Too early 2018-19 predictions

[sivert]

UNI was informed this week that transfer Trae Berhow will be eligible immediately got this year.

He was a 10 point, 6 board guy as a true freshman at Pepperdine last year and was on the all freshman team in the WCC.

That gives UNI another long, skilled wing that's a plus defender

UNI will start 6-4, 6-5, 6-7, 6-10, 6-9 with 6-5, 6-3, 6-10 and 7-1 coming off the bench.

Wait, who is 7-1?

[BEARZ77]

UNI was informed this week that transfer Trae Berhow will be eligible immediately got this year.

He was a 10 point, 6 board guy as a true freshman at Pepperdine last year and was on the all freshman team in the WCC.

That gives UNI another long, skilled wing that's a plus defender

UNI will start 6-4, 6-5, 6-7, 6-10, 6-9 with 6-5, 6-3, 6-10 and 7-1 coming off the bench.

Wait, who is 7-1?

I think you have to assume Pickford, Dahl, Lohaus, and one of their 6'9 guys were all given an inch over their listed heights. Who knows what they really are, but I tend to go with what the schools official listed heights are. Some schools fudge, some don't, most fans do.

[tribecalledquest]

UNI was informed this week that transfer Trae Berhow will be eligible immediately got this year.

He was a 10 point, 6 board guy as a true freshman at Pepperdine last year and was on the all freshman team in the WCC.

That gives UNI another long, skilled wing that's a plus defender

UNI will start 6-4, 6-5, 6-7, 6-10, 6-9 with 6-5, 6-3, 6-10 and 7-1 coming off the bench.

What was the reason given for the immediate eligibility? Good news for UNI.

[sivert]

UNI was informed this week that transfer Trae Berhow will be eligible immediately got this year.

He was a 10 point, 6 board guy as a true freshman at Pepperdine last year and was on the all freshman team in the WCC.

That gives UNI another long, skilled wing that's a plus defender

UNI will start 6-4, 6-5, 6-7, 6-10, 6-9 with 6-5, 6-3, 6-10 and 7-1 coming off the bench.

Wait, who is 7-1?

I think you have to assume Pickford, Dahl, Lohaus, and one of their 6'9 guys were all given an inch over their listed heights. Who knows what they really are, but I tend to go with what the schools official listed heights are. Some schools fudge, some don't, most fans do.

Well, if he’s talking about Dahl as the 7-1 guy, ok. And I do hope he gets things figured out enough on defense to see significant playing time. But...

[BCPanther]

UNI was informed this week that transfer Trae Berhow will be eligible immediately got this year.

He was a 10 point, 6 board guy as a true freshman at Pepperdine last year and was on the all freshman team in the WCC.

That gives UNI another long, skilled wing that's a plus defender

UNI will start 6-4, 6-5, 6-7, 6-10, 6-9 with 6-5, 6-3, 6-10 and 7-1 coming off the bench.

What was the reason given for the immediate eligibility? Good news for UNI.

No idea. No coaching change. He's closer to home but still 4 hours away so I don't think he could get a family illness exception. He's an outstanding student so maybe there's some kind of exemption there.

Also, I'm not sure Haldeman sees the floor much. Croft will. And yes, mistyped Lohaus' height. He's 6-2.

[Birdfan2018]

1-Illinois State (If Milik Yarbrough is re-instated: move down to 4th if not re-instated)
2-Loyola
3-Southern Illinois
4-Bradley
5-Northern Iowa
6-Valparaiso
7-Indiana State
8-Missouri State
9-Drake
10-Evansville

I could see all of the Illinois teams going undefeated at home & losing only 3-4 road games (barring injuries)
Any/all of those four could go 15-3 or 14-4 (AND beat the ILLINI, Northwestern, and DePaul)

[sixth ace]

1)Loyola
2)SIU
3)Evansville(homer)
4)IlSU(doesn't matter MY incident)
5)MSU
6)Bradley
7)InSu
8)UNI
9)Valpo
10)Drake

#GETONBOARD

[hot nuts]

1)Loyola
2)SIU
3)Evansville(homer)
4)IlSU(doesn't matter MY incident)
5)MSU
6)Bradley
7)InSu
8)UNI
9)Valpo
10)Drake

#GETONBOARD

Like this one. I would add my COY prediction of Dan Muller.

