This time the disrespect is on the other foot.
ESPN’s Jeff Borzello revealed his ‘way-too-early’ top 25 rankings for the upcoming college basketball season and was very high on one local team and shockingly dismissive of another.
Borzello had previously ranked Michigan State No.1. Here’s what Borzello had to say about the Spartans.
While seemingly every other team in the country had massive changes throughout April and May, Michigan State was pretty stagnant — in a good way. Cassius Winston announced very quickly that he was returning to East Lansing, and Nick Ward departed as expected. Outside of that, Tom Izzo knew exactly what roster he was going to have for the 2019-20 season. And even after all the dust settled, Michigan State looks like the preseason No. 1 team in the country. Winston is a Wooden Award favorite; Joshua Langford should return at full health; and Xavier Tillman could become one of the most productive players in the Big Ten.
What is incredible about the Michigan Wolverines being left out of the rankings completely is that in the last assessment of Borzello’s rankings, the Wolverines were ranked No. 5. A lot has happened since then.
- Jordan Poole left for the NBA.
- Ignas Brazdeikis lefty for the NBA
- Charles Matthews left for the NBA
- John Beilein left to coach in the NBA
- Top recruit Jalen Wilson asked for release from the program
If Borzello is not a fan of new head coach Juwan Howard and the cast of players the Wolverines have returning his ranking may be justified. I personally think it’s a little harsh to go from top 5 to not mentioned at all.
What do you think, Nation? Is Borzello off his rocker, or is he just telling us a hard truth about Michigan basketball?
