Next season

[BEARZ77]

I've got a synopsis for every team in the Valley which includes returning players and signed recruits which i will begin sometime later this week listing on Bear Nation. Then I will update it as the summer progresses and there are either defections or additional signings so it is easy to at least know what each teams roster looks like as things move towards next season. To me [ and of course I have some bias] it looks to me that the top incoming classes right now are Loyola,MSU, and Drake, in no particular order,but that ISUb, SIU {?} , UNI and Bradley have solid classes as well. But that of course doesn't take into account rs transfers who sat this year, and ISUr,Valpo, MSU, & Evansville appear to have the most significant additions there. Then of course you have guys that were injured or sitting for other reasons like UNI has Phyfe and Croft.

The point is while there are a couple of teams that have a good core of guys returning, there is a significant amount of talent entering the Valley next year, some of which is already experienced at the D-1 level and has had a year to practice with their teams . Given the teams that are more "veteran" in their retuning lineups were also just .500 or worse in league play, there is really no clear favorite that stands out right now.

[Blers]

Newbies: that's always hard to gauge. BU next season returns Brown, Childs, Kennell, Henry, Bar, Boya, Hodgson, and if you believe the people "in the know," brings in Wardle's "best recruiting class." That includes some more international flavor, but supposedly a higher level than what he's brought in so far. That's nice to hear, but we'll see what happens. To my mind the combo of Brown and Childs puts BU in the title hunt with a decent supporting cast, and if we get another Ja'Shon Henry or 2 in the next bunch, that's just a pleasant surprise.

The depth pieces are so key; Bradley being able to pull Kennel and Henry off the bench was huge late in the year. Same with Halderman/Dahl/Pickford at UNI.

I'm iffy on Bradley next year only because their 2019-20 roster reminds me of Loyola this year; great core (Childs, Brown, Kennel, Henry) but have depth questions. Outside Kaifes we just had no dependable fire power outside our big 3 (really 4... but Williamson was out for 2/3's of the year). The newbies: Agunanne, Uguak, and Bujdoso all showed potential, but failed to be reliable on offense.

That said, Bradley looks to have a full team, while we only had 10 players this year, so they'll have way more options; and you only need 1-2 of the group to click. Do they expect Pittman back? I noticed they are one over the scholarship limit next season.

[freddycat68]

I think BU's people expect one reserve guard to leave. Not sure who (and my understanding on that is about 17 sources removed from the head coach, so take it for what it's worth). BU is not likely to recruit over Brummett or Boya as they're pretty high on those guys but thought they weren't ready yet this season. Boya in particular could be a special player before it's all said and done.

[Valleyball]

I would go

Loyola
Mo State
Bradley

I expect a couple to leave at Bradley and think they will start slow with a bunch of new players. But click late in the year.

[tribecalledquest]

Shot in the dark:

1. Loyola (shooters with Kaifes, Hall, Wojcik; POY favorite in Krutwig; top recruiting class in the conference...but...I am extremely biased)
2. UNI
3. MoSt
4. Bradley
5. Drake
6. Valpo
7. Indiana State
8. Evansville
9. Illinois State
10. Southern Illinois

As we saw this year with so many key players/transfers coming in the spring lets hold off on "top recruiting class" stuff.

Top rated recruiting class of high school seniors at this point in time*

Better?

Where are the rankings of all the guys signed thus far?

[tribecalledquest]

Newbies: that's always hard to gauge. BU next season returns Brown, Childs, Kennell, Henry, Bar, Boya, Hodgson, and if you believe the people "in the know," brings in Wardle's "best recruiting class." That includes some more international flavor, but supposedly a higher level than what he's brought in so far. That's nice to hear, but we'll see what happens. To my mind the combo of Brown and Childs puts BU in the title hunt with a decent supporting cast, and if we get another Ja'Shon Henry or 2 in the next bunch, that's just a pleasant surprise.

The depth pieces are so key; Bradley being able to pull Kennel and Henry off the bench was huge late in the year. Same with Halderman/Dahl/Pickford at UNI.

