College Hoops Season 2025-26

Iowa, for sure a team to watch. They got Drake’s coach and star players transfer Joey Matteoni and Bennett Stirtz from their 31-4 team.
 
Smith has 6pts 9assists and 2 steals with 15 minutes left to play.

Loyer already with 18!
 
Kentucky used to be a coal black team under Calipari. That veil of darkness has lifted under Mark Pope. Tonight they are starting sophomore guard Collin Chandler (from Utah!!! There’s where the White studs went) and sophomore forward Trent Noah (a local Kentucky native). Off the bench they are utilizing a 6’-11” freshman Croatian named Jelavic. You could do a lot worse than the #9 ranked Wildcats.
 
Freethinker said:
Kentucky used to be a coal black team under Calipari. That veil of darkness has lifted under Mark Pope. Tonight they are starting sophomore guard Collin Chandler (from Utah!!! There’s where the White studs went) and sophomore forward Trent Noah (a local Kentucky native). Off the bench they are utilizing a 6’-11” freshman Croatian named Jelavic. You could do a lot worse than the #9 ranked Wildcats.
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Mark Pope has definitely done a good job at getting some pale faces in the mix at Kentucky. Chandler and Noah are likely only starting due to injuries, but it is clear they will still be key pieces this year for the team, which is much more than can be said for Cal's Kentucky teams.

Iowa is actually only starting two Whites (Stirtz and Cooper Koch), but there will be plenty of Whites off the bench. I was surprised to see that Brendan Hausen (K-State transfer) wasn't starting. In addition, McCollum is recruiting lots of Whites from the high school ranks, so he is clearly a White-friendly coach, which is all we can really ask for.
 
KnowTheScore said:
Iowa is actually only starting two Whites (Stirtz and Cooper Koch), but there will be plenty of Whites off the bench. I was surprised to see that Brendan Hausen (K-State transfer) wasn't starting. In addition, McCollum is recruiting lots of Whites from the high school ranks, so he is clearly a White-friendly coach, which is all we can really ask for.
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McCollum brought in a ton of new faces. in fact, it’s my understanding that the Hawkeyes only return 1 (ONE!!!) player from last season, the highly touted Cooper Koch. as such, McCollum is clearly still trying to find out what he has. it’s unlikely that his starting lineup will remain the same. additionally, although it’s obviously early, Iowa may have a deeper rotation this year than in the past. they certainly have some intriguing pieces, led by phenomenal point guard Bennett Stirtz.

i can provide a more comprehensive analysis in the near future, if no one else wants the job.

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a player that will probably not get any national recognition but who has a ton of game is Robert Morris power forward, Nikoloas Chitikoudis. the Greek junior is a below the rim strong man who can finish around the basket with either hand and is a physical presence on the glass. he’s not a highlight-maker, but he’s a difference maker. it’s a shame he’s playing for such a low level program.
 
Freethinker said:
Kentucky used to be a coal black team under Calipari. That veil of darkness has lifted under Mark Pope. Tonight they are starting sophomore guard Collin Chandler (from Utah!!! There’s where the White studs went) and sophomore forward Trent Noah (a local Kentucky native). Off the bench they are utilizing a 6’-11” freshman Croatian named Jelavic. You could do a lot worse than the #9 ranked Wildcats.
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Yes indeed ...check out Chandler's Highlight Reel DUNK #1 on ESPN Top 10
 
What a dunk by Chandler! The Kentucky DWFs need an overachieving gym rat to cheer for! Pope taking over for Calipari was best possible outcome!
 
here’s an interesting tidbit …

over the past 9 seasons with Matt Painter at the helm, Purdue has had 7 all-Americans. during that same span, they’ve had ZERO top-30 prospects AND ZERO top-30 recruiting classes.

yet, they start the season ranked #1 in the nation, with a preseason consensus all-American at point guard (who is also a candidate for national PoY), and they’ve been amongst the best teams in the nation for much of that timeframe. how is this possible if the “talent evaluation” by the “experts” is correct?
 
