00:00:00 – NBA Draft Combine Continues Through Sunday in Chicago
00:11:06 – Oregon, Purdue, Northwestern & UCLA Qualify for NCA Women’s Golf Championships
00:20:18 – Big Ten Basketball Transfer Portal Rankings
00:32:11 – Andy Katz Power 37
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[Music] Welcome in. It is Big 10 today. We are fueled by Gatorade on this Tuesday. Truly great to have you with us and truly great to have Andy Catz alongside in town here in Chicago for a few days for the NBA draft combine which is littered with Big 10 talent. Yeah. Throughout the course of the season, we knew there was immense talent, especially in that freshman class. We have a chance to see three different schools have two first round picks, and one school could have two in the top five. Yeah. And that school, of course, is Ruters as they have both Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey looking like top of the draft picks. As we look at our big story and it is the Big 10 and that NBA draft projected to have somewhere in the neighborhood of a half dozen in the first round as Andy said that Ruters duo Dylan Harper Ace Bailey who both played one year for the Scarlet Knights seen as the top two. Maryland’s Derek Queen saw his stock skyrocket after a year in College Park. Illinois’s Casper Yakon is seen as a top half of the first round talent as well at point guard. In all, there are 12 players in Chicago this week who played in the Big 10 last season. It’s a list that also includes Michigan’s two big men, Danny Wolf and Vlad Golden, Will Riley joining Yakonis from Illinois, Jace Richardson, John Tan, Bryce Williams also on the original invite list. And then Penn State’s Janaka Neerhouser and former Hooser McKenzie Embakco were late ads. The draft lottery last night, Dallas the unlikely winner of that. So, the consensus is that the Mavericks would go with Cooper Flag, who most people feel is the best player available in this draft. And then after that, it’s where it gets interesting for the Big 10 with Harper perhaps being chosen as high as number two. Andy? Yeah. I think first of all, there was a point, if you remember, earlier in the season, uh, when the question was, oh, could Harper pass Flag for the number one pick? Harper gets hurt. Flag continues to skyrocket. But the consensus seems to be that Dylan Harper is the second best player. Now whether or not he goes number two, that’s the question. As you see, the Spurs got the second pick. They’ve got Stfan Castle from Yukon who had a phenomenal rookie season. The Sixers are three. Jared McCain, former Duke player. He’s their top guard, if you will. I mean, obviously they have Tyresese Maxi, but I mean, in terms of a younger guard, where does Harper fit in? Well, he could fit in either. He’s a true point. uh and those two franchises then would have assets and I would be shocked if he doesn’t go to and then the team just has to figure out you know we don’t know if these teams are going to try to work a Giannis trade and you need assets so more you know more often than not teams take the best player rather than fit uh is VJ Edge come from Baylor better fit we shall see but I think Dylan Harper I I really believe he will be the second player chosen whether that the Spurs keep that pick or not I I think he will be number two on the draft board. So, it gets interesting with his teammate Bailey. First of all, he measured shorter than he was listed by a significant margin yesterday. He measured at 67. He’s listed at 610. He’s still got the 7 foot wingspan. So, he plays big rather than, you know, as a as a smaller player. Still, that 3-in discrepancy, I think, is interesting. And then there’s just some question sometimes about his motor, about is he at that level? Is he worth a number three pick? Philadelphia’s in an interesting spot if if they end up as the team. What do you think about Bailey? Have we seen his stock go down or is he still pretty well cemented in that third spot? I I think he is. I mean, the one player that could nudge him out as VJ Edge come from Baylor. Um but I don’t think it matters as much on the you know the reduced side if you will than what Ruckers put out. uh because he plays big, because of his wingspan, because he’s a a shot blocker, rim protector, and you know, can defend really pretty much all positions for the most part. He can play out on the perimeter. Uh his mid-range game, I mean, he was telling me yesterday when I talked to him, he loves that mid-range game, you know, getting into the zone, you know, in the college game and hitting that. But those aren’t shots the NBA loves, right? Correct. Correct. But, you know, he views himself as having a versatile game. Where my concern, and I actually