Dick Vitale’s Preseason Top 25
As you know, I eat, sleep and breathe college basketball year-round. And this year is no exception. Now that the transfer market has settled down and teams are finishing up summer tours, I thought I’d share my projections for the upcoming season.
2023-24 All-Rolls Royce Teams
There’s nothing better in the preseason than looking at the new rosters and getting a feel for what might be in store. I had to wait for the dust to settle with all the player and coach movement during the offseason. With 13 of the 18 returning players that averaged 19+ points last season transferring and six of the top eight 20-point scorers on the move as well, the roster shakeup was noticeable across the board.
I enjoy watching the progress of youngsters that move from role players to PTPers. With only four of the 19 players returning that made first, second or third-team All-America last year, it’s been a joy to dig deep and project the stars for the upcoming season. I don’t put freshmen on these teams as they haven’t played yet.
So, here’s my All-Rolls Royce teams for the season. It’s full of proven stars, some on the rise and all-around ballers.
Purdue’s Zach Edey leads my squads as one of the dominant post players last year and had the Boilermakers rolling until they got untracked in the first round by 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson. The Boilermakers will once again be the favorite to win the Big 10 and finally make a deep run in March Madness.
North Carolina got a huge boost with Armando Bacot returning for his fifth year of eligibility. As the Tar Heels’ all-time leader in rebounds and double-doubles, he’ll be the anchor in hoping to lead North Carolina to its glory days of deep tournament runs.
Bruce Pearl puts together solid teams annually and Johni Broome looks to lead the Auburn Tigers on a deep NCAA run after they surrendered a 10-point halftime lead in a second-round loss to Houston in the Big Dance. He’s a powerful inside player capable of averaging a double-double just like he did during his sophomore campaign.
Tyler Kolek and four other starters will be returning to Marquette for the 2023-24 season, bringing about another case of unfinished business that coincided with a second-round loss to Michigan State. The reigning Big East Player of the Year is one of the top returning guards in the country.
A Bob Cousy Award finalist last season, Boo Buie returns for his fifth season as a Wildcat after scoring the third-most points in school history last season with 588. His leadership should put the Wildcats in the Dance for a second straight season, a program first.
Here’s the ALL-ROLLS ROYCE TEAMS
First Team
Zach Edey, Purdue
Armando Bacot, North Carolina
Johni Broome, Auburn
Tyler Kolek, Marquette
Boo Buie, Northwestern
Second Team
Hunter Dickinson, Kansas
Dillon Jones, Weber State
DaRon Holmes, Dayton
Terrence Shannon Jr., Illinois
Wade Taylor IV, Texas A&M
Third Team
Kyle Filipowski, Duke
Adem Bona, UCLA
Tolu Smith, Mississippi State
Tyson Walker, Michigan State
Max Abmas, Texas
Now that the 2023 NBA draft is completed I will share some observations in analyzing what transpired. First, it is a draft filled with many young players that will need time, in many cases, before making a strong impact.
No doubt the “Star of Stars” is 7-4 Victor Wembanyama who was a consensus No. 1 selection according to all the draft experts. He is a legit multi-skilled talent who has received so much national PR similar to 2003 when LeBron James arrived on the scene from high school to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Obviously, the San Antonio Spurs are hoping Victor can do the same. The previous two bigs that went No. 1 to the Spurs, Tim Duncan and David Robinson, played vital roles in leading them to NBA titles and are now in the Hall of Fame. It is pertinent that the Spurs add other talented people to help Victor reach his potential and achieve stardom.
This draft, in particular, is filled with so much POTENTIAL and it’s important that teams have PATIENCE with the young talent assembled.
The biggest surprise was Villanova’s Cam Whitmore, who was considered a top 10 selection, sliding down to 21. The Houston Rockets will benefit as Whitmore is an explosive talent who dropped according to insiders due to a lack of effort at times during evaluations. He could be the steal of the draft as some thought he would go as high as No. 5. This should really motivate him to show that he is the real deal.
On a sad note, after brilliant collegiate careers, three dominating college stars were not drafted at all. Yes, Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe, Gonzaga’s Drew Timme, and UConn’s Adama Sanogo, though super on the college level, didn't have the skills and talent needed in the NBA according to the evaluators.
It will be interesting to see if they can sign on as free agents and prove all the critics wrong by earning a spot on an NBA roster.
Overall, this crop of 58 players features plenty of potential stars, high-end starters, quality reserves, some risk-reward projects and, yes, probably a few busts.
Two teams on the outside of the playoffs who made some huge pickups were the Dallas Mavericks and the Portland Trailblazers. Luka Donic got help as the Mavs traded down to get Duke’s Dereck Lively to help defend the paint. Then they traded for Marquette’s Oliver-Maxence Prosper and acquired veteran center Richaun Holmes from the Kings for added defensive depth for Donic and Kyrie Irving.
Taking Scoot Henderson at No. 3 was an easy choice for the Blazers as they added one of the older players in the draft in Iowa’s skilled power forward Kris Murray and a long-term project with another overseas star in defender Rayan Rupert. Murray is a big 3-and-D wing who will play from Day 1 in the league.
Now, we sit back and see what happens with those first round selections and watch the drive of some second-round choices who want to prove they should have gone higher.
The NBA finals saw two games in Denver. TNuggets rolled. In game on, while Miami evened the series by three in game two.
The Stanley Cup finals began in Las Vegas. The Golden Knights scored three goals in the third period to take a 1-0 series lead over Florida.
The Oklahoma wimen’s softball team won its 50th straight game, blowing out Tennessee.
