Too early 2018-19 predictions

[Bradleyfan1]

Apparently I changed Luuuuuuuuuuuuuks last name to van pre lol I was throwing off the scouting report. Lol

I for one would be super disappointed with anything less than 3rd. Even if all the new guys are busts which I highly doubt.

I apologize for not spelling out the names.

[BEARZ77]

I have no idea where to pick the Bears; I'm not naively homerish enough to not recognize it often takes very good coaches a year or more to get their systems and rosters established enough to consistently win. I will say Ford has quickly gone about molding his roster to look like the kind of team he says he wants and how he wants to play. But it's a lot of moving parts. I also think when you look at current recruits, rs transfers, and early 2019 signings, the roster next year could easily be top 2-3 in the league; but that's dependent on players living up to their potential.What I feel pretty confident in is:

That the Bears will be a tough game in Feb/March. That league fans will greatly enjoy watching Jarred Ridder play; Ridder is a very skilled 6'7- 6'8 basketball player, a legitimate cornerstone piece. Szymon Wojcik is potentially of similar mode and 6'10, but will probably take longer to acclimate to D-1 basketball. That the Bears will be a very long and athletic team, especially starting next year, but more so this year than one might expect. That this will be a "nastier" Bear's team to play , who were mostly soft under Coach Paul Lusk,


To me we're playing with house money this year, with the main goals to establish a roster, style of play, and presence in the league moving forward. But Coach Ford hasn't conceded this year; the addition of Webster over guys like Lawrence and Butler was a statement about believeing he can be competitive right now. It'll be a fun year in Springfield.

[ACECARD]

I have no idea where to pick the Bears; I'm not naively homerish enough to not recognize it often takes very good coaches a year or more to get their systems and rosters established enough to consistently win. I will say Ford has quickly gone about molding his roster to look like the kind of team he says he wants and how he wants to play. But it's a lot of moving parts. I also think when you look at current recruits, rs transfers, and early 2019 signings, the roster next year could easily be top 2-3 in the league; but that's dependent on players living up to their potential.What I feel pretty confident in is:

That the Bears will be a tough game in Feb/March. That league fans will greatly enjoy watching Jarred Ridder play; Ridder is a very skilled 6'7- 6'8 basketball player, a legitimate cornerstone piece. Szymon Wojcik is potentially of similar mode and 6'10, but will probably take longer to acclimate to D-1 basketball. That the Bears will be a very long and athletic team, especially starting next year, but more so this year than one might expect. That this will be a "nastier" Bear's team to play , who were mostly soft under Coach Paul Lusk,


To me we're playing with house money this year, with the main goals to establish a roster, style of play, and presence in the league moving forward. But Coach Ford hasn't conceded this year; the addition of Webster over guys like Lawrence and Butler was a statement about believeing he can be competitive right now. It'll be a fun year in Springfield.

I think most Aces fans would feel the same way. Walter has recruited the kind of players that will fit the systems he saw at Kentucky, and as coach with the Celtics, and the way he wants to coach the Aces. I don't know how many games the Aces will win this year, but you can bet that they will be more fast paced, and jack up more three's, and play a more pressing defense than we have seen in the past. The front court will be a problem, but we are hoping that speed, and shooting will help make up for that short fall. Not going to predict a top half finish, or even they are not going to be a Thursday team, but I bet you better not think you are going to beat them by just walking out on the floor.

I know most MVC teams are going to be better this year than they were last year, even the ones with new coaches, and that includes the Aces. It's going to be a very interesting year. In my opinion, Loyola will be the team to beat until proven otherwise.