saw a personnel director this morning walking along Lake Michigan was with Jace Richardson’s height. I think when you have a combo guard who measures only at six feet, so he’s not a true point and he’s not only a shooter. Um, that’s where I think there’s some concern and I’ll be interested to see how Jace Richardson’s draft process, you know, continues over the next couple of weeks because that’s a little bit of a knock on him that he measured shorter. Derek Queen, we saw his stock just elevate during the course of the year. He’s a five-star player and I everyone knew he was going to be really good, but to me, he showed off the versatility, the ability to handle the ball. He can play the four. He’s big enough and physical enough to play inside in the five. feels like a a really good piece and I know there’s some talk DMV kid that maybe he’d end up going to the Wizards. Yeah. No, I think his stock is skyrocketing and in talking to him yesterday, we talked about the play which really, you know, sort of epitomized his season and his skill set and I’m talking about the gamewinner to be Colorado State because here’s a big guy first of all leadership in the huddle in the timeout. He calls for the ball. Give me the ball. That’s a freshman saying I’m going to going to I’m going to win this game. That’s number one. two. So, there’s confidence. He puts the ball on the floor. I mean, he’s a big guy who can play like a guard as you see here. And he puts the ball on the floor to get by his defender and then he’s got a great touch. You know, that that was not an easy shot. Floats it up there, gets it in. And so, all those aspects of his game, obviously, he’s a pretty good defender, moves his feet really well. You know, here’s a great story he told me. I said, “So, you know how you you’re so limber and a big guy.” And when he says, “I grew up in a house where we had wooden stairs.” And he said, “I didn’t want to wake up my mother when I go down in the morning.” It’s true story. He tells me, he says, “Crazy.” So he he he knew where the the spots that made noise on the stairs were. So he says he was sort of tiptoeing down and he thinks that helped him be more agile as he grew that he was able to sort of dance along down the steps. So, I’d stick with I was tiptoeing down early in the morning rather than I was tiptoeing up late at night. I like that version of the story better. Hey, what about Casper Yakonis? I you know, he got off to the great start. I his positional size is unbelievable. He’s got incredible vision. He’s a really good passer. He can, it feels like he could be a combo guard, right? He he could play off the ball as well. and we saw that at times, but it did feel like his game fluctuated a little bit during the course of the year. Like where do you see him? Is he still a top half talent? Are there questions about him or do people feel pretty confident? Well, you know how the NBA is enamored by Euros and yes, he played the one year at Illinois, but he played in Spain at a high level. You know, we’re in this era where you can do that. It used to be you couldn’t do that. He goes from Lithuania to Spain as a 15year-old, plays professionally, plays at at Illinois. I’ll tell you one thing I just noticed yesterday. He’s gotten bigger. Like he was I wouldn’t say he was skinny when he got to Illinois, but he physically looks like he’s been hit in the weight room. And so I think his strength, be able to take contact and finish uh will help him in these workouts. And I heard nothing but positive things about Yakonas yesterday. You mentioned some schools have a chance to have two players picked in the first round. Illinois is one of them if if Will Riley were a first round pick. I think Michigan’s really interesting. I just wanted to ask you about those two guys. How does the NBA see Danny Wolf who I mean we saw flashes of jaw-dropping ability from him this year. There are I think still some questions about some of the decision making and also Vlad Golden and and where he fits in. What what’s the viewpoint of those two players? Well, so I talked to Wolf yesterday and he said that the turnovers maybe this is an excuse or not, but he says a lot of it came from playing, you know, a position that he wasn’t used to. He used to just be the five at Yale and now he’s, you know, the sort of the four five with Golden. And there was, yes, some decision-m, but it was sort of adjusting to learning how to play that position. He, first of all, could not stop praising that Michigan staff and how they helped him get through this position, which is a great sort of promotion for Dusty May and their staff because he said when he got to Yale, you know, he he he barely played uh then he started to play more. uh