The Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook , an annual publication previewing the college basketball season since the early 1980s, was released recently in a digital format. Printed copies will be shipping soon.
Blue Ribbon projects the Wolverines to finish 9th in the Big Ten in Dusty May’s first season.
May is quoted throughout the Michigan preview, praising his newcomers and transfers, noting that he’s “reinvigorated for something new” and excited to see how this team will respond to pressure and adversity.
The predicted order of finish in the Big Ten is as follows:
- Indiana
- Illinois
- Purdue
- UCLA
- Ohio State
- Michigan State
- Oregon
- USC
- Michigan
- Washington
- Wisconsin
- Nebraska
- Maryland
- Northwestern
- Rutgers
- Iowa
- Penn State
- Minnesota
Only three of the 18 Big Ten schools were picked in the top 25 nationally: Indiana (14), Illinois (17) and Purdue (22).
Here are some notes on Michigan, the Big Ten at large, and the national scene from the annual publication:
- Michigan receives ‘B’ ratings across the board for backcourt, frontcourt, bench/depth, and intangibles.
- Braden Smith is the Big Ten Player of the Year. Oumar Ballo is tabbed as the conference’s Newcomer of the Year.
- The All-Big Ten team features Smith, Ballo, Payton Sandfort, Great Osobor and Dawson Garcia.
- The top three Big Ten backcourts are Purdue, Illinois and UCLA.
- The top three Big Ten frontcourts are Indiana, Ohio State and Michigan.
- Smith is a Second Team All-American while Osobor and Ballo were named Fourth Team All-Americans.
- Alabama’s Mark Sears is Blue Ribbon’s pick for national player of the year and Duke’s Cooper Flagg is the pick for newcomer of the year.
Here are the Blue Ribbon Preseason All-American teams:
- First team: Sears, Arizona’s Caleb Love, North Carolina’s RJ Davis, UConn’s Alex Karaban and Hunter Dickinson of Kansas.
- Second team: Auburn’s Johni Broome, Flagg, Wade Taylor IV of Texas A&M, Tennessee’s Zakai Zeigler and Smith.
- Third team: Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner, Gonzaga’s Graham Ike, Robbie Avila of Saint Louis, Houston’s J’Wan Roberts and Iowa State’s Tamin Lipsey.
- Fourth team: Ballo, Osobor, UAB’s Yaxel Lendeborg, Hunter Sallis of Wake Forest and Houston’s LJ Cryer.
The Blue Ribbon college basketball yearbook is available to purchase here .
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