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Post by Commissioner on Sept 2, 2014 7:52:22 GMT -5
This thread will house my previews of Horizon teams for the upcoming season. I'll post these up over the next few weeks, team by team, as time and inclination permit. We'll start today with Cleveland State. Comments welcome.
Cleveland State: 2014: 12-4 Horizon (2nd); 21-12 overall (CIT) Returns 52.4% or scoring (4th); 58.1% or rebounding (5th)
After a sluggish start, CSU won 10 of its last 11 regular season games last year before being upset by Wright State in the conference tournament and then losing to Ohio U. by two points in the CIT. That was a good season, but the Vikings were closer to a truly big year than most noticed, as they lost several close games. (The Vikes were 1-4 in games decided by 3 points or less, and 3-6 in games decided by two possessions or less). With only senior Jon Harris (10.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 53% FG) being lost to graduation, CSU looked like a pretty easy pick to win the Horizon in 2015—at least back in April.
Then came the surprising mid-summer news that junior guard Bryn Forbes, the team’s leading scorer (15.6 ppg, .424 3P%) and a second team all-conference selection, was transferring to Michigan State. Less noticed is the loss of 6-4 senior guard Sebastian Douglas (8.4 ppg, 3.4 rpg, .614 FG%), whose career was ended prematurely this spring by his third knee surgery. With the loss of Forbes and Douglas, Cleveland State is no longer the obvious choice to win the Horizon, but still has to be considered one of the early favorites.
Despite the loss of Forbes and Douglas, the Vikings still have plenty of talent in the backcourt. Senior Charlie Lee, was a 43% three point shooter last year (49% in conference play) and the Horizon’s assist leader in 2013. He’s joined by Junior Trey Lewis, the team’s top returning scorer with Forbes gone, and Creighton transfer Andre Yates. With Forbes and Douglas, I would have expected CSU to play a lot of 3 guard line-ups with those two filling the #3 slot. Without them, that will be tough, both because none of Lee, Lewis or Yates is really a suitable #3, and because the next guard off the bench will be one of a couple Detroit area freshmen, Terrell Hales or Kenny Carpenter. Hales has a reputation as a defensive specialist and Carpenter is a good athlete but it is still the unusual freshman who is ready for major playing time in this league. Thus it’s more likely we’ll see a Lee/Lewis backcourt with Yates off the bench, which leads us to the question of who will play in the front line.
Even with Forbes’ departure, the biggest loss for CSU will probably be forward Jon Harris, who graduated. Harris was perhaps the key man on the Vikings last year after transferring from Miami, Ohio, the steadiest man in the starting lineup. They also lose Devon Long, a competent, 6-7 backup center.
That’s not to say the Vikes are void of talent up front. In fact, they’ve got Anton Grady, who took a while to get in the groove last year after missing the 2013 season with injury. Grady averaged 10.4 points and 6.8 rebounds for the year, but boosted those numbers to 11.8 and 8.5 in conference play. Grady was a member of the Horizon’s All-Newcomer team in 2012 and could be ready for a breakout season this year. Joining him will be Marlin Mason, a tough-nosed forward from Detroit whose numbers were down a bit last year. Mason doesn’t score a lot but is a good rebounder and defensive player. After those two, CSU has several reasonable possibilities, but none of which are proven. The most likely starter may be Vinny Zollo, whose meandering career has taken him from Western Kentucky (where he started 14 games as a freshman on WKU’s 2012 NCAA team) to Furman (where he never actually played) to juco power NW Florida, and now to Cleveland. Zollo only averaged 3.3 points and 11 minutes per game last year with NW Florida, but he was on a team that had five other front court players sign with D-I schools, including Michael Chandler (Oregon) and Tevin Glass (Wichita State). Though Zollo may be the most likely starter, my guess is that coach Gary Waters is hoping it will be 6-9 redshirt soph Aaron Scales, not only because Scales is more of a true center, but also because if he is starting, that means he’s getting better. Another possibility is Demonte Flanigan, who saw limited action last year as a freshman. Flanigan had high-major offers (Penn State, Miami of Florida, Wisconsin, DePaul) out of high school, but didn't contribute much in 2013-14. Derek Sloan, a lightly recruited 6-6 redshirt freshman, could see action at the small forward position. It appears that 6-9 Australian forward Jono Janssen will have to sit on the bench this year for academic reasons. If he were to get eligible, he would be an intriguing factor for CSU.
Despite the unexpected loss of Forbes and Douglas, CSU has to be considered a leading contender to take the Horizon title. Waters’ teams are always well-coached, and the Vikings shoot well, even with the loss of Forbes. Lee and Lewis give them good scoring punch in the backcourt. Lee has become a much steadier player than he was his first two seasons, and the Vikes won’t turn the ball over much. Grady is likely to end the season somewhere between second team all-conference at the low end and conference Player of the Year at the high end. The Vikings need someone else to come through in the front court from the trio of Zollo, Scales and Flanigan, and we’ll have to see what Yates can offer. The bench could be a bit thin unless a lot of the “ifs” come through. But they’ll be good and should reach one of the lesser post-season tournaments if they fall short in the Horizon.
Probable Starters: G - 5-11 Sr. Charlie Lee (9.8 points, 4.1 assists, .433 3P%, .904 FT%, 1.5 steals pg, ) G - 6-2 Jr. Trey Lewis (13.1 points, 3.4 assists, 3.7 rebounds, .369 3P%) F - 6-6 Sr. Marlin Mason (5.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, .550 FG%) F - 6-8 Jr. Anton Grady (10.4 points, 6.8 rebounds) F – 6-8 Jr. Vinny Zollo (transfer; 3.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg for Western Kentucky in 2012)
Other Key Players: G – 6-0 So. Andre Yates (transfer; 1.1 ppg for Creighton in 2013) F – 6-7 So. Demonte Flanigan (1.0 ppg; 0.7 rpg) C – 6-9 So. Aaron Scales (redshirt; 1.5 ppg, 1.2 rpg in 2013)
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Post by Commissioner on Sept 5, 2014 23:18:27 GMT -5
Our second preview is the defending champ, Green Bay:
Green Bay 2014: 14-2 Horizon (first); 24-7 overall (NIT) Returns 70.7% of scoring (2nd); 78.1% of rebounding (1st)
Led by Horizon League Player of the Year Keifer Sykes and NBA draft pick Alec Brown, and boasting a win over ACC champion Virginia and the narrowest of losses to Wisconsin, Green Bay looked like a mid-major that could make some noise in last season’s NCAA. But the Phoenix were upset by Milwaukee in the Horizon League tournament, missed an at-large bid, and finished with a disappointing loss to Belmont in the NIT.
