Washington among preseason snubs
The USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball preseason poll has been unveiled for the 2019-20 season, set to tip off in two weeks.
While the votes for the poll are based on returning and incoming talent and the strength of an overall program, there’s always a handful of teams left out that were on the cusp of the Top 25 and are deserving based on their 201920 potential.
A look at five snubbed teams from this year’s preseason poll:
❚ Washington (27-9 in 2018-19): The resurgence of the Pac-12 will be defined in numbers, and the Huskies deserve to be ranked just as much as stalwarts Arizona and Oregon. They’ll be a contender to win the Pac-12 despite losing the league’s player of the year (Jaylen Nowell) because third-year coach Mike Hopkins hauled in two top-10 freshmen in Isaiah Stewart and Jaden McDaniels. The pair will make for an intimidating frontcourt to go alongside a backcourt headed by Kentucky transfer Quade Green, a dynamic playmaker.
❚ Georgetown (19-14 in 2018-19): The Big East has three teams – Creighton and Marquette being the others – worthy of being included in the poll. But the Hoyas have the most intriguing program trajectory under third-year coach Patrick Ewing, who had Georgetown on the bubble last season and way ahead of schedule in a rebuilding process. Now he has experience and talent – particularly sophomores Mac McClung, James Akinjo and Josh LeBlanc – to contend for a Big East title and get the Hoyas back in the tournament. Transfers Omer Yurtseven (North Carolina
State) and Terrell Allen (Central Florida) will add even more firepower.
❚ Virginia Commonwealth (25-8 in
2018-19): Coach Mike Rhoades welcomes back a senior-laden roster that was a No. 8 seed in last year’s NCAAs. The Rams will be deep and experienced in 2019-20, led by veteran guard Marcus Evans. Look for the rebranded version of VCU to make some serious noise come March. The Rams could be benefited by a better Atlantic 10 this year; while they’ll be the favorites, a balanced Davidson team also capable of being in the top 25 will add conference strength
(and an NET boost).
❚ Illinois (12-21 in 2018-19): The Fighting Illini’s rebuild is poised to meet its fruition phase under third-year coach Brad Underwood. Illinois brings back four starters from a team that beat Michigan State and won at Ohio State while closing strong in Big Ten Conference play last season. It hasn’t been pretty for this program, having lost a school-record 21 games last season. But talent wise, there’s an NCAA tournament team here – and perhaps a Big Ten dark-horse contender. Kofi Cockburn, a freshman 7-footer, will add size to a
batch of hungry returnees.
❚ Colorado (23-13 in 2018-19): The Buffaloes bring back virtually their whole roster from last season, including Pac-12 first-teamers Tyler Bey and McKinley Wright IV. This is also the deepest team coach Tad Boyle has had in his 10 seasons in Boulder. Look for the Buffs to be in the mix for the league title hunt (it’d be their first conference hardware since 1969) and don’t sleep on them come March, either.