MVC Predictions

[newshock1234]

I know media day is monday i think, and i know the media will give their predictions. So i was wondering what everyone elses on here are.

1. SIU (wont miss a beat from last year run)
2. Bradley (got so nice talent coming back)
3. Creighton (Dana Altmans teams never have a down year)
4. Ill State (They have lots of talant)
5. Wichita State (Remember the last time we were picked 5th)
6. UNI (Coleman will keep them competive)
7.Missouri State (They are gonna struggle)
8. Indiana State (new coach will struggle)
9. Drake (i feel for them)
10. Evansville ( i am happy we are not in this position)

[SubGod22]

My thoughts on this change every day. There are so many question marks on so many teams that it's tough to say. I'm gonna go with the following.......for now.

1 - Bradley - They have a lot of returning talent and I believe have added some post help. They have what may be the best guard in the conference and one of the best shooters as well. Will the loss of coach whatshisname be a problem?
2 - SWOMO - I think they'll be better off without Ahearn. I think they relied too much on him and it hurt at times. Deven Mitchell scares me and I just can't bring myself to think that Barry is really that bad.
3 - WSU - A lot of talent, but a lot of it's new. Including the staff. But there's a new energy and I think we're definitely headed up.
4 - ISU - There's a lot of talent there and they scare me.
5 - CU - They'll probably do better but they lost quite a bit from last year. Dana is a great coach and will find a way. They did add some very nice talent to the roster this year.
6 - SIU - They'll be picked to win it, but I can't bring myself to do that until I see they have an outside game. Young and Tatum made the offense go. And there still wasn't a whole lot of offense going.
7 - UNI - They have Coleman........
8 - ISU - New coach may get them headed in the right direction. But year one is gonna be tough for the trees.
9 - DU - They're DU.
0 - UE - They're worse than DU.

The media will pick differently. I expect most to see it something like this

1. SIU
2. BU
3. CU
4. MSU
5. WSU
6. ISU
7. UNI
8. ISU
9. DU
0. UE

The 'Birds are obviously the top ISU in both selections.

[forevershockerfan]

FSF=Fearless ShockerNet Forecast-------

1. SIU--Defense--Defense--But not unbeatable
2. Bradley---Good guards are hard to beat
3. WSU---better then 6th and 1st would not be a :shock:
4.Creighton---Altman lost tons but has enough to be very competitive
5.Mo State---A Coach on the bubble
6.Illinois State---they might crack the top 5
7.UNI---Always a pain
8.IND ST.
9. DRAKE
10.EVANSVILLE

[The Mad Hatter]

1. SIU -- everyone has questions, SIU included, but they have been the most consistent team in the Valley for a while now.
2. Bradley -- I would have made them my favorite, but with the offseason they had, especially with losing the assistant coach who was Tex Winter to Les's Phil Jackson.
3. WSU -- I my book, PJ is the best player in the Valley, and with all the star power lost in the Valley that will matter (the fact that Ruffin and Falker are on the teams I have 1 and 2 is also no mistake).
4. MSU -- I think Bilyeu could be as big a loss as Ahearn. I also think that Mitchell will prove to be much worse as the star of a team than as a sixth man. The roles are very different and their best bet is for someone else to step up so he can do what he did last year.
5. CU -- They still have Altman and some solid recruiting, but this will be a down year in my book. Look for big things from CU the following year though.
6. ISU (Red) -- Lots of talent, but no proven winners. They will upset some people, but I doubt they will be consistent enough to make the top half.
7. UNI -- I'm not sold on their coach or their guard play. Losing Stout is huge. They will need both the 7 footer to step up and way more in guard play to touch the top half.
8. ISU (Blue) -- They bring everyone back, but off of a bad team. They obviously get better, and bring in a good coach (which is also CU's loss), but better won't amount to that many more wins.
9. Drake -- Do I even need to explain?
10. EU -- lose 3 of your 4 best players, including your best player, and you weren't even very good last year, ouch.

[shockerfan]

This is my pre-season pick, I definately think it's possible to be VERY different at the end of the season, but just soo many unknowns across the board. Really, you could roll the dice and probably pick the teams more accurately then really trying to figure it out....