and obviously helped Yale beat Auburn in that first round. And then he gets uh to Michigan, gets stronger. Didn’t know that he was going to be playing with Golden. Didn’t know how it would work out. It worked out obviously to where they were one of the better teams in the Big 10. They win the Big 10 tournament. So, his basketball IQ, his skill set is going to help him. I’m I I I expect him to be somewhere in that, you know, 12 to 20 range. And then Golden, I mean, he is who he is. I mean, he’s a finished product, strong, can score in the post, and the chatter is that he’s either late first or early second. So, you know, I think both bigs will be will be taken uh, you know, in pretty good spot. Saw him add a three-point shot to his game this year as well. Uh, speaking of bigs, just really quickly, I thought the Conan Neerhouser story was interesting this week where he got added to the combine. I mean, are we seeing a guy who might end up being a high riser and get picked here? Yeah. So, Kona Ninahauser and Embaka were part of that G-League camp on the weekend and they always take a couple of those guys to the regular combine. Uh, and that’s a great sign. No question about it. I mean, again, he was another player who got hurt late and, you know, we didn’t see his full potential this season at Penn State, but certainly as a rebounder, a rim runner. Uh, yeah. No, there’s no question. I think he could find himself somewhere, you know, on that board. It’s crazy some of these stories, right? I mean guys like he was not a great player. Northern Illinois ends up now he’s at the the combine a year later. You talk about Danny Wolf two years removed from playing seven minutes a game. John Tan is another one right who was an off the radar transfer portal player and now he’s at the combine. I mean it shows you what one great year can do for you you know. And one other quick thing just to say Will Riley Will Riley had an interesting year where great early then he kind of dipped a little if you remember during the season and then had a nice strong finish that has given him some momentum. So pretty exciting year for the Big 10. It’ll be fascinating to see will be littered in the first round where all these guys end up. Lots more from Andy coming up. We will switch gears a little bit. We’ll take a deep dive into the Big 10 transfer portal winners. Which teams have done the best job to set themselves up for next season? Our Gatorade game leaders focusing on the seven Big 10 women’s golf teams that advanced out of regionals into the 30 team NCAA championship which is this coming week in Carl’sbad, California. Big 10 sent eight teams to the regionals. All but one of them advancing to this cut down field. A quick reminder on how this works. Those 30 teams that are heading to Carlbad will play 54 holes of stroke play after which the field is whittleled down to 15 teams for one more day of stroke play. And then the top eight are placed into a match play bracket. The team matches consist of five individual head-to-head matches with a team needing three match wins to advance to the next round. Big 10 Network analyst Emma Carpenter joining us now to break down first off what’s going on with the women. Emma, let’s talk about the Big 10 champ Oregon because they are really cooking. They played really well in the Big 10 Championship and they have continued to do it. Just ran away from the field in Oregon. Carol Romero’s been fantastic. You are absolutely right about that Dave. Unbelievable performance by Oregon yet again. took care of business at the Big 10 Championship and then turned around and took care of business again at the Gold Canyon Regional after winning Big 10’s. They won by nine at the Gold Canyon Regional. And Kiara Romero with the individual win as well. She is on fire. She had four runner-up finishes this season going into Big 10’s and she wins Big 10’s and backs it up with the regional win by seven shots. I think you can call that some momentum for this team heading into the championships, would you say? I would say so. No, they are they are really playing well. A team that won the Big 10 by 14 strokes. You finished 16 under in your regional. Uh really really impressive from Romero. Uh how about Purdue? The only team in the old Big 10 ever to win a national championship. Obviously, of the new teams, three of the four have actually won a national championship in women’s golf. But man, Purdue went right down to the wire in its regional, pulling off a dramatic finish to to win a playoff and advance to this group of 30. Fill people in on how they did it. Well, gosh, you have got to hand it to Purdue. And I tell you what, Dave, I got to circle back to what I said in the Big 10 Women’s Championship