I've officially lost patience with the offseason. It's been too long since I've seen basketball, so I've decided to take matters into my own hands.
Rather than wait for the actual games, I've gone ahead and pestered enough coaches and sifted enough numbers to come up with what I think is a fair approximation of what we're going to see this season. Today I'm rolling out Part 1 of my conclusions.
Here are my picks for the top 10 offenses of 2014-15.
Bo Ryan's team didn't even have the best offense in the Big Ten last season, much less in the country. How can I pick the Badgers as No. 1 in the nation on that side of the ball for 2014-15? Here's my thinking...
Wisconsin will rarely turn the ball over this season. We know that in advance because, well, Wisconsin hardly ever turns the ball over. In Big Ten play last season the Badgers gave the ball away on just 12 percent of their possessions.
I also suspect this will again be a perimeter-oriented offense, just as it was last season (launching 39 percent of its field goal attempts from beyond the arc in conference play). And I have to wonder whether a team that shot 75 percent at the free throw line in Big Ten action might be able to do a little better than 35 percent on its 3s this time around. Ben Brust will be missed, sure, but I expect Sam Dekker to improve on last season's 33 percent accuracy from deep.
Lastly, these Wisconsin guys get to the line (a new wrinkle in Madison). Dekker, Frank Kaminsky, Traevon Jackson and (especially) Nigel Hayes -- each draws at least four fouls per 40 minutes. Only Iowa (barely) posted a higher free throw rate in Big Ten play last season.