Despite the loss of three-time all-conference selection Brown (15.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.1 blocks), the Phoenix should again be in the hunt for the Horizon title. Other than Brown, the only major losses are guards Vince Garrett (6.3 points), who started 13 games, and Lavin Fulton (2.3 ppg, 11 minutes per game). Fulton had pretty much been displaced in the rotation by freshman Tevin Findley late in the year, and won’t be missed, while Garrett was OK but nothing more. Overall, the Phoenix return more rebounding than any other Horizon team, and more scoring than any team except Detroit.
Furthermore, they have the league's best player in point guard Kiefer Sykes, three other returning starters (including probably the league's best defensive player), and a big man who is capable of making Phoenix fans forget Mr. Brown in short order. That deserves some respect in making 2015 predictions.
Sykes, the league’s top returning scorer, is the straw that stirs this drink. He was lighting it up this summer at the CP3 elite camp, making it possible that Green Bay will have a player drafted for the second year in a row come next June. He’ll be joined in the backcourt by junior Carrington Love, who started 14 games last season, averaging 7.9 points and 2.5 assists. Sykes was third and Love 6th in the league in assist/turnover ratio last year, and they were 2nd and 11th in total assists. In other words, Green Bay’s backcourt knows how to take care of the ball.
The Phoenix are also fixed at forward, where starters Greg Mays and Jordan Fouse return. The 6-9 Mays averaged 10.3 points and 5.2 rebounds last season. Fouse, a 6-7 junior, is one of my favorite players, a guy who does a bit of everything. Last season he was 4th in the conference in rebounding, 10th in assists, 11th in field goal percentage, 3rd in steals, 4th in blocked shots, and made the Conference all-defensive team. Fouse hasn’t scored much at Green Bay (6.5 ppg last year, 6.8 ppg as a freshman), but he hasn’t been asked too. Don’t be surprised to see his scoring average pick up this year.
That leaves the big question: who replaces Brown. The Phoenix have two candidates. A lot of folks are high on 6-11 Nigerian juco Henry Uwadiae. Uwadiae signed with Wichita State out of high school but failed to qualify academically. He then went to Kirkwood CC, but was academically ineligible in 2013. Without having played a JC game, he signed with Marshall for the class of 2014, but was released after a coaching change last spring. But while a lot of folks are high on Uwadiae’s potential, he averaged less than 2 points and 2 rebounds last year at Kirkwood. So I’m a bit skeptical.
Rather, I look to 6-8 soph Kenneth Lowe, who as Brown’s understudy averaged 4.2 points and 3.5 rebounds per game, while finishing 10th in the Horizon in blocks, in 16 minutes per game. Lowe lacks Brown’s ability to step outside and knock down a three, but he’s tougher inside. I suspect he’ll soon make Phoenix fans forget about Brown, who tended to disappear in big games (2 points, 1 rebound, fouled out vs. Wisconsin; 9 points, 1 rebound vs. Virginia; 9 points, 4 rebounds, 3-14 shooting in Horizon tournament loss to Milwaukee; 9 points, 3-10 shooting in NIT loss to Belmont).
Green Bay has good depth, too. In addition to whomever doesn’t start from Lowe and Uwadiae, up front they’ve got Alfonso McKinney, an Eastern Illinois transfer who averaged over 10 points and 7 rebounds as a sophomore while finishing second in the Ohio Valley Conference in shooting percentage. The 6-8 McKinney missed most of last season with injuries, but over the last 5 games averaged 6.8 points and 3.2 rebounds. They also added a late recruit in Karem Kanter, a 6-9 center from Turkey by way of the IMG Academy in Florida. Kanter is probably not ready for major minutes as a freshman but he's got the body and pedigree and could surprise.
In the backcourt, sophomore Tevin Findley gradually forced veteran Lamin Fulton out of the rotation last year. Findley played in just 13 of Green Bay’s first 19 games, never more than 11 minutes (against NAIA St. Francis, Ill.). But over the season’s final 12 games Findley averaged over 11 minutes per game. He’s a good defensive player. Also look for more from sophomore Turner Botz, who will be called on to provide Green Bay with 3 point shooting. Green Bay also has freshman Kahlil Small, an all-stater from Illinois, but a forward trapped in a guard’s body. Botz and Findley are big guards who can shoot over the opposition and smother smaller guards in the lane on defense.
The only obvious weakness on this team is lack of three point punch. Brown was the team’s leading 3 point scorer last year. Love and Sykes will both chuck it up but Love hit just 31.5% and Sykes 30.9%. Sykes did hit over 40% from three as a soph, however, and Botz should give them a good 3 point option off the bench.
Last year I picked Green Bay to win the conference, and so long as Sykes is healthy, they’re my pick again.
Probable Starters G – 6-0 senior Kiefer Sykes (20.3 points, 4.9 assists, 4.4 rebounds) G - 6-1 junior Carrington Love (7.9 ppg, 2.5 apg) F - 6-9 senior Greg Mays (10.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, .586 FG%) F - 6-9 junior Jordan Fouse (6.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.9 blocks) C - 6-8 sophomore Kenneth Lowe (4.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, 58% FG in 15 minutes per game).
Other Key Players F- 6-8 Alfonso McKinney (4.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg) C- 6-11 Henry Uwadiae (juco transfer) G – 6-4 Tevin Findley (2 ppg) G – 6-7 Turner Botz (1.6 ppg)
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Post by Commissioner on Sept 11, 2014 0:20:20 GMT -5
Our third preview: the Illinois-Chicago Flames.
UIC 2014: 1-15 Horizon (9th); 6-25 overall. Returns 44.6% of scoring (7th); 51% of rebounding (8th)
Prognosticating is a rough business.
In the fall of 2012, the Horizon League poll of the League’s coaches, media and sports information directors picked Wright State to finish last. The Raiders proceeded to start the season 13-4, eventually finished third in the league in the regular season, knocked off Detroit in the conference tournament semi-finals, and received a bid to the post-season CBI tournament, where they defeated Tulsa and Richmond before losing in the semi-finals.
