by BEARZ77 » May 12th, 2017, 6:10 am
While that last defection is probably inconsequential, I don't think you can minimize the loss of 5 of your top 7 and just assume a level of play regardless of the talent of incoming players. It took 3 years of the previous group playing together to get to where they were last year; in a league like the Valley where a lot of games are played in the 50's-60's, experience down the stretch in games is a big factor. Also defense was the calling card for ISUr last year, and that can take jucos and freshmen longer to understand and assimilate into their games than their individual offensive skills. That said, I like the progression of Muller's teams and do believe he has built a program that should be competitive year in and out. I think they will be in the mix and probably a definite factor come tourney time; I'm just not sure how quickly all the parts will come together. There are some teams in the league with very experienced rosters who are also adding talented depth that might be able to be playing at a high level earlier in the process. But they all have warts as well, so it should be interesting.
The Bear is the largest carnivore on the North American continent; beware the Bear!