Comparing the MVC teams

[WuDrWu]

Put me in the camp with Kung Wu.

If Jake has the same motor as Adam, and while that is a high bar I have to reason to think that he won't, then I believe he will be the better player.

To me, that kid has scary upside. However, sometimes kids peak early. Who knows, this may be as good as he gets, but if so I will be shocked.

[WuDrWu]

How do you all see the valley pre-season predictions? Here are mine

WSU
UNI
MSU
Il St
Creighton
Bradley
Indian St
SIU
Drake
Evansville

I underestimated UNI last season and perhaps I will yet again.


CU

UNI

MSU
ISUB
BU
ISUR

DU


SIU
UE

I see little if any separation in the middle 4. Drake could easily be added to that group. I can't see SIU and UE being anything BUT 9 & 10.

I can't see CU out of the top 3. I could see UNI falling to that middle group, but I would be surprised if they weren't at least at the top of it.

[Awesome Sauce Malone]

Hows this for analysis,


WSU
details

[ShockTalk]

Am I the only one that has a feeling that Adam Koch's little brother will outperform him?

Even if they are equals in terms of ability, the younger brother has had the opportunity to learn from his big brother while under fire and could be a stud early on.

If so UNI will still be pretty darn strong next year.

A lot of UNI's success will depend on whether O'Rear stays or not. He might have more leverage this year to go into pro baseball, plus not get as rusty if he waits. UNI without him is very unexperienced up front without much depth. They lost a lot of points, rebounds, and minutes, losing O'Rear will only hurt that more.

[WuDrWu]

Is that even in discussion?


I have a hard time imagining that if he wanted to play baseball professionally that he would have essentially sat out a year to work on his chops and cheap shots.

I expect he will return for his senior year.....but please let us know if this possibility is being discussed.

[The Mad Hatter]

Is that even in discussion?


I have a hard time imagining that if he wanted to play baseball professionally that he would have essentially sat out a year to work on his chops and cheap shots.

I expect he will return for his senior year.....but please let us know if this possibility is being discussed.

The most recent articles I've seen indicate that he wants to come back for his final year in basketball before pursing a pro career in baseball, but that it is still up in the air (particularly based on where he ends up being drafted this year).

http://gazetteonline.com/sports/2010/05/17/no-baseball-team-but-unis-orear-draft-worthy

http://www.omaha.com/article/20100428/SPORTS/704289783/0

[Dan]

If he comes back to UNI he's crazy. Zero shot at more basketball success that he had last year. Zero shot at pro basketball career. Potential pro career in baseball. No baseball at UNI. I don't see the logic in a return unless he just loves going to UNI.

[ABC]

Aaron Ellis scored 22 points in St. Louis as a freshman.

[Ricardo del Rio]

Aaron Ellis scored 22 points in St. Louis as a freshman.

I was there. The epitome of being "in the zone."

[Zardoz]

Overall pretty good, maybe a little harsh on the PG part. TM can play there if he has to, but last season I went from oh-no when DW came in to not really concerned. I don't see a lack of depth, maybe quality proven D1 depth, but by the time valley play comes around I think we're fine. So we have DW and JR fighting it out for the starting position and TM in emergencies and I think coach has even looked at Kyles and Hatch in the last year.

While we might be a little shallow at point we are OMG deep at the wings and post. At the wing we have Murry, Kyles, Hatch, Smith, and Richardson, throw in Willams and Ragland as combo guards.

At post we have Durley, Blair, Hamilton, Ellis, EO, and Stutz.

All coach has to do is to find enough basketballs to keep everybody happy.

[Ashockalypse]

Definitely not worried about point guard.

[calfan]

I don't mind taking a shot at a preseason prediction now.

This is going to be a tough season to predict. A lot of teams on paper right now look close.

Here are my predictions:

1. WSU- big surprise.
2. Missouri State- Kyle Weems and a good coach.
3. Bradley- Returns 1 2nd team all conference player and an honorable mention.
4. Northern Iowa- Good coach, lot of postseason experience.
5. Creighton- New coach should help along with coach's son as a player. Look for Doug to possibly start early.
6. Illinois State- they lost a lot of talent, they have some kids sitting on the bench that should be ready. This may be a little high for them.
7. Drake- A lot of potential, probably a year or two away from possibly making noice. they had a good recruiting class.
8. Indiana State- They got a good freshman inside player.
9. Evanville- I just think they were doing better late in the season, a new season should give them new confidence, this could be low.
10. Southern Illinois- Right now they are really in disarray. Lowery is going to be on the "hot seat" and bringing in a lot of new players is not usually a recipe for success.