In the fall of 2013, the Horizon League poll was pretty much unanimous in picking Milwaukee to finish last, but the Panthers broke out to a 9-2 start, weathered a late-season slump that saw them lose 7 of 10, and then stunned Valparaiso, Wright State, and regular season champion Green Bay to win the conference tournament and an NCAA bid.
So UIC fans can find some hope in the probability that every major preseason poll is going to place them last in the Horizon this season. That, as they say, is why they play the games. Still, Coach Howard Moore has his work cut out for him.
For one thing, he’s got to change what must be the Flames basic mindset after last year’s flameout. Last year’s Flames were a true enigma – it is hard to remember a team that blew so many leads or that found so many different ways to lose winnable games. On their way to a 6-25 record (their worst since moving to Division I in 1981), the Flames:
1. Led Drake by 5 at the half but lost in their season opener. Hayden Humes missed a layup at the buzzer that would have forced OT. (Nov. 9) 2. Battled back from a 12-0 deficit to tie SMU in the second half. They were down just 2 with 8 minutes to play but faded and lost by 8. (Dec. 4) 3. Led Loyola by as many as 8 points, and by 3 at halftime, but lost. Kelsey Barlow missed a 3 pointer to tie at the buzzer. (Dec. 7) 4. Led Cal-Riverside with 9 seconds to play but lost. (Dec. 20). 5. Led Illinois by 10 at halftime but were outscored 40-16 in the second half (Dec. 28). 6. Led Valparaiso by 8 at halftime but lost by 15 (Jan. 2). 7. Led Youngstown State until a 3 pointer by Kamren Belin at the halftime buzzer, eventually lost by 13. (Jan. 7) 8. Led most of the game against Wright State, and by 4 points with 3:30 to play, but didn’t score again and lost by 5 (Jan. 12) 9. Led Milwaukee by 13 at the half before losing by 4 (Jan. 16) 10. Led Green Bay by 7 with under seven minutes to play, and were still up 3 with 4:20 to play, but were outscored 9-1 down the stretch. (Jan. 19) 11. Led Oakland by as much as 12 in the second half but were outscored 11-5 in the final 90 seconds and lost by 1 on a Duke Mondy three pointer at the buzzer. (Jan. 25) 12. Led Detroit with under 12 minutes to play but lost by six. (Jan. 29) 13. Led Youngstown by 8 at the half and for the game’s first 36 minutes, but went scoreless for 3:20 starting at the 3:45 mark of the game and lost by 3. (Feb. 15). 14. Led Detroit by as many as nine in the first half. Went scoreless for over 3 minutes starting with 4:45 to play and was outscored 8-2 as in the last five minutes as Detroit won by six. (Feb. 18) 15. Led at halftime and were up with 7:30 to play but were outscored 19-9 down the stretch and fell to Wright State. (Mar. 1)
After that horrible season, things don’t look a lot brighter for UIC, which loses two of its top three in scoring and rebounding and its assist leader. Those departures are Kelsey Barlow (1st on the team in scoring at 14.8 points, 3rd at 5.0 rebounds, 1st at 3.9 apg) and Jordan Harks (3rd in scoring at 8.5, 1st in rebounds 5.6). Also leaving is starting forward Hayden Humes (7.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg). And the transfer of 6-5 wing Pat Birt (6.3 ppg, .387 3P%), a member of the Conference All-Freshman team, was an added, unexpected blow. The Flames are last in the league in percentage of returning rebounding, and 7th in returning scoring.
So Moore has to replace a lot, and he’ll have to do it with a ramshackle recruiting class that includes 4 jucos and transfers joining the team, plus two true freshmen and injury redshirt freshman Lance Whitaker. In other words, 7 guys haven’t played or practiced much together. The Flames got in five games on an August trip to Canada, which should help them gel, but after last season’s experience Coach Moore has to be concerned that they blew leads in the first two games to lose to Canadian powers Ottawa and Carleton.
UIC’s big problem last year was lack of consistent scoring after Kelsey Barlow. Three-year starter Marc Brown was the #2 scorer on last year’s team at 11.3 ppg, but he was inconsistent. After scoring 20 or more points in UIC’s first three games of the season, he hit that mark just once more all season (24 against Detroit on January 29), and reached double figures in just 5 of UIC’s final 13 games. Look for Brown, a 6-4 guard, to play on the wing in a three guard lineup.
The likely starting back court will be Gabe Snider at the two and Jay Harris at the point. Snider, a 6-3 junior, averaged just 3.6 ppg last season, but he hit 43% of his 51 three point attempts. He led UIC in scoring on its Canada trip, with an average of 14.4 ppg, including 28 against Ottawa, one of the best teams on the tour.
Harris is a graduate transfer from Wagner, where he averaged 10.3 points and 2.8 assists last year. If his name sounds vaguely familiar to Horizon fans, it’s because Harris played his first two seasons at Valparaiso, playing in all 35 games as a freshman and averaging nine points a game off the bench as a sophomore in 2012. He shot 38% from behind the arc last year. Harris did not make the trip to Canada, and Snider probably won a starting job with his performance on the trip, but Harris will get major PT and could start at the #2 if Snider stumbles, or more likely at the point. However, there is competition for the starting point guard position too, in the form of senior Jay Parker and juco transfer D’Juan Miller. Parker doesn’t score (3.7 ppg last season), but he averaged 2.7 assists in just 18 minutes per game last season, and had a 10-assist game in Canada. Parker is erratic, however, and turns it over a bit too often. In Canada, he split the time at point with the 5-8 Miller, who averaged over 5 assists per game on the trip. Not to be mean or monger in rumors, but Harris was suspended from Wagner after 21 games last year for a violation of school rules (not basketball related). However, there’s no other reason to think he’ll be a problem for Coach Moore.
Sophomore Markese McGuire and juco transfer Paris Burns are other back court options – Moore has been collecting guards like Al Capone collected cops.
Up front the rebounding burden will fall on 6-8 junior Jake Wiegand, who averaged 9.6 rebounds in Canada. He’ll probably be joined by 6-5 senior Ahman Fells in the starting lineup, but if Moore wants more size, he’s likely to look to 6-9, 240 lb. juco transfer Jason McClellan. UIC fans have high hopes for 6-9 freshman Tai Odiase, but he played just enough in Canada to demonstrate that he’s not yet ready. Further, Odiase is a better defensive player than scorer, and until proven otherwise, this team needs points, even with the addition of Harris and Snider’s potential emergence. Still, they’ll give Odiase every chance.
