The Biggest Winners and Losers of the 2014 College Basketball Offseason

A lot can happen from the moment the college basketball national champion cuts down the nets to the start of the next season.

For one, Connecticut went from the top of the world as the 2013-14 title winners to No. 17 in the initial Associated Press Top 25 poll. Elsewhere, Kentucky and Duke hauled in a ridiculous amount of talent on the recruiting trail (what else is new for the Wildcats?), and North Carolina found itself embroiled in controversy.

Some players left early for the NBA, while others decided to stay in school, and the top teams in the country look different because of it. It’s almost time to finally lace it up again and actually play the games.

With all that in mind, read on to see some of the winners and losers of the 2014 college basketball offseason.

Winner: Kentucky Wildcats

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The more things change in college basketball, the more they stay the same.

John Calipari landed a loaded recruiting class that was ranked No. 2 in the country. He now has nine McDonald’s All-Americans on his roster, which basically means there will be more talent on Kentucky’s bench at any one time than the opposing team has on the floor.

It’s not just the recruits who should have Wildcats fans fired up for the 2014-15 season. Andrew Harrison, Aaron Harrison, Willie Cauley-Stein, Alex Poythress, Dakari Johnson and Marcus Lee all returned to school, so there will be an element of veteran leadership to go along with the young talent that isn’t always there for Kentucky.

The rest of the nation may not stand much of a chance.

Loser: Indiana Hoosiers

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The loss of star player Noah Vonleh was certainly difficult to deal with for the Indiana Hoosiers, but that is the least of their worries heading into the 2014-15 season.

Recently, two players were involved in a car wreck where one player ran over the other. What’s more, Troy Williams and Stanford Robinson were suspended for four games after failing drug tests.

Indiana really needs an impressive season in the Big Ten to bounce back from a tumultuous offseason and a disappointing finish in 2013-14, but it will likely finish near the bottom of the standings. There are just too many talented teams in the league for the Hoosiers to realistically contend for a conference title or even a top-four seed in the conference tournament.

Winner: Duke Blue Devils

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Duke needed a special 2014 offseason after losing to Mercer in the round of 64 in last season’s NCAA tournament. Thanks to Mike Krzyzewski’s touch on the recruiting trail, that is exactly what the Blue Devils received.

Krzyzewski landed the top-rated recruiting class in the country and could have the next No. 1 pick in the NBA draft on his roster in Jahlil Okafor. Throw in Tyus Jones and Justise Winslow, and there is plenty of reason for optimism in Durham.

The reason that this recruiting class is so important is the fact that it takes care of the two major weaknesses that held the Blue Devils back a season ago.

Winslow will be one of the best perimeter defenders in the nation in 2014-15, while Okafor will protect the rim. No longer will opponents destroy Duke’s weak defense and counterbalance the Blue Devils’ efforts on the offensive end. What’s more, Okafor will dominate on the glass and almost single-handedly take care of Duke’s rebounding problems from a year ago.

Loser: North Carolina Tar Heels

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The 2014 offseason was certainly not all bad for North Carolina because Marcus Paige decided to come back, Roy Williams landed the No. 3-ranked recruiting class in the country and the Tar Heels found themselves at No. 6 in the initial AP Poll.

However, one story has dominated almost all talk regarding North Carolina this offseason.

At this point, the academic scandal hovering over Chapel Hill has been reported ad nauseam, and the point of this is not to rehash all the details. Still, potential sanctions for classes that didn’t meet academic standards will be a problem for the North Carolina basketball program until the issue is finally resolved.

It was certainly an offseason to forget for the Tar Heels.

Winner: Utah Utes

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Utah may be in the midst of a football resurgence in the Pac-12, but there is reason to be optimistic heading into the basketball campaign after a successful offseason.

The Utes landed a potential star recruit in Brekkott Chapman to anchor the middle, and he should immediately boost the rebounding and interior defense. What’s more, Delon Wright should take another step forward as a triple-double threat every time he takes the court. Wright may be the best player nobody knows about in college basketball, but that will change this season.

The Utes even find themselves ranked No. 25 in the initial AP Poll in a Pac-12 that is wide open behind Arizona.

Utah could certainly make a run at a favorable seed in the NCAA tournament and second-place finish in the conference if Chapman lives up to expectations and Wright turns in another impressive season.

