An argument for Missouri State

[STL MVC]

Gulley's out. Weems, Bizoukas and Patterson are gone. And this team finished .500 last year. So yes, I understand why there's skepticism about Missouri State. But look at this program a little closer, and I think there's reason for optimism:

1. Paul Lusk's defensive prowess: MSU finished second in the Valley in defensive efficiency last season behind Wichita State. This is Lusk's Purdue ties at work. Losing Patterson in the middle might hurt a little but he wasn't much of a shot-blocker anyway. Weems was a very good defensive player, too, but it wasn't just one guy that made this team go on the defensive end last year. This is the kind of thing that helps a team overachieve relative to its perceived "talent" level.

2. Drew Wilson and Dorrian Williams are back to mix with Thurman and the crew: The two forgotten redshirts can really play. We all know about Thurman as well, and Marcus Marshall isn't bad in his own right. Bruce Marshall is a complete unknown because he played for a tiny school in mid-Missouri, but he can really play. This is a good, young group of players that Lusk has to work with.

4. Christian Kirk will be a lot better: A classic breakout candidate. Same with Pickens. They're ready to take the reigns, along with Anthony Downing.

5. This team was better than its record last year: MSU lost a lot of close games. A couple plays here and there, and this team is well above .500. Obviously, it's a completely different team this year, but it's proof Lusk is a decent coach at this juncture.

CONCLUSION: I like Lusk. I like what he's doing, I like the way his team plays and I like his group of newcomers. This team will need to play a completely different style without Weems, so maybe that's to its advantage. Weems is probably the toughest, most admirable star to come through this league in a long time, but he took a lot of shots last year and couldn't shoulder the load after his whole 2011 starting lineup departed. Things should be a lot more balanced this year. Just depends on a few things: Downing growing into a leadership role, the improvement of Kirk/Pickens and the contributions from the newcomers.

[glm38]

Gulley's out. Weems, Bizoukas and Patterson are gone. And this team finished .500 last year. So yes, I understand why there's skepticism about Missouri State. But look at this program a little closer, and I think there's reason for optimism:

1. Paul Lusk's defensive prowess: MSU finished second in the Valley in defensive efficiency last season behind Wichita State. This is Lusk's Purdue ties at work. Losing Patterson in the middle might hurt a little but he wasn't much of a shot-blocker anyway. Weems was a very good defensive player, too, but it wasn't just one guy that made this team go on the defensive end last year. This is the kind of thing that helps a team overachieve relative to its perceived "talent" level.

2. Drew Wilson and Dorrian Williams are back to mix with Thurman and the crew: The two forgotten redshirts can really play. We all know about Thurman as well, and Marcus Marshall isn't bad in his own right. Bruce Marshall is a complete unknown because he played for a tiny school in mid-Missouri, but he can really play. This is a good, young group of players that Lusk has to work with.

4. Christian Kirk will be a lot better: A classic breakout candidate. Same with Pickens. They're ready to take the reigns, along with Anthony Downing.

5. This team was better than its record last year: MSU lost a lot of close games. A couple plays here and there, and this team is well above .500. Obviously, it's a completely different team this year, but it's proof Lusk is a decent coach at this juncture.

CONCLUSION: I like Lusk. I like what he's doing, I like the way his team plays and I like his group of newcomers. This team will need to play a completely different style without Weems, so maybe that's to its advantage. Weems is probably the toughest, most admirable star to come through this league in a long time, but he took a lot of shots last year and couldn't shoulder the load after his whole 2011 starting lineup departed. Things should be a lot more balanced this year. Just depends on a few things: Downing growing into a leadership role, the improvement of Kirk/Pickens and the contributions from the newcomers.

Nice assessment. I agree with pretty much everything you say. We could be very competitive if things break right or if they don't we could be in the bottom 3 and be a play in team. My guess though is that we'll finish a bit above .500 just due to trying to integrate all of the newcomers talented as they appear to be.

But there is a lot of reason for optimism in the next 3 to 4 years. A lot of it depends on Lusk. He appears to be a good young coach but he really seemed to struggle in end game situations at times last year. But I think that's pretty normal for a 1st year HC. Hopefully he grows into the job fast in the next few years.

[DoubleJayAlum]

Weems is probably the toughest, most admirable star to come through this league in a long time,

Thanks for the laugh. This post wins the award for the most unintentionally funny post of the summer or at least since Casey's last post).

Did you change your screen name Casey?

[MSUBear42]

Weems is probably the toughest, most admirable star to come through this league in a long time,

Thanks for the laugh. This post wins the award for the most unintentionally funny post of the summer or at least since Casey's last post).

Did you change your screen name Casey?

If you say otherwise, you are clueless. Kyle is one of the nicest players to EVER represent an MVC school. And that's coming from people in the MVC office.

He would go out of his way to do anything for the fans.

You're letting his beating you shade your opinion of who he is as a human.

[MVCfans]

Here's a good read on Missouri State:

“We want to win. We want to win right away,” Lusk said. “But my experience is that experience wins in college basketball.”

Clearly, the next-season version of the Bears almost completely lacks college experience. But thanks to the NCAA for allowing an upcoming exhibition trip to Costa Rica – along with 10 allotted practices last week and the upcoming one – there’s much-needed seeds being sowed in Lusk’s rebuilding project.

http://www.news-leader.com/article/2012 ... ck_check=1

[TheTimeIsNow]

Weems is probably the toughest, most admirable star to come through this league in a long time,

Thanks for the laugh. This post wins the award for the most unintentionally funny post of the summer or at least since Casey's last post).

Did you change your screen name Casey?

If you say otherwise, you are clueless. Kyle is one of the nicest players to EVER represent an MVC school. And that's coming from people in the MVC office.

He would go out of his way to do anything for the fans.

You're letting his beating you shade your opinion of who he is as a human.

Got a lot of connections in the MVC headquarters, ehh?

[AndShock]

I like how SWOMO fans like to talk Weems up like he's the nicest guy ever but I bet if you played the word association game with "Kyle Weems" the answer you get more often than not is "douche."

[Wufan]

Weems is probably the toughest, most admirable star to come through this league in a long time,

Thanks for the laugh. This post wins the award for the most unintentionally funny post of the summer or at least since Casey's last post).

Did you change your screen name Casey?

A better statement would have been, "one of the better players in the league the last two years." He is not the toughest, most admirable player in the league "in a long time." that said, MSU has a chance to be mid-pack, but I like the enthusiasm.

[agrinut]

I like how SWOMO fans like to talk Weems up like he's the nicest guy ever but I bet if you played the word association game with "Kyle Weems" the answer you get more often than not is "douche."

As a shocker fan you should be quite familiar with douches, I'll just consider you an expert on the subject.

[tribecalledquest]

I realize predictions mean nothing but I bet there isn't a preseason publication or MVC poll that has the Bears any higher than 7th heading into next season. Way, way, way too many young players and question marks.