#8 - Troy

This program is finding its way in the post-Maestri era. The first year was rough, but they are bringing a ton of jucos to jump-start things.

WHAT I LIKE:
They were good on the perimeter, and in today's game that is critical. They shot fairly well and defended well. And to show that things were no longer one-dimensional as in the old days, they were plus (barely) in rebounding. Kevin Thomas returns as starter, and he is a good one. He was an undersized post player last year, it appears, because even though he is 6-3 he did not attempt a three all season. But he shot 50.7% overall and averaged 7.1 rebounds/game. So he is a good place to start. And they are bringing in a large recruiting class, several of whom should help immediately.

WHAT I DON'T LIKE:
They lose four starters from a team that only won 11 games last year. Not much experience. With so many faces, it is impossible to know how they will come together.

(How do you predict about teams with so many new faces? If I were a recruiting guru and had watched these new guys play in person, maybe so. But I haven't, so I just have to go on their press releases, and that is not much.)

I'm pulling for Coach Cunningham down at Troy. He may well need more time to build than he has had but I fully expect the Trojans to be moving up this list in the next year or two.