[Adunk33]

I have no idea where to pick the Bears; I'm not naively homerish enough to not recognize it often takes very good coaches a year or more to get their systems and rosters established enough to consistently win. I will say Ford has quickly gone about molding his roster to look like the kind of team he says he wants and how he wants to play. But it's a lot of moving parts. I also think when you look at current recruits, rs transfers, and early 2019 signings, the roster next year could easily be top 2-3 in the league; but that's dependent on players living up to their potential.What I feel pretty confident in is:

That the Bears will be a tough game in Feb/March. That league fans will greatly enjoy watching Jarred Ridder play; Ridder is a very skilled 6'7- 6'8 basketball player, a legitimate cornerstone piece. Szymon Wojcik is potentially of similar mode and 6'10, but will probably take longer to acclimate to D-1 basketball. That the Bears will be a very long and athletic team, especially starting next year, but more so this year than one might expect. That this will be a "nastier" Bear's team to play , who were mostly soft under Coach Paul Lusk,


To me we're playing with house money this year, with the main goals to establish a roster, style of play, and presence in the league moving forward. But Coach Ford hasn't conceded this year; the addition of Webster over guys like Lawrence and Butler was a statement about believeing he can be competitive right now. It'll be a fun year in Springfield.

I think most Aces fans would feel the same way. Walter has recruited the kind of players that will fit the systems he saw at Kentucky, and as coach with the Celtics, and the way he wants to coach the Aces. I don't know how many games the Aces will win this year, but you can bet that they will be more fast paced, and jack up more three's, and play a more pressing defense than we have seen in the past. The front court will be a problem, but we are hoping that speed, and shooting will help make up for that short fall. Not going to predict a top half finish, or even they are not going to be a Thursday team, but I bet you better not think you are going to beat them by just walking out on the floor.

I know most MVC teams are going to be better this year than they were last year, even the ones with new coaches, and that includes the Aces. It's going to be a very interesting year. In my opinion, Loyola will be the team to beat until proven otherwise.

I'm really looking forward to an upbeat tempo from Evansville. I've been following the MVC my whole life and it always seemed like they had one star(Colt Ryan, DJ Balentine, Taylor, etc) they would run halfcourt sets for and use 20-30 seconds of the shot clock. It'll be different seeing the purple and orange sprinting up and down.

As far as ILST- this is the first time in Muller's tenure where he has had the ability to go 10 deep, and realistically 12. Not to say the Birds have 12 starters on the bench but it'll be a deep team. Muller doesn't typically like to have more than an 8 man rotation. So right now there are three rotation spots up for grabs.
It's been said but the clear starters are Evans, Tinsley, Copeland, Fayne, and Yarborough. I think the 8 man rotation will change from game to game based off the other team's personnel.

Fighting for those three spots will be
Elijah Clarance- sophomore PG, who is playing for the Sweedish National team averaging nearly 28 ppg.
Josh Jefferson- juco 2 guard, who is supposed to be able to score off the dribble.
Taylor Bruninga- sophomore stretch 4- think young Deontae Hawkins with a 1000% better attitude and behavior. I think Taylor is better than Hawkins by his senior year.
Rey Idowu- first freshman in years at ISU with an D1 ready body. Listed at 6'9 and a HARD 240- he could be the body needed to slow Krutwig.
Abdou N'Diaye- said to be a top 50 recruit of the late signing period, currently going through eligibility concerns since he jumped around in HS. Muller has said he 100% expects Abdou on campus in August.
Matt Hein- everyone's favorite player who Muller loves. Hein will commit a bad turnover than hustle for a big rebound.
Matt Chastian- sophomore wing from LeRoy and went to Loyola and tore his ACL. Muller said he was one of the best on the team and and an every day competitor in practice. He earned captain status as a RS sophomore. I expect big things.
Isaac Gassman- Back to walk on status. Knock down shooter though. Shot close to 40% last year, was forced to play due to lack of depth. Love how the kid competes though.

Birds have long guards, long forwards, and the team was lacking a PG coach which they got with the Duhon hire.

I think finding that rotation is going to be tough. Obviously, whoever earns the time will play.
Way to early depth chart? Glad you asked!
1-Evans, 2-Copeland, 3-Tinsley, 4-Yarborough, 5- Fayne, 6-Chastain, 7-Clarance, 8-Bruninga.
I haven't seen enough of the new guys to know how they will contribute. I have watched most of Chastain's career and look forward to what he brings.