Also likely to see significant action this season is 6-4 injury redshirt freshman Lance Whitaker, who was averaging over 18 minutes per game in three games when he went down last season.
UIC has wisely scheduled a rather weak non-con schedule—they’ve got 2 non-DI teams scheduled and 8 teams with RPIs of 200 or above last year. So they should be able to win a few early, gain confidence and develop some chemistry. That’s the same formula that seemed to work for Milwaukee and Wright State the last two years. Could they follow in the footsteps of those teams and give the Horizon a third straight surprise from the predicted cellar dweller? Sure. But while the team has a lot of depth at guard, it lacks a strong point guard in a league where strong points are common. They are weak on the boards unless McClellan and Odiase come through, and there still isn’t much proven scoring punch. Another long season may be in order.
Probable Starters: PG – 6-1 GS Jay Harris (10.8 ppg, 2.8 apg, 2.8 rpg, 89.7% FT at Wagner) SG – 6-3 junior Gabe Snider (3.6 ppg, .431 3P%) G – 6-4 senior Marc Brown (11.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg, .347 3P%) F - 6-5 senior Ahman Fells (2.1 ppg, 2.1 rpg) C – 6-8 junior Jake Wiegand (7.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg)
Other Key Players: G – 5-8 junior D’Juan Miller (17.8 ppg, 4.8 apg, 2.5 spg at Eastern Arizona CC) G – 5-10 senior Jay Parker (3.7 ppg, 2.7 apg) G – 6-3 Soph Markese McGuire (3.1 ppg) G- 5-11 junior Paris Burns (9.6 ppg, 3.7 apg at Vincinnes JC) G/F- 6-4 RS freshman Lance Whitaker F- 6-9 junior Jason McClellan (11.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg at Eastern Wyoming (JC)) C - 6-9 freshman Tai Odiase
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Post by Commissioner on Sept 17, 2014 18:21:41 GMT -5
Milwaukee 2014: 7-9 Horizon (T-5th); 21-14 overall (lost to Villanova in NCAA first round). Returns 55.6% of scoring (3rd); 67% of rebounding (3rd)
Coming off an NCAA appearance, with most of the team back, folks in Milwaukee are understandably looking forward to the 2014-15 season. But here’s the stark reality, Panther fans – your team is not that good.
I mean, it’s great that the Panthers won the Horizon tournament to make NCAA tournament last year. I’m not taking anything away from that achievement. Just don’t expect too much this year.
A unanimous (or at least near-unanimous) pick to finish last a year ago, the Panthers pulled a nice early season upset at Davidson and got through an otherwise homely non-conference schedule (#273 in the nation) with a 10-4 record. Other than Davidson, only one of their other 9 non-con conquests boasted a winning record against D-I competition last year, that being Alabama State, whose D-I competition, of course, was pretty marginal. The Panthers then went just 7-9 in Horizon play, but got hot at the right moment, winning 4 games in the tournament, which got them to the NCAA, where they were stomped by Villanova.
The end result was a remarkable 21-14 record. I say remarkable because Milwaukee, though seven games over .500, actually allowed more points than it scored. Nationwide, only 9 other teams had winning records while being outscored on the season, and the best of those nine was just 17-14 (Charlotte). In Horizon league play, it was worse, as MIlwaukee allowed far more points than it scored. The Panthers were 8th in average scoring margin in conference games, ahead only of UIC, with opponents outscoring the Panthers by nearly six points per game. In contrast, Detroit, 6-10 in the Horizon season, was outscored by an average of less than 2.5 points per game. Milwaukee was a bad shooting team (247th nationally) and a bad defensive team (237th in opponent’s shooting percentage). They were a bad rebounding team (266th in rebounding percentage) and a bad ball handling team (269th in turnovers per possession).
Usually, when a team whose fundamental stats are bad nevertheless wins a lot, it’s because they won a lot of close games, but Milwaukee didn’t even do that. They were just 2-3 in games determined by one possession (3 points or less) or OT. And when bad, they were often very bad, with losses by 28, 22, 20, 19, 16, and 16. By comparison, last place UIC (6-25) only lost 5 games by margins of 16 or more, and 8th place Detroit (13-19) just 4. But the Panthers were 10-1 in games decided by 5 to 9 points in regulation, and they had regular season champ Green Bay’s number, beating the Phoenix two of three and losing the third in OT.
Though most of the Panther squad is back, they lost top scorer Jordan Aaron (14.7 ppg) and #2 scorer and rebounder Kyle Kelm (12.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg). Also departing will be role players Malcolm Moore (3.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg in 13 mpg) and the oft-injured Thierno Niang (2.4 ppg in 12 mpg). So Milwaukee was a bit of a fluke last year, and they’ve lost two of their best players. All that doesn't mean that they’ll be anybody’s pushover this year. After all, fluke or not, they did win 21 games last year. There is some talent here. Just not enough to contend.
The best returning player is junior forward Matt Tiby. Tiby (12 ppg, 6.5 rpg) faded last year as the season wore on (he was averaging 14.6 points and 6.7 rebounds through the team’s first 20 games), but I expect him to be one of the league’s better players this year. Senior point guard Steve McWhorter is also a solid player who has the potential to contend for all-conference honors. 6-10 junior center JJ Panoske has been a role player for two seasons, but should be ready to step into the starting lineup. Joining Panoske and Tiby up front is small forward Austin Arians, a good 3 point shooter who averaged 11 points per game last season. The off-guard spot will be a battle between Akeem Springs, a transfer from Northern Illinois, Jevon Lyle, who started two games last season, and sophomore Cody Wichmann, with Springs holding the edge.
This is not a deep team. There is no real back-up for McWhorter. Two who could see time at the point off the bench are Jimmy Stamas, a juco who averaged 11 ppg at Morton CC, and freshman Justin Jordan, a lightly recruited relative of the famous Michael. In the front, the Panthers hope for big things from 6-9 redshirt twins Brett and Alex Prahl. Brett is the better of the two. Trinson White is probably the backup small forward. But White, a juco from Indian Hills CC, was redshirted last season after a serious injury the year before. He’s scarcely played for two years and averaged under 7 ppg as a juco soph before his injury. In other words, their bench doesn’t have a point guard or a front court player with even a minute of D-I game time.
