MVC preseason media day /polls

[BEARZ77]

Aah yes, Falls in the air and things will get a little contentious over the next few weeks. The preseason posturing now begins followed by solidarity during the noncon , and then all out war. Love this time of year !!
Time to get it on.

[Majik45]

Drake is the one team people are sleeping on at this point I think. They came out of no where last year, had multiple injuries throughout the year, and still managed to finish strong.

Their offense and way they were able to fight through injuries reminded me so much of Creighton when Altman was there. And wouldn't you know their coach was an assistant under Altman. They are a team that is very much on the rise I think.

As a Bradley fan, I can say Bradley has a solid core of stars (Childs, Brown) and rotation/role players (Kennel, Bar, Henry). We need a couple of the newcomers (Kingsby, Gabriel, Thomas or Tahvanainen) to step up to give some depth for us to make a run at the league title.

[ahunte1]

Drake will win both games against Mo State and Bradley this year, just like last year.
My take on the top four will be Loyola, Drake, Illinois State and Evansville. Will be a big jumble in the middle like last year.
Mid-major management and coaching is the key.

I can't tell if you meant top four or bottom four! Either way, I believe you'll be the only person picking that quartet to finish together.

[BEARZ77]

Drake is the one team people are sleeping on at this point I think. They came out of no where last year, had multiple injuries throughout the year, and still managed to finish strong.

Their offense and way they were able to fight through injuries reminded me so much of Creighton when Altman was there. And wouldn't you know their coach was an assistant under Altman. They are a team that is very much on the rise I think.

As a Bradley fan, I can say Bradley has a solid core of stars (Childs, Brown) and rotation/role players (Kennel, Bar, Henry). We need a couple of the newcomers (Kingsby, Gabriel, Thomas or Tahvanainen) to step up to give some depth for us to make a run at the league title.

Much of the same as what I've been saying about Drake all summer. They were so well coached and I was impressed with how as they lost key players, they remained ultra competitive. They have more depth and talent than last year, but teams will be more prepared for what they do. I'll probably have them in my top 4.

As far as Bradley, I also agree in that I like their first 6 , but really question their lack of experienced depth to win a league title.They have to have at least 4 unproven players contribute with significant/productive minutes. Now that happens, but still.... Could be like last year, where they are more in the middle[ 3-6] during the regular season, but very dangerous in St Louis.

All the top teams have some significant warts, mostly inexperienced depth issues; I was solidly behind Loyola as the favorite till they lost CK , now I'm not seeing a clear favorite.

[Drakey]

Drake fans are the leaders in the clubhouse for the "our guys get worse the minute they leave campus" award.

What does that mean?

[ahunte1]

I was solidly behind Loyola as the favorite till they lost CK , now I'm not seeing a clear favorite.

For a split second, I read this as "Cameron Krutwig" and had a minor heart attack.

[tribecalledquest]

Drake fans are the leaders in the clubhouse for the "our guys get worse the minute they leave campus" award.

What does that mean?

It's the classic college sports fan reaction. Guys were awesome when they were on the team. Then they graduate and move on and all of their flaws are discussed and their one time importance to the team success decreases and the replacement is just as good, or better.

[MissouriValleyUnite]

The two surprises will be Indiana State and Loyola.

Sycamores are capable. They finished last year’s non-con with a top-32 RPI. Wheels fell off Jordan Barnes in conference play and everyone else felt the ripple effect. It is more likely Barnes regains his old form and confidence. Barnes, Key, and an improved Neese will be tough to beat. ISU will be in the picture for the league title.

Loyola has Williamson/Uguak/Krutwig...and a lot of unknown. Teams without reliable 1’s & 2’s don’t often win in this league. Losing Kaifes is a killer. LU had trouble scoring last year and it’ll be even tougher this year. Next year’s team could be special with Norris/Kaifes. But until then? Loyola finishes 9-9...similar to their pre-Final 4 “set-up” year.

[Blers42]

The two surprises will be Indiana State and Loyola.

Sycamores are capable. They finished last year’s non-con with a top-32 RPI. Wheels fell off Jordan Barnes in conference play and everyone else felt the ripple effect. It is more likely Barnes regains his old form and confidence. Barnes, Key, and an improved Neese will be tough to beat. ISU will be in the picture for the league title.

Loyola has Williamson/Uguak/Krutwig...and a lot of unknown. Teams without reliable 1’s & 2’s don’t often win in this league. Losing Kaifes is a killer. LU had trouble scoring last year and it’ll be even tougher this year. Next year’s team could be special with Norris/Kaifes. But until then? Loyola finishes 9-9...similar to their pre-Final 4 “set-up” year.

I think you're selling LU short. Yes to me this year is somewhat of a rebuilding year but with that being said this is potentially our best recruiting class that we've ever had. Like you said it's somewhat of a big unknown but I'm confident that we'll finish in the upper half this year. Tate hall being able to play this year after being a redshirt is huge and I'm really excited to see our new guards play. I believe next year will be our big shot to go on another run but I think we're in a pretty good position this year as well.

[BEARZ77]

I think it's always interesting how different people see things or interpret them. Indiana State has had excellent backcourt talent for a number of years now, but went 20-34 in the Valley the last 3 years. A year here or there can be an anomaly, but 3 years is a definite trend. The backcourt talent remains, the frontcourt is very young, so you ask, what will be different. It's a coach and guard league so things are squarely on Lansing's shoulders to prove different or be gone I'd suspect.

As far as Loyola, there's a difference between inexperienced and unreliable. They have the starting pg from the juco national championship team [Cleamons] and the initially top rated freshman recruit in the MVC
[ Kennedy]. I think they can cover the minutes at the pg, and they have some options at the 2/3 positions to add to Williamson.

The loss of Kaifes hurts, but it's not a year killer. But just as last year, the difference between 12-8 and 8-12 could possibly hold about 4-6 teams.