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10 questions for '99-00 Who plays for Duke now? Who coaches Georgia? Etc.
Posted: Tuesday October 19, 1999 09:04 PM
By Stewart Mandel, CNN/SI It's college basketball time once again, and for those of you who don't bother to keep up with the sport in May or September, you're probably left with one glaring question right about now. Who's playing? We'll attempt to answer that, as well as nine other questions, that might get you primed for the Madness. 1) Who's good? Well, we wouldn't want to give away too much before SI's preview Nov. 10! But Connecticut, who you may recall won the national title last year, returns starters Khalid El-Amin, Kevin Freeman and Jake Voskuhl. Final Four participant Michigan State's Mateen Cleaves is back, as are counterparts Scoonie Penn and Michael Redd at Ohio State. And the addition of McDonald's All-American guards DerMarr Johnson and Kenny Satterfield make Cincinnati a trendy pick. 2) Who's not? Probably 200something Division I schools. But in terms of "who's not as good as they were last year," we'd start with Kentucky, who lost four starters, and Duke, who lost four NBA first round draft picks. Not that they haven't been there before. But taking the cake is Bob Knight's once untouchable Indiana Hoosiers, who after the defection of Luke Recker will rely, quite frankly, on A.J. Guyton and a bunch of schleps.
3) Is Jamaal Magloire still in college? Yes. You may recall the Kentucky center declaring for the draft. But he changed his mind and came back. New Mexico's Lamont Long also thought otherwise. The same can't be said for Missouri's Albert White, Georgia Tech's Dion Glover or UNLV's Shawn Marion. And North Carolina's Vasco Evtimov flat out vanished to Greece. 4) Is Don Haskins still coaching? No, for the first time in 37 years, The Bear will not be at UTEP's helm. His replacement, Jason Rabedeaux , is just one of many notable new coaches around the country. Former Michigan coach Steve Fisher surfaces at San Diego State, Rhode Island's Jim Harrick moves to Georgia (we're pretty sure) and Gonzaga's Dan Monson relocates to Minnesota. Also, Quin Snyder replaces Norm Stewart at Missouri, while Steve Alford inherits Tom Davis' spot at Iowa. 5) What is the game's most talented position? Once again, point guard. In addition to El-Amin, Cleaves and Penn, there's Ed Cota at North Carolina, Robert O'Kelley at Wake Forest, Erick Barkley at St. John's and Gonzaga's Matt Santangelo. 6) What is its best name? Full name? Virginia freshman Majestic Mapp. Nickname? Brad "Big Continent" Millard, the 7-foot-3, oft-injured center at Mt. St. Mary's who was last seen squaring off against Tim Duncan in the 1997 NCAA Tournament. 7) When do the games start? Like December? Actually, while the start of practices remains the first Saturday after Oct. 15, the games keep getting earlier. In less than a month (Nov. 11), NCAA championship participants Duke and UConn will be playing at Madison Square Garden. 8) Are any big-name transfers eligible this season? Not quite like last year, or what you'll see in 2000. But watch for center 7-1 Loren Woods (formerly of Wake Forest) at Arizona, Michigan State's Mike Chappell (Duke), Kansas' Luke Axtell (Texas) and TCU's Myron Anthony (Kentucky). 9) Who's left at Duke? From last year's juggernaut, only forwards Shane Battier and Chris Carrawell and backup swingman Nate James. But don't pity the Blue Devils. Freshmen Jason Williams, Casey Sanders, Mike Dunleavy Jr. and Carlos Boozer (out right now with broken foot) are all capable of starting. 10) Who are the preseason All-Americans? Cleaves and Penn and Auburn's Chris Porter are locks. After that, you decide between El-Amin, Maryland's Terence Morris, Texas' Chris Mihm, Cincinnati's Kenyon Martin, Ohio State's Michael Redd, DePaul's Quentin Richardson and Fresno State's Courtney Alexander.
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