1) SIU - Seems like they lose alot every year, but yet there they are.
2) Bradley - just too much fire power to put them too low IMO. They could dissapoint, but on paper they should be pretty good.
3) SWOMO - I think they are going to challenge for a top spot.
4) Creighton - Dana is Dana, but they will struggle some against top teams in Valley
5) Illinois St - Just a hunch they'll be top half team this year
6) WSU - have to pick us before I get too low in the order :P. I would say good chance to finish higher, but for pre-season hard to argue on putting us too high IMO.
7) UNI - Could be a 4th - 8th type team.
8) Indiana St - just not very good
9) Drake - yeah, still bad
10) UE - just horrible

[MSNSaluki]

My thoughts on this change every day. There are so many question marks on so many teams that it's tough to say. I'm gonna go with the following.......for now.

1 - Bradley - They have a lot of returning talent and I believe have added some post help. They have what may be the best guard in the conference and one of the best shooters as well. Will the loss of coach whatshisname be a problem?
2 - SWOMO - I think they'll be better off without Ahearn. I think they relied too much on him and it hurt at times. Deven Mitchell scares me and I just can't bring myself to think that Barry is really that bad.
3 - WSU - A lot of talent, but a lot of it's new. Including the staff. But there's a new energy and I think we're definitely headed up.
4 - ISU - There's a lot of talent there and they scare me.
5 - CU - They'll probably do better but they lost quite a bit from last year. Dana is a great coach and will find a way. They did add some very nice talent to the roster this year.
6 - SIU - They'll be picked to win it, but I can't bring myself to do that until I see they have an outside game. Young and Tatum made the offense go. And there still wasn't a whole lot of offense going.
7 - UNI - They have Coleman........
8 - ISU - New coach may get them headed in the right direction. But year one is gonna be tough for the trees.
9 - DU - They're DU.
0 - UE - They're worse than DU.

6th?
6TH?
I'm hurt, my friend. 8)

[SpanglerFan316]

My (latest) guess:
1. WSU - Marshall effect + Griskenas, Clemente overlooked
2. SIU - always tough
3. MSU - Barry needs success
4. BU - talent + Les improved
5. ISU - talent starting to develop
6. CU - should be good in 2008-9
7. UNI - going downhill
8. DU - slowly improving
9. ISU - It's ISU
10. UE - It's UE

[tropicalshox]

1. SIU
2. WSU
3. MSU
4. CU
5. BU
6. ILL ST.
7. UNI
8. DU
9. IN St.
10. UE

I expect the media to have WSU 5th, BU 2nd.

[tgcshock]

1. SIU -- everyone has questions, SIU included, but they have been the most consistent team in the Valley for a while now.
2. Bradley -- I would have made them my favorite, but with the offseason they had, especially with losing the assistant coach who was Tex Winter to Les's Phil Jackson.
3. WSU -- I my book, PJ is the best player in the Valley, and with all the star power lost in the Valley that will matter (the fact that Ruffin and Falker are on the teams I have 1 and 2 is also no mistake).
4. MSU -- I think Bilyeu could be as big a loss as Ahearn. I also think that Mitchell will prove to be much worse as the star of a team than as a sixth man. The roles are very different and their best bet is for someone else to step up so he can do what he did last year.
5. CU -- They still have Altman and some solid recruiting, but this will be a down year in my book. Look for big things from CU the following year though.
6. ISU (Red) -- Lots of talent, but no proven winners. They will upset some people, but I doubt they will be consistent enough to make the top half.
7. UNI -- I'm not sold on their coach or their guard play. Losing Stout is huge. They will need both the 7 footer to step up and way more in guard play to touch the top half.
8. ISU (Blue) -- They bring everyone back, but off of a bad team. They obviously get better, and bring in a good coach (which is also CU's loss), but better won't amount to that many more wins.
9. Drake -- Do I even need to explain?
10. EU -- lose 3 of your 4 best players, including your best player, and you weren't even very good last year, ouch.

Probably as good a set of picks as any. However, The Valley is more wide open then it has been in recent memory and all picks are shakier than at any time in the recent past.

I would put the teams in tiers as follows:

1st Tier- SIU (confidence and defense), BU (guard play), MSU (solid mix of talent and experience) and WSU (Conference's best all around player and a senior point guard to make everyone play better). Any of them could finish first. Any of them could finish fourth. All of them have at least one glaring weakness.