I'm really ready for basketball season!

[Blers]

Rey Idowu- first freshman in years at ISU with an D1 ready body. Listed at 6'9 and a HARD 240- he could be the body needed to slow Krutwig.

You put some work into this preview! From the LU perspective on stopping Krutwig, i don't think it's a big body; people get caught up in his weight and assume a lot of it is just powering people down; i would actually point to his footwork as to what makes him so tricky; he's super nimble and able to go up and under a lot of other big men and either get by or draw the foul. He had some of his best games against bigs from Florida, Miami, and Michigan. The team that played him best was probably Nevada, who went super small at five and used speed to keep him sidelined (and in foul trouble) even though he had 8 points and 5 boards in only 13 minutes.

Also, I'm pretty excited to see Chastain this year. If he can stay healthy (which after several knee surgeries is unfortunately a big if), I think he's an impact player. He only played 3 games at LU but I came away extremely impressed and was sad to see him go.

[tribecalledquest]

When I read this "Taylor Bruninga- sophomore stretch 4- think young Deontae Hawkins with a 1000% better attitude and behavior. I think Taylor is better than Hawkins by his senior year" I had to stop reading the rest of it.

[Adunk33]

Rey Idowu- first freshman in years at ISU with an D1 ready body. Listed at 6'9 and a HARD 240- he could be the body needed to slow Krutwig.

You put some work into this preview! From the LU perspective on stopping Krutwig, i don't think it's a big body; people get caught up in his weight and assume a lot of it is just powering people down; i would actually point to his footwork as to what makes him so tricky; he's super nimble and able to go up and under a lot of other big men and either get by or draw the foul. He had some of his best games against bigs from Florida, Miami, and Michigan. The team that played him best was probably Nevada, who went super small at five and used speed to keep him sidelined (and in foul trouble) even though he had 8 points and 5 boards in only 13 minutes.

Good points. The thing I failed to mention is that Rey is not a coke machine big. He his really athletic. Krutwig is kind of a different animal. I know its his footwork that gets him points but thinking exclusively against ILST, who's "bigs" last year were sticks with Fayne and Bruninga at around 6'8 and a generous 200lbs. Something ILST needed was bulk. Krutwig has set the standard for bigs in the league, and will be a terror for the next 3 years until someone steps up. For me, hopefully that guy is "Chief" Rey Idowu.

[Adunk33]

When I read this "Taylor Bruninga- sophomore stretch 4- think young Deontae Hawkins with a 1000% better attitude and behavior. I think Taylor is better than Hawkins by his senior year" I had to stop reading the rest of it.

Fair. Hot take Friday!

[Blers]

Good points. The thing I failed to mention is that Rey is not a coke machine big. He his really athletic. Krutwig is kind of a different animal. I know its his footwork that gets him points but thinking exclusively against ILST, who's "bigs" last year were sticks with Fayne and Bruninga at around 6'8 and a generous 200lbs. Something ILST needed was bulk. Krutwig has set the standard for bigs in the league, and will be a terror for the next 3 years until someone steps up. For me, hopefully that guy is "Chief" Rey Idowu.

Ohhhh, got it! I'll definitely be curious if any other young big's this year that make an impact. The MVC loses Fayne, Pippen, and Bol after this season. The only underclassman that currently come to mind are Krutwig and Childs (who i think will be great). DAustin Phyfe flashed a few times but has to stay out of foul trouble. Derrik Smiths will be a junior but i think he has a lot of potential for Valpo...

For LU Freshman Frank Agunanne is a physical monster but I think he'll need to add touch around the rim, same with Negron who's coming off a mostly lost season due to injury.

[VUGrad1314]

Thoughts on this list of potential MVC breakout players? Who(if anyone) might he be overlooking?

https://twitter.com/CBB_Central/status/ ... 3D3153.175