Jimmy Chitwood said:
here’s an interesting tidbit …

over the past 9 seasons with Matt Painter at the helm, Purdue has had 7 all-Americans. during that same span, they’ve had ZERO top-30 prospects AND ZERO top-30 recruiting classes.

yet, they start the season ranked #1 in the nation, with a preseason consensus all-American at point guard (who is also a candidate for national PoY), and they’ve been amongst the best teams in the nation for much of that timeframe. how is this possible if the “talent evaluation” by the “experts” is correct?
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DWF minds explode when hearing this!
 
TwentyTwo said:
Yes indeed ...check out Chandler's Highlight Reel DUNK #1 on ESPN Top 10
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With his appearance (hair and complexion) I’m getting flashbacks of another super bouncy White athlete. Chase Budinger. Stud basketball and volleyball player. Guy could, and probably still can, jump out of the gym.
 
Jimmy Chitwood said:
here’s an interesting tidbit …

over the past 9 seasons with Matt Painter at the helm, Purdue has had 7 all-Americans. during that same span, they’ve had ZERO top-30 prospects AND ZERO top-30 recruiting classes.

yet, they start the season ranked #1 in the nation, with a preseason consensus all-American at point guard (who is also a candidate for national PoY), and they’ve been amongst the best teams in the nation for much of that timeframe. how is this possible if the “talent evaluation” by the “experts” is correct?
Click to expand...
Excellent post!
 
Freethinker said:
With his appearance (hair and complexion) I’m getting flashbacks of another super bouncy White athlete. Chase Budinger. Stud basketball and volleyball player. Guy could, and probably still can, jump out of the gym.
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Good call! Buddinger was a freak before the knee injuries!
 
it’s possible that the two best point guards in ALL of college basketball are overachieving, blue collar, gym rats who play in the Big Ten: Braden Smith for Purdue and Bennett Stirtz for Iowa.

more to come as the season progresses …
 
Jimmy Chitwood said:
it’s possible that the two best point guards in ALL of college basketball are overachieving, blue collar, gym rats who play in the Big Ten: Braden Smith for Purdue and Bennett Stirtz for Iowa.

more to come as the season progresses …
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I agree - there is a good argument to be made that they are the two top guards in the entire country! At the very least, they are two out of probably the top four in the nation. It is also worth noting the lack of attention both Smith and Stirtz received in recruiting. Smith was not a top 200 player coming out of high school yet he has managed to start every game since he arrived at Purdue. Stirtz had to start out at Division II Northwest Missouri State before making his way to Drake and now to Iowa. Stirtz has legitimate NBA lottery pick hype.
 
Badgers handled business against NIU. Winning 97-72.

Nolan Winter has 12pts, 7reb, 1ast, and 2blks

Austin Rapp with 8pts and 6reb

Andrew Rohde with 8pts, 2ast, and a steal

Aleksas Bielauskas had 8pts, 4reb, and a steal off the bench

Will Garlock 5pts, 2reb, 2ast

Jack Janicki 2pts, 3reb, 2ast, and 3steals off the bench

Even Issac Gard scored 5 in his minute of play!
 
sorry for the brief post, but i’m headed to coach my kids in just a few minutes …

some really intriguing matchups tonight, especially the very-White Creighton (6 featured gym rats in their rotation) Bluejays versus the unfortunately dark Gonzaga Bulldogs (only two blue collar players featured, including talented Spanish freshman Saint-Supry) contest. both are highly ranked and high scoring. it should be a fun game to watch.

Florida’s big frontline (Haugh, Condon, and Handlogten) look to be dominant, but will their backcourt share the ball? tonight they face off against some WGAs from Florida State in an early season rivalry game.

very affletic Texas Tech will face off with very overachieving Illinois in another early season showdown between two highly touted teams.

go Crackers!
 
Spaniard Aday Mara has 10 points 10 rebounds 5 assists and 3 blocks! Still 12:41 left! Michigan got a good one by way of UCLA.
 
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