Next year predictions

[Jays26]

His point was that "this coming year" CU should be even better with the year under their belt with a new system and coach. And with the guys they have available at the 2 this coming year they should be vastly better there also. Not to mention getting Wragge back healthy.

And ISU won't get better? They return just as many players, and they also now have a whole year under a new coach. And the fact is, they had a better year than Creighton last year.

No, wasn't saying that ISUb won't get better also. The overall view by most is that as far as talent from top to bottom CU is far ahead of ISUb. But as we have seen in the past, sometimes talent doesn't win. So it will be a fun year that is for sure. Expectations will be high in Omaha and my prediction is that the Valley will end up being a 2 horse race in the end. CU and WSU.

[valleychamp]

His point was that "this coming year" CU should be even better with the year under their belt with a new system and coach. And with the guys they have available at the 2 this coming year they should be vastly better there also. Not to mention getting Wragge back healthy.

And ISU won't get better? They return just as many players, and they also now have a whole year under a new coach. And the fact is, they had a better year than Creighton last year.

No, wasn't saying that ISUb won't get better also. The overall view by most is that as far as talent from top to bottom CU is far ahead of ISUb. But as we have seen in the past, sometimes talent doesn't win. So it will be a fun year that is for sure. Expectations will be high in Omaha and my prediction is that the Valley will end up being a 2 horse race in the end. CU and WSU.

And that was my point. I agree, as most do, that CU has the more talented team both this coming year and last year. But despite that, ISU was the better of the two last season. So you cannot rule them out next year.

[Khan4Cats]

ISUb will take a big step back this year imo. Teams will not guard Odum like they did last year and the pop star wont be sitting in the corner waiting for the pass. Lathan has a btoke wing and will likely wear a brace most the season. UNI will be pretty bad with no post presence a repeat of their last 7 games is more likely than not.

UNI won't be in the top 10. Clearly the end of season post woes (brought on by a late injury will) have no chance to be fixed with 4 new post players, an entire summer of planning / prep by Coach Jake and the summer trip to Brazil will have no positive outcomes on the chances for the Panthers.

[DoubleJayAlum]

And that was my point. I agree, as most do, that CU has the more talented team both this coming year and last year. But despite that, ISU was the better of the two last season. So you cannot rule them out next year.

Honestly of the top half last year, InSU was the team that CU matched up with the best. I was much more concerned with MSU, WSU and UNI. I still don't understand how WSU lost to InSU in the tourney. I understand the MSU loss more as MSU had essentially zero depth and just ran out of gas.

I think the same will be true this next season as well.

[dgreenwell3]

ISUb will take a big step back this year imo. Teams will not guard Odum like they did last year and the pop star wont be sitting in the corner waiting for the pass. Lathan has a btoke wing and will likely wear a brace most the season. UNI will be pretty bad with no post presence a repeat of their last 7 games is more likely than not.

If you are talking about the loss of Aaron Carter, I am pretty sure Jordan Printy is much more dangerous from deep. Lathan is going to be fine and i doubt he has to "wear a brace"...Not as worried about him as I am about our younger guys fitting in.

[sycamorestateofmind]

Glad to see some thing don't change around here... Indiana State still sucks and they are going to take a huge step back. As if that isn't a knock enough Jake Odum is not a illegitimate D1 player.

That pop start that you are talking about was an average player at best for the Sycamores. Jake Odum made Aaron Carter the player he was last year. Just look at his career numbers - we will miss his ability to stretch the floor, but to think we don't have other players that Odum will not be able to find is just silly. This happens to be Division 1 basketball (although for the better part of the last decade ISUB hasn't looked like a D1 program) you would hope that we have some kids that can step out and knock a shot or two down.

For the record - Jake Odum is/was the best PG in the league.

[STL MVC]

It's almost as if some people can't shake that "Indiana State's not for real" sentiment. That hot start in MVC play caught everyone off guard and brought the vocal critics out, and after everyone had forgotten about them, they shocked us at Arch Madness and people passed it off as a fluke.

At some point, can we just admit that Indiana State's better than its individual talent may seem? Clearly, they're doing something right. ISU's not big, it doesn't have any all-league scorers and Odum is probably the only "star." But they've got some great guards, they defend like hell and they appear to have a pretty good coach.

