The Green Board

IF preseason holds then yes BIG is back, but they have to do it on the court.

Has anyone seen Hawk? Is Iowa going to have a team this year?

I'm hesitant to put Indiana back among the elite.

When I saw Athlon had them #1, it kind of shocked me. I didn't realize the hype had surrounded them this year and not Kentucky.

They are returning something like 96% of scoring and a top 5 recruiting class. Plus the best big man in college basketball

Still though. Caught me off guard. Didn't really think of them much other than that UK game.

I'm not completely sold on them. I think they will be a VERY good team, but I'm not so sure about the best team in the country.

A little late but Iowa should be decent this year. They return a lot of scoring but will start true freshmen at the PG and C positions. I wouldnt expect a lot out of Woodbury this season, but he is a good passer from the post and will help Iowa sure up the struggles from last season rebounding and playing defense. Not sure Iowa is NCAA material, with a tough conference and horrible non-conference schedule, they should be in the NIT again. Either way, the buzz in Iowa City about hoops season is a lot higher than it has been in years.

Good to hear. BIG seems to certainly be on the rise, but they need to prove it on the court.

FWIW, Gesell is Iowa's newcomer to watch in my opinion. Woodbury is going to need to develop and he got away with a few travels today and definitely looked jittery in his first "game." Iowa is a team that can put points up quickly and will press you all game, but they can also fall asleep on defense and let the opposition score way too easy. They also have the same scoring drought issue they did last year, and don't box out well.

And yes, the BIG should be stacked this season outside of Nebraska. It'll be a good thing to see for us all after this fall season.

They didn't really show the ability to play well away from home last year.

UM v. IU this year for the B10 title. I think UM has the edge because we play better defense and finally have size/depth to compete in the paint, but IU is the team everyone is talking about. We will see.

If anyone gives a damn (doubtful) here's something I threw together about Iowa's first exhibition which says some of the things I expect to see this season.