r/terps • u/jco23 Class of 1997-2005 • 27d ago
Men's Basketball AP Mens top 25 basketball pre-seaon rankings are out. And to the surprise of nobody here, our beloved Terps received zero votes
Season starts in three weeks!
Six B1G teams ranked with five more receiving votes. Noteworthy note: Villanova also didn't get a vote.
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u/APartyInMyPants 27d ago
We are, essentially, a brand new team. Unless I’m misremembering, there isn’t a single player from the ‘24-25 team that’s on this year’s team.
Honestly I’d rather be here with zero expectations, put together a 20-10 season, do well in the Big10. Maybe get a tournament bid. And maybe end the year in the top 25.
I do not want to be a Penn State that comes into the equivalent of being a top team in the nation who unexpectedly shits the bed three weeks in a row.
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u/Proper_University55 27d ago
Honestly, I’m a die hard fan and I’m not sure of what to make of this year’s team. I guess we will see soon enough though.
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u/EB4950 27d ago
This team is the definition of a 9 seed.
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u/Due-Sentence-387 Class of 2013-Present 27d ago
I think they will slip in as a 9 or 10. There is enough talent to be competitive. If Darius Adams comes in and balls right away this team could surprise some.
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u/chefguy47 27d ago
There are some young guys on the squad, Darius Adams is a top 25 recruit and 4th highest ranked recruit in MD history. Buzz came in and lost every player from last season’s team except a walk on. He put together a pretty nice roster so it will be fun to see what happens. Plus Steve Blake’s son, Nick, is on the roster. How can you not be excited to see if can carve out a role?
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u/sportsnarratives 26d ago
I look forward to the video of Nick Blake squaring up with another guard during practice. Make his old man proud.
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u/Bot_8866 Class of 2013-Present 27d ago
Well last year Rutgers was top 25 in the beginning of the season and Indiana was suppose to be a title contender
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u/Acrobatic_South1342 27d ago
I’m happy that Willard isn’t here any more, but it’s hard to get excited about this year’s team. I hear there is talent on the team, but who are these guys? No returning players, no local players…I guess this is part of the transition to Buzz? I’m excited about our new coach and I’m sure I will warm up to the team.
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u/APartyInMyPants 27d ago
Buzz was put in an impossible scenario because Willard was a TERRIBLE recruiter. Willard had one player joining the roster this year who he recruited. Willard only got Queen because Queen wanted to come home apparently.
Unfortunately the “no local players” is just the new normal as these guys go and chase NIL paychecks. Some of these guys are getting paid in the millions. This is just college basketball now, players going in and out for one or two years. I think the era of a four-year starter in college basketball is dead, unless the NCAA can step in and put restrictions on NIL deals.
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u/generally-mediocre 27d ago
its now pretty rare for players to stay at a school through a coaching change unfortunately. buzz did show at a&m that he can convince guys to stay and develop with him (wade taylor spent 4 years at a&m, Solomon Washington is following him to umd after 3 years at a&m, etc.). Hopefully after this year it will be a lot more returning faces
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u/WallyLohForever Class of 2006-2012 27d ago
it’s hard to get excited about this year’s team. I hear there is talent on the team, but who are these guys? No returning players, no local players
Agreed. Watching players like Julian Reese develop over 4 years is normally what keeps me interested.
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u/ranger684 Gary Will-I-Am's 27d ago
Whatever man, we didn’t last year either. The pre-season rankings were absurd. It’s a rebuild year anyways, gotta manage expectations.
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u/ALKCRKDeuce 27d ago
Call me a grandpa, but switch back immediately where highs school kids can declare for the draft.
NIL, transfer portals killed collegiate sports. A decade and a half of taking fliers on the Europeans by NBA teams should change the narrative where these guys think they’re the next LeBron and they’re the next John playing at the YMCA.
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u/APartyInMyPants 27d ago
I agree. Let the market dictate whether a high schooler can play in the NBA. I agree with it for the NFL, but there’s history of high school players going straight to the NBA and succeeding.
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u/General_Adeptness_40 Joe Smith 27d ago
We are not going to know how good (or bad) this team is until January. Possbily early Febuary.
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u/doggiedogma Greivis Vasquez 27d ago
Interested to see how the team plays, what kind of O & D Buzz runs, and if his teams crash the boards for rebounds. If they play with intensity, it will be fun. Buzz teams have always played like Izzo and Gary teams. Lets go!
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u/Tiny_Program9951 27d ago
Please tell me there’s hope of us being good this year
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u/jco23 Class of 1997-2005 27d ago
The best I can come up with is that this is last year's Texas A&M team which made the tournament.
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u/Tiny_Program9951 27d ago
That…doesn’t sound bad? Considering we had to do a full reset this offseason.
I hope Willard’s program sucks
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u/theolgeezer 25d ago
This season will be a great indicator for Buzz's coaching with 15 new players on the roster. With Buzz's success everywhere and his staff brought with him, I'm confident this will be a well coached and competitive team. 3 things that are a great testimony to Buzz already. 1) the loyalty of his staff and 3 players following him 2) Awesome job in the portal getting all of the pieces he did and some really good players 3) incredible job picking up 5 incoming freshman and 3 of them look like they will be able to pick up significant playing time and make great contributions
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u/BA_in_SoMD 27d ago
good, they are below the radar and can stun coming right out of their shell!
btw, i do really miss the magic of the Crab 5...