preview. I called Purdue my dark horse. And this is exactly why this is what this team is capable of. Now, they did not have the most solid finish. They had an 11th place finish at Big 10’s, but at the Leach regional, it was a five on five playoff, one hole. All five scores count. So, every single player of this team is contributing. And it was Natasha Keel with the eagle on the playoff pole. How about this? 225 yd threeiron and then rolls in the eagle putt in front of the gallery to punch their ticket to the national championships. It’s just really impressive and clutch would be an understatement. Yeah, that’s pretty amazing considering you had two opponents. They were uh standing over birdie putts and you roll home the eagle. That could be a little bit deflating and again it moves Purdue on in incredibly dramatic fashion. What about Northwestern and Michigan State? They were in the same regional. They finished second and third respectively, but there were 13 strokes between them. Really a big gap between Stanford Northwestern and everyone else in that regional. And it kind of highlights how important depth is this time of year. Absolutely. And I’m glad you mentioned depth because heading into the national championships when you have so many rounds of stroke play and then you move to match play, the format is huge. There was a nine shot difference in the Norman regional between first and second place, 13 shot difference between second and third. And that shows just how quickly things can change in team golf and just how quickly the cream can rise to the top. I mean, Stanford, that win that they had is unbelievable. They’re going to be the team to watch. But with this NCAA format, stroke play moving into match play, you need good golf from players one through five. And it is the team that has the kind of depth that any player on the roster can go out on any given day and win a golf tournament. Now, we talked a lot about how in team golf, when you only have five players on the golf course, having a superstar is going to make a huge difference, but in match play, when if you have five superstars, you’re going to be hard to you’re going to be hard to beat. Let’s focus on UCLA. They were the national runner up a year ago and haven’t necessarily had a great year here, Emma, but a little tougher sledding. But man, you know, you managed to get through and I think if you look at it from UCLA’s perspective, you’re in that group of 30. You got a chance to win the national championship. Anyone who’s in there has a chance. But but fill us in on the Bruins and why maybe things haven’t gone as smoothly as they did a year ago. Yeah, the Bruins have they I mean gosh, they’ve been a powerhouse golf school for a very very long time and they were narrowly they were narrowly possibly going to make that uh there was a new rule that was put in place this year, Dave. It’s the the 500 rule. So that means that you needed to have the majority of your finishes be wins. So you needed to have more wins than losses over the course of the entire season. And you’re playing gosh, you know, up to 16 teams at one time. So you need to be finishing in the top half of the field on average. And UCLA was very close to this going into the Big 10 championship. You needed to have that 500 have that 500 rule finish in order to make it to postseason. and they finished seventh place at Big 10. So that narrowly kept them above that new rule, made it to regionals, and then they again finished in fifth place. Only the top five teams from each regional are advancing. They finished in that fifth place spot by seven strokes. So, uh, bit of a decent cushion, but again, when that’s four scores counting, seven strokes really isn’t all of that much. So, uh, you’re right though, 30 teams heading into the national championship, any single one of those teams has a shot. And I guarantee you that is the mindset that they are going to have that they have just as much of a shot to be national champions as any other team. And in fairness, that regional was loaded. They had four ranked teams ahead of them. So, finishing is is still pretty impressive. What about the men? It’s going on right now, the regionals. So, you know, it’s kind of a little bit of a moving target, but big picture here. It’s the same format. You’ll end up with 30 teams making it through. They’re also going to play for that national championship in Carlsbad, California. Who can follow suit and maybe be the team that emerges as the biggest threat out of the Big 10 to be a national champion this year? That’s a great question. I think all eyes are going to be on Illinois after what happened at the Big 10 Championship just a couple of weeks ago. It was a heartbreaking