I'm iffy on Bradley next year only because their 2019-20 roster reminds me of Loyola this year; great core (Childs, Brown, Kennel, Henry) but have depth questions. Outside Kaifes we just had no dependable fire power outside our big 3 (really 4... but Williamson was out for 2/3's of the year). The newbies: Agunanne, Uguak, and Bujdoso all showed potential, but failed to be reliable on offense.

That said, Bradley looks to have a full team, while we only had 10 players this year, so they'll have way more options; and you only need 1-2 of the group to click. Do they expect Pittman back? I noticed they are one over the scholarship limit next season.

I would be shocked if Bradley didn't finally jump in the D1 transfer/grad transfer market this spring. They haven't done that much other than JoJo McGlaston in the last four years. The names are heard are really good players but come with some injury question marks. But that stuff is kept really close to the vest of course.

[ahunte1]

I would go

Loyola
Mo State
Bradley

I expect a couple to leave at Bradley and think they will start slow with a bunch of new players. But click late in the year.

I don't expect anyone to pick Loyola to three-peat. I do think there is a chance that next year's team could be as good as this year's though, especially if Uguak improves. The team should be deeper and more balanced, with more scoring threats available. We played a lot of minutes with only the "big three" capable of putting up points.

Problem for Loyola in that scenario is that the league overall should bounce back and be a lot stronger. At least we can hope.

[DUBulldog]

To me, it's still way too early to make any predictions. There will still be a significant amount or roster changes to come, both additions and subtractions.

I don't even have a good handle on Drake next season, much less any other team. It will probably be mid-May before everything shakes out.

For Drake, I certainly don't expect Norton to get a 6th season. Barring any unexpected departures, I expect the Bulldogs to be deeper and more athletic next season....and there's still at least 2 more scholarships to fill this spring. I expect a grad transfer and a juco.

The way Drake performed without McGlynn in the MVC tourney makes me much more optimistic for next season.

[ptownbraves]

Newbies: that's always hard to gauge. BU next season returns Brown, Childs, Kennell, Henry, Bar, Boya, Hodgson, and if you believe the people "in the know," brings in Wardle's "best recruiting class." That includes some more international flavor, but supposedly a higher level than what he's brought in so far. That's nice to hear, but we'll see what happens. To my mind the combo of Brown and Childs puts BU in the title hunt with a decent supporting cast, and if we get another Ja'Shon Henry or 2 in the next bunch, that's just a pleasant surprise.

The depth pieces are so key; Bradley being able to pull Kennel and Henry off the bench was huge late in the year. Same with Halderman/Dahl/Pickford at UNI.

I'm iffy on Bradley next year only because their 2019-20 roster reminds me of Loyola this year; great core (Childs, Brown, Kennel, Henry) but have depth questions. Outside Kaifes we just had no dependable fire power outside our big 3 (really 4... but Williamson was out for 2/3's of the year). The newbies: Agunanne, Uguak, and Bujdoso all showed potential, but failed to be reliable on offense.

That said, Bradley looks to have a full team, while we only had 10 players this year, so they'll have way more options; and you only need 1-2 of the group to click. Do they expect Pittman back? I noticed they are one over the scholarship limit next season.

Pittman is gone next year. The big clue was him being honored on Senior night when he's a redshirt Junior. Bradley also loses Lundy, Van Bree and DLO. While those guys aren't usually huge scorers, they are big intangible guys and will be hard to replace. DLO is the ultimate hustle glue guy, Van Bree has developed a reliable turnaround fadeaway and has really stepped up his defense and rebounding, and without Lundy's energy, Bradley wouldn't be playing in the NCAA tournament right now.

[BirdsEyeView]

Illinois State is a huge question mark. I have heard the group sitting out were kicking the current team's butt in practice.

In my opinion, our biggest loss is Fayne. I am not upset over Yarbs, Evans or Tinsley graduating AT ALL. We will be better next year. I guarantee it, but who knows by how much.