scorer.

Nankivil- He doesn't show much fire on the floor....someone that big should have an attitude... He can shoot, but has to be more aggressive also on defense.

JBO- he looks better somewhat on defense, seems a little more aggressive on offense but still isn;t a consistent scorer that we need him to be. He can be lights out at times...but then can't buy a basket.

Jarmusz- Like Krabbenhoft before him he plays with alot of effort, good at open looks but can't create a shot or hit one when someone is in his face.

Taylor- I don't see any big improvement in him offensively or defensively from last year. Saw him throw up at airball against IPFW, that was like shades of last year.

Wilson- has alot of talent....and still may be looking over his shoulder at Bo, when he's in the game.....

Bergren- Bo is bringing him along slowly, seems to have the tools,but needs aggressiveness along with the other big men. He made a real nice lay-in against IPFW. Has to learn that if you jump you increase your height advantage.

Evans- Like Trevon I think has the proper attitude of aggressiveness....Needs shot improvement...but like his overall effort when on the floor.

One thing I fear with this years team is scoring droughts.....if we have them can we play good enough defense to stay in the game. Only time will tell on that....and we are going to know pretty soon.

badger4life34:

 I think Evans will replace Jarmusz, sooner rather than later.

based on what? 

jimmythegreek:

badger4life34:

 I think Evans will replace Jarmusz, sooner rather than later.

based on what? 

He's the better player and makes our offense much more "explosive," if Im allowed to use that term to describe a UW offense...

I think the only reason he doesn't start over Tim right now is because Tim has much more experience to this point. Once Evans plays some quality minutes, he'll be in the starting 5. Probably by the start of Big 10 play, if not sooner.

badger4life34:

jimmythegreek:

badger4life34:

 I think Evans will replace Jarmusz, sooner rather than later.

based on what? 

 

He's the better player and makes our offense much more "explosive," if Im allowed to use that term to describe a UW offense...

I think the only reason he doesn't start over Tim right now is because Tim has much more experience to this point. Once Evans plays some quality minutes, he'll be in the starting 5. Probably by the start of Big 10 play, if not sooner.

So you were able to surmise this after watching him play one non con game against a cellar dwellar in the summit league?  Jarmusz starts because he plays defense and Bo plays guys that play d, not that are more "explosive."