RANKINGS: 2019 Rivals150 | 2019 Team rankings | 2019 Position rankings
MORE: Ten tidbits from USA Basketball's Final Four event
In this week’s Twitter Tuesday mailbag, we dive into Indiana’s 2019 hopes, take a stab at guessing next season’s preseason No. 1 team, preview what’s next for Duke and North Carolina, discuss Arizona’s top-ranked class and more.
Unfortunately, for the Hoosiers' sake, I do not. Trendon Watford is down to a final five of Indiana, Alabama, Duke, LSU and Memphis, with the Crimson Tide viewed as the favorite. Indiana can sell Watford the family angle and the chance to have the ball in his hands early, but the Hoosiers continues to play catch-up.
Lester Quinones, who has already visited LSU, Maryland and Memphis, will be in Bloomington likely before the end of the month. He will also take his fifth and final official visit tour to Michigan on April 29. Memphis might be the program to beat, with Maryland not too far off and Michigan a potential dark horse.
If not Watford or Quinones, then who for the Hoosiers? Harlond Beverly has been prioritized by Indiana this winter and he unofficially visited the program during the season. Indiana has definitely made up ground with the four-star guard.
I think Kentucky will start the season ranked No. 1. Sure, the Wildcats will lose Reid Travis, Keldon Johnson, PJ Washington and likely Tyler Herro, but if Immanuel Quickley, Ashton Hagans, Nick Richards and E.J. Montgomery return, along with the enrollments of Bucknell transfer Nate Sestina, Kahlil Whitney and Tyrese Maxey, Keion Brooks, and maybe a recruiting win with Jaden McDaniels, the Wildcats would enter the new season atop the polls. Not far behind will be Virginia, Marquette (if Markus Howard returns), Michigan State (if Cassius Winston returns) and Tennessee (if Grant Williams returns).
Tre Jones is returning for his sophomore season, which is a giant win for the program and its hopes of winning another national title next year. Jones' return means Duke can put less of an emphasis on the guard position this spring, though the program would love to add R.J. Hampton. Matthew Hurt seems to be a Duke lean, which would answer the Blue Devils' needs in the frontcourt. If it plays out that way, Duke might then stand pat and focus more of its attention on the 2020 class and the recruitments of juniors B.J. Boston and Jeremy Roach.
I would be very surprised if Cole Anthony does not commit to North Carolina by the end of the month. Anthony has prolonged his recruitment throughout the winter months for a reason: to see who will be leaving and who will be staying at each of his finalists. The five-star is down to a final four of Georgetown, Notre Dame, Oregon and North Carolina, and now that Coby White has announced his intentions of entering his name into the NBA Draft North Carolina looks to have an even better chance at landing Anthony.
There has been whispers over the past 20 months or so that Sean Miller was close to being dismissed as the head coach at Arizona. However, here we are and Miller remains in Tucson and has the Wildcats with the top-ranked 2019 class in the country. Five-star signees Nico Mannion and Josh Green have often talked about their strong relationship with Miller and seem ready to join the program this summer. As long as Miller remains Arizona’s head coach, then the Wildcats will enter the new season with a chance to return to the NCAA tournament next March riding the backs of such talents as Mannion and Green.
Three good ones come to mind:
Olivier Robinson-Nkamhoua was an underrated prospect heading into his senior year but the Finnish born forward has seen his recruitment skyrocket in recent months. Just last week, he visited Pitt and will be tripping to Illinois and Tennessee before the month completes.
It was not like Clarence Nadolny has been hiding as the three-star prospect played on the Under Armour circuit for the past few years. However, he put together a tremendous senior season and is now down to a final three of Iowa State, Texas Tech and West Virginia. Look for a commitment in the coming weeks.
Myron Gardner, playing alongside a bevy of high-major talent with the Spire Academy bunch this winter, used the spotlight to improve his recruitment. Cincinnati, Georgetown, Missouri and Xavier are just a few that remain in active pursuit.
