Who will be the preseason favorite in 2011-12?

by **ihsi** » March 8th, 2011, 8:45 am

Never too soon to look ahead.

1) Creighton - returning three of the best 10 players in the league
2) Indiana St - strong finish sets them up well for next year
3) Wichita St - good depth. Replacing Durley will be key
4) Bradley - playing a hunch that a new coach and return of Sam will be huge
5) Drake - Rice will have a breakout year
6) Missouri St - losing 4 starters will hurt. Will Cuonzo bolt?
7) Evansville - why not?
8) Northern Iowa - Kwadzo will be tough to replace
9) Southern Illinois - move them to 10th if Lowery or Teague don't return
10) Illinois St - not sure if Jank has the same fire and he doesn't have the horses

**Sponsor**

by **BirdmanBB** » March 8th, 2011, 9:28 am

1)Creighton - Clearly the best choice. Most talented/balanced team returning. possible top 25 caliber.
2)Indiana St. - Losing some important keys, but still have Odum and Kelly.
3) Wichita St. - Great athleticism will win games for them.
4) Illinois St. - New PG, more maturity/improvement could get this young team to the #4 spot.
5) UNI - Kwadzo or not, Jacobson will still have a tough defensive team
6) Drake - I like Rice too, but will he have help?
7) E-ville - A weak valley made marty look good last year.
8) Missouri St. - Should be interesting to see what happens with what they lose.
9) Bradley - Could move. New Coach and don't know who is coming back.
10) SIU - Still have Lowery and losing some talent. Might be better off with a cleaned house.

....yeah I know. Putting the redbirds 4th is very homerish, but I think after CU and Indiana St. it will be a crapshoot. I would say thats the birds ceiling next year.

by **Shox21** » March 8th, 2011, 9:56 am

ihsi wrote:Never too soon to look ahead.

1) Creighton - returning three of the best 10 players in the league
2) Indiana St - strong finish sets them up well for next year
3) Wichita St - good depth. Replacing Durley will be key
4) Bradley - playing a hunch that a new coach and return of Sam will be huge
5) Drake - Rice will have a breakout year
6) Missouri St - losing 4 starters will hurt. Will Cuonzo bolt?
7) Evansville - why not?
8) Northern Iowa - Kwadzo will be tough to replace
9) Southern Illinois - move them to 10th if Lowery or Teague don't return
10) Illinois St - not sure if Jank has the same fire and he doesn't have the horses

If I hear that word "depth" one more time, I may be physically sick. And I think you have 1 and 2 correct. The rest, well ----

by **ictjay** » March 8th, 2011, 10:04 am

Shox21 wrote:
ihsi wrote:Never too soon to look ahead.

1) Creighton - returning three of the best 10 players in the league
2) Indiana St - strong finish sets them up well for next year
3) Wichita St - good depth. Replacing Durley will be key
4) Bradley - playing a hunch that a new coach and return of Sam will be huge
5) Drake - Rice will have a breakout year
6) Missouri St - losing 4 starters will hurt. Will Cuonzo bolt?
7) Evansville - why not?
8) Northern Iowa - Kwadzo will be tough to replace
9) Southern Illinois - move them to 10th if Lowery or Teague don't return
10) Illinois St - not sure if Jank has the same fire and he doesn't have the horses

If I hear that word "depth" one more time, I may be physically sick. And I think you have 1 and 2 correct. The rest, well ----

Don't blame you. CU in both 08 and 09 tourney. It was there downfall. No rythem. Agree with 1 and 2. Being close to the stiuation here, curious what GM doew as far as the type of athlete he recruits and how he will share the minutes in the future.

by **valleychamp** » March 8th, 2011, 10:21 am

ictjay wrote:
Shox21 wrote:
ihsi wrote:Never too soon to look ahead.

1) Creighton - returning three of the best 10 players in the league
2) Indiana St - strong finish sets them up well for next year
3) Wichita St - good depth. Replacing Durley will be key
4) Bradley - playing a hunch that a new coach and return of Sam will be huge
5) Drake - Rice will have a breakout year
6) Missouri St - losing 4 starters will hurt. Will Cuonzo bolt?
7) Evansville - why not?
8) Northern Iowa - Kwadzo will be tough to replace
9) Southern Illinois - move them to 10th if Lowery or Teague don't return
10) Illinois St - not sure if Jank has the same fire and he doesn't have the horses

If I hear that word "depth" one more time, I may be physically sick. And I think you have 1 and 2 correct. The rest, well ----

Don't blame you. CU in both 08 and 09 tourney. It was there downfall. No rythem. Agree with 1 and 2. Being close to the stiuation here, curious what GM doew as far as the type of athlete he recruits and how he will share the minutes in the future.

Thats interesting, because IMO depth was one of the most important components to UNI's success in the last couple seasons.

Depth is only a problem when either, 1) Your coach doesn't know how to manage it, or 2) the players don't buy into their roles.

by **Ace Dad** » March 8th, 2011, 10:23 am

BirdmanBB wrote:1)Creighton - Clearly the best choice. Most talented/balanced team returning. possible top 25 caliber.
2)Indiana St. - Losing some important keys, but still have Odum and Kelly.
3) Wichita St. - Great athleticism will win games for them.
4) Illinois St. - New PG, more maturity/improvement could get this young team to the #4 spot.
5) UNI - Kwadzo or not, Jacobson will still have a tough defensive team
6) Drake - I like Rice too, but will he have help?
7) E-ville - A weak valley made marty look good last year.
8) Missouri St. - Should be interesting to see what happens with what they lose.
9) Bradley - Could move. New Coach and don't know who is coming back.
10) SIU - Still have Lowery and losing some talent. Might be better off with a cleaned house.

....yeah I know. Putting the redbirds 4th is very homerish, but I think after CU and Indiana St. it will be a crapshoot. I would say thats the birds ceiling next year.

A weaker Valley is a zero sum paradigm. Impacts strong, average, and weaker teams the same. People try to fault ISU-B for beating only the weaker teams early on and I said you can only beat who you play. So the MSU coach is a genius in a weaker Valley, the UE coach is made to look good in a weaker Vslley; and, the BU coach is fired in a weaker Valley. You cannot work both sides of the ledger.

by **dgreenwell3** » March 8th, 2011, 10:32 am

I agree that UE will be better than 7th in the valley next season...Colt Ryan is an absolute stud need to surround him with a few pieces...any chance they get a look at that olderkid playing at Harrison?

by **MSUBear42** » March 8th, 2011, 10:34 am

1) CU- If they play to their ability
2) Missouri State-As long as we get a JuCo post, we will be golden. We lose Mallett but we gain Pickens, who was a starter and Scheer will step in well for Leonard.
3) Indiana State- Odum will be POY before he's gone
4) WSU
5) UNI
6) UE
7) SIU
8) Illinois State
9) Drake
10) Bradley

by **dgreenwell3** » March 8th, 2011, 10:38 am

I see ISU blue winning the valley...I like CU i just dont trust their defense...Offensively they are much better than the trees but I dont see us finishing 3rd again.

by **MSUDuo** » March 8th, 2011, 10:42 am

MSUBear42 wrote:1) CU- If they play to their ability
2) Missouri State-As long as we get a JuCo post, we will be golden. We lose Mallett but we gain Pickens, who was a starter and Scheer will step in well for Leonard.
3) Indiana State- Odum will be POY before he's gone
4) WSU
5) UNI
6) UE
7) SIU
8) Illinois State
9) Drake
10) Bradley

Wow