loss for Illinois, but an real exciting win for UCLA. UCLA was ranked just one spot above Illinois. UCLA is currently at 12, Illinois at 13. But right now the Illinois is dominating at the Urbana regional where they’re hosting. Jackson Buchanan finished in 42nd place at the Big 10 Championship when all eyes were really on Jackson Buchanan to win individually at the Big 10 Championship. Buchanan was Big 10 golfer of the year last year. He’s a senior. He’s a leader. So wasn’t the finish that Buchanan was looking for. Wasn’t the finish that U ofi was looking for. Mike Small says that his team, he builds teams to win championships and they just finished one shot behind UCLA that final round and uh but Jackson Buchanan and Urbana regional eight under par bogey free 63 and round one Illinois absolutely dominating. Now, there’s still lots to come, but I think lots of eyes are going to be on UCLA and Illinois heading into the national championship. As you say, nice to play on your home course in the regional. We saw higher states women do that as well and and they advance to the field of 30 on the women’s side as well. Emma Carpenter, great stuff. I know you’re headed to the PGA Championship this weekend. There are a lot of jealous people out there. Enjoy yourself in Charlotte. Thanks for giving us a little bit of your time. Thank you so much, Dave. A lot to keep our eyes on. Big 10 teams are representing well, so excited to see that momentum keep on going into the NCAA championships. Thanks for having me today. Back to basketball in the top transfer portal classes according to 247 Sports. Michigan topping the Big 10, second in the nation. USC, Iowa, Indiana also in the top 10 in all seven of the top 15 classes are Big 10 schools. You see Illinois at 43rd. Little deceptive there given that the Alanai cleaned up with international players who do not show up in the portal rankings. Andy is back here and let’s break down some of these classes. And you start with Michigan and Yaxel Lindberg is the big question here. He’s a transfer from UAB. He is going to Michigan if he stays in college, but he also got invited to the combine. I know you got a chance to visit with him yesterday. Michigan fans on pins and needles here. What did you learn? Yeah. And so is Dusty May and his staff and and Yaxel told me he said he’s 6040. I said, “Okay, who’s got the 60?” He said, “Mission.” Uh and he said I said, “So if you go to Michigan, what do you hope will happen?” He says, “Big 10 player of the year, win the Big 10, get to the Final Four, compete for a national championship.” So he’s talking big goals. And I will tell you, if he decides to go to Michigan, we’re going to be talking a lot about him on this show on these sets. He is a stat stuffer. Loves to defend and rebound, but he can put the ball in the basket. Uh there’s no question that if he return, if he returns, returns to college basketball, but goes to Michigan, he will be in the conversation for Big 10 player of the year, first team all Big 10. He is that significant potentially to the Wolverines. And he’s not the only guy in that class. I mean, it’s a really good class of Daim Mara from UCLA is headed to Michigan. Morz Johnson, so you got a couple of transfers within the conference. And then Elliot Cadell, good guard from North Carolina. So regardless of whether they have Lendberg, they got a really good class. But the difference of having him, it sounds like you’re saying, is monumental. Monumental. But in the other thing, what I love about what Dusty May’s done is we know he’s got the blueprint for bigs that can complement each other, right? obviously with Wolf and Golden. Now, just put Landberg on the side here for a minute. How do they use Mara and Johnson? Uh Mara obviously when he played for UCLA, that was always the big question when he played because he didn’t always play. He was a differencemaker. Remember his sort of coming out party was that game against Wisconsin in LA and I mean shot blocker and you can’t get around him. And then you get Morz Johnson who’s much more of a physical presence uh right off the bat. I mean, Michigan’s going to have two of the better bigs. Now, you throw Lannenberg in there, and that’s a pretty formidable front line, not just in the Big 10, but in the country. I want to ask you a little bit about USC. They’ve got a really good class. Now, the door revolves both ways, as we know, in the transfer portal. You lose Desmond Claude, who’s a really good player. Wesley H is headed back to Washington, but this is a very good class that USC got and one that I know you believe will have them solidly in NCAA tourney contention. Yeah. I mean, it’s kind of crazy because they lost um uh Yates to Washington. By the