Tom Baker
11-28-2000, 08:07 AM
How good is Michigan State? We may find out in the ACC / Big 10 Challenge, I guess. I've paid more attention to football over the last several weeks, but now that football is winding down, I'm getting geared up for hoops...I was amazed to see MSU ranked that high.
Don't take this as an attack on the Spartans' program. There's no denying they were the best team last season and they proved it in the title game. They simply outclassed Florida from the opening tip until the final buzzer.
But this season isn't about last year. Michigan State lost its top scorer (Morris Peterson) and starting point guard (Mateen Cleaves). These are not insignificant losses. In fact, they are HUGE. I know they have supposedly recruited well, but should teams be ranked on the basis of offseason recruiting, when the recruits have yet to prove anything?
Just curious. This opens up a can of worms about preseason polls, subjective rankings, etc. I guess you could end all discussion by saying that polls don't matter, what matters is how you get seeded in March Madness (still the premier event in ALL of sports, IMHO). But that wouldn't be any fun...
Don't take this as an attack on the Spartans' program. There's no denying they were the best team last season and they proved it in the title game. They simply outclassed Florida from the opening tip until the final buzzer.
But this season isn't about last year. Michigan State lost its top scorer (Morris Peterson) and starting point guard (Mateen Cleaves). These are not insignificant losses. In fact, they are HUGE. I know they have supposedly recruited well, but should teams be ranked on the basis of offseason recruiting, when the recruits have yet to prove anything?
Just curious. This opens up a can of worms about preseason polls, subjective rankings, etc. I guess you could end all discussion by saying that polls don't matter, what matters is how you get seeded in March Madness (still the premier event in ALL of sports, IMHO). But that wouldn't be any fun...