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2016 Final Four: An Early Projection

Marshall Cherrington |
April 13, 2015 | 12:29 p.m. PDT

Staff Writer

As soon as the buzzer sounded in Indianapolis and Mike Krzyzewski captured his fifth championship, the college basketball world turned their eyes onto the 2016 season. All four teams in this year’s Final Four will undergo big changes as Wisconsin loses Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker, Duke loses their terrific trio of freshmen, Kentucky loses seven players to the NBA and Michigan State loses stars Branden Dawson and Travis Trice. While it’s hard to make back-to-back Final Four appearances, all four teams, with exception of Wisconsin, have a fair shot at returning to the final weekend of the season. Kentucky has a very good shot with the always-stellar recruiting of John Calipari and Michigan State could once again be a dark horse in next year’s tournament. Here are four teams that could be dancing in Houston come late March.

Skal Labissiere could lead Kentucky to another Final Four appearance (@Jeuls97/Twitter).
Skal Labissiere could lead Kentucky to another Final Four appearance (@Jeuls97/Twitter).
Kentucky

While it seems like Kentucky lost its entire roster on Thursday when seven players declared for the NBA Draft, the Wildcats return a solid core. Tyler Ulis will start at point guard and give Kentucky a great perimeter defender. He'll see a huge increase in minutes and it’ll be interesting to see how that affects his scoring and assist numbers. Alex Poythress may still enter the NBA Draft, but he’ll most likely be returning to Lexington. Depending on how he recovers from his injury, he should provide a veteran presence in the frontcourt. The springy Marcus Lee returns for his junior campaign and he’ll really be an interesting guy to watch. He hasn’t received many minutes over the course of his career, but that will change come next year. He’s always been a force on the defensive end, but his offensive numbers will likely see a huge increase.

Now for the stellar recruiting class. The 6-foot-10 Skal Labissiere headlines the class and he’s considered a top three player in the class of 2015 by most recruiting websites. Alongside him is Isaiah Briscoe, ranked as one of the top combo guards in the class and a guy who can really fill it up. He led his New Jersey high school team to multiple state championships over the course of his career, so he’s a guy who knows how to win in big-time situations. Shooting guard Charles Matthews round out the class for now, but the Wildcats will surely add a few guys in the late signing period. Center Thon Maker has reclassified to the 2015 class and Kentucky is heavily in the mix for him. The 7-footer has been hailed as a bigger Kevin Durant as he has the ability to handle the ball, stroke it from deep and attack the rim. With the return of a solid core and the top recruiting class in the nation once again, don’t be surprised to see Kentucky make a championship run for the third year in a row.

Virginia

Though Tony Bennett hasn’t been able to advance his team far in the NCAA Tournament the past couple of years, things could be different in 2016. Justin Anderson leaves for the NBA, but this team is still experienced and loaded. The Cavaliers return everybody except for Anderson and big man Darion Atkins and will be a veteran laden squad with seniors Anthony Gill, Evan Nolte, Mike Tobey and Malcolm Brogdon. The man leading the show, London Perrantes, will have two years under his belt and complete control of the offense. Marial Shayock, who was a true freshman this year, received some good minutes and should see an increased role in 2016. As always, it will be the stingy defense of Virginia that will propel them to the Final Four. They get up in your face and can guard all positions exceptionally well. Virginia is probably the best rotating team in college basketball, meaning that their help defense is terrific and if a guy gets into the lane, there is always somebody there waiting for him. A Kentucky-Virginia matchup in the championship would be something special.

Melo Trimble might be the best player in the Big Ten next year (@Jeff_Ermann/Twitter).
Melo Trimble might be the best player in the Big Ten next year (@Jeff_Ermann/Twitter).
Maryland

The Terps were one of the most exciting teams to watch this past year in college basketball as they had an elite level point guard in Melo Trimble, a stretch four in Jake Layman who could shoot the lights out and one of the best scorers in the country in Dez Wells. Trimble contemplated going pro, but he will be back for his sophomore campaign along with Jake Layman, who will be back for his senior season. Sharpshooter Jared Nickens returns alongside Melo Trimble in the backcourt and guard Dion Wiley provides the Terps with some good depth. Damonte Dodd should start up front with Layman if incoming center Diamond Stone doesn’t overtake him. The 6-foot-10 Stone, a top ten recruit in the class of 2015, committed to the Terps over a plethora of suitors and will look to make an instant impact on the Terps’ team. Though Maryland loses Wells and Evan Smotrycz, this team might end up better in 2016 than 2015 and that will be due in part to big seasons from Layman, Trimble and Stone. Mark Turgeon has done an incredible job on the recruiting trail and now it’s time to show he can do it on the court. This will probably be his best team that he’s ever had and Maryland will head into the 2016 season as Big Ten favorites.

Michigan State

Yes, the losses of Travis Trice and Branden Dawson are huge, but one guy they don’t lose is maybe the best coach in college basketball, Tom Izzo. While the Spartans will lose their best scorer in Trice and their best rebounder in Dawson, they return Bryn Forbes, Denzel Valentine and Matt Costello – three huge pieces. Starting point guard Lourawls 'Tum Tum' Nairn is back and will be a big key to this team’s success. Gavin Schilling was underrated coming out of Findlay Prep and now you can see he’s starting to become a force on the court. With another offseason in his pocket, expect for the junior to have a big role on next year’s team. A starting frontcourt of Schilling and Costello with a backcourt of Nairn and Frobes with Valentine rounding out the starting five is an exceptional starting lineup. Add in West Virginia transfer Eron Harris, who could very well end up in the starting five as he averaged 17.2 points per game as a sophomore guard, and forward Deyonta Davis, a top 20 recruit, and you have seven guys who can really play. Give Tom Izzo seven guys who can really play and you will most likely be rewarded with a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. 

Reach Staff Writer Marshall Cherington here or follow him on Twitter



 

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