[Birdfan2018]

1-Illinois State (If Milik Yarbrough is re-instated: move down to 4th if not re-instated)
2-Loyola
3-Southern Illinois
4-Bradley
5-Northern Iowa
6-Valparaiso
7-Indiana State
8-Missouri State
9-Drake
10-Evansville

I could see all of the Illinois teams going undefeated at home & losing only 3-4 road games (barring injuries)
Any/all of those four could go 15-3 or 14-4 (AND beat the ILLINI, Northwestern, and DePaul)

Here are my reasons for picking Illinois State to win the Valley:
2017-18 Redbirds:
Starters
Keyshawn Evans
Madison Williams
Milik Yarbrough
William Tinsley
Phil Fayne

Bench
Matt Hein
Taylor Bruninga (Freshman)
David N'Diaye (hurt most of the year)
Elijah Clarance (hurt most of the year)
Isaac Gassman (walk-on)

Not Eligible
Zach Copeland
Matt Chastain
Christine Romine (????)

The 2017-18 team had absolutely no bench.
The 2017-18 team had absolutely no competition for starters at practice (except for Chastain & Copeland)
The 2017-18 team had a lot of injury problems throughout the season.

2018-19 Redbirds
Starters
Keyshawn Evans-SR who should be better (and healthier) than he was in 2017-18
Zach Copeland-4th year JR (JUCO) will be much better than Madison Williams was in 2017-18
Milik Yarbrough-5th year senior should be much smarter with the ball, better all around.
William Tinsley-SR came on strong the last 1/4 of the season. He will be much improved over last season.
Phil Fayne-SR who should be better than 2017-18 (although he was pretty good in 2017-18)

Bench
Josh Jefferson-JR (JUCO)
Matt Chastain-3rd year SO (Sat out 2017-18 after transferring from Loyola)
Taylor Bruninga-SO who had pretty good 2017-18 until he suffered concussion.
Matt Hein-4th year JR
Isaac Gassman-3rd year SO
Rey Idowu-6'9 240 LB FR

Redshirting
Abdou Ndiaye-6-9 FR
Keith Fisher III-6-8 3* SO recruit Transfer
Jaycee Hillsman-SR Transfer (will also be out until around January due to hip surgery)
Dedric Boyd-SO 3* recruit Transfer

The staring lineup for the 2018-19 Redbirds will be much improved over 2017-18
The bench for the 2018-19 Redbirds will be much improved.
And the thing that will really push this team to the top will be the players the starters will be going up against in practice. Four of the non-starters on the 2018-19 Redbirds will be starters on the 2019-20 team (and they are all good). There will be a lot of very good players in practice to push the starter, unlike last season.

As for Loyola: Not sure the 2018-19 team will have the debt that the 2017-18 team had. And can they stay healthy? Last year they were pretty much injury free during the MVC season. Can they repeat that again?
They lost 3 of their top 6 players from last years team. I would agree that their starters will be good, just not sure they will have the bench that Illinois State will have. I will leave that up to someone close to the Loyola program to comment on that.

Southern Illinois: The Saluki's will return all of their starters, and will have a good bench. Someone close to that program will have to comment on that, and where they would pick Southern Illinois to finish in the Standings.

Bradley: They return four starters. Not sure about who will be their replacing starter, and how deep their bench will be. Someone close to Bradley want to comment on the Braves for the 2018-19 season?

These are my 2018-19 Top Four in the MVC!

[Blers]

As for Loyola: Not sure the 2018-19 team will have the debt that the 2017-18 team had. And can they stay healthy? Last year they were pretty much injury free during the MVC season. Can they repeat that again?
They lost 3 of their top 6 players from last years team. I would agree that their starters will be good, just not sure they will have the bench that Illinois State will have. I will leave that up to someone close to the Loyola program to comment on that.

I talked about this in the earlier post. Depths a question with this team. On paper every member of the bench with the exception of Bruno Skokna was highly touted. Negron (now healthy) and Agunanne are 3 or 4 stars depending on where you look and Kaifes/Bujdoso come in as three stars. On paper all 4 should come in and contribute well. I've heard nothing but great things regarding how they look. Much like ISU's bench it's all unproven talent; ours just happen to be younger and potentially more prone to mistakes. At the same time last season Krutwig and Williamson rarely looked like freshman; so time will tell!

I'm so curious to see Chastain. Rambler fans only got to see him for 3 games but loved what he offered. It's a shame he's had so many knee troubles (two ACL tears, as well as a meniscus), but if healthy he's a hell of a player.