Nebrasketball & the United States of College Basketball

[AuroranHusker]

 

Today, right here, we're introducing a new atlas for college hoops.

It's a proud country, a diversified realm, one almost as cool -- and battle-beaten -- as Westeros. Behold below: The United States of College Basketball.

We're in the midst of a three-part end-of-summer series that's looking at the state of the union, where all college basketball programs are right now -- and where they're headed. The major factors in this equation ...

Is the coaching situation solid?

What kind of young players are enrolled now?

Is recruiting headed in the right direction or not?

Throw in facilities, which schools are putting money into bettering their athletic compounds, and we've been able to identify and project the programs with the most impetus heading into the next five years. My colleagues -- Gary Parrish, Chip Patterson and Sam Vecenie -- and I discussed our lists in detail. In all, we're determining out three things this week:

1. The 15 programs best positioned to succeed over the next five years.
2. The program best positioned to succeed in each state over the next five years.
3. The 10 states best positioned to have the best basketball over the next five years. (Coming Friday.)

Now, the map. A beautiful, colorful country of college basketball.

 

[AuroranHusker]

If you need a good laugh, make sure you read all of the whiners tweet back at Matt Norlander, the author of the article. BTW, Norlander selected Creighton over NU but his colleagues pegged NU as the state's team. ( good context for the haters, )

[AuroranHusker]

[AuroranHusker]

[huskerbaseball13]

Want to see #CreightonTears?

 

Looks at this guy's twitter account with Creighton fans crying.  Most sensitive fanbase in America? I'd say so.

 

https://twitter.com/Sam_Vecenie

[AuroranHusker]

Want to see #CreightonTears?

 

Looks at this guy's twitter account with Creighton fans crying.  Most sensitive fanbase in America? I'd say so.

 

https://twitter.com/Sam_Vecenie

 

 

In 10 yrs without his son on team, McDermott’s finished above 4th in league 2x and also has zero postseason wins.

[huskerbaseball13]

 

Want to see #CreightonTears?

 

Looks at this guy's twitter account with Creighton fans crying.  Most sensitive fanbase in America? I'd say so.

 

https://twitter.com/Sam_Vecenie

 

 

In 10 yrs without his son on team, McDermott’s finished above 4th in league 2x and also has zero postseason wins.

 

 

You have to read some of the replies to him...gold.  It's amazing how sensitive their fanbase is and how fixated they are on Husker athletics. 

[AuroranHusker]

 

 

Want to see #CreightonTears?

 

Looks at this guy's twitter account with Creighton fans crying.  Most sensitive fanbase in America? I'd say so.

 

https://twitter.com/Sam_Vecenie

 

 

In 10 yrs without his son on team, McDermott’s finished above 4th in league 2x and also has zero postseason wins.

 

 

You have to read some of the replies to him...gold.  It's amazing how sensitive their fanbase is and how fixated they are on Husker athletics. 

 

 

Hard not to be when you're wearing RED all fall.

[49r]

I'm not so sure about Mississippi or Utah.  Or Tennessee, for that matter.  

 

Indiana may be a close call, so could Illinois really.

 

The rest, I think is pretty spot on.

[49r]

You know, after giving it some more thought I've changed my mind.  Now I think Colorado is wrong and I have a feeling that so is South Dakota.  Keep in mind USD is building a new hoops arena and Tad Boyle's recruiting has fallen into the abyss.

[Handy Johnson]

The Top 15 on this list reminds me of stepping in a pile of dog s**t and acting surprised that your shoe smells...
 

[49r]

14. WICHITA STATE

Outlook: Wichita State's incredible financial commitment to one of the nation's very best coaches seems to suggest Gregg Marshall might really retire at the school, which would make it dumb to keep the Shockers off this list. He has a chance to turn Wichita State into the Gonzaga of the MVC, and he appears well on his way to doing exactly that.

 

Makes me think that Kansas is a lot closer than some would like.

[Norm Peterson]

The Top 15 on this list reminds me of stepping in a pile of dog s**t and acting surprised that your shoe smells...

 

Can someone teach me how to post a gif?

 

I need one that has a guy looking, y'know, kinda perplexed, like "WTF did you just say?"

 

http://giphy.com/gifs/confused-friday-ice-cube-10dVnDzdGp6uje

[AuroranHusker]

Follow-up to the 15 teams positioned for success in the next five years:

 

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/eye-on-college-basketball/25305335/the-trifecta-who-is-positioned-to-succeed-in-the-next-five-years

[49r]

Ya know...one could legitimately argue that they chose the wrong team for Kentucky...