The sixth game of the NBA Finals had a dramatic close. Miami was down 10, rallied to take a one point lead. Then Derrick White hit the winning follow-up to set up game seven.
The Florida Panthers clinched a berth in the Stanley Cup final, beating the Carolin Hurricanes.
I was thrilled when Notre Dame made the national lacrosse championship. By beating Virginia.
The NBA playoffs have been surprising. Miami and Denver are up 3-0.
The NHL playoffs have also surprised as Florida and Las Vegas are impressive.
One of the greatest players in NFL history, Jim Brown passed away. RIP.
The NBA playoffs had lots of excitement. The Lakers, led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis, knocked out the defending champion Warriors. The Celtics got a brilliant 51-point performance by Jayson Tatum in a game seven win over the Sixers. The Nuggets knocked off the Suns, costing Monty Williams his job. The eighth-seeded Heat advanced over the Knicks.
The Florida Panthers continued to play Cinderella. First they beat Boston and then took out Toronto.
The NHL playoffs have seen some surprises but the Florida Panthers are a Cinderella story. They beat the top team in the regular season, the Bruins, then jumped to a 3-0 lead on Toronto.
The NBA playoffs have been wild.The Celtics and Sixers are tied and could go seven in an intense battle.
I’m thrilled that we set a record $12.4 million for pediatric cancer research at the Dickie V gala.
The NBA playoffs saw a few surprises. The Miami Heat as an eight seed stunned top-seeded Milwaukee. Jimmy Butler was dominant with back-to-back40+ point games. The seventh-seeded Lakers knocked off the Memphis Grizzlies.
The NFL draft saw Bryce Young go number one to Carolina. Will Levis of Kentucky fell out of th first round.
The NHL playoffs also saw drama. The Florida Panthers won game seven in overtime in one of the biggest shockers in NHL history. They beat a Bruins team that set a win record in the regular season. The Seattle Kraken, in its first playoff ever, beat the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche."
The NBA playoffs have provided lots of excitement. The New York Knicks took a 3-1 lead over Cleveland. The Celtics took a 3-1 lead over Atlanta. The Lakers took a 2-1 lead over Memphis.
Baseball has seen the Tampa Bay Rays remain on fire. They jumped out to a 19-3 record/ Pittsburgh won seven in a row while the Orioles won six straight.
The NBA playoffs got underway. DeAndre Fox and Malik Monk, former Kentucky teammates combined for 70 points as the Kings won a playoff game for the first time since 2006. The Knicks won game one in Cleveland.
The Boston Bruins finished with 65 regular season wins and 135 points. It was truly a special season.
The Tampa Bay Rays saw their season-opening win streak end at 13 games. It was a nice start!
Congratulations to the NCAA men’s basketball champion UConn Huskies. Danny Hurley’s team won all six tourney games by double figures. Adama Sonogo and Jordan Hawkins led the Huskies to the winner’s circle.
A salute to Masters champion Jon Rahm. He beat Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka.
The transfer portal has seen numerous players move. Caleb Love went from North Carolina to Michigan. Denver Jones, who averaged 20 ppg. last season, went from FIU to Auburn. Houston got help adding LJ Cryer from Baylor.
San Diego State and Connecticut advanced to the NCAA mens basketball final. The Aztecs beat Florida Atlantic on a buzzer beater by Lamont Butler.
Congratulations to the wimen’s champion LSU, which beat Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the final. LSU won in Kim Mulkey’s second year as coach.
Congrats to a great CLASS that has truly earned the honor of being selected to the NAISMITH BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME! It included Dewyane Wade, Dirk Nowitzki, Gregg Popovich and Gene Keady among others.
The Final Four is set. Florida Atlantic is the biggest surprise as a ninth seed. The C-USA champion won 35 games under Dusty May.
Connecticut is playing the best basketball, with all four NCAA tourney win by 15 or more points.
Miami surprised Texas, rallying from a 13-point deficit in the second half.
San Diego State knocked off Alabama and Creighton to advance to Houston.
The Sweet 16 is set. The SEC and Big East have three left. The Big 12 has two. The ACC, Mountain West, AAC, Ivy, WCC, Pac-12, Big 10 and C-USA have one each.
We have seen a number of shockers. Kansas and Purdue were 1-seeds ousted. Arizona and Marquette were two-seeds ousted.
Familiar names like Duke, Kansas and Kentucky are missing. Florida Atlantic and Princeton are still alive.
The NCAA Tournament is set. The four #1 seeds were as expected though Kansas got a tough break being sent West. The region includes UCLA, Gonzaga, Arkansas, Connecticut. The East is tough with Purdue, Marquette, Kansas State, Kentucky, Tennessee, Duke, Memphis.
I feel for teams like Clemson, Rutgers and Vanderbilt that were left out. Maybe NC State and Nevada could have been left out. Clemson beat NC State by double figures three times. Vanderbilt beat Kentucky twice, Tennessee, Auburn, Arkansas, Mississippi State and Pittsburgh. Jerry Stackhouse did all he could.
We are a week away from Selection Sunday. This could be the wildest NCAA Tournament ever. The key word is unpredictable. Marquette was picked ninth in the Big East preseason poll and they won the league. Kansas State was picked last in the Big 12 preseason poll and they shined under Jerome Tang.
The NBA saw Milwaukee’s 16-game win streak snapped by Philadelphia.
“In 2020, Kennesaw State won one game. The Owls are now in the big dance!"
It was a great weekend in college basketball.
Arizona State stunned Arizona on a 60-foot shot. Florida State rallied from a 25-point deficit to shock Miami. Michigan and Iowa hit buzzer beaters to send the respective games in overtime. Baylor knocked off Texas in a key Big 12 showdown.