One can envision this team flaming out and winning just 4 conference games. Arians is the only proven three-point threat, there is little depth up-front, and as noted, this team won last year despite poor shooting, poor rebounding, and poor ball handling. Yet it’s also not unrealistic to see Arians emerge as a major scorer, Tiby become an all-conference player, and JJ Panoske emerge as a quality big man, with the Panthers finishing in the top half of the league.
The most realistic projection, however, would seem to be 6 or 7 conference wins and a second division finish. But this year there will be no hot run through the conference tournament – Milwaukee is barred from post-season tournaments due to its poor recent APR.
Probable starters: PG – 6-2 senior Steve McWhorter (7.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 4.0 apg) SG – 6-4 sophomore Akeem Springs, (7.7 points, 2.9 rebounds per game at Northern Illinois in 2013) SF – 6-6 junior Austin Arians ( 11.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg, .367 3P%) PF – 6-8 junior Matt Tiby (12 ppg, 6.5 rpg) C – 6-10 junior JJ Panoske (3.2 ppg, 2.5 rpg in 10 minutes pg.)
Other Key Players: PG 6-3 freshman Justin Jordan G 6-2 junior Jevon Lyle (3.9 ppg) SG 6-5 sophomore Cody Wichmann (2.8 ppg) SF – 6-5 junior Trinson White F 6-9 freshman Brett Prahl (redshirt)
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Post by Commissioner on Sept 20, 2014 0:53:40 GMT -5
Perusing the Youngstown State board as I started thinking about that preview, I learned that they're fuming about my Milwaukee preview on the Panther board. uwmfreak.proboards.com/thread/67 ... n-previews. So mad they're apparently posting about it on other teams' boards! Personally, I think it's pretty balanced, and has nice things to say about Tiby, McWhorter, Arians, Panoske, and last year's run. The Milwaukee folks seem to think I hate them, but to paraphrase Bogey in Casablanca, when asked if he despised the lugubrious Ugarte: "I probably would if I thought about them." I don't think about the Panthers enough to hate them. I really don't. Them and UIC are the two teams that are typically after-thoughts for me when scanning the Horizon. It's kind of interesting. I've noticed any time you write anything mildly critical (objective?) about another team in the league, someone on that team's board suggest you just "hate" their team. I've had that said about me for very mild comments about Oakland and Valpo. And, by the way, my own Titans. So get in line, Panther fans. One particular: Ghost of Dylan over there writes: "Assuming he doesn't redshirt, I'd be stunned if Austin [Arians] isn't among the league's top 10 players." Arians is a good player. I think I indicated that. Looking at the league here in September, however, players I would rate ahead of Arians include: Keifer Sykes, Jordan Fouse, Greg Mays, Alex Peters, Lexus Williams (though it looks like he will be an injury redshirt), Corey Petros, Kahlil Felder, Juwan Howard, Anton Grady, Charlie Lee, Trey Lewis, Bobby Hain, DJ Cole, and Joe Thomasson. Oh, and from the Panthers, Matt Tiby and Steve McWhorter. That's 16 players (counting Williams). Arians might be better than some of them, but I may have left a couple off, too. And there are several other players I think could be better and more important to their teams this year, such as Jarod Williams of Detroit, Vashil Fernandez and Jubril Adekoya at Valpo, and Alfonso McKinney of Green Bay. Even if you think Arians is better than some of these players, I don't see how you could be "stunned" to find any of these players rated ahead of Arians at year's end, or at least certainly not by someone predicting how things will look at year's end. Of course, we'll see how the season goes. Some time back I wrote (http://udtitanbasketball.freeforums.net ... ague-links) about the Panther board: "high level of discussion - thanks to some sharp posters..." May have to take that back. ;-)
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Post by pathfinder on Sept 21, 2014 6:45:34 GMT -5
Losers shooting the messenger. Its funny how they think other teams fans all hate them, like they're the Pistons Bad Boys teams. Heh.
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Post by motorcitysam on Sept 22, 2014 7:30:37 GMT -5
Its funny how they think other teams fans all hate them, like they're the Pistons Bad Boys teams. Heh. I read their "hate" comment and had the same thought Pathfnder. Fans of other ACC teams hate Duke. Fans of other SEC teams hate Kentucky. I really don't feel that strongly about Milwaukee one way or the other. I actually rooted for them last year in most of their non-conference games. There's no real "hate Milwaukee" vibe among other HL teams.
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Post by Commissioner on Sept 25, 2014 5:23:45 GMT -5
Oakland 2014: Horizon 7-9 (T-5th); Overall 13-20. Returns 50.1% of scoring (5th); 68.9% of rebounding (2nd)
Oakland underperformed in a disappointing Horizon debut last year. That team must now deal with the loss of the school’s all-time leading scorer, Travis Bader, plus Duke Mondy, who led the Horizon (and was second in the nation) in steals, and was 5th in the Horizon in assists. Mondy was also OU’s number two rebounder and number three scorer. (They also lose forward Joey Asbury, who started 6 games, and off-guard Mitch Baenziger, who averaged 16 minutes a game and shot 38% from 3 point range). Like most teams in the Horizon this year, OU is full of question marks, and how those question marks play out could place them anywhere from 3rd to 8th in the standings.
Let’s start with the bright side. There are two spots where the Grizzlies are emphatically settled, and they are the two positions that many consider the most important for any team.
The first is at center, where 6-11 senior Corey Petros, the league’s leading rebounder and a second team All-Conference selection, returns. Petros has been remarkably consistent the last two seasons (12.5 ppg, 8.2 rpg, .565 FG%, 0.3 blocks in 2013; 13.3 ppg, 8.2 rpg, .576 FG%, 0.4 blocks in 2014). With Bader and Mondy gone, look for Petros to carry more of the offensive burden, even if other teams are able to sag a bit more than when the two recent graduates patrolled the perimeter.
The other place OU is settled is at the point, where Kahlil Felder returns after leading the league in assists as a freshman. Felder’s overall numbers were very nice last year- 9.5 ppg, 6.4 assists—but he was even better in league play: 12.3 ppg, 7.3 apg. Felder hit just 32.3% of his three point attempts on the season, but was at 37.8% in league play. Felder had a solid assist/turnover ratio and, Keifer Sykes notwithstanding, may be the best pure point guard in the league.
That’s a great start to a championship team. Unfortunately for the Grizzlies, everything else is a question mark, and I don’t see most of the potentially good answers panning out.
