Indiana State at Bradley (2/12)

[SycamorePsycho]

ISUb and WSU are tied for third in the country with 9 true road wins.

That is great.... but unfortunately I also think it speaks volumes as to how weak the Valley really is this year besides Wichita and Indiana State...

[Cdizzle]

ISUb and WSU are tied for third in the country with 9 true road wins.

That is great.... but unfortunately I also think it speaks volumes as to how weak the Valley really is this year besides Wichita and Indiana State...

I'm not sure WSU's road record speaks to much other than WSU's ability to play well on the road. This is year 4 of performing at an extremely high level on the road.

[NeutralObserver]

Bob Knight could always convince his teams to play well on the road too. It is all just a mindset.......but very hard to convince young minds of that fact. Marshall seems to have mastered it and Lansing is getting there too. Maybe they took notes from Norman Dale of "Hoosiers" fame ?

[Cdizzle]

Bob Knight could always convince his teams to play well on the road too. It is all just a mindset.......but very hard to convince young minds of that fact. Marshall seems to have mastered it and Lansing is getting there too. Maybe they took notes from Norman Dale of "Hoosiers" fame ?

Indeed. It is a mindset and a skill, in addition to talent on the court.

Lansing has an above-average senior-laden team. That's a group that you hope have figured out how to win some on the road, and they have. Getting a group of underclassmen to follow that up is a big step for a winning program.

[Wufan]

Bob Knight could always convince his teams to play well on the road too. It is all just a mindset.......but very hard to convince young minds of that fact. Marshall seems to have mastered it and Lansing is getting there too. Maybe they took notes from Norman Dale of "Hoosiers" fame ?

Indeed. It is a mindset and a skill, in addition to talent on the court.

Lansing has an above-average senior-laden team. That's a group that you hope have figured out how to win some on the road, and they have. Getting a group of underclassmen to follow that up is a big step for a winning program.

While the Sycamore's will lose the senior leadership of Odum, Cummings, Eitel, and Arop, I like their returning group. Kitchell, Gant, and especially Smith seem like a high caliber front court (despite some of their deficiencies). Brown, Moore, and Burnett are quality role players that could develop. That group, if they can add some incoming talent, has a chance to be good again next year.

[PantherSigEp]

Bob Knight could always convince his teams to play well on the road too. It is all just a mindset.......but very hard to convince young minds of that fact. Marshall seems to have mastered it and Lansing is getting there too. Maybe they took notes from Norman Dale of "Hoosiers" fame ?

Indeed. It is a mindset and a skill, in addition to talent on the court.

Lansing has an above-average senior-laden team. That's a group that you hope have figured out how to win some on the road, and they have. Getting a group of underclassmen to follow that up is a big step for a winning program.

While the Sycamore's will lose the senior leadership of Odum, Cummings, Eitel, and Arop, I like their returning group. Kitchell, Gant, and especially Smith seem like a high caliber front court (despite some of their deficiencies). Brown, Moore, and Burnett are quality role players that could develop. That group, if they can add some incoming talent, has a chance to be good again next year.

The real question though is do they have a real chance at being better? That's what we want as a conference. Although I hope the Panthers turn a huge corner next year I still want teams like the ISU's, MSU and SIU to be be competitive and respectable squads that can give the MVC as much recognition as possible. Losing quality players like Arop and, of course, Jake Odum could be tough. Every fan in the league should understand just how annoyingly effective Odum is at scoring and making plays for the Sycs.

They have a strong squad but the difference these past few years between them and any other middle of the pack team has been Odum. Hard to believe we're almost rid of him killing us. I hated playing him more than McDermott because he can actually play defense and do things besides just score.

[Wufan]

I don't think the Sycs will be better, or even as good next year. I'd expect them to win a fair amount of OOC games and then be competitive in conference. I expect the Panthers, Bears, and Redbirds to overtake the Sycamore's. I also think the Salukis will be good...hopefully early in the year. Loyola and Evansville will be improved as well, but probably not yet competitive for an upper half finish.

[jturner38]

While the Sycamore's will lose the senior leadership of Odum, Cummings, Eitel, and Arop, I like their returning group. Kitchell, Gant, and especially Smith seem like a high caliber front court (despite some of their deficiencies). Brown, Moore, and Burnett are quality role players that could develop. That group, if they can add some incoming talent, has a chance to be good again next year.

We have Brenton scott (similiar skill set of VanVleet|) to fill jake odum's role, a juco transfer and I belive one of the top scoring to fill Cummings role, K. Smith will fill Arop's role, and Etherington (similiar skill set of Baker's) to fill Eitel's role.

[shocktheheart]

While the Sycamore's will lose the senior leadership of Odum, Cummings, Eitel, and Arop, I like their returning group. Kitchell, Gant, and especially Smith seem like a high caliber front court (despite some of their deficiencies). Brown, Moore, and Burnett are quality role players that could develop. That group, if they can add some incoming talent, has a chance to be good again next year.

We have Brenton scott (similiar skill set of VanVleet|) to fill jake odum's role, a juco transfer and I belive one of the top scoring to fill Cummings role, K. Smith will fill Arop's role, and Etherington (similiar skill set of Baker's) to fill Eitel's role.

Sounds like a top 5 team to me.

[Cdizzle]

While the Sycamore's will lose the senior leadership of Odum, Cummings, Eitel, and Arop, I like their returning group. Kitchell, Gant, and especially Smith seem like a high caliber front court (despite some of their deficiencies). Brown, Moore, and Burnett are quality role players that could develop. That group, if they can add some incoming talent, has a chance to be good again next year.

We have Brenton scott (similiar skill set of VanVleet|) to fill jake odum's role, a juco transfer and I belive one of the top scoring to fill Cummings role, K. Smith will fill Arop's role, and Etherington (similiar skill set of Baker's) to fill Eitel's role.

I just. I guess I'll just let it go. Good luck with that.