way, former Washington player, USC assistant Quincy Pondexer also to Washington. So, there’s a little, you know, trading going back and forth. So Washington coaches Yates and then USC takes advantage of the coaching change at Maryland and gets Rodney Rice who had a phenomenal season last season for Maryland in the Big 10. And then a bit of a surprise, I mean, I didn’t sort of see this on the radar, Chad Baker Mazzara, who uh I covered in the Maui Invitational and then in the NCAA tournament, uh you know, was a great player for Auburn this past season. One of the main reasons that Auburn got to the final four with Jani Broom. So you add him with Rice and suddenly USC’s got the experience of players who competed at the highest level for potential national championship to get to a final four. Uh in the case of Chad Baker Mazar. So I I really like what USC and look we hope that Arenas comes back healthy. Yeah. Fivestar player was in the car accident. Yeah. Gilbert Arenas’s son, you know, hopefully he comes back and if he does, you know, he’s one of the best, you know, high school seniors in the country. It’s funny, you think about USC a year ago and you had a coaching change and you basically had a program starting a roster from scratch and that’s what Indiana is this year. I mean essentially nothing back from a year ago. You have a brand new coach and Darren Deere, a brand new staff as well. Uh they did really well in the portal. Obviously his son is kind of front and center that coming over from West Virginia. But what do you make of the group that Indiana has assembled which is ranked pretty highly here? Yeah, again I think it’s a TBD. You know, I mean I think first of all we got to make sure Tucker Dere is healthy. Uh because he did not finish the season at West Virginia. But if he is, then there’s no question that right off the bat Indiana’s got, you know, an all Big 10 type player. He was the best player in the valley for Drake uh when his dad was coaching there. You know, got off to a pretty good start at the beginning. Uh, but I feel like they’ve they’ve got other good pieces in terms of shooters, some bigs. The big question, of course, will be, can it all fit? And we just don’t know. I like what they did. I mean, Dere is a superstar and and if he plays at the potential of what he’s been earlier in his college career, to your point, if he’s 100% healed, he’s maybe an all league kind of caliber player. But I what I like is the rest of the guys. Obviously last year they made huge splashes in the portal and to your point it didn’t necessarily fit together. I mean there was so much excitement around Umar Balo coming was considered the number one player number of other guys where it felt like kind of individually these were good pieces but for whatever reason it didn’t mesh and I think this is a group of guys who were really productive players might not have quite the star power outside of one or two of them but I think it’s all going to be about how Dere fits them together. Yeah. And and he’s done a good job of that. Obviously, they should have been in the NCAA tournament at West Virginia. I mean, I had them in. I think I was not alone. Uh, you know, they were the team that sort of There were some politicians who agreed with him. Yes. Yes. Lawsuits that never went anywhere. So, I mean, I thought he did a solid job despite the injuries in Morgantown. Comes uh back to the Midwest. And, you know, again, we don’t know how this is going to fit. No one knew that Michigan’s transfer portal pieces were going to fit the way they did. So, we have to wait and see. You know, I I know you’re going to mention uh Iowa. Um it worked for Ben McCullum at Drake to bring everyone from Northwest Missouri State D2, including Bennett Sturs, who ends up being the Valley Player of the Year at Drake. Now, he’s taken some of those same pieces to Iowa, right? Um will it work the same? Will Sts be able to now go from, you know, uh uh D2 to the Valley to the Big 10? We We’re going to have to wait and see. I just think it’s it’s hard when you have very little continuity and it’s hard to have continuity when you have coaching changes kind of what you’re talking about with McCollum at Iowa, I think, is an interesting example. What I found interesting in terms of a maybe a slightly changed approach is Illinois because Illinois essentially had nothing back last year and they tried to rebuild the roster from scratch. They had a lot of guys leaving the portal. This year it’s a little bit different now. You’re going to have some holdovers in this class. They did very well in the portal. It’s even better though if you consider the international players and and this kind of Balkan influence that that Brad Underwood