Just because Creighton's got McDermott and Young and all these gaudy, individual stars and scorers doesn't mean it will automatically be better. CU very well may win this league, but it's a double standard to ignore ISU's returners and praise Creighton's.

[2livewu]

JHC, some of you need to check your panties at the door.

I haven't seen ANYONE that says ISUB is going to be bad next year. In fact, I don't think I've seen anyone that thinks ISUB is going to be out of the top 3.

And for the record, more talent usually beats less talent. ISUB was one possession from going home 0-1 in St, Louis, but they did win and I, and everyone else congratulates them on a job well done.

They didn't win the regular season, they really weren't that close, in fact they were probably closer to 5th than 2nd. But still, they've made great strides (their entire athletic department has for that matter) which is easier to do when you have to make great strides. When you are in the top 3, it's hard to look much better. When you are in the play in game every year for nearly a decade, you look like world beaters when you finish a season like the Trees did.

If Evansville makes one basket late in St. Louis, none of these discussions are happening. They didn't so we are. Forgive most of us if we don't parlay that into a Final Four for a program whose average Valley finish for the last decade has been about 8.3.

And, again, Jake Odum is a good player, a really good player. Larry Bird, he ain't.

[sycamorestateofmind]

For the most part I have just been reading along, but I don't think anyone here is looking for Congratulations at at this point - thank you, but we are now looking forward to 2011-2012 last year is in the past. With that said, what we are looking for (I am looking for) is a little bit of respect - your attempt to give us respect included several "yeah but's" and the thing about that is the Sycamores answered "yeah but" questions last year.

For example they were picked to finish what 7th in the Valley? They finished 3rd.

No one picked us to win in St. Louis, we won in St. Louis. "Yeah but" you beat Evansville with a last second shot (be it by a freshman). It's sudden death/playoff basketball it's not like every single team in that setting doesn't put up a good fight (hence Indiana State winning it all), who cares if we won by a last second shot? We won... I don't think any Indiana State fans are delusional in thinking that Indiana State actually had the best team in St. Louis last year. What we did have was one of if not the best defensive team, the best PG and one of the deeper teams and in a setting in which you have to win 3 games in 3 days that can be a very nice advantage.

STLMVC nailed it and that is basically all I am looking for is some respect. You don't think Odum is the best PG in the league - that's understandable you can make a case for many kids. But if you think losing Aaron Carter and Isiah Martin is going to send the Sycamores back into the play in game your dead wrong. They will be just as deep, if not deeper in 2011 and 2012. The one constant that the Sycamores can count on is Jake Odum - it's probably fair to say he was the "only" star on last years team and even he was overlooked until the Sycamores won the damn thing.

[Jays26]

For the most part I have just been reading along, but I don't think anyone here is looking for Congratulations at at this point - thank you, but we are now looking forward to 2011-2012 last year is in the past. With that said, what we are looking for (I am looking for) is a little bit of respect - your attempt to give us respect included several "yeah but's" and the thing about that is the Sycamores answered "yeah but" questions last year.

For example they were picked to finish what 7th in the Valley? They finished 3rd.

No one picked us to win in St. Louis, we won in St. Louis. "Yeah but" you beat Evansville with a last second shot (be it by a freshman). It's sudden death/playoff basketball it's not like every single team in that setting doesn't put up a good fight (hence Indiana State winning it all), who cares if we won by a last second shot? We won... I don't think any Indiana State fans are delusional in thinking that Indiana State actually had the best team in St. Louis last year. What we did have was one of if not the best defensive team, the best PG and one of the deeper teams and in a setting in which you have to win 3 games in 3 days that can be a very nice advantage.

STLMVC nailed it and that is basically all I am looking for is some respect. You don't think Odum is the best PG in the league - that's understandable you can make a case for many kids. But if you think losing Aaron Carter and Isiah Martin is going to send the Sycamores back into the play in game your dead wrong. They will be just as deep, if not deeper in 2011 and 2012. The one constant that the Sycamores can count on is Jake Odum - it's probably fair to say he was the "only" star on last years team and even he was overlooked until the Sycamores won the damn thing.

Getting a bit old reading about this over and over. It's the "slow" season so I guess we need to expect that.

But to all the Syc fans out there...congrats on a great season last year! Time to move on and get ready for next year.

As far as being "respected" that will only come with time and your basketball program competing at a high level for an extended period of time. And that my friend has not happened and the jury will be out for awhile.