Playing the waiting game -- 'til next year

I hope there is someone on campus with interest in putting a DeLorean up for sale, preferably one with a working flux capacitor. With the recruiting class that will be arriving in Bloomington next year, it would be much more convenient for me to skip over this year and watch the most highly touted IU team in a very long time.\nIt's hard not to drool over these recruits. The crown jewel is forward Josh Smith, who is considered to be one of the top five prep players in the country. Of course, this lends to the possibility of his entering the NBA Draft. But just look at what a year did for Carmelo Anthony. And who would want to risk the possibility of playing for the Atlanta Hawks?\nThe rest of the class is just as full of potential. D.J. White is 6'9" and 230 pounds, meaning IU will finally have a big man with some meat on his bones. Next year could be very nice indeed.\nUnfortunately, I do not think I will be able to find a way to produce the appropriate number of gigawatts necessary for going to the future. So I'll have to settle on what this year's team has to offer. And like most IU supporters, I have no idea what to expect.\nThis is one factor that can work to the advantage of the Hoosiers. Last year, they were burdened with high expectations after an appearance in the National Championship game. They started off red hot, but burned out after losing to Kentucky. The burnout manifested itself in losses to Penn State and Northwestern.\nThis year, the expectations are nil. IU doesn't enter the season ranked in the top 25. Michigan State, as always, is the fashionable choice by the experts to win the Big Ten. (Can anyone remember the last time someone besides Michigan State was picked to win the Big Ten? I'm thinking you'd have to go back to the Cuonzo Martin era at Purdue).\nAs always, the Hoosiers will be expected to make the NCAA Tournament. My guess is that they will make it in somewhere in the neighborhood of a seventh seed, but predicting where people will end up in the tournament is about as hard as getting into Nick's with a fake ID.\nOn the floor, the leader will be sophomore guard Bracey Wright, a preseason Wooden Award nominee. Last year, he averaged 17.1 points per game with a back that was out of whack for most of the season. This year, we might be able to see a fully healthy Wright do things we didn't know he was capable of.\nThe emotional leader of the team, naturally, will be A.J. Moye. Moye seems like he's been a team leader since he was a sophomore, so he should have an easy time being the senior that the younger players look up to.\nBut the key to IU doing anything notable this season is the other senior, George Leach. Leach has been maddeningly inconsistent throughout the course of his career. IU coach Mike Davis will be the first person to tell you that. But if Leach keeps himself in the right position defensively, and displays coordination on offense, IU might surprise some people this year.\nA couple of other players may also have breakout years. Sophomore point guard Marshall Strickland split time between starting and coming off the bench last year. I honestly think that he can be one of the top points in the conference this year.\nBut if you want to keep your eye on one player who is poised to be a future star, it is Pat Ewing Jr. And I don't say this solely because of his name. Remember, there's also a Pete Rose Jr. But what I have seen of Ewing has been all good, and I don't think he's done growing, either. \nWhich bodes very well … for next year.