The shooting guard—next in an impressive line that began a decade ago with Calvin Wooten and runs through Eric Kangas, Reggie Hamilton, and Bader—is likely to be Max Hooper. Hooper rode the pine as a freshman on Harvard’s 2012 NCAA team, appearing in just two games all year, then transferred to St. John’s. After sitting out a transfer year, he was a bit player last season, averaging about 9 minutes of play per game in 25 appearances. He averaged 3.2 ppg but did hit over 40% of his 62 three point attempts. Graduating in three years allows him to play immediately for OU, with two years of eligibility. Hooper’s defense is suspect and he doesn’t pass or rebound particularly well. But Coach Kampe knows how to use spot-up shooters, as the pedigree of off-guards preceding Hooper shows. At 6-6, Hooper can shoot over most guards in the league. His ability to score from outside will be crucial to opening up the middle for Petros. Even if Hooper has a big year, however—and that’s a definite possibility—I think it’s safe to say that the trend of ever improving shooting guards ends with the transition from Bader to Hooper.
At forward, 6-6 senior Dante Williams has always come off the bench, even last season when he averaged more minutes than any other OU forward. He may not start this year either, but he’ll probably get the most minutes again either way. He’s athletic with a solid all-around game. Williams is also a decent 3 point shooter and gives Oakland another option from behind the arc.
The other key forwards are Ralph Hill and Tommie McCune. Hill was a disappointment after transferring from Dayton, averaging barely 7 minutes in 26 games. Now a 5th year senior, Hill had scored just 10 points all season when Kampe stuck him into the starting lineup in mid-February. Hill immediately turned in back-to-back-to-back double figure scoring efforts against Detroit, Wright State, and UIC, but then disappeared again, scoring just 17 points in the team’s remaining 4 games. Hill is a good finisher at the rim.
McCune transferred to Oakland after being booted from the squad at West Virginia. During his transfer sit season at OU, Kampe kicked him off the team for disciplinary reasons. But McCune surprised folks by staying in school and working hard, and Kampe gave him another chance. Things started well for McCune, who reached double figures in early season losses to UCLA, California, and Gonzaga. But he is prone to foul trouble, is weak on defense, and his PT dropped as the year went on. Over OU’s last 12 games he averaged less than 6 minutes per game and scored a total of just 19 points.
Except for the loser of the Hill/McCune battle (or Williams, if Hill and McCune both start), OU’s bench essentially consists of what were, for the most part, lightly recruited freshmen. Jalen Hayes, an injury RS freshman, is the best of the bunch and likely to see considerable time at forward. In fact, don’t be shocked if he grabs the starting spot away from Hill and McCune. Femi Olujobi is a freshman forward from Long Island, a modestly hot prospect at one time who wasn’t much recruited after a knee injury and then a broken tibia in high school. OU hopes that those injuries made Olujobi overlooked diamond. At center, they’ll hope 6-10 RS freshman Artis Cleveland is ready, but he’s still a project. Cleveland originally signed with Mississippi Valley State but transferred to OU before ever playing there. At guard, redshirt freshmen Nick Daniels and Collin Weaver will be called on when Felder and Hooper, respectively, need a blow. Weaver’s supposed to be a three-point specialist, and, as with Bader, OU was his only D-I offer. We’ll see if lightning strikes twice.
Oakland is playing its typically brutal non-conference schedule. In December, they have 6 consecutive road games. After starting the trip with a game at Morehead State, one of the better OVC teams, they play at Michigan State, Arizona, Pittsburgh, Clemson, and Maryland. Plus there’s a season opening road game at Iowa State. Whether this will get Kampe’s young team ready for the Horizon, or just leave them physically beat up and dispirited, is up for grabs. If they don’t win some tough November home games against Toledo, Western Michigan, and Georgia State, things will be looking pretty grim when they head into conference play, where they open with a tough run against Valparaiso, @ Cleveland State, @ Detroit, and versus Green Bay. The dream scenario is OU wins those tough non-con home games, knocks off one or two of the BCS schools in December, and takes early command of the Horizon by winning three of those first four conference games. The nightmare scenario is losing the tough home games, getting swept on the road in December, and losing 3 or all of their first four conference games, leaving them with 14 or 15 losses by mid-January.
Oakland fans like to blame their poor 2014 season on injuries and the unexpected departure of point guard Ryan Bass, but that’s not really true. Yes, Bass was a solid player. But the flip side is that he likely would have blocked Felder’s development, and Felder proved to be a much better player. The idea that the freshmen Hayes and Daniels would have would have changed OU’s 2014 fortunes but for their injuries is not to be taken seriously. And backup forward Raphael Carter, who suffered a career ending injury before last season, averaged just 1.9 ppg as a junior in 2013. Sure, having them all would have helped, but not to the point of contending. And in any case, Carter and Bass aren’t coming back.
In the final assessment, then, Oakland goes into the 2014-15 season with basically the same team as last year, except that Hooper replaces Bader, and some combination of freshmen will be asked to replace Mondy (plus Asbury and Baenziger). I think that Kampe is a good coach. I think Felder and Petros are really good players–- all-conference quality players. I think Hooper will score a bunch of points. But even assuming that some of OU’s returning players will improve, and that some of the freshmen contribute, the problem remains: Oakland lost 20 games last year. If the core of Petros/Felder/McCune/Hill/Williams couldn’t get it done with Bader and Mondy in 2014, how do they get it done without Bader and Mondy in 2015? This team has the type of talent that makes a run through the conference tournament possible, but in the end, there are simply too many ifs to rank Oakland a 2015 regular season contender, and I see their upside as a middle of the pack finish. Since this is a Titans' board, I should note that they are quite capable of skinning Detroit twice more.
Probable 2015 starters: PG – 5-9 sophomore Kahlil Felder (9.5 ppg, 6.4 apg, 3.9 rpg) SG – 6-6 RS junior Max Hooper (3.2 ppg for St. John’s). F - 6-6 RS senior Ralph Hill (2.5 ppg) F – 6-6 senior Dante Williams (7.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg) C – 6-10 senior Corey Petros (13.3 ppg, 8.2 rpg)
Other Key Players: F – 6-8 junior Tommie McCune (5.6 ppg, 2.7 rpg) F - 6-7 RS Freshman Jalen Hayes F- 6-8 freshman Femi Olujobi C – 6-10 RS freshman Artis Cleveland G- 6-3 RS freshman Collin Weaver G – 6-1 RS freshman Nick Daniels
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Post by motorcitysam on Sept 25, 2014 12:36:38 GMT -5
Really appreciate these previews, Commish.