2nd Tier- CU (Altman and tons of young talent but lack of proven shooting and point guard play make this a year too soon), UNI (International play boost and winning system, although I too have questions about coaching and the loss of Stout), Ill St. (Talent but no proven winners and a coach that doesn't yet know what the Valley is all about). Again any of them could finish in any order and with a little luck could break the top four but odds are against it.

3rd Tier- In St., Drake, EU. Really what is there to say other than that ISU future might be brighter than the other two.

Should be fun to watch what happens.

[JVShocker_old]

1. SIU (till someone knocks them off)
2. Creighton (I don't bet against Altman in a down year)
3. WSU (PJ at the 2, new guys at the 3, but unknown in the middle)
4. Bradley
5. Misouri St
6. Illinois St
7-10. The rest

[InWuWeTrust]

doesn't missouri state's mitchell look like Ice-T?

http://www.missouristatebears.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=59268&SPID=6484&DB_OEM_ID=13800&ATCLID=706906&Q_SEASON=2007

http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=Ice+T&fr=yfp-t-471&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8

[BostonWu]

1. SIU (till someone knocks them off)
2. Creighton (I don't bet against Altman in a down year)
3. WSU (PJ at the 2, new guys at the 3, but unknown in the middle)
4. Bradley
5. Misouri St
6. Illinois St
7-10. The rest

Good as any I've seen.

[DoubleJayAlum]

2nd Tier- CU (Altman and tons of young talent but lack of proven shooting and point guard play make this a year too soon), UNI (International play boost and winning system, although I too have questions about coaching and the loss of Stout), Ill St. (Talent but no proven winners and a coach that doesn't yet know what the Valley is all about). Again any of them could finish in any order and with a little luck could break the top four but odds are against it.

I realize predictions are a person's opinion, so I rarely comment on them. In this case, you have one thing wrong about Creighton though. While they may have a "lack of proven shooting", they do not have a lack of point guard play. Dotzler returns for his Jr. season. He started all games his freshman year until going down with an injury at SIU. Last year he battled to recover from the SIU injury as well as some broken fingers that required surgical repairs. He is now healthy (knock on wood) and when he has been healthy, he has been one of the best floor generals in the conference.

This may or may not have any effect on your rankings, but just thought I'd clear up the PG situation.

[rrshock]

If it was possible to rank EU at 1th or 12th, I'm pretty sure I would. With their progress (or lack thereof) in the league, it's time to find their replacement. I know it's been brought up before, but it needs to again.

My pick are:
1. SIU - until someone proves otherwise
2. Bradley - could be an interesting team
3. MSU - They usually end up at about this spot
4. WSU - I really don't where we should be at
5. Ill St - Alot of talent there, but new system could drop them farther down
6. CU - Just felt like picking them there
7. UNI - Coleman isn't gonna be able to do everything
8. Drake - Maybe a young coach can get to them?
9. Ind St. - Already penciled into the playin game in the Lou
12. UE - Cause they don't deserve even 10th place.

[SubGod22]

My thoughts on this change every day. There are so many question marks on so many teams that it's tough to say. I'm gonna go with the following.......for now.

1 - Bradley - They have a lot of returning talent and I believe have added some post help. They have what may be the best guard in the conference and one of the best shooters as well. Will the loss of coach whatshisname be a problem?
2 - SWOMO - I think they'll be better off without Ahearn. I think they relied too much on him and it hurt at times. Deven Mitchell scares me and I just can't bring myself to think that Barry is really that bad.
3 - WSU - A lot of talent, but a lot of it's new. Including the staff. But there's a new energy and I think we're definitely headed up.
4 - ISU - There's a lot of talent there and they scare me.
5 - CU - They'll probably do better but they lost quite a bit from last year. Dana is a great coach and will find a way. They did add some very nice talent to the roster this year.
6 - SIU - They'll be picked to win it, but I can't bring myself to do that until I see they have an outside game. Young and Tatum made the offense go. And there still wasn't a whole lot of offense going.
7 - UNI - They have Coleman........
8 - ISU - New coach may get them headed in the right direction. But year one is gonna be tough for the trees.
9 - DU - They're DU.
0 - UE - They're worse than DU.

6th?
6TH?
I'm hurt, my friend. 8)

It was tough to put you there. And I don't expect SIU to finish there. But until I see a perimeter game I just don't know. Falker can't do much if he has 4 guys on him :D