Way too early 2020-21 preseason poll

[BEARZ77]

As I noted in another thread, right now I see Loyola and UNI a notch above everyone else. Behind that I see a solid Indiana State team that always seems to underachieve , and a Bradley team that has been tough, especially during the tourney, but hasn't won consistently in the regular season and who just lost 3 senior starters and their leader in Brown. After that it's 5 teams with a lot of roster churn that could either make a move or disappoint, and lastly Evansville. Obviously a couple transfer decisions [waivers] could boost Bradley and Drakes optimism, but even with those , I still see the same questions. Bradley and Indiana State should at least hover around the top half if not make a legitimate run , but it's the Valley and there will be a congestion between 8-10 and 11-7.

[Gonzo1960]

Bradley has been pretty good except for a few stretches the last 2 years. Last year, losing Childs for most of the valley schedule really hurt them. If they stay injury free this year (hopefully) and get a waiver on East, they will be right there with UNI and Loyola. even without the East waiver, they should be there. The key, as with other teams, is staying healthy.

[Blers42]

Bradley has been pretty good except for a few stretches the last 2 years. Last year, losing Childs for most of the valley schedule really hurt them. If they stay injury free this year (hopefully) and get a waiver on East, they will be right there with UNI and Loyola. even without the East waiver, they should be there. The key, as with other teams, is staying healthy.

Bradley is definitely taking a step down after losing Brown and Childs, Loyola loses nobody after getting 13 conference wins last season. UNI returns the MVC player of the year along with Berhow and Phyfe. UNI and Loyola are the clear favorites, Bradley is not on the same level. We’ll see Loyola and UNI live up to their expectations but just looking at rosters and experience it’s ridiculous to assume Bradley we’ll be right there with them. Take a look at any mid major preseason rankings, UNI and Loyola are on majority of them, Bradley is not.

[bcg]

Bradley is definitely taking a step down after losing Brown and Childs,

Do you have breaking news that Childs isn't returning for his senior year?

Unpopular opinion: Kennell is a bigger loss than Brown.

[Gonzo1960]

Childs isn't going anywhere. And Mast will be a stud. Book it.

[BCPanther]

Childs isn't going anywhere. And Mast will be a stud. Book it.

When a guy uses 'Book it' in his second ever post, you know damn well I'm going to Book It.

[Blers42]

I’m not sure why I thought Child’s was a Senior last season, that definitely changes things. I still think Loyola and UNI are the favorites, along with most rankings I’ve seen. Loyola is only getting more help, Kaifes will be back, Norris is coming off his redshirt, and we’ve got freshman Baylor Hebb. Everyone but Skokna is returning from last year. I think LUC may have deepest roster in the Valley. Bradley will definitely be a tough team, now knowing that Child’s has one more year left I could see them competing for one of the top three positions. The college basketball media is more focused on UNI and Loyola, but I could definitely see Bradley ruining either of their expectations. It should be an exciting season.

[Blers]

Unpopular opinion: Kennell is a bigger loss than Brown.

Completely agree with this. Brown played really well in some big games, but Kennell was a more consistent (and efficient) threat. Bradley's going to be tough though.

Obviously I'm biased, but I don't think there's a deeper team in the league than Loyola. We could potentially have Kennedy (probably our best guard), Norris, and Kaifes all coming off the bench. That's 3 players that could start for a lot of teams in the league.

[squirrel]

On Rienk Mast, as a 17 year old in the Dutch Basketball League, he averaged 8.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.2 assists, and shot over 50% from 2 and right at 40% from 3 in 19.5 minutes per game. He earned both the league's U23 MVP and Most Improved player awards that season. He later tore his ACL in the league championship series, which is why he sat out last year. So he also missed last summer's U18 action, but he has made a senior team appearance for the Netherlands, as well.

For the same team in the same league, former Brave Donte Thomas was averaging 15.7 pts, 7.4 reb, and 2.6 assists in 28.4 minutes as a 24 year old, when play stopped this year.

So that's why Bradley fans are very confident in his ability to make an immediate impact. It might border on irrational, but there is at least some substance there.

I was more excited about Mast than Ville Tahvanainen this year, and Ville emerged as a key role player once he found his three-point shot.

[Majik45]

Big news from Bradley beat writer today, appears Sean East, the transfer from UMass has been granted a waiver and will be able to play this year for Bradley. He started last year for UMASS as a freshman and will have 3 years of eligibility for Bradley.