Five programs in decline entering the new season
Our 2015-16 season preview continues with a look at five programs in decline. Check back every day for more college hoops preview content.
MEMPHIS: Tigers fans used to complain that Josh Pastner’s teams couldn’t advance beyond the opening weekend of the NCAA tournament. Now they yearn for those days. One year after poor point guard play and insufficient outside shooting sent Memphis tumbling out of NCAA tournament contention by midseason, the Tigers appear to be in jeopardy of missing the postseason altogether for a second straight year. Forward Austin Nichols, the team’s leading scorer and shot blocker last season, transferred to Virginia during the summer. Forward Kuran Iverson, wing Nick King and backup point guard Pookie Powell also bolted. And starting point guard Kedren Johnson is hampered by a lingering shoulder injury that may require season-ending surgery if the pain becomes too great. Thus the bounce-back season Pastner badly needs may be difficult to attain. He’ll have to hope transfer Ricky Tarrant solidifies the backcourt, senior forward Shaq Goodwin performs at an all-conference level and the Lawson brothers make a huge impact as true freshmen.
KANSAS STATE: Bruce Weber’s tenure at Kansas State so far has alarming similarities to his days at Illinois. Again he won big his first year with his predecessor’s players. Again he thus far has struggled to sustain that success with the players he has recruited on his own. Too much infighting and too little Big 12-level talent led to a chaotic 15-win season last year in which the Wildcats missed out on the postseason for the first time since 2007 and suffered their first losing record since 2003. Worse yet, Kansas State lost five underclassmen in the spring, three to dismissals and two others to transfers. Throw in a pair of graduating seniors, and Weber enters his fourth season with five returning scholarship players who combined to average a meager 17.2 points last season. He’ll lean on senior guard Justin Edwards, junior forward Wesley Iwundu this season while hoping for contributions from a large crop of newcomers that includes coveted junior college transfer Carlbe Ervin II and Rivals 150 prospect Dean Wade.
MISSOURI: Kim Anderson’s dream job has been more of a nightmare so far. In the former Missouri star’s first season as head coach of his alma mater, the Tigers went 9-23 last year, shot a dismal 32.9 percent from behind the arc and scored their fewest points per game since 1952. Things only got worse in the offseason as top scorer and rebounder Johnathan Williams transferred to Gonzaga and promising guard Montaque Gill-Caesar transferred to San Diego State. It would help if Anderson could point to some major recruiting success to give hope for the future, but he has yet to land a Rivals top 100 prospect. Missouri swung and missed on McDonald’s All-American Thomas Bryant last April and failed to land any of the three Saint Louis-area top 100 prospects in the Class of 2016 despite hiring an assistant coach with ties to their AAU program. The SEC preseason poll projected Missouri to finish dead-last in a 14-team league this season. To exceed expectations, Anderson needs leading returning scorer Wes Clark to emerge as a go-to threat, junior college transfer Martavian Payne to provide outside shooting and forward Jakeenan Gant and guard Namon Wright to enjoy breakout seasons.
ARKANSAS: At the end of a tumultuous offseason rife with defections and off-the-court issues, Arkansas coach Mike Anderson remained defiantly optimistic. “I told a lot of people we are not going backwards,” Anderson told reporters in Fayetteville earlier this month. That will be a nearly impossible promise for Anderson to follow through on considering how much talent is gone from a Razorbacks team that won 27 games last season and reached the NCAA tournament’s round of 32. SEC player of the year Bobby Portis and second-team all-league guard Michael Qualls both entered the NBA draft. Fellow starters Ky Madden and Alandise Harris exhausted their eligibility. Then top 100 signee Ted Kapita failed to qualify and Anderson indefinitely suspended three players including promising guard Anton Beard and rotation big man Jacorey Williams after they were arrested on suspicion of first-degree forgery. The end result is Arkansas moving on without all five starters and more than 78 percent of its scoring from last season. The Razorbacks will rebuild around heralded recruit Jimmy Whitt, leading returning scorer Anthlon Bell and former role players like Manuale Watkins, and Moses Kingsley. Finishing in the middle of the pack in the SEC would be a major accomplishment. Duplicating last year’s success is a pike dream.
FLORIDA: Billy Donovan won back-to-back national titles in 2006 and 2007 and reached the Elite Eight or further every year from 2011-2014, but the legendary coach did not leave the Florida program in great shape when he left to become head coach of the Oklahoma City this past spring. The Gators are coming off their first losing season in 16 years, a 16-17 campaign bogged down by an anemic offense and the underachievement of former McDonald’s All-Americans Chris Walker and Kasey Hill. New coach Mike White has a good chance to improve on last year’s record in his debut season, but Florida is far from a lock to reach the NCAA tournament, let alone get back to the level that was previously customary. Aside from standout forward Dorian Finney-Smith, there are no established stars. Hill could be dynamic if he improves his decision making and outside shooting. South Florida transfer John Egbunu drew praise for his play in practice last year and could solidify the frontcourt. Brandone Francis and DeVon Walker are among the young players with a chance to see playing time at wing. That’s a decent nucleus, but the Gators will be hard-pressed to finish in the SEC’s top five next year.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