Loser: SMU Mustangs

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This was supposed to be the season that SMU completely turned the corner and made the NCAA tournament. It could even win a couple games when it got there.

Then the offseason happened.

Top recruiting target Emmanuel Mudiay chose SMU over Kentucky in a monumental recruiting win for the Mustangs, but he instead will be playing professionally overseas. It was certainly a loss for Larry Brown’s squad and put a major dent in its postseason hopes.

In fact, Mudiay recently illustrated what a boost he could have been for SMU when he posted a triple-double with 22 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds in the Chinese Basketball Association. 

As if that wasn’t enough, power forward Markus Kennedy is currently ineligible to play this season. It remains to be seen whether he will join the team eventually, but he was a critical part of the squad’s impressive run in the NIT last season.

What’s more, Texas Tech transfer Jordan Tolbert was deemed ineligible by the NCAA.

SMU still has enough talent left to reach the NCAA tournament, but the special season that appeared to be in store may no longer be a reality.

Winner: Texas Longhorns

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It wasn’t that long ago that the Texas basketball program was mired in mediocrity and potentially on the brink of changing directions with its head coach.

Instead, the Longhorns are ranked No. 10 in the country after an impressive 2014 offseason and have Big 12 title aspirations for the 2014-15 campaign. Funny how quickly things can change with a couple of wins on the recruiting trail.

Myles Turner chose Texas over a number of top-notch programs and will anchor a Longhorns lineup that is filled with veteran leadership in the form of Jonathan Holmes, Isaiah Taylor, Cameron Ridley and Demarcus Holland.

However, it was Turner’s decision to come to Austin that made Texas a winner for the 2014 offseason. He has one-and-done talent, will control the boards and should swat plenty of shots.

Longhorns fans should enjoy him while they can.

Loser: Michigan Wolverines and Michigan State Spartans

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Archrivals Michigan State and Michigan are grouped together here because they faced the same issue this offseason—the loss of a ridiculous amount of talent to graduation or the NBA.

Between the Spartans and Wolverines, Keith Appling, Gary Harris, Adreian Payne, Nik Stauskas, Glenn Robinson III, Jordan Morgan and Jon Horford all left. That combined roster could very easily take home a national title, so it is understandable that both Michigan schools are near the bottom of the initial Top 25.

The Spartans check in at No. 18, while the Wolverines are No. 24. They are both looking up at Wisconsin and probably Ohio State in terms of being Big Ten favorites heading into the season and will be relying upon a number of players to make a jump to accomplish their ultimate goals.

It wasn't just the lost talent that hampered Michigan State's offseason, though. Potential starter (or at least solid contributor) Kenny Kaminski left the program in August, which is difficult because he would have helped make up for the production in the frontcourt that left with Payne.

The departure of players is a defining part of college sports, but Michigan State and Michigan were hit particularly hard this offseason.

Winner: Kansas Jayhawks

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It is a testament to the program that Bill Self has built that the Kansas Jayhawks can lose three starters and two top-five NBA draft picks and still be ranked No. 5 in the AP Poll after the offseason ends.

Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid may no longer be around in Lawrence, but Self brought in Cliff Alexander, Kelly Oubre Jr., Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk and Devonte Graham to join Perry Ellis and Wayne Selden Jr. on one of the best rosters in the country.

Kansas has weapons on the wing who can drill it from three-point range and get out in transition and weapons on the block who can bang around down low and control the glass. Graham is a true point guard who will control it all with solid ball control and an understanding of pace and tempo.

Most programs would have drastically fallen back if they lost two players of the caliber of Wiggins and Embiid. Kansas may have actually gotten better.

Winner: Wisconsin Badgers

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Let’s throw an extra winner in here because the season hasn’t even started yet. There will be plenty of time to be negative when the losses pile up for certain teams, but everyone is 0-0 now and optimism abounds.

Wisconsin can certainly be classified as a winner this offseason because of the talent it brought back and the decisions from Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker to stay in school. The Badgers are always one of the better teams in the country and serious threats in the Big Ten, but they broke through in 2013-14 and reached the Final Four.

Now they have bigger aspirations.

With Dekker, Kaminsky, Traevon Jackson, Josh Gasser and Nigel Hayes spearheading the efforts, Wisconsin is on the short list of national title contenders. The Badgers certainly won’t be sneaking up on anyone this season in the Big Ten or on the national stage in March.

*Any recruiting rankings used in this story courtesy of 247Sports.