The Oakland vs U of D games should be rocking again this coming season.
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Post by pathfinder on Sept 26, 2014 22:06:38 GMT -5
If Oakland fans are as hypersensitive to objective evaluation as Milwaukee fans, a mob is forming and you'd better get out of town.
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Post by parkerj on Sept 29, 2014 11:15:18 GMT -5
Probable Starters:PG – 6-1 GS Jay Harris (10.8 ppg, 2.8 apg, 2.8 rpg, 89.7% FT at Wagner) SG – 6-3 junior Gabe Snider (3.6 ppg, .431 3P%) G – 6-4 senior Marc Brown (11.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg, .347 3P%) F - 6-5 senior Ahman Fells (2.1 ppg, 2.1 rpg) C – 6-8 junior Jake Wiegand (7.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg) Well now i feel validated...after the Canada trip, that's the lineup I came up with for UIC as well...even if it felt like it made no sense. I'm interested in seeing what you came up with for Youngstown (i had Amiker, Umude and Stewart in the lineup)
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Post by Commissioner on Oct 1, 2014 12:26:17 GMT -5
Probable Starters:PG – 6-1 GS Jay Harris (10.8 ppg, 2.8 apg, 2.8 rpg, 89.7% FT at Wagner) SG – 6-3 junior Gabe Snider (3.6 ppg, .431 3P%) G – 6-4 senior Marc Brown (11.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg, .347 3P%) F - 6-5 senior Ahman Fells (2.1 ppg, 2.1 rpg) C – 6-8 junior Jake Wiegand (7.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg) Well now i feel validated...after the Canada trip, that's the lineup I came up with for UIC as well...even if it felt like it made no sense. I'm interested in seeing what you came up with for Youngstown (i had Amiker, Umude and Stewart in the lineup) Since he hasn't linked to it himself, here is ParkerJ's take on UIC: bustingbrackets.com/2014/09/30/horizon-league-preview-uic/. Good stuff. It will be fun to compare our analyses. We came out pretty much the same on UIC, but that may be the easiest Horizon team to predict this year.
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Post by Commissioner on Oct 1, 2014 13:42:05 GMT -5
OaklandProbable 2015 starters:PG – 5-9 sophomore Kahlil Felder (9.5 ppg, 6.4 apg, 3.9 rpg) Other Key Players:F - 6-7 RS Freshman Jalen Hayes F- 6-8 freshman Femi Olujobi C – 6-10 RS freshman Artis Cleveland G- 6-3 RS freshman Collin Weaver G – 6-1 RS freshman Nick Daniels I think OU will struggle this year, but if I were an OU fan, this would make me feel reasonably good about the mid-term future. We'll have to see how all the freshmen actually play, but at least a couple of them will get valuable minutes this year. And Felder is a stud with three more years to play.
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Post by Commissioner on Oct 1, 2014 22:44:43 GMT -5
Valparaiso 2014: 9-7 Horizon (4th); 18-16 overall (CIT) Return 48.3% of scoring (6th); 56.8% of rebounding (6th)
After losing their top five players in minutes per game (and six of the top 7) from the 2013 conference champions, Valpo turned what could have been a long rebuilding year in 2014 into a solid season. The Crusaders patched some holes with transfers, got some good play from freshmen, and while their final RPI was just 195 on an 18-16 season, they stayed in the Horizon race until late and got a bid to the CIT, where they lost to Columbia by two points. And they set the groundwork for further success: whereas they began the 2013-14 season with four seniors in the starting lineup, by the end of season they were starting just one senior, All-Conference selection LaVonte Dority (15.7 ppg).
Were I writing this preview last April, I would have placed Valpo solidly in the league’s upper half and a dark horse to steal the regular season title. But the Crusaders suffered a big blow last month when their starting point guard, sophomore Lexus Williams, tore his ACL. He will almost certainly miss the entire season. Williams, a conference All-Freshman team member last season, averaged 6.5 points and 2.4 assists while shooting over 36% from the arc. In a league in which the byword is “parity,” it’s hard to see the Crusaders snatching a title without Williams.
With Williams out of the backcourt, the Crusaders strength is clearly up front. Six foot nine Sophomore Alec Peters is a rising star who should contend for All-Conference honors – in fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if he contended for Player of the Year. Peters started last season gangbusters, including a 16 point, 13 rebound game at Ohio and 30 point games against Evansville and Loyola Marymount. He faded in January, averaging just 7.4 points in nine games from January 2 through February 1. But that type of fade is not that uncommon for freshmen – even in this day of year-round AAU tournaments, the move from high school to major college basketball is mentally and physically exhausting for most frosh. More importantly when anticipating this season, Peters came back to average over 15 points per game in Valpo’s final 10 games. Peters is a guy who does most everything well, reminiscent of recent Horizon POY Ryan Broekhoff. He rebounds, plays “D,” passes well, finishes at the rim, and can hit the three. He is among the top 5 returning Horizon players in scoring, FG percentage, and 3 point percentage, 6th in FT percentage and 10th in rebounding.
The other forward will be 6-7 soph Jubril Adekoya, who after starting slow (22 minutes in Valpo’s first 4 games, with 15 of those against NAIA North Park) moved into the starting lineup in December. Adekoya also seemed to run out of gas late last season, and unlike Peters, he didn’t bounce back. (In Valpo’s final six games he averaged just 3.5 points and 2.8 rebounds). But Adekoya has the tools and I look for him to be one of the league’s most improved players. He’s got good hands and finishes well, and his 230 pound frame takes up some good space down low.
The center is the 6-10 senior Vashil Fernandez. Last year I said that Fernandez would start over Alabama transfer Mousse Gueye, which drew a lot of scoffing from Valpo fans. It took coach Bryce Drew half a season, but he finally figured it out and followed orders, realizing that Valpo’s future was with the big Jamaican. (I also predicted Clay Yeo would start ahead of Alec Peters, which also drew a lot of scoffing from Valpo fans. Well, one of two…) Fernandez’s season was very similar to that of Detroit Ugochukwu Njoku, and if that’s all he gives the Crusaders again this year they can probably live with that. But Fernandez is also a good candidate to improve. Usually, I figure most improvement comes between the freshman and sophomore years and the sophomore and junior years – by the end of your junior year, you’re pretty much developed into what you’re going to be, and most players who balloon their stats as seniors (such as Evan Bruinsma last year) do so mainly because they are simply asked to do a lot more. But Fernandez has more room to improve than most seniors. He didn’t take up the sport until well into his teens, and after arriving at Valpo he sat out the 2012 season, then hardly played in 2013. So his game is still developing more than that of the typical upperclassman. To have a bigger season – say 10 points and 7 or 8 rebounds per game – Fernandez has to stay out of foul trouble. He fouled out of 7 games last year and was often up to 3 or 4 fouls in 15 or so minutes of play. And while Fernandez is a monster shot blocker (3rd in the league last year) he has a tendency to go for the block when he should sit tight, leaving him out of position for rebounds or, if necessary, further defense. Still, he gives Valpo a proven, true center, something that is rare in the Horizon.
