The Valley Next Year

[OTR Shockfan]

YOU REALLY THINK WE'LL BE BETTER THAN 22-0 NEXT YEAR AT THIS POINT?

silly post ,, you don't have to be 22-0 or 25 -0 to be better as a team. might not have as "good a record" but won't mean we aren't as good or better. going ??? and O is a special thing, but not nessasarily a end all be all to being GOOD ,, case in point Murry State they were ?? and 0 and we all knew they weren't "THAT GOOD" when it counted. remind me how far did they get in March with that "great start" ?

[shoxlax]

And we've had multiple posters for a couple of years telling us how Bradley is going to improve. I have no confidence in other Valley programs becoming and thing close to WSU. Sure somebody else will have a good year now and then, and that's aboit it.

I don't see Bradley any better losing Lemon and Pickett. Drake loses Carter and a few others. ISUB loses Odom, Arop and Cummings. We lose CLE, CJ, Nick and Kadeem.

[OTR Shockfan]

I guess if you go by Pins thinking the ( and I hate to use anything KWho ) but the 1988 team that ended the yr 21-11 and a Nat. ship , just wasn't as good as the 2002 team that went 16-0 to start the big 12 ending with a record of 33-4 but no nat. title personally I'd take the 21and 11 with a ship over the better team at 33 and 4 without I think the 88 team proved they were the better team in the end to hell with the record

[wufan]

Weren't most of the Valley teams supposed to be improved this year? I know for a fact UNI has supposed to have been improved for the last 3 years and counting. Maybe the Valley is just never going to be a good conference again.

Last year was supposed to be UNIs year, but it wasn't. Nobody was talking about them being better in 13-14 after they lost James and Koch II.

[AndShock]

Last year was supposed to be UNIs year, but it wasn't. Nobody was talking about them being better in 13-14 after they lost James and Koch II.

I guess it depends on who you ask...the UNI board was predicting 12-6 or better right before conference season started and they didn't exactly light up the non-con. I wonder what their predicted record was before they started sucking it up.

[pogo]

30-0

[ShockMe300]

I won't be surprised if the difference between WSU and the rest of the league is even wider next year. Yes, a lot of the other teams are young right now, but that doesn't mean they're talented. Watching some of the games on TV, I don't see improvement in any of the other teams in this conference. Combine that with the willingness, or lack of, to schedule tougher, this league just doesn't appear to want to get better. Doug Elgin has been quoted saying that this league is cyclical, it's only cyclical as it goes down the drain. What do we have to do to get out of this crappy conference?!

[ShockerPrez]

I just think that Marshall and WSU will continue to improve. The fruits of the final 4 are just now going to be shown with the recruits next year and after.

[ShockerPrez]

The coaches in the valley now, are not the hot commodities they used to be. Without the young coaches that are being sought by BCS conferences, I dont see how the Valley is pointing up.

[Jamar Howard 4 President]

What's our average margin of victory in Valley games this year?

When was the last Valley team to start off 9-0 in conference?

Average margin: 15 pts/gm

Last Valley team: Drake - 2008 - Started 13-0
Also: Southern Illinois - 2004 - Started 17-0

[AndShock]

Average margin: 15 pts/gm

Last Valley team: Drake - 2008 - Started 13-0
Also: Southern Illinois - 2004 - Started 17-0

So a fluke and a team who I think we can agree dominated the Valley.

[Shocker85]

A few thoughts about the relative "goodness" year over year of MVC teams:

1) Just because a team has a bunch of players back, doesn't always mean those players will be better or the team better the following season. Some coaches don't develop talent well; some players have a low ceiling. (Reference Mike Cohen years at WSU).

2) Some people seem to be discounting the impact Cleanthony Early has had on the Shocks success this season. Who wins the WSU vs. Loyola game if Early isn't in a WSU uniform? Cleanthony will be missed next season A LOT. He draws tons of attention from defenses and still runs a pretty good stat line most nights. There are good players in the program and coming in, but the combination of talents Cle possesses will be hard to replace.

3) The Shocks are one Evansville slip-up from being TIED with Indiana St. The Shocks sure aren't dominating them. Yes, WSU routed the Trees already, but the margin for error this season remains very, very slim.

I think the Shocks will be good next season. I think they will win the MVC. It is very hard to tell which teams will compete and which ones are doomed to continue to suck. There most certainly are not many players on other MVC teams who you think, "Wow, I can't wait to play those guys and watch him." Also, MVC teams rarely have multiple players who can hurt you in different ways, which is why many struggle. For example, make Lemon Jr. or Ballentine work hard and take a lot of shots to get their points and their teams aren’t good.

I’m not saying anyone is right or wrong in this discussion, just a few things to munch on.

[molly jabali]

A few thoughts about the relative "goodness" year over year of MVC teams:

1) Just because a team has a bunch of players back, doesn't always mean those players will be better or the team better the following season. Some coaches don't develop talent well; some players have a low ceiling. (Reference Mike Cohen years at WSU).

2) Some people seem to be discounting the impact Cleanthony Early has had on the Shocks success this season. Who wins the WSU vs. Loyola game if Early isn't in a WSU uniform? Cleanthony will be missed next season A LOT. He draws tons of attention from defenses and still runs a pretty good stat line most nights. There are good players in the program and coming in, but the combination of talents Cle possesses will be hard to replace.

3) The Shocks are one Evansville slip-up from being TIED with Indiana St. The Shocks sure aren't dominating them. Yes, WSU routed the Trees already, but the margin for error this season remains very, very slim.

I think the Shocks will be good next season. I think they will win the MVC. It is very hard to tell which teams will compete and which ones are doomed to continue to suck. There most certainly are not many players on other MVC teams who you think, "Wow, I can't wait to play those guys and watch him." Also, MVC teams rarely have multiple players who can hurt you in different ways, which is why many struggle. For example, make Lemon Jr. or Ballentine work hard and take a lot of shots to get their points and their teams aren’t good.

I’m not saying anyone is right or wrong in this discussion, just a few things to munch on.

Totally THIS

[1972Shocker]

YOU REALLY THINK WE'LL BE BETTER THAN 22-0 NEXT YEAR AT THIS POINT?

We could be better next year and not be undefeated. What's our schedule look like.

[SHOXAAC]

We could be better next year and not be undefeated. What's our schedule look like.

There is certainly legitimate attention and interest on the first 34 games of the year. Personally I don't care as much what that record is as long as it gets us dancing. My attention and interest is what our record is for games 35-40.