has brought to Champagne. But Pesia Stoyakovich’s son a really productive player in college basketball. I mean there’s a lot of good pieces here when you consider the holdovers, the portal guys and the internationals he’s bringing in. Yeah, he’s got the brothers of Visvich uh coming over now. you know, it was Kentucky, Arkansas, now joining his brother at Illinois. Um, I I love Stoyakovich. Had a great year at Cal playing for Mark Madson. So, I think he’ll be a huge addition. Uh, look, Brad Underwood made it pretty clear that he wanted to go with experienced players. Um, I’m not saying he’s not going to recruit high school seniors. Obviously, he has, but he wants to recruit experienced players. He had success obviously with Yakonis. Uh, I mean, Will Riley from Canada, but I mean, at the same I mean, not dismissing that it’s not international, but it’s a little different than going Europe. They’ve embraced it. You know, I love the uh the memes Instagram where he’s st you know, squatting in front of like with with the the derby on in front of the Soviet Eastern block buildings that all look the same. Yes. Uh, so the bachanization of Champagne, you know, cuz I feel like when you go to Champagne, do you feel like you’re in Estonia? I do not feel like I’m in Estonia. You know, it’s my birthplace, you’re talking about. Okay, I’m kidding. Uh, but yeah, I mean, it’s going to be, you know, will the fans I I think they’ll embrace it, you know. I mean, if they win. Yeah. But but but I again, I like the notion that you have you have some continuity here. You have guys who played for him last year. So, I think it it fits together really nicely. I man, I mean, I know the Illinois fans in my circle are are pretty fired up about this, but I think also it’s going to be a very skilled team, right? Um, and you know, a team that can score and so, you know, that’s what Underwood wants to do. Yeah. Uh, other portal classes that really jump out at you, you mentioned Iowa with Stirts and and the changes they’re making there. Who else do you do you think? Well, I’m I think I can cherrypick and say that one of the best players in the portal was Donovan Donovan Dent, uh, New Mexico Mountain West Conference player of the year, led the Lobos under then Rich head coach Richard Patino. uh ended up losing to Michigan State, you know, a couple rounds in the NCAA tournament. I love him. I think he’s going to have an UCLA for him. Yes. I’m sorry. Yes. Now going to UCLA. He’s from Southern California, so was not recruited by UCLA initially. Clearly earned that right to now play there. I I think he’s going to have a major impact. I think he’s a potential all Big 10 player, you know. So, you get him on the other side. Kind of odd that they took Booker. I mean, there’s been so much potential for Xavier Booker at Michigan State. It didn’t ever reach its potential with Tom Is. And I wonder, okay, does that mean because, you know, Mick Cronin, obviously he’s an intense guy like I is Booker going to respond more to Cronin than he would ISO. I I don’t know. That was the one that was a little headscratching to me, right? I mean, sometimes it’s just a change of scenery for a guy and and we’ll see. And I think, you know, Tom’s had a couple public statements where he’s essentially said, I just feel like for whatever reason, I wasn’t able to get through to him and and kind of putting it on himself. Yes. A little bit more so than than putting on the player, which you know, that’s Tom. And again, I really respect that. But but maybe it is. Maybe it’s just, hey, I wasn’t the right guy for him. And and maybe Mick will be. And and real quick, uh we mentioned Washington getting Yates also got They have a great class. Yes. Lean Somerville from Ruters. So, it’s, you know, Big 10 poaching across the country. Uh, Somerville, I thought, had moments last season where he could be a significant contributor and they needed more help inside. And then, you know, it’s a TBD on Maryland. I don’t think they’re done, but getting Farel Payne, uh, who we should all remember from Minnesota, helped Buzz Williams at&m and now is at Maryland. So, he’s hop skipped and jumped there and he’s going to be back in the mix. Yeah, it’s funny when he mentioned like Somerville. I mean, I think back in the day that used to or Xavier Booker, any of these guys are transferring the conference like it, you know, it’s not we’re not that far removed from just thinking that was the strangest thing. Was Spike Albert was one of the few, didn’t he go? Yes, he went Michigan to Purdue, right, at the end, right? Yeah. Yeah. But yes, I mean, it’s it’s just now it’s just this is this is what happens, right? You don’t you don’t even bat an eye about it. Andy releasing his