2014-15 PREDICTIONS Thread

[Play Angry]

We know the final roster. We know the OOC schedule (against D1 opponents at least). We know life is awesome without KC Shox.


NOW let's fire up the predictions for this season- overall record, player performance, average margin of victory in MVC games being +/- 60 points, you name it.


Tipoff:

I don't see us losing in the MVC this year. We might, and I won't be disappointed if we drop one on the road at UNI/ISUr/MSU, but I really think we're gonna steamroll the poor sisters again.

Minimum of 2 players on AA lists at the end of the season. Possibly 3 if Tekele ups the ante a little on offense. At least one Consensus AA.

I think at some point this year we will finally be ranked #1. We are going to start much closer to it than last year, and any losses will not be punished as harshly now that we have established our brand somewhat.

We will win the national championship.




Your turn.

[1972Shocker]

We have 5 very good players with D-1 experience. We have 8 scholarship players that have not played any D-1 basketball.

I think we will be pretty good by the end of the year. Maybe very good. I see some growing pains with this team, although with the leadership of Fred, Ron, Tekele, Darius and Evan we may very well be able to cover up that inexperience factor.

No predictions, but I think this will be a fun and interesting year watching this team grow and develop.

[LandStander]

I'm not worried about the five this year. We have one guy returning at that spot, 1 redshirt kid that knows our system, a couple of transfers and 2 kids 6'10" and over. Marshall is going to make these kids run and with so much depth, there will be plenty of fresh legs out there. We will wear down the opposing teams front court. And on top of all that, our returning guards are our strength. I predict a great year that we'll remember for a long time!

[WuDrWu]

Anyone that wants to question the loss of an NBA Draft pick, our top assistant for the last 7 seasons (and the KEY scout coach) and 2 prominent, talented and effective (as well as mature and LARGE) men in the post will get no argument from me when predicting a lower number of wins than we've become accustomed to of late.

[Anthroshock]

Anyone that wants to question the loss of an NBA Draft pick, our top assistant for the last 7 seasons (and the KEY scout coach) and 2 prominent, talented and effective (as well as mature and LARGE) men in the post will get no argument from me when predicting a lower number of wins than we've become accustomed to of late.

So, 29, 30 wins?

The loss of Jans is going to be felt. I don't think it will be a Tad Boyle situation though.

[WuDrWu]

So, 29, 30 wins?

The loss of Jans is going to be felt. I don't think it will be a Tad Boyle situation though.

I'm not comfortable making predictions right now. The expectations are extraordinary these days. There are too many questions with our post play, and as good as Tekele, Fred and Ron are (and they are damned good) they are not the physically imposing or make the other guy adjust presence that Cle was, or Kadeem or Chadrack for that matter.

The schedule is solid with few "mail 'em in" games. Look, I think the team is going to be really good. Really, really good. But with a new coach, 8 new D1 players, I just think the possibility of taking a small step back, especially early in the season, must be a possibility.

[Anthroshock]

I'm not comfortable making predictions right now.

Me neither. I usually don't participate in prediction threads.

I, like most, want the team to win every game. Last year was surreal. On the off chance we drop 4 or 5 games this season I'm not going to freak out.

[Play Angry]

I, like most, want the team to win every game. Last year was surreal. On the off chance we drop 4 or 5 games this season I'm not going to freak out.

Agreed- this is also part of what makes this team so amazing. We are going to have a top 10ish OOC SOS and you can take it to the bank that we are not going to lose more than 5-6 regular season games if we stay healthy.

That's when ya know you've got a team that's a title contender.

[im4wsu]

Fred, Ron, Tekele, Darrius and Evan are a very, very good five, even if a bit short at the 4 spot. I'd expect no more than 2 looses in the Valley if that was our entire lineup.

[60Shock]

This is going to be another great and fun filled season. And isn't it wonderful to be having so many of them now. Fred, Ron, Tekele, Darrius and Evan should all be improved with another year of experience behind them.

Without Cle, we may come close to being as good as we were last year, but it is way too EARLY and there are too many intangibles to be predicting just how good this team will really be by the end of the year. But, unless they stack the deck against us again in the NCAA tournament, a Sweet 16 or higher is certainly plausible this time around.

[wufan]

I'm excited to see the two JUCOs and three prep school kids (not to mention Henderson, Holland, and Morris). There is a ton of talent coming in, and while I don't expect huge numbers, I do expect the rest of the Valley to take notice. Some serious size in the freshman class:

6-3 PG
6-6, 215 wing
6-7, 234 combo-forward
6-8, 250ish F/C
6-10, 240 C

Strong, skilled, and athletic, and it might be that not one of them is in the top 7. Hell, this freshman team could skip Thursday night in St. Louis. I expect we will go 25-5 in the regular season...same as I predicted last year.

[1972Shocker]

Bradley has as interesting class mix on this year's roster. 1 Senior, 11 Juniors (1 a walk-on), 1 Soph and 2 Freshman. Not sure I have ever seen that kind of class concentration before. Not sure it's the ideal situation, but Geno or his successor will have plenty of PT to sell to the class of 2016.

[Jamar Howard 4 President]

Cleanthony won WSU some games almost single-handedly last year. He will be missed. Not every night, but there will be several close games where we will think, "Man, Cle would have helped here!"
The MVC will be tougher overall.
Despite being a favorite nearly every night out, the OOC is full of loseable games.

I predict:
2 losses in non-conf
15-3 MVC
Win Arch Madness
3 Seed
Sweet 16

[Dave Stalwart]

Cleanthony won WSU some games almost single-handedly last year. He will be missed. Not every night, but there will be several close games where we will think, "Man, Cle would have helped here!"
The MVC will be tougher overall.
Despite being a favorite nearly every night out, the OOC is full of loseable games.

I predict:
2 losses in non-conf
15-3 MVC
Win Arch Madness
3 Seed
Sweet 16

And then, there is that outside chance that FVV, Baker and Cotton haven't even reached their ceiling yet, and Carter improves to become the best PF/C in the Valley. Then, if 2 or 3 other players show up at all, we are back to juggernaut status. I'm really interested to see the continued development of our already awesome guards.

[ky-mike]

Last year we had good bench strength and could play a lot deeper with experience than we can this year. That may come into play as the season progresses. Of course, we might be surprised with some of our new talent stepping up pretty quickly. I don't see a season like last year, but do have expectations of winning the conference and MVC tourney as well as 2-3 games in the NCAA.