Missouri Valley Conference Media Day

[MoBraves]

Are you seriously trying to say that Young is better than Odum?

Yeah, and Odum is far better than Tatum was too.

He has yet to prove himself - needs to have a consistent year from beginning to end - the likes of Little Douggie over in Omaha. I think eventually he'll be better than Young, but right now, AY is a more complete & more consistent PG than Odum from what I've seen.

Looking f/w to Indy State's 1st Loss so the fans can stop being worried about an undefeated season where Odum puts up a triple-double every night. Come on down from your high and lofty Trees, Syc fans!

[2livewu]

If your not sure where the votes have come from maybe you should look at what Odum did for his team over the last 5 games of the season and then what he did in St. Louis - that was enough to convince voters that he was worthy.

Ok, the last 5 games of the regular season the Trees beat SIU twice, Drake, an empty UNI team and lost to Morehead State. In St. Louis, they were fortunate to beat Evansville, beat WSU in the Shocks 2nd worst performance of the year (say what you will, but it was 13-2 on the way to a 70-40 final when the light went off for the Shocks and it had little to do with anything the Trees did) and then beat a dead MSU team in the finals, something everyone knew would be a problem for the Bears with their lack of depth.

Yeah, that was an impressive last 5 games.....Personally, I expect the Trees to be a top 10 team by Christmas.

Jake gets a lot of run for 2 reasons....1, he's good, he plays hard and he's smart. And 2, he made a bunch of big plays in clutch time, and that matters and that sticks with people. Trying to compare him to McDermott makes you look silly and frankly diminishes Odum's true accomplishments.

[BEARZ77]

Jake Odum is better than Young in every facet of the game and Odum won the MVC last year. What did Young win and do in the MVC tournament?

I keep reading how Indiana State won the MVC title last year, but every time I look at the standings I see them 3 games behind the Bears. I don't mind giving credit where it's due, you won the Valley tourney . Important yes, but it's not the league title. And I would give the nod to Young because he's done it for a couple years across entire schedules. Doesn't mean Jake won't prove the better player this year, but I think you should always honor your vets and make the young guys prove it over time.

[Chuck]

Has anyone ever thought that neither is wrong here on this whole, Odum vs. McD argument?
It's silly to try and compare the two because they do what their respective teams need:
Indiana State has a deep roster with multiple different players with a tons of skill, but no true distributor outside of Odum. Odum puts all of those shooters and athletic front court guys in position to make plays and is probably one of the best pure leaders this school has seen, well ever.
Creighton needs a guy who can score in the clutch and there is no doubt McDermmott is good at that. Gives the Bluejays a clear-cut go-to-guy.
I really don't see this whole, "don't mention Odum and McDermmott in the same sentence" thing, it's pretty obvious that anyone that doesn't have blinders on that these two guys plus Rice are the three superstars of the future in the valley.
Now to build a bridge between two fan bases I am not a member of; How awesome would it be if McDermmott and Odum were on the same team.
Now that would make for some sweet open no-look passes for dunks and/or jumpshots.

[DoubleJayAlum]

I can accept the Odum/Young comparisons. I believe there is a legitimate question there.

However, the Odum vs. McDermott comparison is just plain ridiculous. And everyone residing outside of Terre Haute knows it.

[shockalot]

As a way to segue this fascinating conversation toward a yet more contentious preseason debate, I contend that no other team in the MVC has two better point guards than WSU with Ragland and Williams this year. Further comparisons of the top two preseason picks is hereby begged. All the following is based on what we know at this point and all my opinion:
Creighton has an undoubtedly fine, possibly the best point guard in the conference, and what appears to be a fine freshman backup.
Wichita State has two very talented and experienced point guards.
Advantage: even
CU has a good selection of wings with some experience in Manigat, Jones, and Gibbs, perhaps one of the freshman can contribute something this year, but that is not something that can be counted on.
WSU has a better selection of wings with more experience in Murry, Kyles, Smith, and occasionally Williams.
Advantage: WSU
CU has very strong options at PF with McDermott, Wragge, perhaps Artino, or Oginni, or the possible option of moving Echenique there with Grosselle at center.
WSU has an excellent juco player in Hall here, a freshman with some possible ability, and a rather unknown quantity in another juco player in Anacreon.
Advantage: CU
CU has perhaps the most dominating big man in the conference in Echineque at center with a reasonable hope of some freshman back up in Grosselle.
WSU has perhaps the most offensively versatile center in the MVC in Stutz, with undoubtedly the most athletic center in the conference as backup in Orupke.
Advantage: even
In terms of team continuity, CU returns 4 starters and two former starters and proven contributors; WSU returns 3 starters, and 3 proven contributors.
Advantage: even
Now this looks to me to be a great set up for a very competitive conference race, with Ind. St. ready to pounce if anyone stumbles.
Can't wait!

[WSUbballer]

Jake Odum is better than Young in every facet of the game and Odum won the MVC last year. What did Young win and do in the MVC tournament?

Yes, Jake Odum >>>> God when it comes to basketball. We get it already. Jake sounds like a great guy, but there's a part of me that wants to see him fall flat on his face, due to the extreme overzealousness of the ISU fanbase. I've never seen anything like it, other than maybe the whole GodShawGod thing at Valleytalk.

+ 1,000,000

It's posts like jlandrus' that further cement the disdain many people have towards the Indiana State fanbase. Jake Odum can do no wrong. He is better than anybody. Indiana State got lucky on a weekend and thus is superior to anything or anybody that has set foot on a basketball court. I would lose no sleep if the Sycamores settled back down to a normal spot in the Valley for them and see another team and fans with more realistic ideas and expectations to put in their place.

I guess the other 8 years before last year have been completely erased..

[WSUbballer]

I have little problem in the predictions and All-MVC team selections. Murry may be a bit overrated. I would have put him on honorable mention at the most. I think there are a few other Shockers ahead of him in the pecking order. But overall, we have a very even team with little in the way of "flash" or superstardom". Hopefully, that proves to be a good thing.

It'll be really interesting to see how Weems deals with all of the load being put on him this year in Springfield.

[tkjay1]

Guys we will have a ton of interviews from today's media days posted tomorrow and over the next few days--we will be sure and post a link as well--thx