When the starters need a blow, E. Victor Nickerson, a 6-8 wing, should be first off the bench. Nickerson transferred from Charlotte, where he started 15 games in the 2013 season. He’s a good player, but at just 180 pounds he’s not much help banging inside, and he’s got to up his 36% shooting percentage. Still up in the air is the fate of LSU transfer Shane Hammink, another tall (6-7) wing. Hammink, a junior from the Netherlands, averaged 11 minutes and started two games as a freshman but saw his time cut last year to just 120 minutes on the season. He is said to be seeking a waiver to play immediately but there is no word on that as we “go to press.”
For help down low, Valpo is high on 6-8 freshman David Skara, a Croatian who played high school ball locally and had an offer from Virginia Tech. They’ve also got 6-9 David Chadwick, a 25 year old, 5th year senior who played sparingly last year after transferring from Rice. Chadwick has chronic knee problems and I thought his career was finished last season, but he’s come back and they say he’s healthy. I don’t expect much but if he can give Drew a solid 8 to 10 minutes a game that will help a lot.
With Williams gone from the backcourt, junior off guard Keith Carter slides over to play the point. Carter began his career at St. Louis, where he was highly touted by the late Rick Majerus, but he was a bit of a disappointment last season (5.7 ppg, 2.3 apg) after becoming eligible in December. The midyear transfer is always tough – you sit out a full year, then you start playing in December when everyone else has been in game situations for six weeks. About the time you get the rust off, the season ends. I think Carter will be better this season. But I don’t think he’ll be better than Williams, and his moving to the point opens another hole at the two-guard spot.
That hole should have been filled by another promising sophomore, Clay Yeo, who played in 28 games last season, averaging four points per game and shooting 45.6% from behind the arc. But Yeo either couldn’t, or just didn’t want to, handle the rigors of D-I ball, and transferred to tiny Bethel College. That opens an opportunity for either juco transfer Darien Walker (13.4 ppg at John Logan CC), or another soph, 6-3 Nick Davidson. I look for Walker to win that battle, but I’m not sure how good he’ll be. Walker is a slasher, and not a particularly good three point shooter. But he can get to the basket. Davidson was nagged by minor injuries and played just 67 minutes last season. He is likely to be a pretty decent mid-major player, but he was behind Yeo in the pecking order and I’m not sure he’s up to starting this season. Another option for Drew is to play Nickerson (or Hammink, if he’s eligible) at the 2-guard position, but neither of them are particularly good ball handlers and given the quality of defensive guard play around the league, this could be a problem. In fact, Nickerson is probably going to have to play some guard – the other options off the bench are freshmen Tevonn Walker and Max Joseph, teammates last season at Vanier College (HS) in Montreal. Neither player appeared to be on the radar of the U.S. recruiting scene, so it’s tough to tell if Drew signed these two in desperation during a bad recruiting year, or if he stole a march on the competition. The truth is likely in between. Whatever, when signed neither player was expected to play major minutes in 2014-15.
The unexpected losses of Williams and Yeo have really robbed Valpo of the type of depth they’ve had in recent years, when it sometimes seemed that the Crusaders came at you in waves. Players such as Gueye and Bobby Capobianco may not have lived up to the press clips they brought with them when transferring to Valpo, but that was a lot of size, muscle, and talent to bring off the bench. They’ll also miss Jordan Coleman, their #3 scorer last season.
Summing up? I found as I wrote this preview that my enthusiasm for Valpo’s chances dropped. Valpo committed more turnovers last year than any other Horizon team, and now they've lost their point guard for the year. I really do think there is reason to believe that Carter, Fernandez, and Adekoya can improve a lot this season, but that shouldn’t obscure the fact that last year they were all pretty average. I think Davidson is likely to be a solid mid-major player, but perhaps not this year – he was expected, remember, to be the 4th guard this year, not a starter or key rotation player. I suspect that Hammink will not get a waiver to play this year. I’m dubious that Chadwick contributes much. If Chadwick and Hammink don’t contribute, you’ve got a pretty thin bench backing up a number of relatively unproven starters. Bryce Drew is not, in my mind, a particularly good game coach – he’s OK, but he seems to have real difficulties with clock management and handling his timeouts. But bigger picture, he gets the most out of his players, and Valpo always plays hard. A finish somewhere between 3rd and 6th seems reasonable, probably towards the high end, but I do have my doubts.
Likely starting lineup: PG - 6-0 junior Keith Carter (5.7 ppg, 2.3 assists). SG – 6-3 junior Darien Walker (13.4 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.4 apg at John Logan CC) F - 6-8 soph Alec Peters (12.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg, .383 3P%) F - 6-7 soph Jubril Adekoya (5.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg, .537 FG%) C- 6-10 senior Vashil Fernandez (4.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, .578 FG%)
Other key players G- 6-3 Nick Davidson (1.6 ppg) F/G – 6-8 RS junior E. Victor Nicholson (5.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg for Charlotte in 2013) F/G – 6-7 junior Shane Hammink (if eligible) (1 ppg, 1 rpg at LSU) F – 6-9 RS senior David Chadwick (2.9 ppg, 1.1 rpg) F – 6-8 freshman David Skara
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Post by parkerj on Oct 2, 2014 10:42:10 GMT -5
Here is my Youngstown State writeup and I came out with a schedule for when I'm planning on releasing the others (that might end up being a regrettable decision). 1. Green Bay (10/16) 2. Cleveland State (10/15) 3. Valparaiso (10/14) 4. Detroit (10/13) 5. Milwaukee (10/10) 6. Wright State (10/8) 7. Oakland (10/6) 8. Youngstown State (10/2) 9. UIC (9/30) I'll be doing a wrap-up on the 17th
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