power 37 yesterday on social media. There is a Big 10 team on top. Purdue checking in as his number one team heading into next year. Michigan also in the top 10. Oregon, UCLA, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan State also showing up in the top 25. You are not alone in your love of Purdue. Andy some pretty good job with retention including Braden Smith and Drake Hoffman Ren at Fletcher Lawyer as well and then some portal ads as well. Yeah. I mean, so first off, tell me another team that retained a player of the year and a guy that really another first team allconerence uh at that level. I mean, Purdue continues to have an unbelievable job, do an unbelievable job of retention pre-NIL and postNIL. Uh there’s something in the water in West Lafayette. Uh they do a great job and culture of players wanting to be there. There’s a lot of rumors in the latter part of the season that people were going to try to come in and poach Braden Smith. Didn’t happen. I mean, Braden Braden Smith, I would anticipate, you know, could have his uh jersey in the rafters for sure. Um, and you know, with him coming back, Trey Kaufman Ren is going to be an even better player. You would project Fletcher Lawyer if he can be a little more consistent. You said they did a good job. You know, yes, they lost Heidi and and Kovven. We kind of expected that, but then Daniel Jacobson’s going to come back. Yes. He got hurt right at the beginning of the season. He was highly touted big. You know, look, look what’s there. Should be the number one team in the country. They got Kluff in the portal as well. But Jacobson’s interesting because Matt Painter was telling me that was the guy they thought was going to be their rim protector. And if you look at what the liability was last year, it was interior defense. They were among the worst in the country. Now you got a 74 guy coming in, which will will help you. Maybe 72. I don’t know. He’s very tough. And remember, they were one play away from knocking out Houston, right? And then who knows, uh, Michigan, you had them in the top 10. I assume that is with L. Yeah. I mean, we have to deal with what we know right now, which is he says he’s going to Michigan. He’s in the draft, but with him, as we said before, unbelievable front line with Daimara and Mo and Mo Johnson, Morz Johnson going in there. I mean, just it’ll be a phenomenal. And Kadu, if he can play it to his potential, I think Michigan could be right there. Oregon is bringing a lot back. Jackson, Shelstad, Nate Bidd. I know Nate Bidd is at least getting feedback in Yeah, he was at the G-League combine this past weekend didn’t advance, but again, retention if, as expected, it’s Bidd and Shellstad. Um, that’s two all Big 10 players. I mean, I think the Ducks are going to be right there in that top four in the Big 10. Team that lost to Arizona in the second round of the NCAA’s last year. UCLA, you mentioned Donovan Dent from New Mexico, a really good portal class, and he is the headliner. And Tyler Bilo, I mean, he’s projected to come back. So, if all that stays true, you know, they’ve got a potential all Big 10 player that Donovan Den can feed. And so, I think the Bruins are going to be right in that mix as well. Illinois, I I you’re not a blowing some dice here. Real I would go the other way, man. I think they’re going to be great. Yeah. No, I mean I think they will be, right? But we don’t know. We don’t know. Okay. So, what are your hesitations with them? Well, just do all the pieces fit, you know? I mean, you’re taking guys from all over the place. It’s uh it’s not a completely new roster, but uh there’s a lot of new faces. Who stands out from that next group that we haven’t talked about yet? Well, I mean, I’d say USC. I mean, I really like what the Bruins did. You know, obviously the Trojans did. Yes. Uh, I think they’re going to be, you know, rising up. I think, you know, Indiana, it’s TBD. I think Wisconsin, Blackwell coming back, uh, with Winter, you know, they’re going to be right in the mix as well. Maryland, we’ll see what Buzz puts together finally with the complete roster. I think they’re And then Ohio State, keep an eye on the Buckeyes with Bruce Thornton returning. Yeah, there’s a lot to like. Uh, Michigan State, where you Yeah, I’m sorry. We didn’t mention them. Where are you with them? Uh if they can get the kind of big big men play they had this past season by committee, I think they’ll be right in the mix because their young their guards are back for the most part. I know they lost Holland, but they’ll be back. Jackson Kler coming back home car, so there’s a lot to like there. Well, this was fun. Yes, thank you. Enjoy the rest of the combine. We’ll see you next time on Big 10 Today.
