MVC Summer Shootaround by ESPN

[RussDaBus]

http://espn.go.com/ncb/notebook/_/page/summershootaround120719/missouri-valley

[Dave Stalwart]

Pretty good stuff! Thanks for the post. It reminded me of all the reasons to think the valley might be pretty strong this year.

[Capitol Shock II]

I will enjoy being the hunter this year, rather than the hunted.

[SubGod22]

I will enjoy being the hunter this year, rather than the hunted.

I still don't understand this. I'd rather be the hunted. Every damn year.

[ShockerFever]

I will enjoy being the hunter this year, rather than the hunted.

You should be banned from here for a month for dropping Evansville's motto here.

[ShockerFever]

Even though Eamonn Brennan is a Shocker lover which I LOVE, it's pretty cool seeing this team still being talked about as Valley contenders after losing arguably their Top 5 from last year. That is a statement right there. RELOAD AND REFIRE.

[DUShock]

Reading this article gets me stoked for the season. I expect a down year but not too much of a down year. I am hopeful we'll be a top four MVC team and will play spoiler as to who will be the tourney and/or season champ. Of course, ideally I hope our Shocks hit the floor firing on all cylinders but they are young. Very talented but young.

Go Shocks!!!!

[SubGod22]

If we're not top 4, it will have been a very disappointing season. I see four teams that appear to be clearly at the top over the rest of the conference. Order of finish could go a number of ways. But I expect us to be in the running for a championship and go dancing once again.

[JohnnieBallgame]

Even though Eamonn Brennan is a Shocker lover which I LOVE, it's pretty cool seeing this team still being talked about as Valley contenders after losing arguably their Top 5 from last year. That is a statement right there. RELOAD AND REFIRE.

This reminds me of former OU Coach Billy Tubbs, when asked about losing so many contributors from the NCAA Runner-up team to KU replied with a quip that I'll have to paraphrase. "We're going to recruit, re-coach, and re-kick everybody's ass!" Then just a few years later he is at Lamar getting his ass kicked. Could it be said that sometimes a bit of humility helps to stave off karma?

[WuDrWu]

My only quibble with thinking we will be "dancing" is our non-conference schedule. Let's say we go 10-3 in the non conference losing at VCU, Tennessee and Iowa (hardly a pessimistic assertion). I don't think there is enough meat on the bone to warrant an at large unless we're 15-3 or better in conference. Remember 2 seasons ago? In other words, there is almost no room for error to get an at large, which puts us in the same boat as about 95% of D1 programs....a place I don't expect us to be most years.

I am not saying it's out of the question, I am say the margin for error is razor thin, and we have a team with very little experience compared to the previous 2.

At this point in the summer, knowing what I know, 9-4 and 11-7 with a final appearance in St. Louis are my low water mark expectations. I can see us winning the MVC too, although I think that's far less likely. All that being said, this might be the team with the biggest upside in 30 years of Shocker basketball. The talent depth is insane.

[WuDrWu]

This reminds me of former OU Coach Billy Tubbs, when asked about losing so many contributors from the NCAA Runner-up team to KU replied with a quip that I'll have to paraphrase. "We're going to recruit, re-coach, and re-kick everybody's ass!" Then just a few years later he is at Lamar getting his ass kicked. Could it be said that sometimes a bit of humility helps to stave off karma?

Fair point, although Billy Tubbs and humility have never crossed paths.

[1972Shocker]

Fair point, although Billy Tubbs and humility have never crossed paths.

To paraphrase Earl in the movie Tin Cup:

Well, the words "humility" and "him" don't often collide in the same sentence.

[ShockTalk]

I'm not sure what to expect from this team early in the season. A 10-3 or better start should be an alarm to the rest of the Valley that this team is coming together faster than expected. However, a worse than 10-3 start doesn't mean this team won't be nails by MVC tourney time.

I expect a continuing improvement throughout the season. They have a lot of ceiling room between where they are now and by the end of the season. This is unlike the two previous seasons where both of those teams had a lot of seniors and players experienced with the Marshall way of doing things. This team is not as senior driven, is not as D-I experienced, but has athletes that are potentially more talented and more of them.

[1972Shocker]

This team is not as senior driven, is not as D-I experienced, but has athletes that are potentially more talented and more of them.

I think that is an accurate statement.

Last year we returned a combined 14 years of D-1 experience distributed among 7 players. This year we have 12 years of D-1 experience distributed among 7 players. So the D-1 experience differential is there but is not huge.

Last year's senior class of Stutz, Murry, Kyles, Ragland and Smith was very good. However, there were a lot of questions around how Garrett would perform just as we have with EO (and junior CJ) this year. I think David underperformed senior expectations but Ben outperformed expectations. Joe was oustanding last year.

This years group of seniors Hall, Williams, Armstead and Orupke would not seem to be as talented as a group on the surface, but we will see. If Mal, with and assist from Fred, can adequately fill Joes shoes and if EO can blossom just a little bit we should be OK with the talent we have supporting these seniors. Mal and Carl seem pretty determined not to let the other guys coast.

Expectations should be down some vs last year, but it seems to me like the potential for an upside surprise is greater than the potential for a downside surprise.

[WuDrWu]

To paraphrase Earl in the movie Tin Cup:

Well, the words "humility" and "him" don't often collide in the same sentence.

I love ol' Earl.